#be able to stay alive there if they actually start collaborating with each other and set aside whatever differences they may have had-

[mad-hunts]

this is a very specific scenario, i know, but barton trauma-bonding with a hero and vice versa because they got stuck in the middle of the desert together due to the fact that they were both simultaneously betrayed / LEFT TO DIE there, but they managed to survive after they spent some time vehemently refusing to help each other in the beginning. though, they soon began to help each other (albeit reluctantly) because they realized that would be the ONLY way that they would survive this. and barton tries to kickstart their bastardization arc™ by telling the hero to kill the people who dumped them there. and this is because, in his mind, they don't deserve to live. then barton goes on to tell them that he's planning on killing the person who betrayed him so it's fineee if the hero does it,, because he ain't a snitch + won't tell anyone they killed anyone (,: now whether or not the hero actually starts their bastardization arc is up to them, of course, but if anyone is interested in a plot like this... HMU because i think this would be such an interesting dynamic to roleplay 👀

[rowayneau]

Magical Girl Alastor(Ally) AU

What if Alastor were a magical girl?

He has his own enchanting transformation with an adorable little dance sequence, reminiscent of 90s anime, and at the end of the sequence, he strikes a charming magical girl pose. He’s wearing a frilly dress with a skirt that’s a little short, and he has a magical radio wand, which is actually his radio cane transformed. Oh, and now he is a girl, and not just any girl, but a teenage girl version of himself! What a nightmare!!

There are two routes that this AU can take:

Route One (Light AU):

So, the first one is the typical magical girl path. Alastor finds himself cursed to turn into a magical girl to defeat evil and sort out some conflicts. Normally, Alastor would be adamant about not doing any of this, but because the transformation into a magical girl is forced, and he remains in this state until the task or conflict is resolved. It makes sense that he wouldn't want to be stuck in a teenage girl's body, feeling like he has no say in the matter. This route is packed with all the classic magical girl elements, tackling challenges through friendship and a cheerful outlook on life.

Interestingly, when in magical girl mode, Alastor gains holy powers and sports angel-like wings. This paints an even clearer picture of a truly good magical girl lending a hand to the citizens of Hell. She utterly kicks butt on those evil Overlords, cleansing them with holy light while talking about friendship and redemption. Alastor just is unable to control himself when he starts rambling on about all this crazy stuff, and honestly, he wishes he could just rip his own mouth out while he's at it.

He eventually earned the title of Magical Girl Ally, the magical angel of Hell.

He’s truly planning to do his best to keep both identities apart and ensure that no one discovers that the Radio Demon and Magical Girl Ally are actually the same person; he would be ruined if anyone found out. Even though he and his magical girl self look similar, he was able to pull off the idea that Magical Girl Ally is actually a descendant and blood relative of his family.

He’s not sure why this is happening to him. What did he do that was so wrong that he deserved this? He's constantly searching for a way to lift the curse that's been put on him. That's why he's at Charlie's Hotel. Maybe the Princess might be strong enough or have what it takes to set him free? Charlie is super excited because, even though the Radio Demon is the one lending a hand, his relative is Magical Girl Ally. Charlie holds her in high regard and harbors aspirations of collaborating with her in the future to aid in the redemption of sinners, particularly given that Magical Girl Ally appears fully committed to this idea.

Alastor has mixed feelings about this. But Vaggie is really torn about Magical Girl Ally. She's an angel in hell, kind of like her, but not an exorcist, and she's out there helping sinners. Charlie really admires the Magical Girl, and while that makes her a bit jealous, it also leaves her feeling pretty confused. How is it possible for an angel, like her, to be in Hell?

Route Two(Dark AU):

This route follows the dark magical girl theme. Somewhat like Puella Magi Madoka Magica. In this world, magical girls who end up in hell need to absorb negative energy to stay alive. This is their punishment. When magical girls abuse their powers when they are alive, they are banished to hell after death. No Magical Girl Goddess around to lend a hand. In Hell, there is an abundance of negative energy, and these magical girls are free to go wild here.

However, more and more magical girls are falling into Hell, and they are becoming more aggressive. They absorb negative energy faster than Hell can release it, causing many territorial disputes in the saturated areas. It's every girl for herself, and they're killing each other to prove it. There are even some girls that band together to establish factions in order to survive and share the negative energy to avoid dying.

Worse still is that some of these magical girls still kept a bit of their “light power,” and if they got strong enough, they could actually kill sinners for good. Luckily, these kinds of girls are very rare and don’t often show up, as they know if they are found out, sinners will kill them first before they kill them. They also appoint a Magical Girl Overlord to keep these girls under control and ensure that Pride maintains some sort of order.

In this AU, exterminations work a little differently. These magical girls keep soaking up negative energy, which ends up making the denizens of Hell stagnant instead of boosting their power. Other sinners can still get stronger with soul deals, but not from the environment since there's no negative energy around for them to absorb and boost them. Not in the Pride Ring, at least. As a result, the exorcists here try to ignore the magical girl sinners and focus on everyone else because, with so many people, soul deals can still make someone a little too powerful. This leads to more stigma against the magical girls, and now there are even more people wanting to kill them.

Alastor is a former magical girl who chose to become a man after reaching adulthood. He is still the Radio Demon, but he is also Ally, the Magical Girl's Overlord. He does have the magical girl's punishment of needing negative energy to survive, but he hides this fact from everyone. To the public eye, he is the Radio Demon, who is a close relative to Magical Girl Ally, the Magical Girl Overlord. He plays these two personas to have more control and power for himself.

He also keeps an eye on the magical girls, as he is one himself and has a soft spot for them. Most of the girls under his care are still pretty young. When they were alive, they abused their magical girl powers as a result of past hurts and threats from the outside world. They have no choice but to use their abilities to protect themselves. The majority of them are victims in most scenarios.

This is why he is working with Charlie at her hotel. He does not believe in redemption, but he does believe in a chance to get better. He hopes to use the hotel as a safe haven for these abused girls, under the princess's protection. Surely a naive girl with a bleeding heart will want to find a way to help all these young girls…

[somatheking]

Your game is indeed interesting. I like the way you divided each criteria for a game clear or game over, especially that last part with the voting, as it forces the players to actually collaborate in order to stay alive, since choosing the right antidote for yourself doesn't mean an instant game clear. Here's how I would go about it: gather everyone to work as a team and for each doctor option, we can make teams of two people. Each team will then interrogate their assigned doctor to gain the information they have about the poison. Having two people go at one doctor is useful in this sense because if one forgets a detail, then maybe the other doesn't and information is key in this game (also, it's important that we don't allow for people to fall prey to manipulation, so each player must prevent their partner from being too trusting). We'd then compare the results of each team to see what each doctor said and then see what matches and what doesn't between their descriptions and what the symptoms are (since we're talking about poison, the speed at which it affects the body differs from person to person, so there surely might be at least a player who'll start showing symptoms quicker then the rest of us). The best match should be the antidote. From there, it's game clear if we all vote for the same thing.

I like your attempt at my game, Kukki! I do have a few questions, if you don't mind:

1. When will you begin to interrogate the doctors? Will you wait until someone starts showing symptoms? Or until more than one person does? If you choose the former, do you think that's enough information to actually be able to do something with it? And if you choose the latter, what will you do to calm down the people who have started presenting symptoms when you tell them 'even though you're freaking out because you're already affected by the poison, we're going to spend more time doing nothing'.

2. How will you ensure that no one backstabs anyone else? Some players might try to force others into choosing an antidote soon, so they can see how they react to it and start to cross out options.

3. How will you deal with players freaking out? Amongst other things, doctors will try to waste your time as much as possible. We are all prepared to die, so threats won't be as effective as you might think. So what will you do?

4. How will you communicate with the rest of the players? I imagine the twelve of you haven't gone into the game with walkie-talkies.

5. How will you attempt to get information out of the doctors? Will you make up general symptoms or specific ones?

To everyone else: if someone else has thoughts about my game, do feel free to send an ask to discuss them. I also welcome asks about strategies regarding other games! I really like games, they're so fun!

[beebzly]

I’ve been sitting on these head cannons for a while, not really sure why. Some of them are more thought out than others, guess that’s why I haven’t felt ready to publish them, but I don’t think I’ll ever find the time to fine tune them so I’m just going to throw them out here.

These are “scandal” head cannons for if the Gorillaz were real people, except for the first one about 2D, which is just a nice thought imo lol.

Anyway, here they are.

-2D got into producing during the bands hiatus between getting back from his not-so deserted island experience and Humanz. He’s now a very sought after indie music producer. Won an independent Grammy in 2019 for producer of the year. He loves to do it because it gives him a sense of purpose outside of Gorillaz and helping out up and coming music acts is extremely fulfilling to him. He also loves to collaborate outside of Gorillaz. Bands will seek out his unique vocals for back up singing and occasional covers of other songs.

-2D has embarrassing memory lapses brought on my his head trauma and pill abuse that gossip rags always love to print about. He’s been known to be found peeing on the sides of buildings, ragging on and insulting strangers on the streets or crashing other people’s weddings or parties. He often comes to and can’t remember how or why he ended up there.

-Murdoc has had several write ups over the years for being an abusive boyfriend. He keeps luring women and the occasional man around only to get belligerent with them and start loud, over the top fights that draw crowds. The Daily Mail publishes every piece sent in about him, regardless of if it’s true. Occasionally the stories have a leg to stand on but mostly it’s conjecture from “anonymous sources”. In these times, 2D will always stand up for him, prompting the DM to start the rumors that he has Stockholm Syndrome, a rumor that has the power to send 2D into tirades. Occasionally he’ll be so high out of mind that he’ll go off on nonsense tangents about Murdoc and how these people are just after attention cause he’s famous and that the abuse he’s endured was never “that bad” even though there’s interviews and evidence pointing to the opposite.

-Speaking of The Daily Mail, the love to constantly speculate over the status of 2D and Murdoc’s relationship. Over the passed 20or so years, they’ve been the only publication to run actual compromising pictures of them together

-Noodle has a reputation for getting shit faced out at club and god forbid she’s out with Murdoc. They enable each other to drink more and more. Noodle gets Like embarrassingly falling over drunk and saying wild ass shit. Most of the time though she’s caught shouting in Japanese at paps and autograph seekers. It’s gotten so bad in more recent years that Noodle is starting receive bans from a few of the same nightclubs Murdoc already can’t get into.

-Russel had a reputation in the early 2000s for being caught talking to himself. It became a crazy obsession in the media for a few years, who was going to catch Russel staring at walls muttering to himself and also causing a lot of speculation as to the nature of his relationship with Del while he was alive. Occasionally those times would devolve into him looking spun out an homeless especially after Dels exorcism. He would still chatter like he was there but really he’d just gone mad. Took an extended break as a posh recovery center after the events of plastic beach, his captive stay in North Korea triggered his muttering again.

-Russel is a secret hacker, but for Robin Hood do goodings. Likes to hack into databases to wipe people’s debts or give kids lunch money for school. Almost got caught once leaving a campus getting recognized but managed to bribe the student with an autograph.

-Russ has also been caught buying black market, endangered animals for his Frankenstein-taxidermy. Getting deeper into his hobby, he wanted make the ultimate endangered animal. He claims he didn’t see anything wrong with him, since he was technically preserving the animals and they were already dead when he bought them.

-To that point, his room smells awful. Like fermeldahide and death. Also Murdoc likes to take dips of said fermeldahide to make whet joints to take on adventures. Which usually end up in him tripping his balls off.

-Noodle has mpd. She has triggers for her alters that over the years she’s able to keep controlled but in her teens especially she’d get caught out in public claiming to be someone else and dressing the part. Her alters stem from the abuse she endured as a child soldier. It’s a tactic used to make her a better assassin so her main Noodle personality won’t be able to recall the pain and horror she’s inflicted on people.

-Noodle likes to commit petty crimes for fun, and has been caught on camera several timesSometimes Murdoc will join her, but when they do, the crimes usually escalate beyond petty. The most fun they’ve had together is hot wiring random cars and taking them for joy rides. They always try to return them but usually forget where they came from.

-Murdoc still gets the itch to commit arson from time to time and usually finds old abandoned homes or factories to light up. He’s been arrested for a few but there’s never enough evidence to nail him for the crimes, he’s gotten too good at it.

-Murdoc has several off shore bank accounts and shell corporations. They’ve been talked about in the press marginally but no one really knows what they’re for or where he gets all that money or what he needs it for. “And you never will,” he says, no doubt.

[lexosaurus]

Tutoring Phantom Ch 1

Characters: Danny, Dash, Kwan Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship Word Count: 4036 Summary: It was funny. A year ago Dash was all but praying for Fenton to shut up, but now he would do anything to hear him speak.

This is my very belated gift for @kinglazrus! It has ended up becoming a twoshot. Here’s chapter one!

Read on: [ao3] [ffn]

---

The revelation shook Amity Park to its core.

Fenton? Really? That Fenton? 

The scrawny one? 

The kid of those nut-job parents?

The one that got picked on?

I heard he’s a loner. Super quiet. 

It was always the quiet ones…

Isn’t he failing school? Maybe that’s why. Maybe it’s because he’s a ghost. Aren’t ghosts less intelligent than humans?

Teresa told me he ditches class all the time. Probably because of his Obsession.

That’s so creepy.

Fenton was...Phantom. Danny was Phantom. It was simply indisputable. Of course some conspiracy theorists were probably screaming about photoshop and CGI, but when Dash saw the transformation happen on television, there was no other way he could make sense of it.

Fenton was Phantom. 

The Guys in White had figured it out, evidently. According to their spokesperson, they had been analyzing Phantom’s ectoplasm samples left from a ghost fight when they found human DNA infused into the ectoplasm. Scans showed that it belonged to Danny Fenton.

When the GiW collected more samples from various ghost fights, all the results were the same. 

Fenton was Phantom.

So they developed a gun. And when Phantom was distracted with a ghost fight they denied planting (but they must have, there was no possible way they could have captured him otherwise), they hit him with it.

And he transformed right there in front of everyone. 

Fenton was Phantom.

And Dash had spent years ruining his life.

Dash collapsed on his couch, his glassy eyes fixated on the still image of Fenton’s horrified face. His hair was wild, his eyes even more so. In the background, he was surrounded by men in white suits, all armed to the teeth with guns. Above him, helicopters soared. 

Fenton was trapped.

There was no way out of it.

Dash had spent the better part of his life bullying the boy who would become his hero, and now he would never be able to apologize.

---

Well, maybe Dash spoke too soon.

By some miracle, Fenton was released from the government’s clutches. 

Eventually. 

Dash didn’t understand the science behind it, but apparently Fenton wasn’t dead. He was...almost dead? But not quite. He was just alive enough to have a pulse, just alive enough to have a heartbeat, just alive enough to be considered human in the eyes of the law.

Dash didn’t want to acknowledge just how relieved he was at this revelation. And if he were a good person, his relief would have come from the part where that meant his classmate was actually alive.

But he wasn’t a good person. What good person spends their downtime picking on the weak kids at school? What good person takes out their aggression on those who don’t fight back?

Dash wasn’t kind, he wasn’t nice, he wasn’t selfless. And that’s why he was relieved.

Because all of his relief came from the fact that if Fenton was alive, then Dash didn’t have to live with the guilt that he’d tormented a dead person. He didn’t have to lie awake at night wondering if he was the one to push Fenton past his breaking point, if he were responsible for Fenton’s death.

Because Fenton wasn’t dead. So what if he was almost dead? So what if he probably did die—if only for a moment—before his body was kickstarted back to life? Fenton wasn’t dead, so Dash didn’t have to think about it.

Dash could get away with it all scot free.

Just like always.

---

Fenton was allowed to come to school.

If Dash were honest, he was surprised by this. He didn’t think the PTA would have caved to the students, who had demanded that Fenton be allowed to return to school. But apparently they relented.

Under certain conditions.

Conditions which the government was more than happy to collaborate with.

It was Fenton’s first day back, and yet he didn’t look all there. He was pale, sickly, his hair too long and voice nonexistent.

But his eyes, those scared Dash the most.

His eyes were dead. 

It was as if someone had taken all the light that was Danny and replaced it with a puppet. There was nothing in there. Nothing inside of his skin. It was...dead.

What did they do to him?

The teachers didn’t try to make him engage with their lessons. They only looked at Danny with pity in their eyes when they would walk by. And Danny wouldn’t acknowledge them because he was just empty. 

Dash wanted to approach him. Talk to him. He had a whole speech prepared, and he knew Kwan did too. But the speech had all but died on his lips when he saw Fenton that morning. He knew—he knew—that nothing was going to get through to him.

Fenton was Phantom, but Fenton wasn’t even there.

And in his place was nothing but bones wrapped in skin held together by metal contraptions on his wrists, ankles, and neck.

Dash shivered. The one on his neck was blinking. It was a warning, Dash realized. A warning that Danny was dangerous. He was inhuman. He was Phantom. 

The students avoided him. Even the ones who had advocated for his safe return. Dash didn’t blame them, either. No one could have predicted that this would be coming back to their class.

Even so, Manson and Foley stuck by him. Dash watched them guide him to each class, carrying his books and trying their best to include him in the conversation. Sometimes he would even lock eyes with them, sometimes his lips would twitch upward and his eyes would brighten as if he were following along with Manson and Foley’s antics. 

Those moments were rare though. Fleeting.

Because in the end, the modicum of emotion would always vaporize from Fenton’s face and they’d be left with the blank, faraway glazed expression that he always seemed to wear now. The duo would be left talking between themselves, and Dash was left looking at them from the sidelines waiting for Fenton to open his mouth and just respond.

Gone were the days of the snarky comments and muttered undertones. Gone were Fenton’s stupid comments that Dash spent years beating him up over. 

It was funny. A year ago Dash was all but praying for Fenton to shut up, but now he would do anything to hear him speak.

No one knew what happened to Fenton during his stay with the government. No one knew what they did to him. Because, as far as Dash knew, Fenton hadn’t said a word since he returned home. Dash wasn’t sure if it was because Danny couldn’t respond, or if he just wouldn’t. 

He didn’t know which one was worse.

---

It had been one month since Fenton returned to school. Anyone with a pair of eyes could see that he wasn’t doing well.

He drifted from class to class like he was in a dream, often not even bothering to put his notebook on his desk as he sat in each class staring at the wall with the same dead expression.

Fenton didn’t take his tests or quizzes with the class anymore. He was in the same math class as Dash and only lasted one exam before Mr. Falluca started proctoring his exams separately. Rumor had it they were trying to get him extra help, but the PTA didn’t want him integrated with Casper High’s most vulnerable students.

Dash thought that was a load of crap, personally. Dash had a few teammates who got extra help from the school’s learning center and they could handle themselves just fine.

Regardless, at this rate, Fenton was going to fail out of school.

Which was why it was of no surprise to Dash when he and Kwan were called down to Mr. Lancer’s office one day with a request to tutor Fenton.

“I know this is a lot of responsibility, and I know you haven’t always seen ways with Mr. Fenton in the past,” Mr. Lancer said, his fingers steepled in front of his chin. “But I can’t ask just anyone to do this. You two are leaders in your class, and you have some high marks to boot. Mr. Lee, you have consistently scored in the top ten percent of the class in your English and history courses, and Mr. Baxter, this past year you’ve done remarkably well in your math course.”

Dash had been regarded as many different things. Athletic, social, hotheaded, cocky, brave—but never smart. He was always known as the high school jock stereotype, he never did well in school.

But Mr. Lancer always knew he was more than just a stereotype, and when he called Dash and his parents after school one day with the recommendation that Dash get tested for ADD, suddenly everything clicked. 

It was amazing how a small pill each morning could turn Dash from a C student to a rising A student in the matter of a few months.

“And because I know how much I’m asking of you two, I have spoken to your teachers and they are willing to give you extra credit on your final exams as compensation.”

Dash cleared his throat. “Mr, Lancer,” he started, his voice scratchy. “With all due respect, why have us tutor him? Why not have the teachers do it?”

“I have been working with Mr. Fenton, and I’ll continue to through the school year. But he needs that peer to peer connection, he needs the support of those around him. I’m sure you’ve noticed the shift in your class, the growing uneasiness of those around you?”

Dash nodded. He would have had to have been blind to not see how everyone seemed to skirt around Fenton in the hallways, how nobody except Manson and Foley said so much as a “hello” to him.

“I understand,” said Dash. 

“The...ghost inhibitor thing isn’t helping, either,” Kwan added. “I’ve never seen that kind of technology used on any ghost. And you have to admit, Danny’s been acting really strange lately. Like he’s not even here. Mr. Lancer, if you don’t mind me asking, is it...are they…?”

The unsaid question hung in the air, and Mr. Lancer’s eyes darkened. “There’s only so much I’m allowed to say on this matter. But I would say your suspicions about the devices are likely to be true. Although, it’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly how much they’re affecting Mr. Fenton. He’s been through a lot.”

Dash felt lightheaded. So the rumors about the devices were true. At least, somewhat true.

If there was one thing both Fenton and Phantom were, it was resilient. Sure, the Guys in White could knock him down, but to change him this much? To give him so much baggage he couldn’t even speak?

It screamed foul play.

“That’s terrible,” Kwan said. “It’s sick knowing that they’d do that to him.”

“Indeed. Which is why I’m asking you both to step up as leaders of your class and help your fellow peer through this difficult time. If we can help Mr. Fenton become more integrated with his classmates, we may have a case to allow him to remove the inhibitors and get him real help.”

Dash could feel Kwan’s eyes on him, and he knew why. Dash and Fenton had history, and that made this complicated. There was so much unfinished business between the two. 

Was Dash ready to take this step? Was he really ready to be the selfless, altruistic hero like Phantom instead of the bully he had always been?

“Again, I know the school is asking so much of you both, and I am willing to personally help if need be. If, for whatever reason, you feel as though you can’t do it, there will be no judgement from me or any of your other teachers. This is entirely up to you.”

If Dash said no, Kwan would follow. If Dash wasn’t ready, Kwan wouldn’t force him into that position. It was exactly why Dash and Kwan were such good friends: Dash got his way, and he always knew Kwan would have his back.

But that wasn’t healthy. And it didn’t lead to good outcomes in the long term.

Now was the time for Dash to take that step. 

He needed to be the leader instead of the coward he always was.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll do it.”

---

If Fenton was confused as to why his two former childhood bullies were now his after school homework buddies all of the sudden, he didn’t say it.

In fact, he didn’t say anything at all.

But Dash knew this would happen going into it. He knew it would be difficult to tell if Fenton’s head was in the clouds or if he was truly in the present. And he knew Fenton would just go along with whatever they threw at him anyway.

Because he was Fenton. He could never let Dash have the last metaphorical word, even if he was being suppressed by the physical manifestation of the United States government on his wrist, ankles, and neck.

He was annoying like that.

“See, this is what goes into the equation. F of x has its own definition, and g of x has its own definition. So in this problem we’re just replacing f of x and g of x with what’s written here. You see?” Dash asked, circling the functions and drawing arrows with his multicolored pens.

Fenton just stared down at his paper.

“Here, we can do it together,” Dash said. He took Fenton’s paper and wrote out the equation, going through the problem step by step with his neatest handwriting. Following Kwan’s lead from earlier, he talked through every minute detail about the equation, pausing in between lines to allow the information to sink in, and to give Fenton the opportunity to interrupt if he was lost.

Even though it was obvious that Fenton wasn’t going to interrupt.

And he didn’t. He sat there, staring dully at the paper like he was watching cement dry. And at the end, once Dash put his pencil down, Fenton just ran his finger across the problem, his brow furrowed like he couldn’t figure out how Dash’s writing had ended up on his paper.

And maybe he truly couldn’t figure it out. Maybe he didn’t understand what was happening. Maybe he had no idea that Dash was tutoring him.

Dash wasn’t a mind reader. He didn’t know what was going on in Fenton’s head.

“That makes sense, Dash!” Kwan supplied from across them, his voice bright and cheery. 

Even though they were technically just tutoring Fenton, framing the group as a small, informal study group seemed more appropriate in Dash’s eyes. 

“I think I understand this a little better now. What do you think, Danny?”

Fenton blinked slowly, his head raising to face Kwan.

“Do you think you get the first problem?” Dash asked.

Fenton’s gaze flickered over to Dash, and the confused expression on his face deepened. He cocked his head slightly, as if he was just seeing Dash for the first time.

A beat of silence stretched around the table, and Dash held his breath, waiting for something to happen. But after a moment too long, Fenton just turned his attention back to the paper, staring at it motionless.

Dash couldn’t help but send a quick ‘help’ glance over at Kwan. He had never tutored anyone in his life, much less a teen who was seemingly incapable of responding. 

Maybe...maybe this was a mistake. Maybe he was wrong to think he could do this.

But fortunately, before he could get too deep in his own insecurities, Kwan came to the rescue. “Dash, can we do one more together before trying a problem on our own? Number two looks a little different than number one, and I don’t really understand how to set up the equation!”

Dash sent a mental thank you Kwan’s way before plucking a purple pen off the table. “Sure!” He turned to Danny’s paper. “Okay, this is f of x. Looking at the equation, we know that it goes here. And this—” He swapped to a green pen “—is g of x. Where do you think this one goes?”

He sat patiently, as if he were waiting for Fenton to respond.

But Dash knew that he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He was wasting his time with this pause, even if he was only doing it to be polite.

Truth be told, he didn’t even think Fenton was listening to him. Fenton probably was incapable of that. Hell, he probably didn’t even remember where he was or how he got here.

But, just as Dash was about to go ahead and answer his own question for Fenton, the small teen shifted beside him. Dash’s eyes snapped onto Fenton, watching as the boy lifted his arm off his lap and pointed to the paper.

Dash’s eyes trailed down to the worksheet, down to Fenton’s hand, and froze. 

Fenton was pointing to the correct part of the equation.

He had been listening to Dash. He, somehow, was able to understand Dash.

Dash looked over to Kwan, who too was resembling a fish with his open mouth stare at the duo. His eyes met Dash’s, and a smile overtook his expression. He shot Dash a thumbs up, a clear encouragement to continue on.

“Yeah,” Dash breathed, turning his attention back to Fenton. “Yeah, that’s it.”

Fenton’s hand dropped back to his lap.

“Good, now let’s solve this together.”

---

As the days turned to weeks, slowly tutoring Fenton got a little easier. Though it was still impossible for Dash and Kwan to know just how much Fenton was absorbing with their sessions, they were starting to be able to decipher small behavioral quirks in Fenton’s body language to help guide them through the haze.

An eyebrow twitch here, a tiny jerk of his pupils there. His movements were small, but telling. And when he was truly spaced out, when their questions would yield not even the faintest twitch from him, a gentle tap on his arm seemed to pull him back to reality.

Tutoring Fenton could be difficult—some days it felt like nothing they said was committing to his fleeting memory—but it wasn’t impossible. Because under that dense fog clouding his mind was still the annoying, snarky teen they had grown up with.

And some days, they could still see glimpses of that snarky teen in him.

“Yeah so the coach is having us an extra gym routine tomorrow,” Dash said, closing his notebook and leaning back in his chair. “So I’ll probably be a half hour late picking you up. Sound good?”

Fenton didn’t respond.

Not that Dash was expecting him to.

“I hear we’re gonna have a wall-sit contest,” Kwan said. “Dale crushed us all last time, but I’ll have my revenge this time around!”

Fenton’s eyes flickered up to Dash. He tapped his thigh, the corner of his lips twitching up.

“What?”

Fenton paused, seemingly mulling something over, before loosely pointing to Dash’s legs with a subtle smirk.

Dash sat up, realization dawning on him. “Are you…are you calling my legs weak?”

Judging by the ghost of an impish grin on Fenton’s features, Dash was right.

“Really? You too?”

Fenton grinned and tapped his legs again.

“Oh, like you’re one to talk!” Dash crossed his arms. “I could kick your scrawny ass to next year if I wanted to!”

Fenton raised his brows ever so slightly.

“What, you think just because you’re Phantom that means you’re stronger than me?” Dash jammed his thumb to his chest. “Don’t forget who your gym buddy was Freshman year! Once those inhibitors come off, it’s you and me at the gym! I’d like to see you try to keep up with me, Fenton!”

Dash heard a snort from the other side of the table. His head whipped around to see Kwan with his hands cupping his mouth.

“What are you laughing at?”

With that, Kwan bursted out laughing and leaned back in his chair. “Dude!” He exclaimed, seemingly catching a breath. “You really think you can bench more than Phantom? Oh my god—I can’t breathe—that’s the funniest fucking thing!”

“Hey, have my back here!” Dash snapped. He glanced over to Danny, whose face had broken out into a full grin. “Yeah, laugh it up why don’t you!”

Danny just tapped his legs as a response.

Kwan roared in laughter and all but fell off of his chair.

“Oh, shut up!”

---

“We want in,” a voice said from above him.

Dash stuffed his notebook into his backpack, not even bothering to glance up at the speaker. “What are you talking about?”

“We know you’ve been doing homework with Danny after school, and we want to join.”

Dash sighed and threw his bag over his shoulder. He stood, facing Manson in all her glory. Though her outfit didn’t scream quite as goth as it had when they were Freshmen, she still had the same self-righteous stance that had always irritated Dash.

“Okay?” Dash responded. “And who is ‘we’?”

“Tucker and I. You know, Danny’s best friends? Have been since elementary school? The two people who have actually been there for him this whole time? Ring a bell?”

Dash rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’m leaving. Study with him on your own time.”

He turned to walk away, but she grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “Wait. Sorry, just—” She paused, dropping her arm back to her side, and Dash watched as a myriad of emotions flickered through her expression. Her gaze dropped to the floor, and cracks of insecurity seeped through her features. “Sorry. Let me start over.”

He straightened back up. “I’m listening.”

She took a deep breath. When she started, her voice was quiet but steady. “I get why Lancer asked you and Kwan to work with him. I do, I get it. But Tucker and I are his best friends. And you know how he is right now. Those devices are...they’re messing with his head. I know they are.” Her gaze flickered up at Dash, and she looked scared. “It hurts seeing him like this, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Dash said. “But I don’t see what this has to do with our study sessions.”

“He just seems happier now since he started. He seems better.”

Dash blinked. Whatever he was expecting her to say, that definitely wasn’t it.

Manson hugged herself, her shoulders hunching. She looked...small. Fragile. As if the slightest breeze would topple her over. 

This wasn’t like her.

“Whatever you guys have been doing, it’s working. He’s getting better. I don’t know, he just seems more present now. And...it hurts that I haven’t been there during this. You know, it’s been months since I’ve heard his voice. Not since before he got captured, since before those evil devices were forced on him. I know they’re preparing for a court case to get them removed, and I know there’s a chance he’ll get better again, but I just…”

“You miss him,” Dash said, surprising himself. 

“Yeah. I do.”

Dash sighed. “I don’t know how I can help with this.”

“Just give us a chance? Please. Just let us tag along, even if it’s only for a few days a week. We won’t interfere with the tutoring, we just want to be there.”

He stared at her silently, studying her face under her bangs. 

The past year had been hard on her, that much was obvious. And Dash, as unobservant and bullheaded as he was, could see the dark circles under her eyes, her blotchy skin, her chapped lips.

The way she stood there before him, a person who she would never have been caught dead being friendly with, defeated and all but begging for help.

Dash wasn’t selfless. He wasn’t altruistic.

He was just a dumb jock.

But in that moment, as he scrutinized the way her hands fidgeted and her lower lip wobbled, he couldn’t help but feel her sadness, her regret.

It was painful to watch.

“Okay.” He turned away. “We meet at Kwan’s at four. I’ll see you both there.”

---

chapter two> 

[evanpeterssource]

Evan Peters and Billie Lourd Discuss the Art of Dying Onscreen

BILLIE LOURD: Let me set the scene for you: I’m sitting outside my house in my never-washed car, because that’s the only silent place in my home, and it’s not even in my home. I have a wireless breast pump with me, so if you hear a weird sound, that’s what that is.

PETERS: I’m in my bedroom, currently in my PJs. I worked a night shoot last night and am doing a night shoot again tonight. So, I’m drinking coffee and trying to wake up and get back into it.\

LOURD: I know how that goes. My hands are on my temples for you. Okay, Ev, I’m fucking obsessed with Mare of Easttown. I do not watch any shows because if I ever have free time, it’s usually spent napping or just lying in a silent room. But I failed all my nap times with watching this show. You’re a fucking genius.

PETERS: Thanks Billie. I appreciate it.

LOURD: Tell me the story of how it all came to be.

PETERS: They sent me the script and it said that Kate Winslet was going to be the lead, and that it was an HBO crime drama. So I was like, dude, I’ve got to really work on this one. I did the self-tape thing, so it was super awkward and weird.

LOURD: It was a self-tape? Wow.

PETERS: Yeah, I sent that in, and then the director and writer and showrunner were like, “You want to have some lunch?” And I was like, “They’re going to tell me to redo the tape, I know it.” And then they offered me the part, thankfully.

LOURD: That’s when you know you’re a really good actor, is when you get a part off a self-tape. I’ve never done that.

PETERS: Oh come on, you’re a great actress. You can do that single-tear thing.

LOURD: I do have a single-tear thing!

PETERS: That’s incredibly hard to do.

LOURD: Only when there’s a promise of bratwurst at Krafty’s will I do a single tear. What was the scene that you had to tape?

PETERS: The earlier scenes, where I’m coming in and meeting Mare and she just does not want me there at all.

LOURD: I was going to say, if you had to do that drunk scene, or the breakdown scene, that would be a nightmare. Did you know you were going to die? How did that make you feel? I’m a therapist now.

PETERS: It was a little stressful trying to navigate that. You had a finite amount of time to cram in all this stuff. Because you knew how it was going to go, and you wanted it to have an interesting arc, but… poor Zabes.

LOURD: Dude, it was fucking devastating. Zabel is so sweet, and you’re like, “No, he was on such a fucking upswing!” You’ve gotten shot in the head a couple of times now, which is pretty rare for an actor.

PETERS: Yeah, he’s got to work on that quick draw. But it was a cool scene to shoot. We kind of stretched out time and it was like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, where it was a stare-down, and you’re like, “God, this feels like a really long time to be staring at people.” But Craig, the director, was like, “We’ll edit it. It’ll look good.” And nowadays, everything’s CGI, so back in the day they probably would have used blanks to help with that, but it was just a click. Or the other actor going, “Bang!” and all of a sudden you would have to get shot in the head. And you’re like, “What are we, 12, playing with guns?” It was such an awesome set that they built. They found this property that was like an abandoned bar, with a house on the back. And then set dressing came in and made it that amazing, creepy, disheveled, messed-up house that it was. So it was really cool to be in there and feel like, “Oh my God, we got the guy.”

LOURD: It’s amazing to watch you piece it together and look at each other and hear the pipe banging. It’s so suspenseful. We’ve got to talk about Kate. Can I call her Kate? Should I call her Kate Winslet? She’s so fucking magical. What was that like working with her.

PETERS: I was pretty terrified and nervous and stressed out before meeting her. I’m such a huge fan, and she’s one of the best actresses of all time. But she was so warm and down-to-earth and immediately disarming. What’s really cool is that she’s very collaborative. I thought she was going to be like, “Nope, I’m right. You’re all wrong.” You know, because she’s brilliant. But she was very open to new ideas and exploring things. I found that really reassuring, and surprising, since she’s set at such a high caliber.

LOURD: That’s so cool to hear. I feel like every actor’s dream is to get to work with her. Did you stay in your accents all the time? I always wonder that when people do accents.

PETERS: I was in it the whole time. I’m not good enough of an actor to be able to pop in and out of it. Somebody on set said there are different levels. There’s the learning it, there’s the “I have to stay in it,” and then there’s, “I’m so good that I can pop in and out of it.” Kate was that. She was incredibly English throughout the whole thing. Like [in British accent], “Oh, hi, Zabes. How are you doing babes? You good? Everything good? Okay, great.” And then she’d be like [in Philadelphia accent], “Let’s go get a hoagie. Let’s go down to the shore and check out the store.” I was just like, oh my god. How do you do that?

LOURD: That is so trippy. I don’t think I could do that.

PETERS: No, I could not do that. She’s really impressive that way.

LOURD: What was your favorite scene to do with Kate? I have to stop calling her that. Lady Winslet?

PETERS: There were so many. The bar scene was pretty awesome because it was so improvised.

LOURD: Oh, really?

PETERS: Yeah, it was just kind of fun to be at a bar with Lady Winslet.

LOURD: That’s my dream.

PETERS: But there was another scene that I really liked too: When I first got in the car, and I’m like, “Hey, are we carpooling?” And she’s like, “Ugh, this fucking guy.” And then I get in the car and she slams on the gas and I almost smoke my head. I thought that was really fun because it was one of the earlier scenes that we shot, and it set the tone for how much Mare was annoyed at Zabel being there.

LOURD: How did you do the bar scene? Are you allowed to get drunk?

PETERS: No, you can’t get drunk unfortunately. But I would say I’ve done a ton of research over the years. You know, at a couple of your birthday parties.

LOURD: Would you rather do a death scene or a killing scene?

PETERS: Oh, that’s a hard question. It really depends on how you’re killing or dying. Dying is such a challenge, as an actor.

LOURD: I don’t like dying.

PETERS: It’s so hard. It’s like, how do you do it? And does this look believable? Can they see me breathing? It really depends on how you’re getting killed as well. There’s so many questions and so many ifs.

LOURD: Killing me in American Horror Story was such a laugh. I hope they put in parentheses, “She said sarcastically.”

PETERS: Yeah, that was a pretty horrific day.

LOURD: That was a rough one. I’ve watched it back and I can definitely see myself breathing. And the eyes are so hard, like to actually keep your eyes open. I feel like I’ve made the decision to close my eyes. Do you do open-eye or closed-eye deaths?

PETERS: I like to do a little halfsies—a little open, a little closed.

LOURD: I like it. Split the difference. Have you been on the streets since Zabel died? Do people come up and hug you and thank god that you’re actually alive?

PETERS: No. I’ve gotten some text messages that were like, “Sorry, man. You’ve got to work on that quick-draw.” I’m super stoked that people like the show.

LOURD: It’s one of those shows that’s now part of the zeitgeist. Even my baby loves it. How long did it take to shoot?

PETERS: Gosh, we started in October 2019, and then I was supposed to be done at the beginning of March 2020. I had about two or three weeks left. Then the pandemic hit and they punted it to September. I was like, “Oh man, I’ve got to keep learning this accent for six months.”

LOURD: And not eat all the double doubles in sight. You had to keep that accent and keep that bod.

PETERS: Yeah, it was a challenge.

LOURD: What do you think would have happened with Mare and Zabel if Zabel didn’t die? It’s a real thinker.

PETERS: Ooh, that is a real thinker. I think they would have gone on a few more dates and then Mare probably would’ve realized that Zabel’s not the one. Zabel would have been devastated again.

LOURD: I think they could have had a shotgun wedding in Vegas and lived happily ever after. It could have been great.

PETERS: I like that for Zabel. That sounds good.

LOURD: Do you think you would have moved to Easttown or would he have gone back?

PETERS: I think he definitely would have had to move out of his mom’s place. For sure that would have been step number one.

LOURD: Were you sad when he died or did you think that this was the perfect ending for him?

PETERS: I thought it was an interesting ending to the character. He kind of came in, and then it was so shocking, but that’s the way death is in real life. You’re never really expecting it, and then it happens.

LOURD: It’s amazing you got to know the whole arc of the character before you played him.

PETERS: Yeah, it’s rare to get all the episodes beforehand. You make a choice in episode two and then you get to episode seven and you’re like, “Oh wait, that was totally wrong, what I did in episode two… Can we go back and reshoot that?” And they’re like, “No.”

LOURD: Did knowing the ending affect how you played him? He was so lovable anyway, but did knowing he was going to die make you play him even more lovably, if that’s a word?

PETERS: Yeah, that did play into it. There was talk about making him a little bit more arrogant and cocky. But I thought, when he dies, it’d be more tragic if he wasn’t that. So we tried to make him a little bit bumbling and not as good of a detective and really trying. We wanted it to be as shocking and sad as we could.

LOURD: Did you do any actor-y stuff? Like, a cologne you wore? Or did you wear a special hat?

PETERS: That’s so funny. I wish I wore a special hat to work every day , like an old-school 1940s detective hat. I did always have my coffee mug. There was a little bit of a Zabel-mug thing going on. And there were rituals. I would write in the mornings and try to get into it, stuff like that. But god, I wish I wore a hat.

LOURD: We should incorporate that into our future careers, to make sure we have a hat for every role we play. And then you could have a case at your house of all the hats you wore.

PETERS: That’s so goddamn funny.

LOURD: People are going to be like, “Billie Lourd is a psychopath.”

PETERS: Oh, you know what I did do? I wore a cross. You can’t see it, but when he died, I wanted you to see the cross on his neck. He’s got this weird thing with religion where he was raised religious, but then being in the line of work that he’s in and seeing all this death and awfulness, you start to question that. And then his mom is very religious. So I wanted him to be, underneath it all, a little bit religious and hopeful and needing the protection of god when he went out into the field.

LOURD: That’s way better than a hat.

[jostepherjoestar]

Imagine if over time everyone notices Trisha’s twin seems to getting more distant and focused on the goal. When they ask her what’s wrong she avoids the question but what everyone doesn’t know is that for everyone to get out alive either her or her sister has to die and she decided that she would protect trish like her sister has down for her over the years

Una Gemella (fic 1,5k)

Decided to name Trish’s twin Claudia after Claudia Schiffer, the famous 90′s model since Trish is also named after one. I hope you can enjoy this, it’s pretty sad and basically a totally different ending to part 5. Whoo boy.

part 1 and part 2 of the ask

Content warning: wounds, death

Under their capo’s watchful gazes, the merry band of gangsters actually worked together for their common goal: to take down Diavolo. With their combined strengths they’d figured out much more information, a lot faster. But with their collaboration also came the discovery that two of his own divisions were working against him, Diavolo went into quite a fit of rage, especially knowing that his two daughters had developed stands. His hatred only grew stronger and his lust to rid the planet of anyone who knew his history only further developed.

In some miraculous way no-one had lost their lives, of course there were less battles to be fought, having to no longer see the assassins as their enemies and vice versa. Diavolo had sent his Unità Speciale onto the large team with a few extra recently added members so he’d be sure of the traitor’s demises. Of course they all knew that Doppio was in fact protecting and housing part of their enemy, thanks to Claudia’s recently acquired stand.

Knowing how large the threat was, Diavolo decided to unleash all hell in Rome on the combined teams arrival. Night had fallen and all seemed normal, tourists were loudly enjoying their dinners, lovers enjoyed their romantic walks past the centuries old monuments, families put their children to bed. That calm was disrupted by the many stand attacks that would mark the city for years to come. The teams had decided to split up so they’d all have enemies to fight at the same time, urging for the safest way to ensure a quick end to the chaos.

On their way to the Colosseum to meet Polnareff about the arrow, Claudia seemed even more focused, there was barely any trace left of the shivering, crying girl from a few days ago. She’d hardened quickly, perhaps too quickly. Her more stern sister even being surprised to see her twin this way. Risotto, Giorno, Bruno, Trish and Claudia had formed their team and quickly met with the Frenchmen. Claudia offering short and stern answers, she’d already seen what would happen and there was no time to waste. Her father was lurking in this very spot. She knew she had no choice, there was no future in which they all could survive if she and Trish both lived. One of them had to go, she was sure of her resolve, Claudia was dying tonight.

Claudia had ignored or brushed off her companions concerns until Risotto cornered her. He knew there was something going on and he was sure to find out. “Tell me what’s going on. We are a team, you need to talk to us.” he said in a stern but concern filled voice. Before she would have been afraid to look the capo right into his crimson eyes but now she took it head on. “I have to die. There is no other way. Your men will suffer, Bucciarati’s will too if nothing is done.” the strength in her voice trembling as she felt tears pushing to release. She held them back with all her might but her trembling hand betrayed her true feelings. Risotto understood. He had put his trust in her since she first called the meeting, admiring her bravery for such a youngster.

The tall silver haired man sighed deeply, he didn’t even hide the pain behind his eyes. He was going to miss this one. He knew she wouldn’t change her mind, she was going to make the ultimate sacrifice. He didn’t ask how or when, he knew enough to deduct that it was soon. He didn’t want to make peace with her decision but he knew he had too. She could feel Diavolo getting closer, Trish could too. The two capo’s strategising inside the old rings of the crumbling monument but it was too late for that, the pink haired villain had already made his entrance, no longer using Doppio to protect himself.

It was time. The attacks were brutal but their team had the advantage of knowing his powers, even though it didn’t help much. The rage behind his hits were felt, Bruno and Giorno had taken quite the beating already. Diavolo’s plan was to work his way down to his “beautiful daughters” as he so lovingly said. Risotto stayed close to Claudia, somewhere hoping that it didn’t need to end the way it was going to. The solemn nod the youth gave to him made him aware the moment was nearing. Bruno had been incapacitated, Giorno by his side to protect him from any more harm for the moment. The blond looked not that much better off than his capo, his stand could only do so much.

Claudia was alert, knowing the direction her father would strike from, sure to protect her sister who’d taken place beside her. “I want you to finish him Trish, no mercy. I know you can. Do it for us, Risotto will help.” she told her sister, voice beginning to shake, avoiding her sisters confused gaze. She would only tear up at the sight of her. “Claudia what are you talking about? We’ll do it together. Ok?” Trish’s confusion distracting her from the incoming attack. It nearly hit her but not before her sister pushed her aside to accept the blow. Giant pieces of stone rubble had been hurled at them, smaller rocks hitting Trish and Risotto, a plume of dust camouflaging Claudia’s body from view. A pang of fear struck them as they saw her crushed beneath the large stone, barely breathing. Diavolo was still hiding behind pillars to avoid counter attacks, awaiting to see the result of his.

“Claudia! No!” Trish couldn’t hold herself back and rushed to her sister, tears already falling down her flushed cheeks, Risotto following suit. The pink haired sisters holding onto each others hands, Trish pleading for her to stay awake. “Giorno please help her! You have to, please!” she begged her teammate who’d gotten up to fight again. Risotto placed his hand on her shoulder. “It’s no use. It had to be this way. I’m... sorry.” he sternly said. But the sight before him tore at his heart, it shouldn’t have to end this way. “She’s not dead yet you fucking idiot. Giorno get over here!” Trish spitting her orders as her tears wet the ground beneath her. Claudia still faintly breathing, eyes fluttering. “You have to do it Trish... Do it for us. Kill that bastard... It had to be.” she could barely talk, shallow breaths sputtering her through her sentence. Her hand feeling numb from her sisters squeeze, like the pressure would somehow save her from her fate. “We have to keep fighting Trish, I’m sorry.” Giorno said with a solemn tone, knowing not even his healing powers could save her.

Risotto stayed by Claudia’s side, the tear stained sister focusing her anger on her father, not ready to say goodbye to her twin just yet. While Giorno and Trish continued, the capo’s large hand had taken the frail one in his. “You did really good out there kid. It takes balls to be a gangster but what you did? I don’t know what to say...” he could feel his heart swell with sadness for the coming loss. She was slipping fast. “Maybe in another life we’ll do it right.” a sad smile the last thing that would grace her beautiful face as she whispered her last words. Risotto knew it was time to help the remaining team finish off the cruel man. His sadness fuelling his resolve to fight on, holding on to her last words. Maybe in another life.

The end was in sight. Giorno had evolved his powers and was able to bring the devil himself to his knees before him. He looked pathetic, his eyes filled with fear he wasn’t going to admit to. Trish walked over, the tears having dried, remnants of dust making the watery paths visible on her cheeks. She bore her heel into the ribs of her father making him hiss and cough in response. “This is for Claudia you filthy bastard! Enjoy this pain now, you’ll be wishing you felt it again because wherever you’re going is a million times worse. You’re the most disgusting being I’ve ever laid my eyes on!” she spit on his face, she would have never done this in any other situation, thinking it a disgusting act, but now her rage was acting for her. Trish let Giorno finish him off, sending Diavolo into his own personal hell.

When he was finally gone Trish fell to her knees, not even caring about scuffing her skin. There was a faint relief, knowing there would be no more fighting, no more worrying. But it hurt, god it hurt so bad. She knew sacrifices had to be made to complete the mission but this... It wasn’t what she imagined. Her sobs returning, it felt like the tears would never stop. Bruno and Giorno placing themselves by her side to console her as best as they could. They sat by her until the sun had starting rising again, lighting the way for the dawn.

Like Claudia had predicted, all men were safe. Some worse off than others but they were all still breathing. Risotto felt a gaping emptiness in his soul, the little one had left quite the mark on him. Maybe next time, in another life, they’ll be luckier.

[lizacstuff]

Thoughts on the last episode of SCK? I thought it was a vast improvement over the last episodes but still seems like an Edser reunion is super far away.

Hello! I liked this episode, I really loved a lot of the Edser scenes and pretty much enjoyed everything that did not include Selin. (I hate her guts, ya’ll, lmao) 

Let’s see, I have a bunch of asks and I have some time today, so I’ll try and answer those in a big post later, but overall I thought it was a solid episode. As far as a reunion being super far away, I don’t know.  They are definitely doing what I’ve been saying all along, and that is proving that he would fall in love with her all over again. So that has to be complete before he gets back his memories. And I think they are going to give us a little more of that even after Selin and Deniz are gone. Hopefully we jettison them soon, and then we’ll get to enjoy a few episode of Edser shenanigans as they dance around one another. 

(more under the cut)

As for this episode, wow, the spoilers that said there was no Ayfer/Alex in this episode were WRONG, weren’t they? Starting with Ayfer, for the first time she didn’t annoy me with her trying to control Eda’s life. I actually applauded when she gave Eda the time limit for breaking the fake engagement. Good! Girlfriend is allowing Deniz to spin the situation out of control and I’m glad someone is helping her reign it in. Ayfer actually acting in Eda’s best interest for once, let’s hope Ayfer/Aydan plan that dinner with their wayward children soon and without any faux fiancés. 

As for the Aydan/Ayfer/Alex of it all, it wasn’t the worst B-plot we’ve ever seen on this show. At least there were some entertaining moments.  I liked Aydan/Ayfer getting together to discuss Eda and Serkan, and Alex as a two/three-timer is the least shocking development ever. Aydan is already ruined as a character so she might as well be okay with trying to move in on Alex while Ayfer is still in the picture. As for Alex... is he dead? Surely not...  Who knows, but it looks like we may get some more comedy out of the situation in the coming episodes. I did laugh at them moving the body and Ayfer trying to go incognito wearing the sunglasses at night. Neslihan is very good at certain comedic moments.

Even with Alex, Ayfer, Aydan, Selin, Deniz and Ceren running around my nominee for worst character of the week is... Piril. Seriously, fuck her.  She’s 100% enabling Selin’s delusions and has totally normalized her buttcrack crazy behavior and apparently cares not at all about Serkan or Eda. Is she high trying to convince Selin that Serkan went off to organize a surprise, can she not read the room at all? She should be staging an intervention with Serkan, not trying to further Selin’s deceitful agenda. 

I will say this for the writers, though they have done their best to destroy Aydan and Ceren recently, Piril is staying pretty true to character. She’s the actual emotionless robot of the show and has always been a pretty shrewish, not-great, not-likeable person. It makes me sad that a teddy bear like Engin is shackled to her and honestly I don’t think she has any business having children, she’s not gonna make a great mother. 

Melo and Ferit are honestly the only side characters (and Seyfi) that have rights at this point. Thank goodness Eda has Melo! Though I do think that the show purposely has weakened both Eda and Serkan’s support system in order to enable them both in this crazy storyline. If Serkan had real friends, he would have wizened up about Selin by now, and if Ceren hadn’t gone off the deepened, wanting to hurt Eda, she would have provided proof of Selin’s duplicity. 

As for Eda and Serkan, so glad their screen time is back on track! I will always, always take more of them, but this felt like a big improvement from the last two weeks.  I really loved their scenes together and their dynamic even (especially?) when they’re at odds and arguing, that was always a huge part of their relationship.  

Loved their office scenes, the sparing over the client and Eda coming out on top. It was priceless watching her bet with Melo and then counting down until Serkan came to find her in the coffee room. The red hot sexual tension with the “Nobody touches you but me” moments and the “accidental” kiss. I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve worked in offices for many years and shockingly have never had my mouth accidentally come into contact with Gerard from Accounting’s mouth. “Accident” SURE.  I guess that’s what happens when you’re drawn to each other like magnets. 

I know there’s a lot of vitriol being spit at Serkan for how “cruel” he’s being, and he does need a slap upside the head at times, but mostly I saw this episode how soft he was. Did ya’ll see him sleeping in the office clutching Eda’s wedding invitation? That is SOFT. Or inviting her to sit with him at the coffee shop and saying he felt at peace there? SOFT. Or apologizing after he said harsh words in the office? He said “sorry” he never says that. Or leaving the hotel and heading back to the office because she was having trouble? Picking up coffee at “their” place on the way? Offering to help and calling her boss? Smiling proudly when she closed the deal? Letting her hug him? Soft, soft, soft, soft, soft. 

Insisting she go to the hotel? Letting her sleep on him? Smiling about it? Snowball fights? and then finally at the end, taking off to look for her, finding her necklace, finding her, carrying her to shelter, caring for her, being concerned about her injuries, putting her necklace back on her, asking about their past, covering her with a blanket, and falling asleep with her?

IT’S ALL SO SOFT.

This man is already back in love with her, he just doesn’t know how to identify those feelings, process them or what to do with them. They still scare the crap out of him on top of the fact that he thinks she has been able to easily move on from him and their great love, and is sincerely happy and in love with another man. That shit-stain Deniz basically told him he was glad his plane crashed so that Eda could finally be happy!  What an awful, heartbreaking thing to hear.

Yes, he said/did some things to hurt Eda, mostly by laying it on thick with Selin at times, but EVERY SINGLE time, it was done in reaction to him having Eda/Deniz thrown in his face and he was absolutely reacting to that.  Our Miss Eda is really having to thread the needle when using her fake engagement to push him, and sometimes she went a little too hard and missed the mark. There were times when Serkan needed some hope and she didn’t give it to him.  And then we have Deniz the shit-stain interfering.  I’ve pretty much given up hope on him playing Selin, he did too much damage this episode, I will never be over his conversation with Serkan. And that conversation is what Serkan was reacting to when he laid it on thick with Selin at the party. It’s not because he actually gave a damn about her, there was nothing sincere about it, it was an act because he had been crushed. Plus the guilt of forgetting her birthday and of knowing the feelings that he was having for Eda.  

Selin needs to go. I think the entire audience is feeling the fatigue of her presence in this storyline and she crossed quite a whole new professional line with putting Serkan’s entire company at risk in order to prevent Eda from going to the hotel.  This storyline would be so much easier to take without her. I could actually enjoy the slow burn, falling back into love, stops and starts, hurt and angst if she wasn’t always looming, but she casts a pall over everything. I really think the writers miscalculated with this. The amnesia story could have worked fine without her and actually been really enjoyable to watch. At this point I will take her exit however I can get it, even if it means she doesn’t get her comeuppance.

However, how much do we love it on this show when the villains’ machinations backfire!? Sorry Selin, you weren’t banking on Serkan leaving you without a word and running to help Eda, were you? The scene in the office when Serkan arrives to help has catapulted on to my list of favorite scenes of the entire series.  I loved every moment of it (and plan to gif pretty much every moment of it).  I loved how they finally got to just work together, collaborate, join their talent and get a win for the company. Serkan needed to experience that, needed to see what kind of partners they could be and I’m so glad we got a chance to see it again too. Then the hug. What a relief! The first time since he’s been back where she’s actually gotten to hold him and have a few minutes to just feel his heartbeat and his warmth and take a beat to celebrate the fact that he’s alive. And how cute was he afterwards? All awkward smiles and fidgeting. It felt just as good for him as it did for her. 

Another scene that deserves to be called out is the coffee shop. What a delightful surprise, I had no idea that was coming. And to find out Serkan permanently reserved that table for them? Because it was their table on their first real date? MY HEART. 

Of course the final scenes in the cabin were beautiful and fraught and made my heart twist.  I think this was a moment where Eda should have given up the game and come clean about the fake engagement with Deniz, but then the show couldn’t continue to milk this story. And they’re clearly not done with it yet. 

However, I'm hopeful that we’re on the tail end of the engagements and Selin and Deniz will exit soon. So we’ll end with a <prayer circle> for that to happen!

[hag-rambling-on]

More about the schools in rewinxing Magix...

Let's see. First to said these three schools are at the end run by the Magic Realm Council, and it is best to think of them as a military academy or affiliated with a UNO-type para/military group.

They send their students on missions (the only thing that explains to me that the winx and the specialists go out so much and the adults leave them).

The first with supervision, the following with follow-up and then with reports it’s enough.

Average time of studies and graduation mark

Witches/wizards study at least 7 years or 9 because 7 is a magic number and 9 is three times 3. It does not have a final transformation but a series of spells and creation of minimal artifacts (such as Gloomix -now called Sheen Trinket-, the Vacuum -we will call it by their dub name Whisperian Bottles-, Convergence and the Grief Edge/Blade -actually takes form of random weapon- for graduation)

fairies/faes at leat 5 years. Both begin with coming of age when the creature's magic core has stabilized. There are many reconized fairy transformations. But in Alfea they ask for the Enchantix as a graduation mark transformation because a Guardian Fairy has to be willing to give everything for others. Many fairies of Alfea achieve their basic form in the first year and in the following a few others according to their affinities up to Enchantix. It is not normal to get the Enchantix in the 3rd year, although it is introduced in that year so that the fairies/faes can get mentalized.

Paladins and Specialists start at 14 years old and train for a minimum of 10 years. The first years can be skipped but you have to show that you have physical fitness, which is what they focus on. Because magic is tricky and the body is not. But sure, most royals train at home and go straight into the last courses. Their final exam is a circuit or mission that requires they to use a great deal of their knowledge learned over the years. It is very comprehensive and has individual and group parts.

Uniforms

Faes have uniforms with protection against falls and blows, also to facilitate the invocation of the wings. They are not gender specific, yes, there are skirts and pants, but you wear what you want.

Witches do not have a uniform, but on special occasions - when they confront other schools - they wear long black robes to identify themselves.

Specialists and Paladins uniforms they are very resistant, thermal insulating and have a dark-light type concealment function. Which is not black or white, but a range of dark and light colors to blend in in dark places or in deserts and tundras. Obtaining the energy for it depends on whether they are Specialists (technomagic) or Paladins (magical artifacts) it is for this energy that each person gets a different color. They also start with a full standard armor coating that tends to decrease according to the combat style of each fighter But it also helps training -because of the extra weight-. Paladins uniforms adds featherlike wings, specialists usually use animals or vehicles.

Schools buildings and location

All schools are located in Magix. An asteroid in a belt, in the remains of Planet Hike, from which it formed. It is a neutral location and home to the Magic Realm Council. Another place considered neutral is Lymphea.

Lake Rocaluce is where a great meteor was invoked and caused the fracture of the planet (and the end of a war, an interRealm war that Hika hosted, but that was long before even the Ancient Witches. The schools are placed around him in eternal memory it... Although... they no longer remember... Magix (the city) was founded by the weary survivors of this war and they too formed the Magic Realms Council, with their sede in the Fortress of Light that hangs above Lake Roccaluce.

---

Both Alfea and CT has been saturated with a lot of magic for a long time, this is why they are relatively alive. Although this is much more obvious in Cloud Tower (Alias Cloudy). The latter is alive to the point that some people become obsessed with school and not drop it, and suspend, suspend, and continue to fail.

Room customization is encouraged as a form of self-expression, specially in Alfea.

Cloud Tower is in dark colors so I already mentioned to welcome its residents without strident stimuli. On the contrary, Alfea has light and harmonic colors, vibrant without being garish, which call joy, warm, hope, cleanliness.

---

It doesn't seem practical to me for Fonterrosa to float in the air with a super powerful storm witch around. Rebuilt in the ground with a -I'm paranoid, I dare you to come in this time- f*ck you face but the staff.

Here the first months are "open rooms", that is, if you are not satisfied, you can change rooms and teams if you defend yourself well with the teachers. Being reasonable and knowing how to explain yourself is supposed to be part of the job and sometimes things don't work out, they get it (and all of the specialist sleep with their weapon near!!!)

---

LC or Lyceum is how they short call the Lymphea College for faes/ies, witches/wizards, specialists and Paladins. But within them, the Faction of Paladins is considered a n.p. So, if they talk about fairies/witches/specialists they would say they come from the Lyceum, but if they are Paladins, they come from The Faction [of the Lymphea College, affiliate to the Council, of Rocaluce, of Magix, of... etc. Jedi everywhere)]

Scholarships

Alfea, Cloud Tower and Fonterrosa are known as the elite of their kind, so they have few scholarships and are very rigorous. Or of course money money.

Forgoing a scholarship is frowned upon, although they are willing to give you a recommendation for the school of your choice. How was the case with Flora (she got a scholarship in CT but she didn’t accept it, either way they recommended her to Alfea and therefore she was able to enter, Miele did not have that opportunity for so she stays in Lymphea).

Musa got a full scholarship. Bloom's special case led to a partial scholarship, although no one told her, so she stayed until she got her family back, both studying and working as a waitress. Under normal circumstances she couldn't have allowed herself a course at Alfea on a single waitress's salary.

Riven has a partial scholarship only because his behavior fails to win him full scholarship, this actually improves when the series begins.

Paladins and Specialists

At first they were the same order but favoritism vs obstracism to people who could use magic devices or musr rely on technomagic ones separated them. Over time they have come together again and make times of exchange to favor collaboration and such.

Today the Paladins have taken a more peaceful approach and they usually work directly for the Magic Realms Council and the Specialists more combat oriented. that are not so "exquisite". I am not saying Specialists are mercenaries, but they not serve exclusively a single Jedi-wanna-be organization.

Timmy and Brandom could have been paladins. Timmy chose not to be so as not to fall into the nerdy stereotype that is only good for purely external help. Brandon for Sky obviously. We already mentioned that Nabu and Helia have witch origin.

Other schools and possible jobs

I think I mentioned it in another post, but the main output of these schools is Guardian, the formation of Kaleidoscopes, Covens and Squads, everything is oriented to that.

So, once finished here, you can work on many things with security and embassy being the most obvious and demanded from these schools.

But you can be a teacher, researcher, creator / repairer / tester of potions or magic items, animal caretaker, nurse, any version of work from the magic application ranger by example, firefighter, cleaner. Or you can jump to the normal university in a vip way. From here.

What do you can to learn

Some subjects/courses common to all schools (even though theoretically have studied it before). BTW They can go to other schools to receive extra courses: Good Manners/Etiquette, Flight, Cognitive analysis, History of Magix, Basic Survival, Firsts Aids, Basic Witchcraft, Basic Fairycraft, Basic Magical Zoology, Basic Zoology, Basic Herbology, Basic Magic Herbology, Magiphysics, Dance, Music, Art. Diplomacy.

Other examples but only to magic schools: Potionology, Magiphilosophy, History of Magic, Healing, Transfiguration (metamorphosis, metamorphosymbiosis, biotrasformation), Applied convergence, Summoning, Psychic arts (speciality *x* ie illusion, emotion, mind-reading), Divination, Basic Wild Magic, Elemental Magic (speciality *x*), Nature Magic, Art-applied magics (speciality *x*), Magical Zoology, Basic Craftsmanship Magic, Advanced Craftsmanship Magic, Astral Magic, Basic Forbidden Magic Knowledge. FORBIDDEN: Demonology, Necromancy, Sacrificial Magic among others.

Other examples but only to Specialists and Paladins (for paladins some are mandatory): Dragon wrangling, flying fighter crafts, Riding, Driving/navigation, Astronavigation, Beast/Animal Taming, Close quarter combat (sub speciality in weapon *x*), Long range combat, Cooperation, Mechanics, Technology, Hand-to-hand combat (sub speciality in *x*), Strategy, (numbers yes or no 101 and more), Advanced survival techniques, Close protection operative, Concealment operations, Unconventional weapons, Fighting Magic Basic-Advanced-Expert, Fighting Magic Users Basic-Advanced-Expert.

Paladins have more courses related to magic and the application and repair of magic items. And deep in others as diplomacy I guess.

[riotwritesthings]

The Curious Witch and the Cursed Wolf

Chapter 2: A Meeting and A Revelation | AO3

Chapter 1 here!

art by the fantastical @gayspacesprinkles​

Haha I’m so happy I wrote all of this ahead of time this has been a MONTH so far

~

Title: The Curious Witch and the Cursed Wolf (Chapter 2) Collaborator(s): Riot @buckybarnesbingo​​ Square Filled: K3, Just do it Ship/Main Pairing: WinterIron Rating: T Major Tags/Warnings: fantasy AU, witch!Tony, wolf!Bucky, fairytale vibes, Non-graphic injury Summary: Once upon a time there was a man, and a wolf. They both went into the forest looking for different things, and instead they found each other. Word Count: 1,871

~

Once upon a time there was a wolf, injured and alone, crawling his way towards the forest, looking for safety.

~

The wolf waits until all he can hear is the rush of the water, the rustle of the grass on the cliff above, until the hunters leave.

They must think he’s dead. He should be dead, still unsure how he managed to drag himself out of the cold water and onto the shore.

He still might die, bleeding heavily until the scent of it fills the air, drowns out everything else. He needs to move, he can’t risk that the hunters are just circling around to finish him off.

The forest still seems so far away.

The wolf forces himself to move, and slowly, so slowly, he begins dragging himself on three legs towards the tree line.

~

He wakes up to the snap of a branch and the wolf snarls weakly, sluggishly looking around for the source of the noise.

There’s a man, hidden behind a tree and given away by the loud, terrified pounding of his heart.

The wolf snarls again because it’s all he can do, too weak to move.

The man doesn’t smell like danger, he smells like rain and clean earth. When he pokes his head out around the tree his hair is a mess, leaves caught in the loose brown curls and dirt smeared across his face.

“Hi,” the man says softly, and then squeaks when the wolf growls low in his chest, big brown eyes going wide.

The wolf stops growling, feels a little bad about the scared-deer look in the man’s eye because no, that’s not what he wants. He doesn’t want to be a monster, what everyone accuses him of being.

So he whines instead, and the man steps out from behind the tree, moves carefully closer.

“Okay, okay hi,” the man says. “I want to help you, but um- fair warning I have very little medical expertise, unless you count bandaging myself up, but I do actually have a surprising amount of experience in that, so, oh—“

The man’s rambling cuts off with a soft sound as he gets closer, close enough to see the missing limb, the ground dark with blood beneath them.

“Okay,” the man says again, voice breaking, but he’s still stepping closer. “Wow, you- we gotta stop the bleeding, I-I’ll be right back.”

He wants to tell the man not to bother. The man’s clothes look torn and he looks tired, like he has enough to worry about. The wolf has been running for so long, it was bound to end eventually.

But the man is already turning, running off into the trees. The wolf lets his eyes fall closed again.

He's just so tired.

The man comes back with a couple uprooted plants clenched in one hand and halfway through stripping off his tattered shirt with the other, the scent of goldenrod and yarrow thick in the air.

He approaches slowly, warily, but he smells more like worry than fear. There’s a slight glow around him, spreading from a point in the center of his chest like trapped starlight.

"I'm going to try and stop the bleeding," the man says, voice shaking. "Please don't eat me, I'm going to go slow and tell you everything I'm doing, so- well, I guess that's assuming you even know what I'm saying, but I've seen a lot of crazy shit the past couple weeks—"

Just do it, the wolf thinks, and the man’s eyes widen a little.

He doesn't pause though, drops to his knees beside the wolf and gets to work.

His hands are calloused, but gentle, pressing crushed herbs against the wound, using his own shirt as a bandage, talking softly the entire time.

His name is Tony, and he came to the forest to learn, because he wants to know more, wants to learn how to make things better.

Alone? The wolf thinks, trying to distract himself from the agony of Tony tightening the makeshift bandage.

Tony gives a tiny shrug and his smile is even smaller.

"I'm always alone," he says.

The wolf whines softly, because he understands, but Tony apologizes in a broken voice, gentles his hands impossibly further.

He strokes along the wolf’s side, fingers gentle and so warm as they slide through his fur.

The wolf falls asleep to warm blue light growing brighter around him, the scent of sun-warmed stone and clear nights.

Tony’s hands are warm and the pain is slowly fading away.

~

The wolf wakes up feeling rested, feeling healed, still down a leg but the ache of it is completely gone.

Tony is still there, retreated across the small clearing to give the wolf some space.

“Hey,” he says, perking up when he sees the wolf watching him warily. “You’re awake, I wasn’t sure—“ he pauses, lets out a slow breath, and then smiles so wide that his eyes shine with it. “I’m glad.”

The wolf flicks his ears forward, thumps his tail once against the ground. When he works up the energy to shift his shoulders there’s no pain.

He’ll live for now.

Thank you, he thinks, and Tony smiles, and the wolf expects that to be the end of it.

Tony will leave, or demand a favor and wind up very disappointed when he learns he wasted his time saving something with very little power of its own. Then the wolf can get on with figuring out if he can actually survive.

But instead Tony just stays, brings him rabbits and tries to hide his wince when the wolf gobbles them up in one bite. He sleeps on the other side of the small clearing, dug in amongst the roots, shivering slightly.

He stays until the wolf can stand, until he can walk, only a little unsteady on his three legs.

“Lookin’ good!” Tony cheers, curled up against his tree with plants and rocks scattered around him, a tiny notebook spread across his lap.

The wolf knows that he should leave, before the hunters find him again, or someone else, before Tony realizes that he’s saved a monster.

Instead he steps carefully closer, head down, trying to look as harmless as possible, making himself smaller. A careful smile starts to grow on Tony’s face.

"Well," Tony says slowly, "I guess, you probably want to be on your way, unless—“

“There you are!” Comes a tiny voice from the bushes, startlingly close to where Tony is seated, soft and sweet if incredibly frustrated.

The wolf is across the clearing before he knows it, standing protectively between Tony and the noise and growling low in his chest, fur standing on end.

“Finally staying in one place, been following you since you activated the damn crystal," the voice continues, and whoever it is is talking more to herself than anything, leaves rustling around the source of the noise.

"Do you know how hard it is to keep up with you when you won’t stop exploring?!” the voice demands, raising again. “Damnit Tony, I am very small!”

Sure enough, the creature that emerges from the brush is quite small, barely bigger than a rabbit and the wolf can definitely eat it in one bite if he needs to.

Maybe he shouldn't though. The ball of light with fluttering wings glows a soft blue that matches the glow in Tony's chest, and maybe they're friends.

He probably shouldn't eat Tony's friends.

Except Tony's quick heartbeat still echoes in the wolf's ears, fuels the low growl still rumbling through his chest, and Tony's voice shakes a little as he asks “Um, do I know you?”

The wolf growls again, snaps his teeth, and the ball of light floats up a little higher.

“Call off the dogs,” she says, sounding more offended than anything, “I have something important to tell you.”

"Wait,” Tony says, crawling out of his nest in the tree roots. “Were you the one talking to me by that river a little while ago?"

"Yes!"

"Oh my god I thought that was a bird!” Tony groans, slapping his hands over his face and further smearing himself in dirt. "I gave it my last bit of bread!"

"I told you not to!" the ball of light cries, bobbing in the air in apparent distress.

"I thought it was a trick!" Tony whines, slumping back against the tree and kicking his bare feet a little.

The wolf isn’t sure what to think. He sits back on his haunches, tilts his head to the side. The ball of light doesn’t seem aggressive, at least, even if she does smell strangely of rain.

“Okay,” Tony says, pushing himself upright again, warm eyes shining in amusement. “Okay, you had something to tell me?”

“Yes,” the ball of light says, then makes a sound like a tiny throat clearing. “You’re a witch, Tony.”

Tony blinks slowly. Opens his mouth and then closes it again. The wolf whines.

“I’m a what,” Tony finally says.

“A witch,” she repeats and the wolf whines again, slinks backwards.

He knows that word. It’s what the hunters called themselves, makes him think of smoke and fire and screaming and changing.

But Tony isn’t like that. Tony smells like sunlight, like fresh air, like the forest around them and the dirt rubbed into his skin, like the leaves caught in his hair and the herbs he’s always collecting, like life.

Tony isn’t like that, he can’t be.

Even now, Tony is still blinking in confusion, face open and eyes so warm as he glances down at the glow in his chest and asks “Because of this?”

“No,” says the ball of light, then wavers in the air a little. “Well, kind of. It’s why the crystal called to you, although you weren’t supposed to just grab it.”

Tony grins sheepishly, and the wolf huffs softly.

“You seem to be alive though,” the light continues, tiny voice dry and still musical. “And if anything embedding that shard in your chest has just made you crazy powerful, so, congratulations I guess.”

“What do you—“ Tony starts to ask and then pauses, turns to look at the wolf with eyes widening in understanding.

And suddenly the wolf understands too. It’s why Tony was able to heal him, why there’s no pain, why he’s alive.

Witch or not, Tony isn’t much like the hunters at all.

A wide smile spreads across Tony’s face, eyes nearly glowing along with the stone in his chest, and the wolf completely forgets that he’s supposed to be leaving.

“What happened to your clothes?” The ball of light asks, floating a little closer as the wolf’s fur finally smoothes down, his ears flicking forwards.

Tony isn’t listening though, too busy pushing himself to his feet and excitedly asking ”Wait, can I fly?!”

“You know you can just make more clothes, right?!”

“Flying,” Tony insists, staring at the ball of light flatly.

The wolf lets his tongue loll out in a fond smile.

The light seems almost reluctant to answer, but finally says “Yeah, if that’s what you really want, but—“

Tony drowns out the rest of the sentence with high pitched excited noises, and the wolf whines again, ears ringing with it.

[wintaejk]

What Do You Dream About? | jjk

When ___’s brother comes to her asking for help, she has no other choice than to take his place as a member of the biggest gang in the city, B.A.F. However, this is when BTS, another cartel, arrives in town that ___ has for mission to keep company to Jeon Jungkook, the leader of the gang. But BTS is only there for a few days, and ___ realizes soon enough that she only has a night to enjoy Jungkook’s company. Or that she thinks, at least.

Pairing: Jungkook x reader

Genre: Mafia au | Strangers to Lovers | Fluff | Smut

Rating: 18+

Word Count: 9.8k

Warnings: Smut, oral (f receiving), fingering, language, English is not my first language so if some sentences are weird it’s probably the reason (sorry about that lol)

A/N: I’ve already posted that OS but with another fanbase. However, I took it off from tumblr because I am not longer reading about the group (I still love you my babies tho), and I wanted to modify it a bit before posting it here. So this is my first ever English work, I hope you will enjoy it! 

“You must be kidding me!”

It was the first and only thing you could say at the very moment. But as you looked at Yohan, your younger brother, you could tell he wasn’t kidding. Not at all, actually. “How did that happen?” You weren’t sure you wanted to know, to be honest, but you still had to ask.

“I was just… bored, I guess.” You’ve never been a violent kind of person, but at that very moment, all you wanted to do was to slap him. Hard. “You were bored? Jesus, Yohan! When people are bored, they read a book or watch television. They do not get enrolled in a gang.”

And now he was in deep shit. Asking for your help. But how could you ever say no to him, your little brother, the apple of your eyes.

“What gang?” You finally asked. Just thinking about the possibility of dealing with all those criminals was making you shiver. But you had no other choice. “B.A.F.” Yohan muttered.

B.A.F. was an acronym for Brave and Free. It wasn’t the biggest gang in the country, but it was the most important one in your city, the one controlling it. You could understand Yohan didn’t know how to deal with the situation, because you had no clue yourself. “I’ll deal with it.” You yet told him. You didn’t know how, but you knew you would find a way out.

It appeared that it wasn’t hard to find the B.A.F’s headquarters. What was hard though, was to manage to talk to someone who could – who would accept to be more precise – to listen to your offer. It took you almost thirty minutes and a lot of flirting to convince the guard to let you in. Not to mention the good amount of money you had to provide. What he didn’t need to know was that it didn’t matter for you: you could have offered him way more since your father always made sure your bank account was full enough.

“The girl ‘ere wan’ed to talk to ya, boss.” The huge amount of muscles said to a middle-aged man who looked at you curiously. “And what’s the girl’s name?” If you didn’t know already that he was the leader of the gang, you would have immediately guessed. He wasn’t only dressed in fancy clothes. All in him yelled power and respect, from his demeanor to his perfectly styled hair.

“____.” Your voice wasn’t as confident as you would have wanted it to be, but you still managed to control it enough not to be shaky. You also took advantage of the silence to add quickly your last name after a few seconds.

That’s when you decided to take a look at what was around you. The room was simple, and you noticed the guard from the entrance had already left. But you immediately realized that you weren’t alone. Other gang members were attending this meeting, and you almost let a gasp of surprise when you recognized Kim Taehyung in the lot.

Taehyung was studying at the same university as you. He was a tall, beautiful, young man. He belonged to the kind of men that were almost impossible to ignore when passing them in the corridors. However, as much as you knew who he was, you were almost 100% sure he didn’t know you in return. And it was maybe better that way.

“Well, ___… Why such a pleasant surprise?” The leader got your attention back, a malicious smirk on the corner of his lips. You sighed lightly, mostly to gather your courage. “I’m Yohan’s sister. I- I would like to make a deal.” He didn’t ask anything. Or at least not verbally. Because the eyebrow he raised clearly showed you he wanted you to keep going.

“I would like you to let him go. To free him.” Bursts of laughter weren’t the reaction you were expecting. And it didn’t make you feel confident. Not a bit. “You must be very brave to come ask us such a thing, doll. Or very stupid.” At that moment, you started to think that you made a mistake by coming here. You started to think you were digging your own grave by trying to deal with these men.

“Fine. I’m all ears. What do you have to offer me?” You gulped. You knew with the look on his face, with the glint in his eyes that you’ll have to offer him more than what you had expected in the first place to manage to have what you wanted. “I can give you a lot of money. My father-” But he cut you before you could even finish your sentence.

“I don’t care about your money, doll. I am nothing like the pathetic guard you just bought with you daddy’s money. I have myself all the money I want. All the money I need. So I repeat my question: what do you have to offer me?” His tone was harsh and clear. If you wanted to stay alive, you would have to propose him more. Something that he would never be able to buy by himself.

I looked at Taehyung, the only person you knew here, as if he was going to help you. To save you. But it was obviously vain. So you said the first thing that came to your mind. The stupidest thing that crossed your mind, to be precise.

“I want to make an exchange.” You saw immediately his facial expression changing. He was interested. “My brother in exchange of me.”

You heard some more laughs in the room, but none of them came from the mouth of the man in front of you. “And what made you think we would want you instead of your brother, doll?” It wasn’t the leader who talked, but a man you had never seen before on your left.

Even though the question didn’t come from the most important man of the room, you still understood that an answer was required. Because yes, why you and not Yohan after all? “You have plenty of men under your orders. More than you probably even need. But women ready to sell their lives forever? Something tells me that you won’t receive that kind of proposition every other day.”

And just like that, with a few words, you sold your soul to the devil himself.

“I think we have a deal, ___.”

Fortunately, your role in the gang wasn’t important. It was always about distracting men while other members stole things from them or delivering some shit you didn’t know about. In other words, nobody ever asked you to complete important missions. Or at least, it had not happened yet.

“BTS are in town.” Taehyung told you one day. It was him who inherited the task of supervising you. And let’s say immediately that he wasn’t very keen about it when he learnt it.

“And I should be excited because…” You were walking next to each other through the dense crowd of the university. However, no matter how full the corridors were, Taehyung was doing a good job at cleaning the way, he always had. “Not excited, ___. But it’s a big deal for the gang. The boss has been wanting to collaborate with them for so long. It’s a huge opportunity.”

A huge opportunity that led you to get asked to accomplish a mission way more important than the one that had been attributed to you in the past. And little did you know that mission was going to change the rest of your life forever.

“So all you have to do is serve him and his closest members all night long.” Taehyung explained you for maybe the tenth time that day. “And what does ‘serve him’ mean, exactly?”

“You know, the usual shit. Taking his orders, bringing him drinks. Bending over so he has a full sight of your ass.”

The member that has slowly started to become your friend these past weeks left you alone after that explanation and walked through the people that were dancing and drinking in the party the leader of your gang organized. Taehyung turned around after realizing you were not following him, and that’s when you saw it in his eyes. Was it pity or sadness? No matter what it was, he was still waiting for you to lead you to your mission: play the waitress – a generic word that had a different meaning for your boss than it had for you – with the leader of BTS. You already knew it was going to be a long night.

“Mr. Jeon, let me introduce you to ___. She will be at your service for the rest of the night. You can ask her anything and everything you want, and she will make it her personal pleasure to satisfy your needs.” Taehyung said to a group of men sitting in a comfortable couch. Once again, it wasn’t difficult to determine who was the leader among all the members. What surprised you though was his age: he couldn’t be much older than you were.

But then you realized what Taehyung just stated. And especially what he was implying. “Not anything and everything, actually. I’m a waitress, not a prostitute.” You clarified loudly, earning a gaze from Taehyung next to you.

“___…” The tall man warned. But you didn’t care. If he thought you were going to have anything close to sex with the leader of BTS, he was wrong. Terribly wrong. You were not a slut.

You were going to protest once more, but the man in front of you interrupted your confrontation before you could even open your mouth. “You can leave now, Taehyung.” And so did he, without even looking twice at you.

You looked at the man with raven hair still sitting in the couch and gulped. Saying you were not intimidated would have been a lie, but you still managed to warn him. “I won’t have sex with you.” Which made him laugh. A warm and honest laugh. “I know, doll.”

What was with gang leaders and calling girls doll?

“If I can be honest, you’re a very pretty girl. Almost like a doll. Maybe that’s why you earned that name.” You almost slapped yourself in the face when you realized you spoke your thoughts out loud and he heard it. God was probably punishing you for something you couldn’t even remember.

He laughed when he noticed how your cheeks became a deep shade of red, even though there wasn’t much light for him to notice. And again this warm laugh that surprisingly made you want to trust him when you probably shouldn’t feel that way.

The night wasn’t as long as you had expected it to be. Jungkook – that’s how he asked you to call him – wasn’t very demanding. Only a drink now and then. And smiles, a lot of beautiful smiles that would have fooled you on the innocence of the owner if you didn’t know what was hidden behind this endearing behavior. Yet, the man knew he was handsome, and he was taking advantage of it.

But more than anything else, Jungkook surprised you when, halfway through the party, he got up and walked towards you. “This party is boring.” He stated, and you bit your lower lip to hide the smile that was menacing to spread on your face. He was right, but you couldn’t agree with him, in case indiscreet ears had been listening all along.

“Would you do me a favor?” He hiccupped right after saying this, and you had to prevent another smile. “Would you take me home? I drank way too much to drive by myself, and the other members are kinda busy.” They were indeed occupied with girls who were offering them lap dances. A usual for those parties. You glanced back at Jungkook who was now presenting his keys to you.

You bit your lips, trying to think about the best decision to take. You weren’t exactly naive. You knew it could be a way to attract you into his house. But on the other hand, he drank too much to be able to drive his car.

“How can I be sure it’s not a trap? Why would I trust you?” His eyes glinted for a second while looking at you. But he shook his head and answered you, the glint disappearing as quickly as it appeared. “Why wouldn’t you? Did I do anything that would make you doubt me?” He was bold and you were speechless. “I promise I won’t force you to do anything with me, ___.”

You knew that a promise from a leader of a gang didn’t mean shit. But you still grabbed his keys to take him home. At that moment, you didn’t think about how you were going to get home. You didn’t think about the fact you didn’t tell Taehyung you were leaving. You didn’t think about the fact he was a gang leader. You were only thinking about how he already got you under his spell. How dangerously appealing a man like him was. And it was terrifying you.

His house was fucking huge. And that was probably the first thing you said when you both entered his living room. “It’s not really my house. I’m just renting it.”

But it didn’t matter. It was still huge, and you were used to enormous spaces.

“Want something to drink?” Jungkook questioned while moving towards a cabinet where alcohol was probably waiting to be drunk. “Just water, please.” You didn’t want to lose any bit of your ability to make reflected decisions. Not with him around you. Not when you already felt inebriated just by being around him.

“Here, your just water.” He gave you a fancy glass that was probably made in some fancy material like crystal. One more thing that proved Jungkook was probably richer than the Queen of England herself.

“I’m very curious about how you ended up in that gang.” The leader told me after looking at you intently for a moment. “What make you think that I haven’t been a part of this world my whole life?”

Jungkook did not become the leader of the biggest gang by simple luck. It was position that required self-discipline, composure, responsibilities and also a big sense of observation. And analyzing the environment in which he was growing was a talent particularly developed by the leader. “Your manners. And the respect you have towards the others. Towards yourself.” It sounded like a compliment. At least, you decided it was one, especially when you considered how it sounded in his mouth. Like something honorable.

“Just had to make a deal to get my younger brother out of this.” He didn’t answer right away and just looked at you a little bit longer.” So you sacrificed yourself?” You just nodded because, honestly, you never thought about it that way until now. You just wanted Yohan to be happy and live the life he always dreamt about, no matter if you had to abandon your owns dreams in the meantime. “Loyalty is highly appreciated by people like me. What kind of leader would refuse such a deal? Especially when the deal look like that.”

“What do you mean?” You searched the man’s eyes in the mid-light, mid-darkness of the living room and you weren’t disappointed by what you found in them. A pure glint of mischief and amusement. “I meant, who would say no to have a literal walking goddess among their gang members?”

You would lie if you said you didn’t blush because of his comment. Jungkook was a handsome man after all. But you decided to play along, hoping he didn’t notice your actual, flustered state. “So this is it. Your best cheesy pick-up line?”

His next move took you by surprise. He walked towards you, like a predator. And you were clearly his prey. Once he stopped two inches away from you, he captured a strand of your hair between his forefinger and his thumb. You were completely at his mercy, caught in between the want of pressing your body to feel more, to have more of him and the need of taking a step back in fear of ending in a dangerous situation you wouldn’t have the strength to stop. But no matter the risks, he could have done anything to you and you wouldn’t have emitted a single protest. “I totally can do way better, but I’m not sure your heart could handle it.”

You were now as red as a tomato. Everything about him and the way he acted was flustering you. His proximity. His breath brushing against your skin. The way he pronounced every single word delicately. His scent – holy shit, if he didn’t smell like heaven... He was slightly driving you crazy.

But he suddenly took a step backwards and you breathed deeply, feeling free of your movements, of your thoughts once again. “I thought you said you wouldn’t try to seduce me, Jungkook.”

Your pitiful attempt to save what was left of your self-control faded away the moment your host answered you. “I never promised I wouldn’t try to seduce you, doll. I said that I wouldn’t force you to do anything you didn’t want to.”

And maybe you were naïve, maybe it was stupid to feel that way, but you trusted him. Because at this moment, you really wanted to be there with him. And you were prepared to continue this dance you had with him that was slowly inflaming all your organs, but Jungkook chose this moment to change his strategy.

“Tell me more about you, ___.” This man knew how to keep you on your toes. In all ways possible. “What do you wanna know?”

Jungkook now had made himself something that was probably a strong whisky and was sipping from his glass, not even bothered by the strong taste of it. He was looking like if he was thinking about what he really wanted to know about you. And finally, he seemed to be decided. He pushed his glass away from his mouth and smiled to you. He had a terribly nice smile.

“What do you dream about, pretty girl? I want to know everything about your craziest dreams.”

You weren’t even startled, this time. You were blown away. He was unpredictable. And you were speechless because you never really thought about what you really wanted in life. “I don’t know. I guess I just want to be happy.” You shrugged. It was probably the lamest answer you could have given him. But that was the only one you had in mind at that very moment. Yet you didn’t want to look at his face to discover how bored and disappointed he was by you. So you changed quickly the perspective of the conversation. “What about you, Jungkook?”

Plus, in all honesty, he was unreadable, and you wanted to know more than anything about him as well.

“I don’t know if I can trust you enough for that, love.” Again, one of his pet names. But it was his statement that got your attention the most and made you quirk an eyebrow. “For what I know, you could be gathering information about me for your gang leader. It wouldn’t be the first time a lovely, good-looking girl would try to seduce me in order to ruin me better later.”

Multiple emotions immediately overwhelmed you after his explanation. The first one was astonishment. You weren’t expecting that at all. But it didn’t last for a long time, because right after you felt genuinely upset. How could he even imagine you would play him like that?! But as he told you, he was the leader of BTS – one of the biggest cartels of the country – and he was used to and expected that kind of behavior. From everywhere and everyone. So you couldn’t blame him for being careful. You could even feel your anger slowly fading away to be replaced by something that looked terribly like a mix of empathy and pity. You wouldn’t want to live like that, analyzing every act of every person you hung out with.

You didn’t want Jungkook to know every thought that crossed your mind during this long minute, even though you were almost sure he could read you like an open book. So you just replied with the first thing that went through your head at that moment. “Am I doing a good job though? At seducing you?”

And then you realized. If you wanted him to trust you – and you didn’t even know why you had that want in the first place –, it was the last thing you should have said after his revelation.

You were afraid you already messed up every chance you had of him to open up to you. But you still tried a last thing and got closer to him. Almost as close as he was minutes ago.

“I promise the last thing I want is to ruin you, Jungkook.” It was just a whisper, but you knew the beautiful man had heard it. You were eye to eye, now. You couldn’t be more sincere. And once again, he lifted his hand towards your face, but to stroke your cheek this time. “You’re doing such a good job, love.”

You bit your lower lip, understanding he was referring to your previous question. His hand was still on your cheek, warming your skin. The sensation was beyond pleasant, but you were too close. You definitely were going to get burnt if you stayed there longer. So you pulled away, making sure to keep a safe distance between your bodies.

“Are you trusting me enough to answer my question, now?” You knew it was a bold move, considering your position. You knew he was a gang leader. And you knew you could get in trouble for being insolent like you were. But he made you feel so comfortable you couldn’t help yourself.

“I have everything I’ve ever desired, love. All my dreams became true a long time ago.” He broke the silence after some time of thinking. However, something in the way he said it weren’t right, making you frown. “I don’t believe you. Everybody has a dream.”

“I’m not everybody.” It was his turn to shrug, and you understood you just shouldn’t push it. So you let it go… for now.

You preferred asking him another questions. A lot of questions, in fact. And he asked you many questions in return. The more you talked, the more you felt comfortable around him. And you talked for a very long time. Until an advanced hour of the night – or the morning, you should say. And you secretly hoped he was as charmed by you as you were by him.

“I never thought it would be that pleasant to have a deep conversation with someone.” Jungkook suddenly affirmed. And you were going to comment his insignificant statement by saying something about all the girls he was used to hook up with, but something hit you hard at that moment. Because the thing was, it wasn’t an insignificant statement even if it looked like it in the first place.

“I almost believed you when you told me you didn’t have any dream.” You saw one of his eyebrows raising on his forehead, quietly asking you to go on with that thought.

“That’s actually very funny. Because it seemed like you have everything you’ve ever wanted. You actually do have everything poor people dream about. A huge house. An expensive car. More money than time to spend it. You even have dishes in crystal…” You lifted the glass now full of some random liquor, but the black-haired man interrupted you. “They are in diamonds, in fact.” You scoffed. He was so rich it was almost ridiculous.

Jungkook had to make a movement with his hand to invite you to continue, but not before you rolled your eyes extravagantly.

“You make it seem like you have everything.” You looked once more at the vastness of his living room before turning your head back towards him. “But in your enormous palace, you feel so lonely. And all you really wish is for some genuine soul to keep you company. Am I wrong?” You murmured the last part, but he had no problem to hear it. You weren’t that far away from each other, anyway. And that’s why it took him only half a second to close the distance between you. You were once again too close for your liking. Too close to allow your mind to think clearly.

“You’re a smart girl, ___.” Jungkook stated. Your heart was pounding in your chest. “Always feeling terribly lonely. And I never stay long enough in a place to find someone who could become my own home.” You immediately knew he hadn’t been that honest with someone in years. And it warmed your heart that he decided to choose you as a safe place to share his deepest secrets with.

“When do you leave?” You hesitated to ask. But you also needed to know. Your heart was still hammering, harder and stronger every minute passing. “Tomorrow.”

And after all the pounding it has been doing since the leader came closer, it suddenly stopped in your chest.

You couldn’t even hide your disappointment. And Jungkook didn’t miss the way your face fell. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” He sighed. It was his way to try to ease the feeling that was overwhelming you at that moment. And in a way, it worked. “I’m still not going to have sex with you, Kook.” You let out a small chuckle, but his laugh never came, in opposition of what you had expected. In reality, he was just stunned by the nickname you just used. It was stupid, but he hadn’t been called that way in years.

“What about a kiss?”

You didn’t even have to answer. Your lips were only inches apart. They were brushing against each other. And when you closed your eyes, he decided it was the only sign he had been waiting for before definitely closing the gap between you.

What was a simple kiss at the beginning became soon enough a stronger and deeper one. With your tongues dancing with each other. With your hands discovering each other’s face. With your bodies pressing and melting into the other one.

While you were moving your lips in synchronization with his, you wondered if he was used to kiss every other girl like he was kissing you. Slowly. Passionately. Deeply. You wondered if he was used to pass his hands in other girls’ hair the same way he was stroking yours. Gently. Tenderly. Lovingly. And you wondered if he was used to lay those girls down like he laid you on his couch. Kindly. Delicately. Cautiously.

And more than anything else, you were wondering how you were ever going to forget about the way Jeon Jungkook was kissing your lips. Like if he owned them. Like if they were made for him.

Getting back to your boring life was hard after that night. You couldn’t stop replaying the kisses you shared with Jungkook. You had to occupy your brain with complex tasks to prevent it from daydreaming about the sensations that overwhelmed you during your make-out session with the black-haired leader. And you would have bet it was a complete dream if there wasn’t the remnant of a small hickey adorning the place where your neck and your shoulder met, reminding you this moment of pure bliss when he sucked and bit on the sensitive skin.

That was exactly why you were at the very moment trying to study in a small café of the town. To avoid thinking about Jungkook. And to physically avoid Taehyung.

Unfortunately for you, the fellow member had noticed you leaving the party with your mission of the night. So it wasn’t a surprise he strongly believed something happened between the two of you. Even though you assured him at least twenty times nothing happened at all. Which was a lie, because you still ended up making out on his couch, but he didn’t need to know about that.

But no matter how hard you tried to push your unwanted thoughts away, every single thing around you reminded you of him. You closed your eyes and breathed deeply before sighing. You missed him so much that you even started smelling his cologne instead of the strong scent of coffee when you perfectly knew he was already far away from this town.

However, when you opened your eyes, you almost jumped from surprise. He was there. Jungkook was right in front of you.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” You heard yourself saying. You didn’t even process the words that left your mouth. “I don’t remember you being the swearing type. At least, as long as my mouth stay far away from your neck.”

You were speechless. It was all he had to say? You waited a little bit longer for a different answer than the one he just gave you, but he apparently decided to ignore your question. Which pissed you off even more.

So you ignored him back. It was even more impossible to be concentrated on your work now that Jungkook were looking at you from the other side of the table, but you still could fake it. And that’s what you did by typing on your laptop as if he wasn’t even there.

“What are you working on?” The leader asked you. Silence. You saw his fingers starting fidgeting with one of your pens that were lying on the table. You didn’t know if it was to get your attention or a habit of him, but you just ignored it as well, still typing incoherent words on your laptop. “You’re really pretty today.” He added after a few more minutes. You managed to hold back the scoff that was menacing to get out of your mouth, but no matter how hard you tried, your eyebrow still raised high on your forehead. Was he serious? You weren’t even wearing makeup.

Your technique seemed to work because after another long silence, Jungkook sighed loudly and caught one of your hands. “Fine! I just decided we could stay a little bit longer here.”

You looked up to dive your eyes in his and squeezed his hand back. You could pretend you were annoyed with him, but there was gesture even the sanest person couldn’t deny. Holding his hand and intertwining your fingers with his was one of them. “And what made you change your plan?” You questioned, hoping he would admit the reason was you. And because like you, he couldn’t forget about the night you spent together. “Some unexpected meeting, I would say.”

You didn’t have to ask for further explanations, his eyes were saying it all for him, making your heart miss a beat. You would lie if you said he didn’t get you all flustered. But he was used to it now. And so were you.

“I’m gonna let you pretend you’re working now. Yoongi’s waiting for me outside. We have a meeting with your gang.” You looked outside the café and identified the gang member the leader just mentioned. You had a vague memory of Yoongi being at the party your gang had organized the night before.

Jungkook finally got up but didn’t head towards the door of the café as you expected him to. On the contrary, he walked to you, caught your chin between his fingers and bended your head backwards so you were face to face. “You should be careful. That kind of behavior you had earlier could get you into trouble. You’re lucky I’m all wrapped around your finger.”

You didn’t even have the time to process what he just told you before he placed a feather-like kiss on your lips. And with that, he was gone. Leaving you a complete mess on your chair and no way to concentrate on your work.

You decided, at the end of the day (and only at that moment because you didn’t want to seem too eager either), to pass by the general headquarters, which you usually tried to avoid at all cost. But maybe Jungkook was still there, and you really wanted to see him again.

You’re so whipped, ___. You groaned, the reality hitting you. But you couldn’t fight the urge to see him again anymore. There was something about him, you didn’t know what and you didn’t know why but you didn’t want to fight this desire of knowing more and more and more about him anymore. Not after believing you would never see him again.

But the depot where the B.A.F.’s members were always meeting was almost empty. Except for some girls you usually preferred staying away from. You were going to simply ignore them and leave, but you heard your name being called behind you before you could even reach the exit. What the hell did she want?

“I heard about you and Jungkook.” She simply stated. For what you remembered, her name was Yoojin. However, you couldn’t care less at that moment who she was, all you could think about was her statement and the knot it created in your stomach. You didn’t want to get in trouble with her, because you knew that if she decided to start a fight, she would literally ruin you. But even if you were perfectly aware of it, you weren’t going to let her intimidate you. “What about Jungkook and I?”

“Well, it’s a tradition here to tell other girls what exactly happened with a member of another gang. In details.” Her smile was pure evil. It was no doubt she was dying from jealousy. But you honestly couldn’t care less. “Then it’s a shame that nothing happened. At all.”

Yoojin didn’t like you either. You could see it. And you also could see that she didn’t believe you. Once again, you didn’t give two fucks about what she was thinking. You just wanted to know where the rest of the gang were. However, it wasn’t going to be that easy to get answers from her. “What did you do then? Had a cup of tea?”

“You wouldn’t understand, Yoojin. People like you usually can’t.” Her eyes narrowed and her jaw tightened immediately. Let’s say you already were thinking about the shortest and fastest way to run away from this place. “And what exactly does people like me mean?”

You looked at her for a moment, trying to choose the right words. But it seemed like there wasn’t a right way to get out of this mess. Jungkook was right after all. Your behavior was really going to get you in trouble. “I’m just saying that you can keep acting like a prostitute all you want. But at the end of the day, you will still be remembered at the girl who just opens her legs easily and nothing more.”

You then walked slowly backwards. If there was something you’ve learned during your short life as a gang member, it was to never turn your back to your enemy. You only authorized yourself to do so when you reached the door and grabbed the handle to finally get out. But, once again, she spoke before you could exit the room.

“I hope you enjoyed your time with him, ___. Maybe the current mission is going to be the last one.” It was your turn to be lost. Did she want to scare you just for her own pleasure or was she saying the truth? “What do you mean?”

“They all left hours ago. Had some problems with another gang to solve. And you know how vendettas are… You never know who will return.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” It was a little bit after three in the morning, and you got woken up by loud thumps against the front door of your apartment. But you found yourself wide awake the moment you discovered Jungkook standing behind the door. And when you noticed he was incredibly pale you immediately forgot it was the middle of the night.

“I was worried sick.” You told him while opening your door largely to let him come inside. “You shouldn’t. You know I’m a rock, love.” His voice was weak and when he took a step forward, he stumbled and caught hold of you to prevent him from crashing completely on the ground. That’s when you knew you had all the reasons to be worried.

“What happened?” You helped him walk towards your bedroom that was the closest room from the door. You made him sit on your bed, but even there you could see it was hard for him to keep sitting straight. “Got stabbed by this fucker. Would have died if Taehyung wasn’t a fantastic shooter.”

He showed you the cut on his stomach. It was deep, and you could see that someone did a poor job at stitching it. “It’s infected.” You stated. It became very clear to you that you had to repair it yourself, and quickly.

You got out of the room to go get your stitches set, which was in your living room with your university stuff. You grabbed it and got back to your bedroom where Jungkook hasn’t moved an inch. “I’m going to take them off and do it myself.” You informed the black-haired leader who was watching your every move.

“How come you have that thing?” He was referring to your set. “Perks of being a medicine student.” Your simply answered, focused on your work. Jungkook was now lying on the bed and you could see him wincing from the corner of your eyes, but there wasn’t any other way of fixing the mess of the wound. And unfortunately, anesthetic wasn’t not supplied with the basic kit.

“I didn’t know that. You never told me.” It wasn’t a reproach, just a statement. “You didn’t ask me the other night.” You were now cleaning correctly the wound, hoping that there wasn’t anything inside of it.

You stayed silent for a moment, you working cautiously and him watching you. You would probably have blushed if you weren’t so concentrated on your task. After a few more minutes, the head of the cartel sitting on your bed spoke again, certainly to forget about the pain your needle was causing. “How come you live alone? I mean, your parents’ house wasn’t that far away from the university…”

“Too loud to study. My father has to invite a lot of businessmen because of his job and my brother always plays music loudly and his friends are always over.” What you didn’t tell him, though, was that you hated that house and all the memories that were linked to it.

“And your mother?” Your hand stopped in the air, the needle still between your thumb and your index, your eyes fixed on his stomach. You didn’t want to look at him at the moment. You didn’t want to show him how vulnerable his question made you. “Wasn’t it written in my file? Because I guess that’s where you found my address?”

Talking about your mother always made you bitter. Always reminded you the wound that was still here. Not a physical one, like the one you were stitching, but a mental lesion. An emotional grief that will always be there.

Jungkook didn’t deny he read your file. It was useless, you already knew it. And you weren’t stupid enough to believe one of his lies, anyway. “It wasn’t. And I want to hear from you anyways.” Was all he said. You couldn’t help it anymore, you had to look at his face. To know if it was just to torture you or if he was sincere. And what you saw on his face persuaded you to trust him. Made you fall for him even harder.

“She died. When I was twelve.” At that moment you had completely forgot that you had to finish stitching him. All you could think about was the moment you entered your house to find her lifeless body. “She was depressed. She just… hanged herself in the living room.”

Your father always had been a work freak, but after that you barely saw him at home.

The tension was thick between the two of you. Jungkook didn’t say a thing, which you were grateful for, and just caressed your face with his thumb. You’ve always hated people trying to comfort you with empty words when there was nothing more to say. And as you weren’t talking anymore, you just started to stitch the wound again.

When you finally finished your task, you cut the thread off and got up on your feet. That’s when Jungkook spoke again. “What the hell are you wearing?” You looked down at your outfit and realized you were only wearing a large t-shirt that once belonged to your brother and that arrived mid thighs and hid your panties. “Have I some competition I didn’t know about?” Your unexpected guest added, still on the bed.

He was literally staring at your legs with not a single ounce of shame. And you would have lied if you said you didn’t like it. “You don’t. At all. I just love sleeping with baggy clothes.” He was still lying on the bed, but sit up the moment you said it, the hair previously resting on his forehead coming in front of his eyes. You were craving to pass your hand in it.

“Great. Makes it easier for me.” You saw a cocky smile appearing on his face. The one that you hated as much as you loved. “Even if I know I wouldn’t have to worry too much.” What a presumptuous bastard. He was still smiling at you, as if he already won the battle. “And what make you so sure about it?”

You weren’t prepared for his next move. Even though the moment he grabbed your hand to pull you toward him you knew he was only waiting for you to provoke him. You were now straddling his legs and your face was only inches away from his. At least for now. “This.”

Jeon Jungkook was definitely the best kisser you’ve ever met in your life. Nobody had ever kissed you the way he did. Like if he was hungry. Like if he was thirsty. Like if you were the best meal and drink at the same time of the whole world.

His lips were surprisingly soft and tasted like cinnamon. He bit your lip and you opened immediately your mouth to allow his tongue to meet yours. You had been craving this sensation for almost one week now so you almost moan when you felt it entering your mouth and grazing your own tongue.

You made out for quite a long time. Exchanging your saliva. Stroking each other’s hair, as you wanted so much a few minutes ago. Sucking on the thin skin of your necks and leaving hickeys.

“Maybe we shouldn’t do that. Not with you being hur-” You remembered trying to say at a moment. But you forgot what crossed your mind the moment the man now hovering over you placed his lips on yours once again. And you couldn’t even care less when you felt his hands moving up and down on your thighs. But not once did he get higher than your thighs during your make-out session. Actually, not once did he slide his hands higher during the entire night.

You woke up with Jungkook the next morning. And the morning after that. And again the next morning. In fact, you woke up next to the leader the whole following week. You wanted to blame it on the fact that you had to take care of him, to watch his wound to be sure it was healing correctly. And it was true, in a way. But the very truth was that you couldn’t get enough of him. Especially after the first morning you spent together.

The problem was, Jungkook was very cuddly in the morning. Which would have never been a problem if he didn’t fuel your hormones. With his kisses. And his hands roaming your entire body. His morning boner against your lower back. But that was it. He was only a flirt. Only light touches. Only a tease. And you were sexually frustrated like you’ve never been before.

“Morning.” You heard his voice behind you, spooning being Kook’s favorite way to sleep.

At that point, everything was aggravating the state you were currently in. From his husky morning voice to his fingers grazing the soft skin of your stomach. One inch away from your panties.

The kisses he started to place on your shoulder didn’t help soothing your actual mood. Actually it even made him stop all his moves when he felt how tensed your body was. “What’s going on?”

A whole week of frustration, that’s what’s going on. But you weren’t going to tell him. Because as stupid as it was, you didn’t want to admit out loud he was driving you crazy. Or at least, you didn’t want to admit it before he did. And you also didn’t want to lie. So you stayed silent.

You felt his nose running along your skin, from the end of your shoulder to your earlobe, making your body immediately press harder against his. “You smell so damn good.” At that moment you wondered if he knew what he was doing to you. Was this all on purpose? Or was he just oblivious to the sexual tension between you?

“Tell me what’s going on, baby. I can feel how tensed your body is.” Baby. That was a new one. It was always doll or love. Never baby.

Jungkook groaned when he realized you weren’t going to answer his question. And then turned you around so you were facing each other. The only thing you could think about now was how tempting his lips were.

However, when you tried to capture his mouth with yours, he moved backwards, almost making you moan. As if you weren’t already frustrated enough. You finally thought he was going to kiss you when his face went forward, but it was to once more pull back the moment your lips were going to touch.

Jungkook played that game two or three more times until you finally groaned before speaking again. “Are you going to tell me now?” His lips brushed yours again. Your bodies were now so close you could feel every single mechanism of his anatomy. Every breath. Every muscle tensing. Every heartbeat. And if you could feel it, he could probably tell how uneven your heart was thumping in your chest.

His hand on your thigh was a pure torture and made you tighten your legs against each other, afraid that Jungkook would find out what was going on between them in your panties. And at the same time excited and impatient.

Yet Jungkook was still waiting for an answer and you were waiting for his lips to kiss yours. So you just said it. "You just... frustrate me." His eyebrows, that were previously raised in question, furrowed in an instant. "Frustrate?" He was genuinely lost. But after looking at you intently, from head to toe, it seemed that he had finally gather all the signs of your frustration and that realization hit him hard.

A smirk – it was a little one but you still could see it – appeared on his face. He was proud of the effect he had on you, you could sense it with every fiber of your body. “And to think that I was controlling myself because I know you’re still a virgin…”

You were a what? You were taken aback. Utterly speechless. But it lasted only a few seconds, because your first reaction was to genuinely laugh. “I’m not-” You started to say, trying to speak while still laughing. “I’m not a virgin.”

Jungkook was frowning so much his eyebrows were almost touching each other. When your laughter finally died, the black-haired man opened his mouth as if he was going to says something, but he closed it almost immediately. “What made you think I was still a virgin?” You broke the silence. He simply shrugged, or more accurately tried to shrug, because you were still laid on the bed and it wasn’t the easiest position to move shoulders. “I don’t know… You were so against having sex with me I just thought it was because of that.”

“Well… I didn’t know you enough to let you have your way with me, love.” You didn’t even know why, but this whole situation was making you feel confident. You wanted to tease him, to tempt him, to make him beg. But as always, Jungkook found a way to reverse the situation. “And now you would?”

The beautiful man lying in front of you were once again too close. You couldn’t even breathe, so even less think properly. To be accurate, the only thing that was in your mind was him. His lips, his touch, his morning hard-on. And you were almost sure you were finally going to have what you had been craving for days.

“Too bad I have business to deal with.” Jungkook whispered, his breath crashing on your skin. He finally kissed your lips, but it wasn’t enough. It was only a peck, only two seconds of your lips meeting for the first time this morning. And then he was gone, walking proudly towards the bathroom. Because he fucking knew he was driving you insane.

Jungkook got out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later. Fresh and ready for the day. You were still lying on the bed. Frustrated and upset.

He looked at you from his spot right in front of the door of the bathroom. He didn’t say a thing, and you didn’t want to break the silence. Your ego was already hurt enough. You also didn’t want to show him how bothered you were by his rejection, so you turned your head, avoiding his eyes. And that was what made him react. “Fuck it!”

Jungkook surprised you when he headed toward you instead of the door. He discarded the covers and grabbed your ankles to pull you closer to him. Your lower legs were now falling from the bed, and Jungkook was kneeling between them.

“I can’t fully satisfy your needs, but I can at least make you orgasm once before leaving.” You gulped at his words while he wasted no time to kiss your exposed thighs. You knew what he was up to and you had to prevent a moan to leave your mouth. He hadn’t even properly started, and you were already a mess underneath him.

Jungkook took off your shorts and panties at the same time and tossed them somewhere else in the room. He was going right for it, causing your arousal still there from all the teasing of the leader on you half an hour ago to increase even more every second passing. But that’s when his mouth met your core that you knew you weren’t going to last long.

He was licking you clean, sucking your bundle of nerves, fucking you with his fingers. You were a dessert and he was fucking starving. You were a glass of water and he was thirsty as hell.

You were gripping his hair, scratching his neck. And in response he would groan against your clit, which drove you crazy. It was so good you couldn’t remember your name. Only his. And you were moaning it. Screaming it.

His mouth was perfect. His tongue was heaven; and his fingers were the key of it. The combination of them made you come hard, harder than you’ve ever orgasmed. Your high lasted a long time, and you had to blink a few times to stop seeing stars.

Jungkook was watching you, his frame towering you. He closed the gap between you to kiss your lips, and this time it was a real kiss. A kiss that made your breath even more erratic. A kiss in which you felt your own slit on his tongue.

“See you later, babe.”

Later that day, you received a text from Taehyung saying that you had to go to the headquarters right now. And you knew that you’d better be there very soon if you didn’t want to be in trouble, even though it meant you had to miss some classes at university. The gang was more important. That was the very first rule the fellow member had taught you when you entered the gang.

You were still wondering if you were going to get a new mission when you passed the door of the main room of the building. You weren’t the last person to arrive, but the room was almost full, since Jungkook’s gang was here as well.

You tried to catch the black-haired leader’s eyes, but he seemed to be deep in his thoughts. “Perfect! I think everyone’s here now.” You turned your head towards your own leader, still not sure what was about to happen. “They’re about to make a deal. The big boss always asks the whole gang to be there when it happens.”

You turned around to look at Taehyung who just whispered those words in your ear. He still had a few cuts on his face from the last mission they did. But it wasn’t as bad as the one Jungkook had had.

You were all silent, waiting for someone to start speaking and break the silence. And it finally happened after a few more minutes. “I’m gonna get straight to the point, Daehyun.” Jungkook said, talking directly to the leader of your gang. He was imperious and only someone mad would want to disrespect Jungkook at the very moment. “I know you want to make a deal with our gang. And I’m willing to consent. But I have some conditions.”

The B.A.F.’s leader seemed rather pleased and didn’t even try to hide it. By the face Jungkook’s was doing, you knew immediately he was contemptuous of this kind of reaction. The man you were now seeing for a whole week would have never showed his emotions like that.

You also knew Jungkook didn’t exactly liked your leader, making you wonder why he was accepting such a deal. “Our gangs will be linked. Meaning helping each other in case of problems. Collaborating. Exchanging pieces of information.” Daehyun nodded, his smile still visible on his face. “But I want Taehyung. And ___.”

Not even a fly could have been heard in the room at that moment. The B.A.F.’s leader was apparently thinking about it, trying to take the right decision. “You surely can have ___. Don’t even know why you want her so badly. But Taehyung… You have to understand he’s one of my best members.”

You almost wanted to roll your eyes. What a stupid bastard. “The role of a leader – of a good leader – is to know the qualities and the flaws of each member of their gang. If you would have taken an interest in ___, you would have discovered she’s studying medicine at university. And we all know a good doctor is an advantage you can’t deny in a cartel.”

Your whole body reacted as if it was on fire because of Jungkook’s words. He literally stood up for you, in front of both gangs. In a way, it almost meant more than him declaring his love for you. And the look of humiliation that was painted on Daehyun’s face made you even more ecstatic.

“I want Taehyung, too. And we both know I will have him.” It wasn’t a threat. But everyone could understand and sense the danger in Jungkook’s voice, and maybe Daehyun wasn’t the smartest person you’ve ever met, but he wasn’t stupid either.

So he finally accepted the deal. And that’s how you and Taehyung became a part of BTS.

Naked was the look that suited the most Jeon Jungkook. He was confident and stunning. And he was lying in your bed, his fingers running along your arm after many rounds of rather rough sex.

You were sleepy but you couldn’t resolve yourself to close your eyes and stop staring at your new leader’s face. “You’re so beautiful.” You didn’t even mean to speak, but you couldn’t care less. You thought it with every fiber of your body. “You’re gorgeous. And mine. In any way possible.” Was his reply to your previous outburst.

You quirked an eyebrow, and a playful smile appeared on your lips. “Mmmh, I don’t remember you asking me to be your girlfriend.” He was quick to mimic your smile and get even closer to your body. His head was now in your neck, his lips brushing the many love bites he left earlier. “You know I made you mine the moment I marked you, love. And we both know you love that.”

Light kisses were spread on your light skin, and he sucked one more time. You were tired, but you weren’t going to stop him. “Be my girlfriend, ___.” He wasn’t asking, but he wasn’t demanding either.

“We both know I want it more than anything else.” You answered. He stopped to kiss your neck to smile at you, eyes in the eyes. His smile was intoxicating. He was intoxicating. But a good kind of intoxicating.

“You know you don’t have to stay in the gang if you don’t want to.” Jungkook was serious and sincere. You could see it in his eyes. “I don’t want to leave the gang if it means being a stranger to you.” That was actually your biggest fear at that moment. Jungkook giving up on you.

“You will never be a stranger to me, ___.” He only called you by your name when he was talking with his heart. You learnt it during the short amount of time you spent with him. “Remember the night we met?” You simply nodded, captivated by the way his lips were moving. “You asked me what my dream was. And you proved me for the first time that day how smart you were. How smart you are. I spent my whole trying to find the missing piece. The person who will make me feel like home. And you make me feel like home, ___.”

You couldn’t even describe how your heart was pounding in your chest. Or how you wanted to be one with his whole heart and soul.

“You realized my biggest dream, love. And I want to spend the rest of my life realizing yours.” It was only him and you. Right here and right now. The rest didn’t matter anymore. You were each other’s home. And you were beautiful and strong together.

“So tell me, love. What do you dream about?”

[krsnbgirl]

Timing || Dancer!Kuroo x Dancer!Fem!Reader || One Shot

Summary: Timing with Kuroo was never right. You met him through a studio collaboration and immediately the chemistry between the two of you was undeniable. The catch? He was finding his way in life and you were in a relationship. Now that time’s past and you’re each at different stages in life, will time be on your side? 

Pairing: Kuroo Tetsurou x Fem!Reader 

Word Count: ~6k

Warnings: Light swearing, Final stages of moving on, Emotional cheating (?), visual aids for choreography purposes. 

Author’s Note: I’ve really been on a writing spree lately and have been dying to write a Dancer!Kuroo fanfic. I came across an old one-shot I abandoned in my drafts and decided to revamp it and have Kuroo as the main character ^^~ I hope you guys like it! Also currently working on a Kageyama x Reader Series if you’re interested! Let me know what you guys thought of this one shot though, love you guys! xoxo, Ren 

You sighed as you stared blankly at the laptop screen in front of you. You were seated against the headboard of your bed with your legs crossed, just like how you’d sit in grade school. Running a hand through your hair, your eyes were glued on the picture that was enlarged on your Instagram feed. ‘I didn’t think he’d move on that quickly…’

In the picture was your ex-boyfriend standing in front of the entrance of the local amusement park with the new girl he was talking to. A slight heavy feeling came into your chest as you exited the browser and pushed the laptop to the side. You pushed yourself off of the bed and rearranged the sweatshirt you were wearing. Making your way towards your desk, your eyes landed on the cork board that was filled with different Polaroids. A nostalgic smile came upon your face as you sat down in front of your desk and took the photo pinned at the top-right corner into your hands. Your ex had his arm tightly around your waist as you both cheekily smiled at the camera. His head was comfortably resting on yours while you were pinching his cheek. You leaned against your chair as you played with the photo, memories flooding your mind. It was when you reached your one year anniversary with your ex. It happened during your freshman year of university and he decided to take you to the amusement park to relive your childhood memories. Now with your third year of university coming to an end, things were different. You bit your lip as your hand hovered over the trash can that was tucked underneath your desk. The Polaroid hung at the edge of your fingertips as you debated to finally put a closing to your most serious relationship to date. You and your ex had broken up around a year ago on mutual agreements. Going to different colleges and having such hectic schedules took a toll on the both of you. It eventually came down to the point where you had naturally drifted away from each other because of how different your circles and interests were. With a sigh, you turned over the photo to look at the message that was written on a small stationery note taped to its back. 

To the most special girl in the world:

Life always seems more exciting when you’re around. 

We managed to get through a year, so let’s aim for forever, yeah? 

You’re the only person that understands me and gets how I think. 

I love you, princess. - Terushima Yuji 

Terushima was your first serious relationship having been best friends since high school and transitioned into being a couple as you matured into young adults. You were each other’s serious firsts and now that time’s passed, you realized that it was a part of life. One person could be your everything at one point and at some point, one outgrows the other if effort doesn’t come from both sides. In the end, you guys decided to still stay as friends. When the breakup was still fresh, you couldn’t believe it right after it happened. It didn’t actually hit you, but as time passed, the pain started to settle in and eventually you became numb to it. You were so used to having him by your side for so long and it hurt to see him move forward with life as you were just barely getting over him. You thought you’ve been doing fine after so long, but after seeing him post about a new girl, reality finally hit that things were never going to be the same again. An unexplained feeling came over you as you let that kind of realization settle over you. You were thankful that you could still be friends with Terushima, but now there were certain boundaries that you had to respect because he was no longer yours. He had a new girl in his life that he clearly loved and you were still single and finally ready to take the world on again. It was a good run while it lasted and you didn’t regret any moment of it. You felt as if you had come full circle with everything involving your ex. Rather than throwing the Polaroid away, you tucked the photo into the small memory box you kept in your desk. It would serve as a reminder just how much you’ve grown since that moment, plus first loves always had a special place in a person’s heart even after growing out of it. 

“(Y/N)? There’s someone here to see you.” your roommate, Megumi, said as she poked her head into your room just as you closed the drawer of your desk shut.

You cocked your head to the side in curiosity as you got up and followed your best friend into the living room of your shared apartment. 

“But I wasn’t expecting any visitors…” you murmured. 

Megumi shrugged and replied, “I didn’t expect this person to come all the way either.” 

As Megumi stepped out of your way and plopped herself onto the couch, you gasped and quickly walked over to hug the person who was standing by the TV, looking at your photos along the wall.

“Tetsurou!” you happily exclaimed and laughed as he spun you around. 

“Hey, chibi-chan.” he greeted as he set you down and ruffled your hair. 

“I thought you were going to teach a workshop in a studio in Seoul? What are you doing here in Tokyo? The last thing you told me was that you were in Paris.” 

Kuroo smirked and said, “Well I had to cancel Seoul when Oikawa called me to headline one of the workshops for his studio. I couldn’t say no to an old friend, now could I? So....” 

You arched an eyebrow and crossed your arms as he leaned down to meet your gaze. “I need someone to help me teach the piece I was planning on doing today. So, why not the person who co-choreographed it? 

You couldn’t stop yourself from excitedly jumping and grabbing his arm. “You still remember that piece when our studios trained together?” 

The latter nodded and straightened up, a warm smile spreading across his face. “Of course, chibi-chan. It’s one of my favorite pieces that I’ve ever choreographed to.” 

With an amused smile, you nudged him in the stomach. “You’re such a dork.” 

Kuroo chuckled and turned you around by your shoulders, pushing you towards your room. “Well what are you waiting for, slow poke? Go and get ready! We have about two hours to get it down before Oikawa starts to sass us!” 

A warm feeling spread throughout your chest as you rushed into your room to put on something more suitable to dance in. You rummaged through your closet and slipped on an over-sized graphic T-shirt with a pair of black biker shorts.. Quickly, you threw your necessities into your duffel bag and exited your room. Kuroo and Megumi were catching up as you made a pit stop in the kitchen to grab water for you two. 

“Alrighty, I’m set!” you smiled and tossed Kuroo his water as you made your way towards the shoe rack by the door. 

As you guys slipped on your shoes, Kuroo pointed towards the shoes you were wearing and laughed. 

“You were always the sneakerhead, huh?” 

You playfully winked as you straightened up from retying the laces of your latest pair that you copped as a special little treat for yourself. “I got them recently after getting paid from my last dance gig. I got a hefty sum from it, so I decided that it was finally time to drop a little more than usual.” 

Kuroo smiled to himself despite rolling his eyes at your statement. He opened the door for you and the two of you exited your apartment. Once you reached the lobby, you greeted the doorman as you made your way towards the spot where Kuroo parked. You smiled widely when Kuroo stopped by a slick, black sports motorcycle. Letting out a low whistle, you admired the vehicle as you slowly circled around it. 

“And you finally got a motorcycle license. This is a total beauty, Kuroo. I’ve been waiting to get on this type of baby for a while.” 

Kuroo laughed and tossed you the extra helmet he had in his storage compartment. “Just like you said, we gotta spoil ourselves once in a while right? Now c’mon get on.” 

You waited for Kuroo to get settled first before getting on the back seat of his bike. An excited squeal escaped your lips as he revved up the engine. He slid down his visor before turning around to slip yours down as well. You bit your lip as he smirked at you before turning his attention towards the oncoming traffic. 

“Better hold on tight.” 

Shaking your head at him, you comfortable wrapped your arms around his waist as he began to take you guys to the studio. You smiled widely as you watched the city speed past you, a lively feeling spreading throughout your body. Ever since the breakup happened, you managed to keep yourself busy in order to take your mind off things. Though you were constantly picking up dance gigs and doing other side jobs or even simply cleaning up the apartment, there was always this empty feeling inside of you. But now that Kuroo was back and with you, it felt as if he helped you break the chains you locked yourself up with. Looking up at the bright sky, you breathed in the fresh air and enjoyed how the wind surrounded you. You felt alive. You felt free and genuinely happy for once. The world now looked brighter and you were happy that Kuroo was able to bring that out of you. Tightening your grip around his waist, you mentally thanked the heavens for bringing him back to you. 

----

As you  monitored the class while Kuroo taught the combination of the piece, you smiled to yourself as you listened to his dorky references. He managed to squeeze in a couple of science puns and you bemusedly shook your head as the whole class laughed, but also understood what he was trying to get at. You held in your breath as you went towards the front of the class to take over his spot so he could also monitor everyone’s progress with the choreography. He gave you a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder because of the unexpected variable that was added into your guys’ equation. 

Once people started filing in for your class. Terushima and his new girl were part of the last few that trickled into the full class.  He managed to catch you as you walked back in after taking a look at the roster and you were shocked to see them there. While Kuroo was trying to pick music for everyone to stretch to, Terushima walked up to you and introduced you to her. Apparently, she was also a dancer and wanted to take Kuroo’s class. When you met eyes with him, you couldn’t help but smile back at him once he gave you a small smile. The pain that you used to feel wasn’t there anymore and you realized that you really did move on just like he did. Turning your attention back towards the mirror, you met Kuroo’s gaze through your reflection and he gave you a nod of encouragement. You let out a deep breath before gathering everyone’s attention to continue where he left off to finish the piece. 

Going over the last eight count, Kuroo ended up joining her in the front to teach together and they finished the workshop. You grooved to the music and let it take control of you as Kuroo danced beside you. When you heard the students having a fun time, you couldn’t help but laugh and smile. Everyone was grooving along with each other because it gave off that happy-go-lucky vibe that anyone could freestyle to. You didn’t even notice Terushima and his new girl as you surround yourself with other dancers. Kuroo would also try to divert your attention away from Terushima if he noticed your eyes wandering. It was hard to kill off old habits and you were glad that Kuroo was there to help you. 

It was finally time for you and Kuroo to watch the students do it in groups without your guidance after splitting it in half. You leaned against the mirror as Kuroo did the routine full out while they were marking** it. The way that he moved was something that you admired a lot about him. He was always able to sit in the pocket and fully complete his moves despite his tall stature. You smiled to yourself as you watched the students’ expressions as he walked away and stood next to you. Shouting some encouraging words to them, you smiled at the students before restarting the music for them. As the entire class watched the first group, you leaned against the speaker and Kuroo nudged your arm. You gave him a questioning look and he nodded towards the back corner of the room. **(Marking a piece means going over the choreography with half the energy to really go over whatever a dancer is struggling with. It also helps figure out the right timing for certain moves.)

“You hanging in there?” he asked as you both watched Terushima hand the girl a towel to wipe off the sweat. 

You shrugged, not really knowing how to answer. “I mean I didn’t really feel sad when I saw them in the beginning. But it’s just weird to see him in person, y’know?” 

Kuroo chuckled and ruffled your hair as he noticed your eyebrows scrunch up and a small pout on your lips, continuing to listen to your small rant. “I tried not to really pay attention, but it’s hard when they’re showing excessive public displays of affection. God, were we that bad when we were together? And he just so happens to be dating another dancer, make it make sense.” 

“There, there. Do you think he’s just trying to fill up that empty void since the both of you guys broke up?” 

You grunted as you pushed yourself off of the speaker and said, “I don’t know... Honestly as long as he’s happy, then I guess I’ll be fine.” 

“That’s my girl.” he praised and slung his arm over your shoulders.

You huffed and flicked his temple. He groaned and said, “Damn, I forgot how strong you could be sometimes.” 

You two laughed as everyone clapped for the first group. As the second group filled the floor, you made your way to the front to do it while they marked it. You mentally groaned seeing that said ex and new girl were in your group. Your expression deadpanned and you looked in the mirror to see Kuroo hunched over his phone, trying to contain his laughter. Sighing, you shook away any last negative thought and looked at Kuroo once more. Although still laughing at your luck, his attention was on you and gave you a reassuring smile. ‘You got this, chibi-chan. Ignore them and dance for yourself,’ he mouthed as the music started. Listening to his advice, you ignored everyone around you once more and just danced to your heart’s extent.

There was a reason why the both of you decided to make choreography to this song when you guys were originally assigned as partners. When you sat down together to come up with an idea, you guys were equally going through a rough time. Kuroo was kicked out of his house for choosing dance over his family’s business while you and Terushima were constantly fighting. On your first night of practice, you ended up having a heart to heart with Kuroo. The both of you unintentionally opened up to each other because dance is being vulnerable with yourself physically and emotionally. After spilling out all of your emotions, you guys decided that you simply wanted to be happy. Dance was an escape for you and Kuroo. Kuroo shared the same passion and love you had for dance because you both related over how dancing helps release the day to day stress that piled up. It was just better to live in that moment of dancing all of your emotions out. When it was time to do it for the showcase, the both of you not only had the fastest combination, but your piece’s intentions really showed through the moves and expressions that were displayed on that stage. It was in that moment where you and Kuroo wanted to show the world what dance meant to each other. The song, the moves, and the meaning behind it shared their untold stories. You smiled widely as you watched yourself in the mirror and did the footwork with ease. Adding your own style and facials into it, you felt yourself letting go of everything that was hanging over your head for so long. After being reminded of the origins of the piece you taught with Kuroo, you didn’t care if you were going all in on it while the other dancers were marking it. Dancing with Kuroo by your side was the most you’ve felt alive in the longest time and you weren’t going to let this small moment of yours go to waste. 

You smiled breathlessly as you ran back to Kuroo once the piece was over and it was time to watch the dancers once more. He handed you your towel and bottled water before patting you on the shoulder. 

“You were amazing, cutie. I haven’t seen you dance like that in forever. You spark’s come back.” 

Gulping down the water, you shrugged before giving him a bright smile. You tossed your bottle on the top of your bag and tiredly leaned against him. “I guess I just needed something to help let myself go.” 

He adjusted his position so you could comfortably lean your head against his shoulder and you guys continued to watch the class. 

“Let yourself go or to finally get some closure?” Kuroo asked. 

“Both I guess…” You murmured as you found yourself smiling at Terushima and his girl dance to your and Kuroo’s choreography. 

“I’m assuming tonight was something that really helped you then, huh?” 

You nodded as everyone clapped for each other. Kuroo warmly gazed down at you and squeezed your cheek. “Then I’m happy that you’re happy.” 

He walked off to let everyone get some water and you sighed, feeling grateful to have Kuroo in your life. Ever since he walked into your life, Kuroo always knew what to say when you came to him for advice. He was always willing to listen and be upfront with you if you were being stupid. Without knowing, Kuroo slowly became your best friend because of your shared love of dance and constant meetings for this piece. When he walked back to your shared corner, you couldn’t stop yourself before pulling him into a hug. 

“I know I say this a lot, but...just...thanks for everything.” you murmured. 

He set his head on top of yours and tightly hugged you back. “I’m always here for you, beautiful.” 

You laughed and slightly pulled back to lightly smack his chest. “Oh stop it with these pet names, you dork.” 

He let go of you as you told everyone to move to the front of the room. His focus changed towards his phone as he set up the music, a small smirk on his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, chibi-chan. You’re cute and beautiful. I’m simply stating the truth.” 

Kuroo only ever jokingly teased you, but seeing how he was being sincere with that compliment, you felt the heat creep up into your cheeks. Coughing to hide your blush, you rolled your eyes at him. “Ha, you’re so funny. Now c’mon, they’re expecting us to do it for them.” 

He chuckled and let the music play as he grabbed your hand. You shook your head at him as you bit your lip, letting him lead you to the middle of the studio. As the both of you danced, the world around you two disappeared. It was just you and Kuroo, looking at the mirror and dancing the routine. You could feel Kuroo’s energy right next to you as you danced and interacted with each other. It brought back memories of your late night to early morning practices. Getting to dance with him once more brought back all of the jokes and heart to hearts that were exchanged during your shared bubble tea and food runs before or after rehearsals. All in all, you were starting to get the old butterflies you chose to ignore when you first met Kuroo. 

When your attention came back to the present, you and Kuroo had finally finished the routine. Falling to the floor, everyone threw their shoes** at the both of you and you guys couldn’t help but laugh. All you felt was bliss as you laid on your back and Kuroo sat up, setting his elbows on top of his knees while you caught your breath. You looked up and smiled at Kuroo. It kind of surprised you how quick these old feelings quickly resurfaced and decided to just go with the flow. Throughout the night, Kuroo had been calling you different types of pet names and showed excessive skinship. You weren’t mad at it, but you were still unsure if he was implying something or being his regular affectionate self. **(Shoes being thrown at the choreographer or dancer doing the choreography is a sign of respect and admiration for killing the piece)

Everyone in the room began to chant for the both of you to do an encore since it was the end of the class. You groaned and Kuroo stood up, offering his hand for you to take. He easily hoisted you up and said, “You know we can’t keep the crowd waiting, right?” 

You rubbed your forehead, trying to think up another piece you could do together, but over the past two years you collaborated with Kuroo multiple times. There was so much choreography that you guys shared and you puffed out your cheeks since the class wouldn’t let up with their chanting. 

“What else is there?” 

Kuroo gave you a mischievous smile before heading towards the stereo. He turned towards you, walking backwards and said, “Put your sweater on or else you’ll get cold.” 

It didn’t register in your mind right away to what he implied as everyone quieted down. Everyone watched in anticipation as Kuroo scrolled through his phone for the specific song. Nevertheless, you followed his instructions and put on the sweater that you brought to wear after class ended. As the soft melody filled the air, you gasped and snapped your head towards Kuroo who was putting his sweater on as well. He smiled at you and walked up to you as you guys got into place. He nodded at the student he asked to press play for you guys to mark it and the both of you began to effortlessly move together. 

This piece was made when the strong emotions you felt for each other was at its peak and your studio directors requested that you and Kuroo collaborated once more to represent your studios at a prefecture competition. The theme of it was ironically love and in the short time period given to you and Kuroo, the choreographed piece was what you two used to speak about your unspoken feelings for each other. You smiled to yourself as you continued to mark the piece since it was a bit on the lengthier side. It was honestly one of your favorite pieces of choreography ever and your mind flashed back to how it came to be. 

“(Y/N), what do you think we should do this time?” Kuroo asked as you guys sat on the floor of one of the many rooms your studio provided. 

You shrugged and sighed as you laid on your back with your legs stretched out. “I don’t know, Tetsu...it’s up to you.” 

Kuroo looked at you as you curled onto your side and focused on your phone. Pursing his lips, he turned his attention towards you and set his phone to the side. 

“What’s wrong, (Y/N)?” 

You felt him tap your shoulder and looked behind you to meet his gaze. He gave you a look and you caved in to tell him what was bothering you. Sitting up, you curled your legs into your chest and set your chin on top of your knees. 

“I didn’t want to bother you...but I feel like Yuji and I will never bounce back after this break that he wanted… As much as I try to still check up on him, he’s grown so distant that I don’t recognize his new behavior sometimes...Do you think there’s another girl? I just don’t know what to do anymore, Tetsu… I just- I just don’t want to be in the dark anymore. Aren’t we supposed to get through everything together? I don’t get it, is it me? Who am I kidding? There is another girl, I saw him flirting with her after his class in their classroom.” 

“Don’t you say that ever again, (Y/N).” 

You blinked as he quickly cupped your face to stare into your empty eyes. He could see the unshed tears in your eyes and it pained him to see you so broken. Kuroo hated seeing you constantly being hurt by Terushima. He didn’t expect to fall in love with you in a span of three months of dancing together, but he did. The way you were able to welcome him so warmly and easily understood what he struggled with, Kuroo found himself falling hard. Whenever he danced with you and interacted with you, there was this unspoken connection that he’s never felt with anyone before. After the first showcase ended, you guys stayed in touch and had a weekly tradition of hanging out at each other’s apartments. When he was overseas, he missed the hell out of you and when you would cry over the petty little arguments with Terushima, Kuroo wished he had a plane ticket to go back to you. 

“You are more than enough, chibi-chan.” he reassured you and pushed some stray hairs out of your face. “Terushima lost sight of the beauty he has by his side and it’s his loss if it ever came down to it. Hell, I’ll immediately take you from him if you’d let me. That girl doesn’t compare to you, at all.”

You smiled weakly knowing the weight that was carried in his words. Leaning into his touch, you sighed and he caressed your cheek. “You know I would do anything to take the pain away from you, (Y/N).” 

You tightened the grip that you had around his wrist and he leaned his forehead against yours. The feelings that grew for Kuroo was something you stopped denying a while ago, but still a part of you couldn’t let go of Terushima because of how long you guys knew each other and that you were still in a relationship with him. It confused you because when you were with Terushima, you knew you wanted to be with him. But at the same time, it felt the same whenever you were with Kuroo. A part of you wished that you had met Kuroo first because he gave you the solace and warmth you’ve been seeking for. Your rationality spoke to you as you slowly pulled away, a sad smile on your lips. 

“I know you would, Tetsu...But due to the circumstances right now...you know I can’t. We can’t.” 

Kuroo felt you slipping away from him and decided it was time to be selfish for a bit. He didn’t want to let you go and wrapped his arms around, burying his face into your neck. 

“Please...let’s just be selfish this one time. If he gets to flirt with all the girls he wants on this so called ‘break’ between you two, can’t I have chance? Just until this showcase is over. I just want to show you how much you mean to me and how you are worth the entire world.” 

He looked up at you and without thinking, you cupped his cheek and Kuroo sighed into your warm touch. 

“Use me if you’d like, I don’t care. You know how I feel about you and I just hate seeing you hurt so much.” 

“Tetsu…” you murmured and he noticed the hesitation. 

He gave you a small smile before pecking the inside of your wrist. You watched as he stood up and walked over to the speaker then plugged in his phone. The faint sound of the piano filled the air as he made his way back to you and gently helped you to your feet. Kuroo smiled down at you and started to freestyle around you. It was the best way you guys could be vulnerable with each other when the words couldn’t come out. You hugged your arms to your chest as you watched him. His touch ghosted over your body and you bit your lip as he stood behind you. 

“For now, just forget about everything and dance with me.” 

In that small room, you gave in to the feelings that you tried so hard to suppress. Closing your eyes, you let your body naturally move against his as you danced along to the music. The song spoke out to you because the singers were doing the talking for you both. As you danced with Kuroo, your eyes never left each other the entire time. Interchanging moves and interacting through your eyes and body movements made you feel complete. Kuroo had managed to easily break down your walls and you smiled at him as he grabbed your hand, guiding you across the floor as you did a series of chaine turns*. As the song ended, you landed into his embrace and he lovingly smiled at you. You smiled back at him and he set his head on top of yours. 

“I think we just found the song that we’re going to use for the showcase, right chibi-chan?” he said as he tried to catch his breath. 

You nodded and in that moment, the both of you came into the silent agreement that you’d be selfish for the next two weeks. While preparing for the showcase, you met up with Kuroo every day to practice and improve your choreography to be the best that it could be. That was when Kuroo’s affectionate side really came into play. He shamelessly flirted with you and the skinship he’d do with you was nonstop. Kuroo took advantage of the small chance you gave him and never wasted a moment. He respected the boundaries you put up and when allowed, Kuroo would only kiss you on the cheek or forehead.

When the showcase ended, the two of you stood on the roof of your apartment. You admired the view and he wrapped his arms around your waist. The air around you guys was heavy as you silently leaned against his embrace. 

“So this is it, huh?” he asked softly as he inhaled the comforting scent of your shampoo, tightening his grip around you. 

You nodded silently and turned around, resting your hands on his chest. A solemn expression could be seen on your face, not wanting to make a move just yet. Kuroo kissed your forehead and you relished in the comforting feeling he gave you. 

“I wish I met you first.” you mumbled as you buried your face into the nape of his neck. 

“I know.” 

“I’m sorry…” 

“I know.” 

“You know that I li-”

“I know.” 

Kuroo cupped your face and gave you a small smile. It didn’t quite reach his face and you bit your lip as you felt your eyes water. 

“I just can’t let go....” your voice trembled.

“I know.” 

“You deserve better.” 

“I’m willing to wait.” he simply said and leaned his forehead against yours. 

“Why?” you whispered as you both closed your eyes, soaking as much of each other as you could. 

“You’re worth every moment.” 

It was quiet for a couple of moments and once you felt like you were ready, you stepped out of his embrace. He ran his hand through his hair and stepped back as well, admiring the beautiful features of your face. 

“I’ll see you whenever, chibi-chan.” he muttered as he felt his heart clench at the fact you wouldn’t be the first thing he saw in the morning. 

“See you...Tetsu…” 

You were brought back to reality as you ended the mark with his hands in your sweater and the class screamed for you guys to do it full out. He met your gaze and asked, “Are you ready, beautiful?” 

As you got back into position to do the choreography, you nodded and the air around the two of you changed. There was no hesitation between you two as you spoke your unspoken feelings towards each other. Overall you felt the lightest you’ve ever been as your gazes never left each other. It was just like you guys danced it the first time, but this time nothing was holding you two back. You danced with your heart and Kuroo could feel the familiar warmth and radiance he missed from you. As you stood in front of each other, dancing out the lyrics of the song with the movements of your hands, you talked to each other through your gazes and the music. 

One love, two mouths One love, one house No shirt, no blouse Just us, you find out Nothing that wouldn’t wanna tell you about, no

When the music picked up, Kuroo led the dance and you can feel how much you missed his presence. His touch burned against you as you finished up the routine. The world disappeared around you two as you felt him grip your hands in the pockets of your sweater. He leaned his forehead against yours and you were both breathlessly smiling at each other. 

“Woah…” he said as he slowly stood up straight. 

You squeezed his hands before they left your pockets and bit your lip. “Woah, indeed.” 

You laughed as he dorkily bowed at the class and motioned their attention towards you. As they cheered for you, you shook your head with the brightest smile never leaving your face. He took your hand into his once he walked up to you and you guys bowed to the class, saying your thanks. It was time for the students to do the choreography you taught one last time and the two of you walked off to watch them. Once in your corner once more, you didn’t hesitate to lean yourself against him and he slung his arm over your shoulders. His head rested on your shoulder as you watched the class through the mirror. 

“So...what was that?” you murmured.

“I don’t know, chibi-chan. You tell me.” he responded. 

You turned your head to look at him, your cheeks blushing. “Oh you most definitely know, Tetsu.” 

“Hm? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” he said as he nuzzled your cheek with his nose. 

“I’m ready.” you softly said.

“I know.” 

“That was fun.” 

“I know.” 

“I missed you.” 

“I know.” 

“You’ve been such a tease this whole day.” 

“I know.” 

“You already knew, huh?” 

“Maybe~” he replied in a sing-song tone. 

You hummed in thought and turned your attention towards the class once more. 

“Hey, (Y/N)?” 

Your eyes widened as you felt him lighty kiss your lips before quickly pulling away. It was short and sweet, but had such a big impact on you. Butterflies fluttered in your stomach and your heart raced as he kissed your cheek before walking away to join the freestyle circle that happened at the end of the routine. You laughed in disbelief as you felt your cheeks burn. He walked backwards as he reached the edge of the group and winked at you, holding out his hand for you to join his side. 

You took a deep breath and smiled to yourself. It was time for you to move on from your past and dancing with Kuroo helped you realize that. You were finally happy with where you were at and slipped your hand into his as the class made way for you two to be the center of attention once more. 

The timing was finally right for you and Kuroo to fully love each other.

[butterfly-winx]

One more girl on the lineup! Empress Heir Xiang Galatea of Melody, Fairy of Composing/ Composed Music! Super shiny, super brassy!

Details below!

Krystal | Diaspro | Mirta | Galatea | Nova | Miele

Galatea was born on Melody during a summer of spoiled harvest, and as it is custom for the emperor’s family to share the perils that hit their people, Galatea and her mother suffered significant undernourishment. This shaped Galatea’s years of early development and led her to appear frail and stick thin. At first the court’s medimagicians even suspected she would be an insufficient conduct for magic and never manifest any skills despite all her ancestry sporting strong magic users, but Galatea proved them wrong with her first fairy transformation, right on schedule on her fifteenth birthday. Using magic stabilised her and got rid of many of her fatigue issues, making her a lot more healthy than she looks to the eye. However this came with the side effect that her small treble clef shaped wings never fully disappear when she detransforms, always circulating some amount of passive magic through her.

“Xiang Galatea” is Galatea’s zí name, the one that is respectable and polite for people to use who don’t know her or are below her in standing. This name would usually be chosen when the person reaches adulthood and is ready to join society, but Galatea belonging to the royal family, she received it rather early so that she could make public appearances. Xiang is her family name that she inherited from her mother (which is a tradition on Melody that makes heritage tracing extremely difficult) meaning “lucky, good omen”. Her míng name that close family calls her by is “Wei Qing”, which derives from “small”  and “blue,green” in reference to the light eyes she was born with that darkened over the years to her current brown. Platinum is shockingly also not Galatea’s actual hair colour: she dyes it meticulously, but her transformations make the colour appear natural. She used moving away from home to Alfea as an excuse to change up her look without her parents knowing and went for the choppy pixie cut that has grown to be her staple since. 

Arriving at Alfea one year after the Winx made their debut, Galatea was very thankful for being able to enjoy her first year at school without great disruptions (whatever was going on in the Dungeons with a whole dimensional portal was not her problem, bless her soul). From a young age Galatea has been extremely dutiful, doing exactly as her grandfather wished or her country demanded of her, but this attitude slackened a little bit once had her own taste of the wider world. She knew she had to be thankful for the social position awarded to her by birth, for the continued faith of the people of Melody in the Emperor’s institute of power, but she couldn’t help but wonder. Did it even make sense to uphold the Empire? Wasn’t the court on its own enough? She just wanted more perspective, a little bit more from life, which probably sounded incredibly ignorant of her privilege as part of the heritage line of one of the world’s oldest dynasties. If her grandfather and father enjoyed a long life, then Galatea herself would have decades to enjoy life and build a family before she even had to consider ascending to the throne to rule. She had conversations with her father however, who suggested withdrawing from his position thinking it would be much better for Galatea to become Empress sooner so that the country could have a younger person at its head... That wasn’t exactly the kind of monarchy abolition Galatea had been hoping for.

Galatea was in general also tired of being followed around and supervised at all times, which probably influenced her change of spirit. There was painfully little however which she could have expressed her dissent with, aside the little promise she made her grandfather about connecting their countrymen abroad. She kept in touch with the other students at Alfea who also hailed from Melody as advised, but she didn’t really develop a friendship with either of them aside from Musa. Musa in her own way was already hardened from knowing two (and a half) princesses, so her attitude towards Galatea was completely different from the other Melodian kids. They were much too stiff when conversing with her and tried to mimic a proper Melodian high court accent that were just a little bit on the side of mocking putting Galatea off wanting to talk to them. So she didn’t and lied trough her teeth about tea ceremonies they supposedly held together, praying no babysitter to be sent after her.

Her second year hit like a sledgehammer to a wall with Valtor and the Trix causing upheaval all across the Magic Universe. Melody escaped their scrutiny for much longer than their neighbouring countries on the planet, but eventually Tian Qi Feng, the guardian fairy of Melody paid her and Musa a grim visit and cautioned them against returning home until the unrest has been settled. Worried about their families the two girls bonded comforting each other with a little piece of home, making music and cooking. To take her mind off the stress, Galatea threw herself into another kind of stressor with high expectations attached: her studies. She spent hours after class in the library, switching meaningful personal contacts for written text. 

She was just in a wrong place at the wrong time when the Trix sneaked in and took her hostage and forced her to hand out Alfea’s secret spell collection. The witches first tried their luck with the librarian who got knocked out by the force of Stormy’s attack before moving on to Galatea and torturing her by freezing off her wings. Absolutely and helpless in shock, all she could do was send a distress signal to Musa, deeply ashamed by her lack of skill facing the witches. The Winx swooped in not a second too late and chased the Trix off, but not before Darcy set off a cursed fire in the library that not even Bloom’s fire control spells could tame. The others carried the unconscious librarian off while Musa and Galatea stayed behind, the latter feeling responsible for the situation and the books that have given her so much comfort over the last few weeks. Loosing information was the biggest curse that could strike a society and Galatea didn’t want to let so many important books perish because of her mistake. It took Musa a minute to tear her away from her futile attempt and lead her towards the exit that had since been blocked by a fallen over bookshelf. Galatea pointed out that Musa could easily fly over the obstacle, but Musa objected that her Charmix wings wouldn’t be able to carry the weight of them both. It would be a strain on a clear day, but amidst all the fire and exhaustion from the smoke they didn’t stand a chance. Dutifully, Galatea told Musa to leave her behind, but Musa refused to trying to figure out a way for both of them to get out alive. Her stubborn dedication made Musa earn her Enchantix. Subduing the cursed flames with her fairydust, Musa led them out with Galatea clutching the precious book in one hand and Musa’s hand in her other. 

Outside Faragonda, teachers, other students have rushed to the burning library. Enchanti were instructed to use their dust to dampen the flames and Faragonda then used her powers to restore the books to their previous form, not a char mark left behind. Musa immediately returned to Galatea’s side once that had been dealt with and used her fairy dust one last time to give Galatea her passive wings back, ending the hour long anxiety attack Galatea didn’t even notice she was having. The two of them had a long conversation after that about low self esteem and feeling like the only worth one could earn was from how useful one was to other people. Galatea beat her insecurities about not being allowed to trust people and opened up to Musa admitting that she did want things from life, just for her own sake and Musa gently encouraged her to take that lep of faith next time a choice presented itself to her. In doing so, Galatea earned her Charmix.

Despite not much harm coming to her beloved books or herself, Galatea had been deeply shaken by the incident and developed a fear of the Trix, remaining apprehensive every time they were mentioned. During the Crisis of the Seas she stayed reserved in her grandfather’s shadow, right until the Trix started joining the mix. From there on she campaigned on behalf of Andros getting the help they needed and her words moved the Melodian court to mobilise troops for the final showdown. 

(In the time between the two eventd, she did earn her Enchantix and graduated Alfea with stellar results in the same year group as Mirta did. Similarly to Mirta, she had been swept up in the consequences of magic returning to Earth  and the unrest it caused across the Galaxy as well. Unhappy masses protesting the data collection regulations placed on witchers (lest they collaborate with the Black Circle from Earth, who were known terrorists, was the reason given) derailed a train she had been travelling on. Even though her magic aspect lay in something completely else, she tried to protect everyone in the carriage from the crash - and unlocking her Enchantix she did manage to do so!) 

In the S6 timeline she shows up likewise late in the story arc, but at a crucial point to offer help to the Winx after they have been beaten back by the Trix despite having gotten rid of the Legendarium. Despite their partial victory, the girls were once again without weapons as their Mythix spells didn’t pack a punch against the physical attacks of the Trix. So Galatea temporarily gifted her vial of fairydust to Musa to use as a last resort. Ever since the library incident the two women have been tied together by a life debt Galatea owed to Musa, which now has been resolved. Galatea herself joined the Red Fountain and Company of Light forces sent to liberate Alfea and detain the Trix. 

Having powers over Composing makes Galatea able to give other people inspiration and see harmonies, not just in music but in philosophy and life as well. She knows a lot about composed music as well - written songs, not passed by oral tradition - and can recite many to the great pleasure of her diplomacy skills teachers. It certainly helps if she can demonstrate knowledge on her conversation partner’s culture. Having an abstract power source Galatea is far from being a fighter and she absolutely prefers it so. Her very first battle (if you can call it that) showed her that she did not have the nerves of steel needed to handle such a dangerous situation with the acuity and quick-wit needed. She knows she is a weak conduct and has to take good care of her body and can’t afford to express large quantities of magic without fearing the rebound consequences. It took her a while to come to terms with it, but Galatea now knows where her strengths lie, and that is in politics: as her father’s and grandfather’s successor leading Melody. 

--

Galatea is very underappreciated because she stays away from the action so much, but I took the chance to make it a part of her character. Just because people are capable of magic doesn’t mean they have to work towards becoming the heaviest hitting canons in the universe. Galatea as a casual magic user has her own place in my heart and in my story! 

[bittybattybunny]

Did Kai have any sort of family after losing her foster family and becoming the Demon King? Or did she only have her husband?

Yes actually!!! A lot of Kai’s own story involves her own found family collection (i say collection just. cuz she tends to outlive them)

I’ve briefly mentioned she has a few kids and you see them in one of my sketchbook tours

but she also has a group of friends who she was close to

and the opening chapter of one of her ‘stories’ involves her dealing with the loss of a close friend she considered family (she even tried to go through legal means to see him but when humans turned around and said fuck you she snuck in. I can actually post this writing if people wanna read it?)

She also has some of her adoptive family still alive tho the bloodline is thinner. The Hellsing family she was raised in still exists to a point in her story (before the great catastrophe at least) Her whole ‘became the demon king’ thing happened when her uncle attacked her but she was able to get her sister in law and unborn nephew to escape while she distracted the rest (i have a whole ass animatic planned for this to the song “monster” from frozen’s musical. someday. someday I’ll be able to sit down on it weep)

This nephew was the one who hired Ren to help find “the king of fear” as she was known at that point. Alex is a good boy. His son was the one who went to find his great aunt after Ren’s death and she fully became a fallen god and offered her a place to stay and just. try to relax. She ended up falling into a deep sleep for a while and his family was the ones to build the ‘tomb’ she normally rests in when ever she has these extreme ‘low energy’ periods which can last between 5 years to her longest one was 5000. Typically she’ll rest for between 20-50 years at a time. and there’s a legit reason she does this too. But that’s not about family---

Point is that family is still very fond of their matriarchal demoness and she helped them found “Prometheus” a group to help humans deal with monsters and monsters live in peace. (cuz boy howdy do people have trigger fingers) there are other groups in their world with either similar goals or ones to ‘suppress’ monsters (example: The Order is a group who sees monsters as tools and lesser beings. sometimes Prometheus is forced to work with them and normally they send strong demons or dragons and such so that The Order can’t do anything to their operative. it was on one of these collaborations that Kai kidnapped Booberry from them. she regrets nothing.)

Kai often just refers to the current descendant as just “her nephew” as she’s too lazy to shove the amount of “great” in front of it because she’s old. there’s only one case of a niece and that’s where the bloodline ended (again that’s another story all together)

When Kai woke up after the Great Catastrophe alone she ended up meeting a young man named Leo (who if you look in Kai’s tag on my blog you can see him!) Who she bonded with and she likes hanging out with (and there’s other things but I’m not gonna talk about it)

There’s also her ‘generals’ and a few of them are gonna show in TLC soon (just a brief cameo) A group of 4 who’ve met Kai in a few incarnations and they always tend to get along. Original names were Matt, Trisha, Faith, and Maki is Maki (she’s an elf so she lives longer) Current names are Byron, Tiffny, Jacob and Maki. These four actually form Ren’s party when he’s trying to find his wife at the actual start of “Nightmare’s Dream” and you learn they each have a connection to Kai through the story.

Matt/Branden/Byron; he’s featured in the writing I mentioned up top, he’s kinda similar to Leo in the way he interacts with Kai as an almost human morality pet for Kai. He used to be Kai’s student when she was teaching, and his father was the warden at the jail her friend Sammy was in (this is the friend she lost) Matt can see through her disguise when she’s showcasing nightmares. Kai can cause hallucinations on targets using her ‘fear’ hence her title “king of fear” and normally they are only visible to her and her target. But Matt can see them.

He ends up getting in trouble a few times; once with a tribe of demons who want to turn children into imps, once with the literal Anti christ, once with a haunted house. And each time Kai was there and ends up saving him.

Matt later is in an accident and ends up reincarnating as a winged human named Branden and has all his past memories. So when he starts working at Prometheus as one of their ‘informants’ (aka he goes to gather information in both human and supernatural affairs. he’s referred to often as the angel of trust because of his silver tongue) and he meets her again he shouts something from one of his classes with her causing her to snap back on reflex until she realizes (running joke is Kai loathes Julius Ceaser and if you say his name she always whips around shouting “WAS A SLUT AND A HARLOT” in a very aggressive tone. It makes people laugh when she does and she always gets embarrassed afterwards)

The two of them end up working together for a while and become good friends (and maybe a bit more but they never state really) but then when with his new work partner Trisha (nicknamed angel of death, she works in the sector that deals with cleanup) he ends up betraying Prometheus and Trisha rips his wings off and kills him (this is the context between the ‘redraw’ meme I do every few years of a man with a bleeding back drowning)

Trisha is also someone who grew close to Kai (hence she killed Branden because his folly led to Kai nearly going berserk) but she was killed by a sleeper agent from the order. And this is how Kai lost two of her close friends.

Now backing up to Sammy the inmate one; he was with her when Kai met her first child, the young moon goddess Artemis. Arty is a constant for the demoness ever since she picked her up in the woods (her arc also has one of my favorite kai lines: (which i can’t find the direct line but)

Sam shuddered as he looked around the woods, “Do you ever feel like there’s 100 eyes watching you?”

“Yes but it didn’t work out so we broke up.” The demon responded flatly as she looked around with a deep set scowl.

While she was out with Sammy when he was hunting they ended up finding a little girl who turned out to be a new goddess and her elder sister was kidnapped by the embodiment of Greed in his attempt to become a god. Kai ends up stopping this but also kinda ends up becoming Arty’s mom. While she doesn’t raised Arty fully she does do a lot of teaching and such for her and does refer to her as “her daughter” and Arty calls her mom. when the great catastrophe occurs, Arty is one of the few gods who remained when the rest went to new ‘realms’ or simply vanished and is considered one of the main gods of their world because of this.

And then there’s her son Ganon, an Orc Lord she adopted when his village was ruined. he currently poses as her ‘demon king’ while she pretends to be the chancellor (this is the ruse she uses. normally heroes will fight the ‘king’ and lose but if they actually are a threat or have poor reasoning she kills them from behind. this is also how the story starts as someone found a spell to try and incapacitate her buttt)

There’s also morte and her daughter demeter (I’ve shown them before, a set of necromancers) who she’s very friendly with. Demeter even calls her aunty Kaya and loves to sit on her lap and such during meetings. (i have one snippet when Kai was recruiting someone to their side but hadn’t told her yet she was the REAL demon king and Demeter was sitting on her lap laughing) Morte is thankful to Kai for saving her circus (Morte runs a circus that helps those stuck in limbo pass on but at one point demons of sin over took it in a way to gather souls)

There’s also her friend Ciera, the daughter of the girm reaper. she’s Kai’s best friend for the most part of her life, and is the one who helps Ren when the gods of life and death try to prevent him from reincarnating again (which is like other things a whole other story) (she also briefly shows in Bone Stealer at one point. While visiting bunny’s sick grandmother, Bunny and Steve run into Ciera as she’s leaving. Steve stops Bunny from attacking her) She’s over all chill.

There’s also Nicki. Kai’s ‘twin’ brother. He’s the ‘bad guy’ through the arc that contains Leo and sets up ‘the great Split’ that Kai will cause (this is lore/plot stuff) He originally was raised to hate her by their maternal Uncle who’s a arch mage like Ren however he’s fallen due to his hatred of Kai’s birth. Nicki is not really her brother (in the first life) but a failed clone of the demoness. When Kai is reborn Nicki gets to actually be her brother and the two get along really well and he’s very protective of his sister now that he understands what her actual deal is and not the bs his uncle fed him. Before the rebirth too Nicki helped kai solve some stuff and worked with her until his death (unlike her, he was not immortal)

And then Kai actually has two bio children with Ren! Akito her son takes after her and he’s the one who takes over her role as the true demon king of Tir-Na-Nocht so she’s able to die and try life again, and a daughter, Rei who takes after Ren in looks but... she’s a himbo. pure moron. she got her grandpa’s himbo gene strong. She’s a cat girl who works with her brother and she is the head of the guard.

Aki actually has his own story where he grew up in a ‘mundane’ world but then his entire class got ‘isekaid’ to another. it gets shown that this isn’t truly the case. the great ‘split’ mentioned above was Kai literally broke the world in two realms. She made one primarily humans and high tech and then the other was magic and mostly monsters. there are a mix of both but it cut down heavily on the murder. She raised Aki in the human side for his and Rei’s safety due to them being the children of a fallen god (mama worries) and Aki inherited his mother’s odd ‘status’ “Hero/Demon King”  so he has to not expose his demon nature and also stay below the radar (it turns out the person who summoned them was attempting to break a centuries old treaty) until his mother and father can figure out what happened to him (thankfully he can go to a church and his older sister Arty can act as a messenger but there’s a bit of a time split in the worlds) That world is actually the one “Fae Rules” takes place in o7o.

She also is friends with a dead prince named “Shade” (yes this is who you think it is) as well as her ‘cousin’ Sena (who she loves to give shit to)

And in her second life she obvs has her brother, cousins, her father (her father’s boyfriend/her manny), aunt’s etc!!!

So yes; she had family other than her husband!!!! And she cherishes them all.

[tonystarkbingo]

Our TSB party is still going, and here is one of the games we’ve had fun with so far!

Fic Titles Game

Glitter - suggested by @phoenixmetaphor3000

@huntress79 - Idea: Dum-E teams up with Steve (other Avengers optional) to bring some Christmas cheer to their favorite in-house Grinch (aka Tony XD)  Massive amounts of Glitter involved

@rebelmeg​ - tony kind of has an accidental thing for glitter. it's not his fault. the iron man suit has a glitz and glamour of its own, he's always told his eyes sparkle, and his favorite tie pin is that gaudy ruby one that pepper hates. he loves the stars, the way sunlight sparkles on the waves outside his malibu mansion, and he can't really be blamed when a tiny speck of glitter under a certain someone's eye catches his attention one december day.

@psychiccatpanda - Clint refills DUM-E's fire extinguisher with purple and silver glitter as revenge for Tony making Clint's most recent armor change to red and gold with body heat. Hijinks ensue.

@lbibliophile-mcu - Decorating the Christmas tree, the Avengers get into an argument over who is responsible for the missing tinsel. Half an hour later they find it, in a tangled web draped all over Dum-e. He objects strenuously to its removal, but eventually concedes to their assistance in rearranging the strands so he can still move.

@huntress79 - The Avengers are invited to a Charity gala, but they have to wear costumes that are NOT their usual ones. And of course, Tony can't resist an opportunity to rile up a certain Captain, just a little bit. Best way to do so: a dare, in this case who wears the most glittery costume. But what Tony didn't expect was that Steve comes up with his own counterdare... (author's choice ;))

@darthbloodorange - [Stony] - It's pride, so there was bound to be some glitter floating around, it was inevitable. But this much? Someone was obviously being irresponsible with glitter and needs to be given a warning for the good of the world (and the Tower's cleaning bots). Tony follows the trail of glitter... all the way to Steve's room? Does this mean that Tony's crush on Steve actually stood a chance of being more than just a crush.

@ralsbecket - It was Steve's first Father's Day being Morgan's step-dad, and Tony helps her with cooking breakfast in bed and sprinkling red, white, and blue glitter on a handmade card (not particularly in that order). Steve still finds glitter everywhere weeks later.

@rebelmeg​ - i can't art very well, but i want art of the aftermath of tony opening a glitter bomb that rhodey left out for him

@huntress79 - (Stony) - During a mission in space, Tony and Steve are stranded on a planet, with no immediate way to get back. After a while, they encounter tiny little beings who introduce themselves as fairies. But while they can't fulfill their wish to get home (for whatever reasons), they might be inclined to use their glittery fairy dust for something else… (could also be used for a crossover with Hook/Peter Pan)

@rebelmeg (with some inspirational help from @dreaminglypeach) - tony coming home with glitter all over his suit and looking super smug, and everyone IMMEDIATELY assumes strippers. but of course it's gotta something completely different and silly.  like... he wandered through the christmas department at the store and slipped on something and ended up sprawled on the glitter strewn floor

 @yesmooshoe - Tony is somehow de-aged to around 5. The Avengers do their best to take care of him while they figure out what to do, but don't keep a constant eye on him. Tony likes all of his new friends though and wants to do something special for them, so he acquires a bunch of glitter and glue (maybe jarvis helps? maybe thor likes crafting? fuck knows.) Tony proceeds to embellish everyone's stuff - glitter all of steve's shield, thor's hammer, glitter all over Clint's arrows (which really throws off the balance but he can't be mad), and even a weird-looking red and yellow robot suit. When Tony is finally returned to normal he's upset with his younger self for how haphazardly he glued all the glitter to his suit, because it could have looked super cool if done well.

Collaborative effort that started with strippers and then went off the rails

Glitter lube

Scratchy, what a terrible idea

oh my god but imagine shitting out glitter

Edible glitter

Edible glitter on cakes

Edible glitter exiting the human body

So many glitter poop jokes and anecdotes

@ralsbecket - The Avengers are forced undercover for a mission to catch a villain red-handed, and this villain just so happens to work from the basement of a strip-club. Tony draws the short straw, but at least he can choose his own stripper name.

@lbibliophile-mcu - He's sure it looks very pretty. Gentle waves ruffling the surface of the bay. Each strand of grass on the dunes lined in perfect crystals of frost. Dawn sun painting the sky pink. And right there is the problem: dawn sun. It is far too early to have to deal with all these stray rays of light stabbing through his eyes.

(More under the cut!)

Vices - suggested by @ralsbecket

@huntress79 - (Stony) - Steve's a hard working cop on the vice, Tony's his "favorite" frequent delinquent (aka Tony's a bit of a bad boy who usually gets arrested by Steve, for rather minor things, but Tony can't shut up when Steve's around, so it's more for his talking than anything else) (Steve, of course, can be replaced by any other character, whatever floats your boat XD)

@rebelmeg - tony kicked a lot of these habits a long time ago. it's been ages since he's been high, or slept around, or partied until he literally dropped. but around this time in december, he's allowed a few of his other vices. his need for near-constant touch and attention. drinking. staying up to keep the nightmares away, and being coaxed to bed when he's so exhausted he's asleep before his head eats the pillow. eating all the food he loves that aren't that great for him. it's okay, though. this time of year, he's allowed.

@lbibliophile - "... This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing." And it was in that moment - confronted by the picture he made trapped in the grip of supposedly-helpful machinery - that Tony decided he really needed to prioritise a better way of getting the suit on and off.

@rebelmeg - some kind of profile art with the arc reactor depicted as one half of a vice clamped on tony's chest

@dreaminglypeach - vices: DUM-E was only trying to help squishy-dad with his work. He didn’t mean to get his hand stuck in a vice. If only sky-dad would stop chastising him and call for help…

@Magicadraconia16 - Dum-E does not understand why everyone keeps saying that vices are bad. They're very helpful tools! He loves the one that Tony gave him for his very own. He can show everyone, then they'll see! If only he can get it off of U's arm, first…

@huntress79 - Knowing that Tony will fall back to some of his old vices as soon as December rolls around, the whole Tower teams up to keep him from doing so (can be gen aka Avengers as a family, or end with your favorite partner for Tones)

@psychiccatpanda - [potential WinterIron] Bucky has been researching everyone on the team and it seems like the media has nothing better to do than to gossip about Tony Stark's vices - women, booze, and expensive cars mostly. The trashier gossip bloggers openly speculated on what (or who) Tony's latest mistake would be. When Bucky gives Tony a judgmental look after he's returned from being out (much longer than the hour Stark had said he'd be gone), Tony frowns. The bag clanks like metal. What the hell had Tony meant when he'd said he needed to 'go pick up some new vices'?? ((hint - it's actual vices. It always takes longer at Home Depot or any hardware store because Tony has to look at everything before he leaves!))

@tehroserose - [Stony] Steve had only one vice. Well, two, but they were related. He loved watching Tony's backside, and he loved getting him angry. The genius was so alive when he was angry, and then he was treated to a wonderful view of the amazing backside. Bucky was about ready to smack him upside the head for his kindergarten way of having a crush.

@darthbloodorange - [Stony] - Before the serum there was a lot of things Steve couldn't experience, whether it was because of his conditions or lack of money. Steve's favourite thing about the 21st Century is all the foods and flavours. Being able to eat things he couldn't eat before. Being able to taste things he wouldn't've been able to taste before. Steve spends his military back-pay on food and treats... a part of him burns at the idea of spending his money this way, there were more beneficial things he could be doing with it... But he can't help himself, especially when some flavours taste like euphoria. Tony notices and decides to indulge in Steve's vices.

@huntress79 - (potential HawkIron) For the longest time, Clint always had to choose before a mission between wearing the team comms and his hearing aids, otherwise his ears felt like being in a vice. SHIELD didn't see it as a necessity to equip him with better things, but once he joins the Avengers, and Tony notices the obvious problem, things start to look up for the resident archer....

@huntress79 - Ever since he got free of the programming and came to live at the Tower, Bucky's been doing repairs on his metal arm on his own. But after a mission, putting his arm in a vice and working with the fine tools isn't the easiest thing to do. And Buck's too proud to ask anyone for help, be it Steve or anyone else. Good thing that he can't stop JARVIS alerting Tony to that particular problem... (can be friendship/mending bridges between them, or WinterIron)

5 Times Tony Stark was a Terrible Cook, Plus 1 That One Time He Finally Ordered a Pizza - suggested by @yesmooshoe

@tehroserose - Tony/Others, Tony/Rhodey end. Tony has always tried to cook for his dates. He wants to impress them. Problem is, he can't cook. And too many people just want the Stark money and lie and say it is good. Or they're too afraid/intimidated to tell the truth. Later, much later, he realizes they aren't good for him. Then there's Rhodey, who's never afraid to tell Tony that his cooking sucks... and then, after the last relationship ended, this time when the white lie was out of care, Rhodey again tells Tony his food sucks, let's get pizza. And they kiss, over the pizza.

@rebelmeg - first it was cookies. cookies burnt to a crisp that even ana jarvis couldn't salvage. second was spaghetti, so mushy and overcooked that rhodey couldn't stop laughing even when tony threatened to throw his enormously thick math textbook at him. third was that whole "raw in the middle" chicken incident that happy still won't let him live down, and fourth was the disastrous omelet for pepper. fifth was morgan's 1st birthday cake, and thank heaven's pepper was wise enough to ignore him and order a backup. this time, he's just gonna order a pizza.

@huntress79 - Tony The Cook: The Jarvises tried, Mama Rhodes as well, but for all his genius, Tony can't figure out a cooking recipe. Nonetheless, he tried to impress several various dates with his cooking skills. Needless to say that none of these attempts (both cooking and dating) ended well. Then, he meets Steve, a guy who doesn't care at all what they eat, as long as they eat together. And so, Tony orders pizza for their date…

@Magicadraconia16 - It's an unfortunate historical fact that Tony cannot cook to save his life (hmm, there's an idea for the next HYDRA kidnapping...). Rhodey's meal was burnt to unidentifiable cinders (seriously, even Tony doesn't know what it was supposed to be); Pepper's gave her an allergic reaction; Natasha chipped a tooth; Hulk came out and threw Bruce's food out of the (closed!!) window; and Steve got food poisoning. Steve!!! So when Bucky turns up in his workshop one day, Tony decides to selflessly save everyone from a hangry Winter Soldier and just orders pizza, instead.

@ralsbecket - 5 + 1 Pizza: Tony Stark was many things. He was a genius, he was a billionaire, he was a playboy, he was a philanthropist. The thing he was decidedly not was a good cook. It was one burnt omelet too many before Pepper begged him to just order out. The person delivering his pizza was... attractive. If he started ordering pizza on Fridays at 6PM every week for a month, that was nobody's business.

@lbibliophile-mcu - Tony just wants to offer a fancy home-made anniversary dinner. It's not so much that Tony is a terrible cook, but that something (or several somethings) always go wrong. His significant other's flight was delayed. He gets distracted by a minor crisis half way through cooking. He tries to prepare beforehand, but forgets to label it before leaving it in the common fridge. Had a mistranslated recipe or the wrong measuring spoons. Dum-e tried to 'help' while he was distracted. The next year, his SO requests that they just order pizza to eat cuddled on the couch.

@psychiccatpanda - Single dad Tony tries to do it all. He feels terrible about the amount of time his three kids (all under the age of 5) spend in daycare, but college will be expensive, so he works -and works. But he tries to make the after-work before-bed moments really count. Sometimes his carefully planned dinners don't work out. Monday, the slow cooker wasn't plugged in and their chicken and potato dish spoiled for being on the counter for almost 13 hours unrefrigerated. Tuesday they were out of bread and ate PBJ on the last three hot dog buns. Wednesday, he thought dinner was fine, but Peter declared it was 'too spicy' and so none of the kids would eat it. Thursday he burned the chicken nuggets in the oven because he had to help the kids with their baths, and Friday? Well no one was gonna talk about that again. Saturday Tony's ready to cry because he's pretty sure Morgan is coming down with something. So he orders pizza. When the pizza delivery guy arrives, holding Morgan, she barfs all down Tony's back. Pizza delivery driver yanks the pizza away and asks if he can come in to set it down in the kitchen, then helps out with the kids while Tony takes a shower.

@darthbloodorange - [Stony] - It was meant to be romantic, cooking for a date. But with Tony it was definitely not romantic. Cooking for Rumiko he managed to burn everything, yet have the food still raw. Firefighters had to be called when he set his dorm alight cooking for Janet. Ty needed to have his stomach pumped after Tony's cooking (how was he to know what was too much alcohol, wasn't it meant to burn off?). Indries had stomach problems for weeks after Tony cooked for her. And he managed to poison Pepper... Needless to say, Tony wasn't a good cook... So when he scores a date with Steve Rogers, he thinks "why bother try? Steve is too good for me anyway", there was no way they were going to last. So he orders a pizza. Steve is relieved when he sees the pizza. He had been hoping Tony would pick something down to earth, worried he wouldn't know how to eat whatever posh food Tony put in front of him and make a fool of himself. Steve admits he doesn't know how to cook either. Maybe Captain America isn't so perfect. Maybe... Maybe this could work out. Him and Steve

@huntress79 - Of all the people, Tony has probably the most irregular eating rhythm. He has been known to try and cook for himself, but the results are less than stellar. So, one by one, each of the Avengers try to cook for him, until Steve joins him in the workshop with a small stash of pizzas…

@lbibliophile-mcu - It was all Steve Rogers' fault. Him and his insistence on 'team dinners' to 'promote bonding' and 'improve cohesion'. Not that Tony necessarily objects to the dinners - pending his schedule - but Steve seems to have this odd conviction that having home-cooked food is a necessary part of the ritual, and none of them can change his mind. Natasha tried logic. Clint tried begging. Bruce, he's pretty sure, is sneaking in pre-made food and just cooking the final steps. Thor thinks it's a great idea... but is always for some reason back on Asgard on his nights. But Tony is a genius, so he decides on a different approach. He grumbles a little bit, but otherwise doesn't complain when it's his night to cook. He cooks... and watches as each of the Avengers gives up on choking down the barely-edible meal. The next time he is rostered, the scene repeats. And the next. And the next. By the sixth time he is due to be cooking dinner, Steve comes up to him and politely - but pointedly - suggests that maybe they just order pizza. Tony thinks of the several meals worth of tasty leftovers hidden in the penthouse fridge, and graciously acquiesces.

I hope Thistle cheer you up - by @darthbloodorange

@rebelmeg - it was the pun war to end all pun wars. and it was probably going to end all of them. clint was fine, he loved puns almost as much as he loved pizza. steve hated puns so much he had taken up swearing. tony took sadistic glee in saving his worst puns for when steve was around. nat was famous for using the most clever of puns at unexpected moments. bucky could deadpan a pun so seriously it always took them by surprise. thor was terrible at it, still grasping the nuances of american english, but he sure tried hard. bruce tolerated it all and made half-hearted attempts at participation, though chuckling at his own puns was usually funnier than the puns. sam loved making puns, but hated it when other people did. it started creeping into other areas of their life, onto social media, in interviews, and at one point hawkeye was trending for awhile after he screamed out "THISTLE CHEER YOU UP!" whilst battling some kind of plant monster. tony helped, because he retweeted with the comment, "ooh, talk dirt to me."

@ralsbecket -  So what if Tony had gotten laid off? So what if Tony had a mountain of bills sitting on his dining table? The only thing that mattered to him in that moment was his baby girl Morgan, with her hair falling out of the ponytail and her cute little lisp. She'd come back in from the backyard with a handful of dandelions, saying, "I hope thistle cheer you up, Daddy" so sweetly that for just a moment, everything was okay again.

@psychiccatpanda - [IronHawk] Tony's been working on the reams of paperwork that he's put off for SI. He's still not sure why it all needs to be done before the end of the quarter, but here he was. Needless to say, Tony Stark has been in a foul mood the whole week. The snide comments he usually keeps to himself have started to slip out and he feels guilty on top of the grouchy, so he decides to barricade himself in his office. He falls asleep on a sheaf of papers and wakes up with the impression of little ridges of paper on his cheek. It takes a moment (he hasn't been asleep that long) for him to fully realize the plant in front of him was real. An aloe plant - with a plate of chocolate muffins, fruit, cheese, and nuts. A post-it on the aloe's pot read, 'I hope thistle cheer you up,' written with a purple felt tip pen., which meant either Clint had left it - or Natasha pretending to be Clint.

@lbibliophile-mcu - Bruce looks at Tony, then back down at the spiny dried flowerhead in his hands.

"I know that you were getting frustrated trying to find these for your new fibre arts project, so I decided to help." His eyes light up as he realises the pun. "Thistle cheer you up!"

Bruce sighs even as he smiles.

"Tony... I appreciate the thought, but as you said, this is a thistle. I need a teasel."

@darthbloodorange - [Stony] - Tony really doesn't like his neighbour Justin. The man was always trying to find ways to report him to the local council. Mailbox too close to driveway? Reported! Weeds in his lawn? Reported! Fence too high? Reported! Didn't clean his pool that weekend? Reported! Lawn too long? Reported! It was ridiculous. But the council won't do anything because taking action against someone who's reported you (even if the reports were false) is apparently considered wrong and vindictive. There was nothing Tony could do but grit his teeth and bear it. One day Tony receives a box in the mail, addressed from his neighbour across the street. The handsome blond guy with the body of a Greek god and a garden that looked like a literal paradise. Steve Rogers. Tony wasn't too shy to admit (to himself) that he had a crush on the man. He eagerly tears into the box to find a small note and a lots of little bags of mulch wrapped in tissue paper. The note reads: "Tony, I've heard you be having some trouble. I hope thistle cheer you up. After the rain comes flowers. Ps. Throw these over Justin's fence." And so he does. Watching Justin battle all the weeds after it rains brings Tony so much joy. Especially when Justine reports him to the council and the council shrugs him off this time. He heads over to Steve with some home cooked food as a thank you gift and they get talking. Turns out Steve is an Environmental activist with a passion for guerrilla gardening. Tony is hooked. Maybe it has more to to with Steve then the revenge on Justin (as sweet as it was)

[sinceileftyoublog]

Robert Finley Interview: Ready for the Race

BY JORDAN MAINZER

At the risk of sounding cliché, it’s truly been a long, often hard road for blues and soul singer Robert Finley. On his new album Sharecropper’s Son (out tomorrow on Easy Eye Sound), he delves into his past. Ever since he hooked up with Dan Auerbach on 2017′s Goin Platinum!, Finley’s 60-year backstory has been more often chronicled in the mainstream, from being born and raised in Bernice, Louisiana and enlisting in the army as a teenager to suffering from a car accident, a divorce, and eventually ending his carpentry career after being deemed legally blind. And yes, he never gave up and eventually got lucky, being discovered busking by Music Maker Relief Foundation, touring, releasing an album, and eventually establishing a long-term collaborative relationship with Auerbach. Yet, until now, Finley hasn’t written about his early childhood, being raised along with his 7 siblings on a crop share in Louisiana.

Sharecropping refers to an agricultural legal arrangement where a landowner allows a tenant to use land in exchange for the share of the crops produced. It was a popular arrangement in the South from the Reconstruction to Jim Crow years following the abolishment of slavery; in reality, it was just another way for white Americans to maintain economic hegemony over Black Americans. “You get all the work, and the money never seems to come,” Finley told me over the phone in March from his home in Louisiana. “You always break even, and unless you own the farm, you really didn’t benefit. The checks from the cotton and from the corn didn’t come in your name.” In other words, Finley said, “Sharecroppers don’t get their share.”

Sharecropping was backbreaking, “out in the hot red sun,” Finley sings on the album’s title track, “where the work is never done,” Auerbach’s blistering guitar and keyboards shimmering like rays from the sun. That said, Finley never realized how rough things truly were. “We were poor and didn’t know it,” he told me, citing the fact that because they were never hungry, he actually thought they were rich. “We had cows. We had chickens. We had hogs. We had fresh milk...It was like we were really living it up!” he said. Moreover, since many of their neighbors didn’t have direct access to fresh food, Finley’s father would share their bounty, from meat to vegetables. And, as the youngest son, he spent a lot of time helping his mom in the kitchen, citing that experience as partially inspiring his love of cooking to this day.

With Sharecropper’s Son, Finley is not trying to provide a list of lamentations. “It’s not a pity party,” he said. Even more than not going hungry, Finley cites his father’s optimism and generosity as formative. “My dad, in his religious beliefs, always hoped for better things and a brighter tomorrow...at the end of the day, after picking the cotton, or pulling the corn, we had plenty to give away. I don’t know if my dad sold some of it, but I think he did way more giving than selling.” Eventually, his father “wised up” and gave up sharecropping, and to this day, Finley’s brothers and sisters, despite only his oldest and youngest sister graduating from school, live comfortably. Notably, Finley also holds where he grew up near and dear to his heart. On “Country Child”, he juxtaposes harsh memories of cotton fields with yearning for the more comforting aspects of the South, especially country girls who “give you a country smile.” He mentioned me that the sparse population of rural Louisiana meant that he had to cross rivers just to see his neighbors, but also that folks in a many mile radius knew each other well, to the point that “you could get a couple boards and put them in front of your house, and someone would ask you what you’re doing with them.”

Above it all, Finley learned from both his father’s mindset and his own ability to overcome. “That’s why I tell my story / So you could start dreaming too,” he sings on “My Story”, while the hand percussion-laden “Starting To See” details the symbolic perspective on life he gained after losing his sight. And the album ends with spiritual gospel waltz “All My Hope”. Even better, Finley offers himself up for his listeners, on tracks like “I Can Feel Your Pain”, a church organ hymn where he empathizes with folks suffering from everything from COVID-19 to police brutality. It’s why he stays positive and keeps on keeping on. As someone who walked again after an accident despite the odds and who was “discovered’ so late in life, he doesn’t let practicality tamper his ambitions. “Like a horse in the stall,” he said, “I’m ready for the race.”

Below, read my conversation with Finely, edited for length and clarity.

Since I Left You: What made you want to sing more autobiographically this time around?

Robert Finley: I guess it was a chance to express myself and talk about these true stories. It’s not a made-up fantasy. It’s real life. It’s a chance to tell what life was like being a sharecropper. I was talking to all my siblings--4 brothers and 3 sisters, so there were 8 of us. My youngest sister doesn’t remember that much about it, but I’m the second youngest, so I wanted to get it out while all of us siblings would be able to form their opinion on it.

SILY: Would you say that the pandemic and the reckoning around the Black Lives Matter movement and subsequent increased awareness among White Americans gives these songs extra resonance?

RF: Yeah, I feel like it really opened the world’s eyes to what’s really going on. A lot of times, things happen we just don’t want to talk about, but that don’t stop ‘em from happening. In this case, it was a blessing to be writing about the right thing at the right time. 

Even me and Dan Auerbach meeting, that was heaven intervention, too. What do a 30-something year old man and a 67-year old man have in common that can reach the people? It would have to be the music. Music is not a racial thing. Music, to us, is what comes from the heart and goes to the heart. If you need a blood donor or kidney donor, you’re not gonna ask what color the person was or what race the person was who’s giving the blood and giving the kidney. The whole purpose is for you to get the kidney and stay alive. Music is pretty much the same thing. Even if people can’t speak the language, they can feel the vibes of the music. There’s always somebody that can translate what the artist is really saying, but if the music is right, and the message in the music is right, it really doesn’t matter what color the person is or where they come from. It’s all about what comes from the heart and goes to the heart. 

That’s where my songwriting comes in. To be able to reach out and touch people, because you want to give people something they can feel, that they can relate to. Not just a cool beat, not just a pretty voice, or whatever. The song needs to have a message that people can relate to. [And] as far as whether it’s soul, blues, country-western, jazz--if you’re looking for rock and roll, you can find it on the album, if you’re looking for soul, if you’re looking for country and western. It’s got a little of everything. That was the goal, and hopefully it’s being accomplished.

SILY: It seems like everybody who works with Dan has a musical connection and shared love of the same thing, even if not a widely known song or album. Do you feel that connection?

RF: Yeah. You gotta have something positive going even for Dan to reach out to you. Dan is looking for originality. People who want to stand out, not someone who’s trying to fit in. He looks for raw talent and gives them [opportunity] to express themselves. He’s open-minded and open to suggestions. He wants to know Robert Finely and produce Robert Finely and not to make me into something I’m not. 

SILY: On “Country Child”, you talk about driving by a cotton field as an older man and still feeling your back hurting. But on the same song, you talk about preferring a country girl to raise a country child. Was it important for you to talk about that complex relationship with where you came from?

RF: Yeah. Don’t get me wrong--I don’t have a thing against city ladies--nobody in the city smiles because it makes them look tough and look hard. In the country, they wave at everybody whether they know ‘em or not. It doesn���t matter because everybody’s just saying hi! In the city, people live across the hall or across the street and don’t know their neighbors. It’s a whole different lifestyle. They don’t let their guard down. I was trying to keep it as real as possible.

The country girls, they just wave and smile, and if you say something they don’t agree with, they move on. But they’ll talk for a while, and they give you the benefit of the doubt.

Sometimes, if you’re too friendly, you can become a victim. If you go in the city smiling at everybody, they automatically know you’re not from the city. It’s not what they do. Unless you’re properly introduced, the person across the hall won’t talk to you or know you. It’s all about the approach. But I have learned that a smile is universal. It doesn’t matter what country you’re in. If you smile, people will smile back. If you’re open-minded and open-hearted, there’s always somebody. People will be glad to see somebody who looks at them and smiles. It breaks barriers and opens doors, even for people trying to look hard and tough.

SILY: On a couple songs on here, you improvised the lyrics, calling it “speaking from the heart.” Do you find that the way to go when the subject matter of the song is more difficult to talk about?

RF: Yeah, I mean if you stay real with everybody, it’s not a problem. You’ve gotta be open-minded and open-hearted. Put yourself in anybody’s situation. If you do that, you can see it from their point of view. With all the stuff that’s negative in the world today, it’s good to be positive every chance you get. It needs to be something people can relate to in the real world, or that people can say, “I’ve been through that or I’ve done that.” It’s not something that’s been made up like a fairytale. It has to have meaning where people can say, “Yep, I remember those days.” 

I have 7 siblings. They all have to tell the story from their point of view. I try to leave the door open [in case] they want to tell what they remember, because they might remember something I don’t or had to experience something I didn’t. So when I was writing [the title track], I talked to them about it. In reality, I wanted it to be a true song that dealt with real life. Not made up. It needed to be something real they could identify with and their friends identify with where people could say, “I remember those days.” I also definitely didn’t want to make it seem harder than it already was. I only went back to the cotton field and put on the overalls for the video because nobody was wearing shiny shoes in the cotton field. They might have had a pair they put on on the weekend, but they definitely didn’t wear them in the field. The video could have been done anywhere, but to keep it real, I thought we needed to take it back to the country.

SILY: What did it mean for you to play with so many of the same session players as on Goin’ Platinum?

RF: It was like a family reunion. We toured together in the East Coast and West Coast. It was really an honor because everybody knew everybody. Everybody was excited to get back together because of the success of the first album. We built more or less what you could call a family relationship. Everybody knows everybody, and getting back in the studio, we got straight to work, what everybody came for. I don’t know how much time Dan spent with the musicians before I got there. When I got there, it was to lay the vocals down.

What I really noticed is that all the musicians played what they feel. They listened to the groove. And all the local musicians were in a 50-mile radius of each other. I could have them all together within a couple hours.

I was probably the youngest person in the band, besides Dan--I’m almost twice his age. When you’re with the band, it breaks out the best in you. Learning from their experience, everything they’ve done and who they’ve done it with, it makes you feel privileged to be in the company of them. They’re not on big ego trips and nobody has a big agenda. I’m easy. I don’t put no pressure on nobody--I just want the best out of everybody.

I love working with the Easy Eye Sound label because to me, I walk in, meet and greet, we break bread together, and we go to work. The work is hard, but I don’t know if you’d even call it work.

SILY: What’s the story behind the album art?

RF: The label mostly [does it] and asks me for approval. There’s not much I’d object to anyway. It’s a picture of me. I seldom walk outside even to go to the mailbox without my hat on. That’s one of my trademarks. I always wear hats or caps. I love the artwork. To be honest, I haven’t met the individual that did the artwork on it, but it very much had my approval when I saw it. Meeting everybody, sometimes it’s way down the line where I can actually meet them face to face.