#Both parts in one post for ease of reading. But I do believe the chapter break on ao3 is in service of the flow of the story

[have-kake]

Distant Times [LU Fic]

Summary: Destiny, Zelda had called it. A cycle of hatred, Impa had called it. A curse spanning the ages, Link had considered it.

After the war ends, Link finds hope again. Years later, he meets others who are part of the cycle. Though, not all cycles have to be bad. Maybe a small cycle of hope, perpetually locked in a period of a few short years, is just what he and a friend need.

[Warriors & Legend centric] [Ao3 Link]

Link is one more insane conversation away from picking up the table and throwing it. He doesn't understand how Zelda puts up with all these dignitaries. The Marquises all act like Zelda herself wasn't out there on the front lines protecting the kingdom and their land herself! They don't understand the level of sacrifice and pain they had to go through on the front. Even his father, an Earl, knows! As the son of a Knight, hailing from a long line of Knights, he knew combat was nothing to scoff at, even as a child. He'd seen the tremors in his father's hands on bad days. He saw the way he couldn't relax on worse days.

"Link," Impa says sidling up next to him. "Lana requires your assistance. I'll stay and watch the Princess in your stead."

Link nods his gratitude. He bows to Zelda and the Marquis—even if they don't pay him any attention—and quickly makes his escape.

He lets out a relieved sigh when he turns down an empty hallway. He's not used to this. He's not used to being a symbol.

Out on the field, he was just a soldier. Then he became a Captain. Then he was The Hero.

He should still be out there. Fighting. Clearing out stray monsters. Helping villages rebuild.

"Oh, thank the spirits!" Lana says the second he opens the door.

He pauses, casting a quick glance around the room. It's just Lana and the red haired girl– Mary he thinks her name is. What's she still doing here?

She ushers him into the room. "We have a problem."

Link's instantly on high alert. The adrenaline hits him so fast it almost makes him dizzy. A hand lands on his wrist and he swings.

Lana jumps back with a flash of magic and a startled squeak. "Sorry, sorry!" She rushes. "I probably should have worded that better!"

Link quickly sheaths the sword. "Lana, Spirits, I'm so sorry!"

"You're fine, you're fine!" She's quick to reassure. "We're all still a little jumpy."

Link winces. It's been over three months. He shouldn't be jumpy.

"Anyways!" She says grabbing his hand and dragging him further into the room. "I was having trouble sending Miss Marin home, but I think we've located the Hero's Spirit of her time. We just need you to go check first before I send her there."

"Whoa whoa, hold on," he interrupts, immediately wincing at the informality. Impa and Zelda's advisors would kill him. Lana grins at the informality. He pretends not to notice as he gets himself under control. "We were informed that all visitors had been sent home."

"Well... Yes..." Lana says guiltily. "But..."

"You lied to the Princess."

"I can't find her world okay!"

Link blinks, caught off guard by the statement. Whatever excuse he was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. "What do you mean you can't find it?"

She motions for him to look through one of the mirrors in the room. "Okay, so this is Marin's world from before she left," Lana explains. Link nods as the view constantly moves and he gets a good look at the island. "This is what happens when I try to find it after she leaves."

The image blurs and suddenly the mirror goes black. Link startles.

Next Lana pulls a magical device off a shelf and sets it on a pedestal. "We can't send someone back to before they left, otherwise we unbalance their reality." The device activates and Link's greeted with the sight of another Soul Gate. As soon as it blinks into existence, it vanishes. "Any time I open a Gate from the moment she vanished from her world, the connection breaks."

The Gate opens again only to vanish a moment later. Lana does it three more times, before turning to him. She raises her hands in a vaguely helpless gesture.

Link glances at Marin where she sits at the far end of the room. She stares down at her hands with her shoulders hunched. Even from this distance Link can see the frown on her face and the tears in her eyes. His heart breaks for her. A stranger pulled into a war not her own, and now she can't even go home.

He turns back to Lana with a frown of his own. "Can you send her to a time before her?" He asks quietly. "It's not the same, but it's close."

Lana shakes her head. "That's the thing! I can't find that either!"

He winces at her volume. He resists the urge to glance back at Marin. Should they really be having this discussion in front of her? "What do you mean you can't find it?"

"I mean it's not there," Lana says. "No blur then black, no open then close" she says pointing at the mirror and the plinth. "It's solid black from the start and a Gate won't even manifest. It's like her world began and ended in the blink of an eye."

Link scowls. This war keeps becoming crueler and crueler with each passing day, even long after it's been over. If only he'd done better. He could have ended this before Marin got dragged into his conflict. "I can see why you lied about sending everyone home."

Lana winces. She reaches out to him, but he jerks away before he can remind himself he's not supposed to. She brings her hand to her chest, cradling it over her heart. "I think I found the Hero of her world," she says.

Link's greatful she doesn't call attention to his blunder.

"I need you to go check out the place first. Make sure it's safe, and the right person was found. He's more likely to believe you than me."

--

Standing in front of a small unassuming home, Link suddenly has second thoughts. He doesn't belong here. He's a total stranger in this world.

The brooch carefully hidden under his scarf vibrates.

Swallowing the last of his nerves, he approaches the house. It's somehow even more unassuming up close. He knocks on the door.

There's movement on the other side of the door. "If you're here to complain about something you bought, I don't wanna hear it!"

Link knocks again. He can hear the exaggerated groan the person makes.

The door is thrown open by a man with sandy blond hair. The sharpness of his features puts him a few years older than Link despite the man's shorter height. Link squares his shoulders in preparation. This is going to sound ridiculous. "Are–,"

The man's face instantly lights up in recognition. "Wars! It's been ages!"

The man steps forward and envelops him in a hug. Link locks up at the contact, but the other man is already letting him go.

"I see you still have that pretty boy face in tact," he teases. "Though, the hair could use some work."

Link's suddenly all too aware of the fact he hasn't cleaned his hair in over a week, and even then he used his armor soaps last time. He clears his throat trying to push the thought away. "I think you have me confused for someone else," he says politely. "I'm not from around here."

The smile falls from the man's face. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Of course," the response is automatic. "What is your name?"

That gets him a raised eyebrow. "Legend," the man says drily. "Or Vet. Or your personal favorite, the Hoarder."

"That's... An unusual name."

Legend snorts. "Better than having to explain why we're both named Link, don't you think."

Link reaches for his sword in an aborted motion. Legend tracks the movement with his eyes, but otherwise doesn't react. "Sorry," he winces. "It's been tough since..." He hesitates. Surely there's no harm. They're ages apart. "Since war's end. I fear I'm still primed for battle."

Legend's demeanour instantly softens as he gives Link another quick once-over. He runs a hand through his hair with a weary sigh. "Shit, Wars. I'm so sorry."

Legend reaches for him but doesn't touch. His hand remains a good distance from his arm. Link is unbelievably greatful for the space.

"Do you want to come inside? I have some tea I know you'll like. Zel– Fable was here yesterday too, so I still have some cake left."

The brooch vibrates again. "I'm sorry, I can't. I still have many duties to attend to after this."

Legend lifts a finger to interrupt him. "Tell whoever's rushing you," he says waging a finger at the hidden brooch, "to fuck off. I'm trying to catch up with an old friend. Even if he only just met me."

Link steps back. How did he know it was there? "I can't. Look," he sighs. His patience is starting to wear thin. He doesn't know this man, and his familiarity with Link is freaking him out. "If you really know me as you claim to, then you should know of the weirder parts of my war."

Legend raises an eyebrow at him. "What you mean the part where other people started showing up?" Link nods. "What's that gotta do with me?"

"We've been trying to send someone home, but we can't find her world anymore," he explains. "We believe you're the Hero from her era."

"Ugh, lemme guess. You want me to take her home."

Link nods. "We'd greatly appreciate your help."

Legend runs his hands over his face. "Number eight here we go," he grumbles before looking up. "Alright, what's her name?"

"Marin of Ko–,"

"Marin?!" Legend shouts. His face is pale as he desperately searches Link for a hint of a lie. "As in red hair, blue dresses, and likes to sing, Marin?"

"Er, yeah– yes," Link corrects. "I take it you know her?"

"Yes!"

Link reaches for the brooch under his scarf. The moment he touches it, a Gate opens behind him.

Legend watches it with rapt attention. The fear and excitement are clear to see on his face.

Marin steps out and Legend exhales in a big whoosh. Like he'd been punched in the chest.

Marin looks around, blinking the bright light and dizziness from her eyes. The moment her eyes land on Legend she freezes. "I... Link?"

Legend rushes forward, nearly tripping in his haste. Marin runs to meet him in the middle. She squeals in surprise when he picks her up and twirls her around. He sets her down and only pulls back enough to get a good look at her. "You're real," he says, voice cracking in the middle. "You're really real."

Marin raises her hands to cradle his face with a disbelieving laugh. "You look so much older."

Legend smiles at her. His voice is still thick with emotion. "It's been a few years."

Marin smiles back at him. "I saw you almost a year ago."

He leans down to press his forehead against hers. "I thought I–," he whispers voice horse, "you died."

Both their attention snaps to Link when another Gate opens. Link tries not to wince. He'd been hoping to leave without disturbing them.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, Captain?!" Legend shouts at him. His eyes are still bright with tears as he stomps closer. Marin's hand is held firmly in his.

"I was giving you privacy," he says.

"Hell, no! You don't get to leave before I say thank you!" Legend shouts. He drops Marin's hand and reaches for Link's.

Even though he's watching, he still jumps at the contact.

"Warriors–no, Link," Legend stresses clasping Link's hand in both of his. The grip is firm, but still loose enough for Link to pull free. "Thank you."

The sincerity in his voice instantly makes Link uncomfortable. This isn't something he should be thanked for. If Legend knew the reason Marin was there, he'd hate Link. "There's no–,"

"No, shut up I'm not done!" Legend cuts him off. "If this really is the first time you're meeting me, then I know you have no idea how much this means to me," he pauses to take a breath. His voice is still impossibly thick with emotion. "Nothing I do could ever come close to showing you how greatful I am. I–," he stops with a watery chuckle. He brings a hand back to wipe at his eyes before any of the tears can escape. "Din smite me, I get why you always called me a closet softie now."

Link can only stare as Legend pulls back. He watches as Legend slips a necklace with a simple swirling stone over his head. He holds it out and Link tentatively holds his hand out. 

Legend drops it in his hand and covers it with his. "I know I'll never get what you went through," he says fiercely, "but I know the type of man you are. Nothing that happened was your fault. Not her, not the war, and not the tragedy. You did what you could, and it was enough. You deserve to have people you can trust unconditionally. And it may take some time, it will be difficult, but you'll get there.  Because above all else, you're a good man. I'm proud to call you my friend and brother."

Link tries to reply, but his words fail him. His throat is too tight and all he can do is push out a quiet, "thank you." An anxiety he didn't realize he had in his chest loosens. He can't quite believe Legend, not with all the blood on his hands, but it gives him hope.

Legend lets go of him after that. He takes Marin's hand back in his. She steps forward and raises her free hand over Link's still outstretched hand. "May I?" She asks.

Link nods, a little too shocked to say no and walk away. Marin gently lowers her hand over his and starts to hum. He doesn't know the song, but he swears the grass hums alongside her.

When she pulls back, he's left with a feeling of comfort. A comfort he hasn't felt since the first attack. He didn't think he'd ever recover it.

After another choked thank you and equally emotional goodbye, Link finds himself standing in Lana's study in the castle. The necklace is still in his hand, and Lana bustles around putting her magical equipment away.

Legend's laughter as he walked through the gate still rings in his ears. 'So this is what the lucky eight joke was about.'

"Link, are you okay?"

Link comes back to himself with a sudden gasp. Lana stand in front of him, a worried look in her eyes as she looks at the thin chain falling from his hand.

I'm proud to call you my friend and brother.

"What soaps do you use for your hair?" Link asks.

Lana blinks in utter confusion. He can't blame her, he feels just as confused by his sudden question too. "What?"

"Your hair," he says. "How do you get it to look so shiny and nice?"

"Oh, well um," she gives him a basic rundown. It seems horribly complicated to him. Especially for how often he'll sweat and get dirty, but he listens anyways.

By the end, he decides he'll try it at least once. If he sat through all that, he may as well.

Lana looks happy as he leaves. Happy in a way Link's never seen her before.

You're a good man.

He still doesn't quite believe it. But maybe, he can become the man Legend thinks he is.

It's not until years later, when a strange portal opens, that he meets a young man with bitter eyes and a sharp tongue. He looks the same as he had all those years ago. He even gets the scar on his cheek a few weeks into their adventure.

It's slow going, but they eventually become friends. He learns that Legend was right. He found people he could trust unconditionally. He found people he could call family without any sense of guilt.

He's left with a sense of peace he never thought possible. He cradles the pendant in his hands when he has the realization. He feels just as chocked up now as he did all those years ago. Legend had given him so much hope that day, and now the thought of becoming the man Legend is proud of doesn't seem so impossible.

When questioned about the pendant, he tells them the truth. A good friend had gifted it to him and a singer offered to bless it for him. The pendant is a symbol of hope he thought lost to him.

--

Later, after an especially bad few days for Legend, they stand on the rickety bridge behind Wind's home. Wars has the pendant clasped in his hand. It's become harder to not hold lately. It holds memories he was too young to understand the significance of. It brings him hope and a sense of peace.

As day turns to night, he learns of Legend's adventures. Of a young boy who's kingdom turned against him thanks to dark mind magic. Of saving his older sister in spite of it all. He learns of the neighboring kingdoms of Holodrum and Labrynna. Of the Goddesses' avatars and how they're willing to suffer just as much as their heroes are. 

He learns of a shipwreck that left a seasoned hero on an island that never existed. Of people who never were. An adventure that never happened. Of scars that still remain. And when Legend finishes his story, Wars feels his heart break anew.

'I thought I lost you,' he had foolishly assumed to be the words Legend couldn't say. Now Wars knows Legend couldn't bring himself to admit, 'I thought I killed you.'

Wars wants so desperately to tell Legend what he knows. He bites his tongue knowing he can't interfere with the course of events. Instead, he offers comfort. It'll be tough he knows, Legend still has the rest of this adventure and maybe another year after it. But it'll get better. He knows Legend will get his happy ending.

It'll be difficult, and it might feel impossible, but there's always hope in the tomorrow. That's something he knows to be true. Not because of destiny or strength or even courage. But because simple men like Legend have shown him hope can always be found.

"And who knows," Wars grins as Legend wipes the tears from his eyes. "Maybe your next adventure will be Lucky Number Eight."

Legend barks out a surprised laugh. It's still watery, but it sounds genuine.

The bitterness doesn't disappear but it lessens. The sorrow doesn't cling as tightly as before. And by the time their adventure comes to an end, Legend freely admits how much the others mean to him. Wars makes the split second decision to give the pendant to Legend.

Legend doesn't want to take it. He says he has one just like it and he doesn't need another one. Wars doesn't quite believe him, but he tries not to think too hard about it.

Instead, he assures Legend that they're different. That this one is special, and when the time comes, he's sure Legend will know what to do.

Afterall, hope still blooms in the wake of war.

[tigertales9]

Hard Reset XII

Pairing: Joe Burrow x Reader

Warnings: 18+

Description: This flashback fic covers Joe & Reader's first Valentine's Day together back at LSU. There's also another flashback nestled within this flashback (Joeception) of when they first met at LSU.

Time/Place: Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019 (Valentine's Day) / Baton Rouge, Louisiana (with a flashback to June 2018)

A/N: This is the twelfth fic in the Hard Reset series.

This flashback got too long so I'm posting it in two parts. The smut is in the second part, but I'm rating this 18+ because it's smut adjacent. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up before this week-end. The smut has been finished for awhile, but I'm just trying to put the finishing touches on the ending. Nothing is coming easy right now, but I refuse to give up. 😋

I've had a few messages asking me if LSU Joe has long or short hair in this flashback. In my mind, he has short hair with the forehead curls (see gif below). I've tried to keep the descriptions ambiguous just in case y'all wanna imagine him with the longer hair.

Since I posted the first part of this as a sneak peek, I put a substantial (bold) cut so you can scroll down and start reading the new content w/o re-reading the sneak peek if you don't want to.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019 (Valentine's Day) / Baton Rouge, Louisiana

You exit the cool interior of the grocery store, squinting at the mid-afternoon sun as you quickly make your way to your car, popping the trunk and loading a few bags of groceries inside before hopping into the driver's seat; you slide your sunglasses on and head for the exit, looking both ways before easing out into the traffic on River Road, rolling your windows down and throwing a quick glance at the Mississippi River as it runs parallel to the street, its earthy, fertile scent bringing a smile to your face.

"70 degrees in mid-February!" you mimic in Joe's voice, laughing at the accuracy of your impersonation. "He's def gonna bitch about it," you continue, flicking your turn signal on a few minutes later before making the turn that will take you away from the river and toward your apartment complex.

~ ~ ~

An hour later, you're whipping up some homemade frosting when your bestie/roommate Gina walks in, sniffing the air dramatically.

"Smells like heaven," she groans, eyeing the fluffy pink concoction as you finish beating it with a mixer. "What is it?"

"Raspberry buttercream frosting," you answer, grabbing two spoons and scooping some frosting on each before handing her one. "How's it taste?" you ask, laughing when she makes loud, appreciative noises.

"Delish! I can't believe you made homemade frosting," she marvels. "What ya gonna put it on?"

"Chocolate cupcakes." You step back and wave a hand at the plump cupcakes sitting pretty on a cooling rack beside the oven. "I made these from a triple chocolate cake mix, so they're just semi-homemade."

"Oh, just semi-homemade? I better call the food police," she teases, walking over and leaning down to sniff the cupcakes before throwing you a look. "I hope Joe realizes how lucky he is to have a woman who loves to cook."

"He's very appreciative," you mutter, blushing when she cackles at the look on your face.

"Seven months in and you're still blushing over this man? He's def doing something right."

"Not gonna argue with that," you giggle, peeling the wrapper off one of the still-warm cupcakes before cutting it in half; you smear a generous amount of frosting on both halves before handing one to Gina. "Happy V Day," you state, bumping your cupcake half against hers before taking a big bite. "Happy V Day," she parrots, making num-num noises as she polishes off the confection.

"What are you and Trey doing tonight?" you ask, licking a dollop of frosting off your finger as she rolls her eyes.

"He's bringing take-out over because he waited too long to make a reservation, so literally everywhere decent is booked up. I told him if he brings wings or pizza, he can forget about getting any pussy."

You laugh along with her for a bit before quieting down. "So what did y'all decide on since wings and pizza is clearly a no go?"

"Nothing," she shrugs. "I'm tired of having to ask for things I want. After almost a year and a half together, he should know without me telling him. He's just gotten lazy and expects me to do all the work and make all the decisions. He mostly just sits and scrolls his phone when we're together unless I tell him what to do."

"I hear you. -- So what do you actually want for dinner tonight?"

She thinks for several seconds before answering. "I know it's basic as hell, but I'd love some lasagna and breadsticks from Olive Garden."

"Might be basic but still delicious." You give her a wink as you cover the bowl of frosting with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. "I made enough cupcakes to share with you and Trey," you continue. "Once they cool completely, I'll frost them for you."

"Thanks, but I might hoard 'em for myself if he shows up with McDonald's or some shit."

You walk out of the kitchen and head toward your bedroom, beckoning Gina to follow. "He's not gonna show up with McDonald's," you scoff, pulling the top drawer of your dresser open to grab two pair of panties, one pink and one red, both with tags still attached.

"What are these?" she asks, eyebrows rising when you hand her the red pair.

"I ordered them a couple of weeks ago. I was starting to think they wouldn't arrive in time, but they got here yesterday. Happy V Day!"

"Thanks, girl!" She holds the flimsy mesh thong up to her face, grinning at you through the gossamer fabric. "These are totally see-through," she giggles, "and that center seam on the crotch is gonna give major camel toe."

"Exactly," you purr, wiggling your blush-pink thong that's identical to hers except for the color. "Next best thing to crotchless without being crotchless."

"Oh shit, that reminds me of the crotchless panties I gave you as a gift!" she chirps. "You wore them for Halloween, right?"

"Yep, Joe totally wrecked them."

"That ain't the only thing he wrecked," she chortles. "You were def walking funny the next day."

You join in the laughter for a sec before speaking. "I mean, yeah, he beat it up for real, but the limp I had was mostly because I tweaked my groin from doing the splits on his face without stretching first. Didn't even realize it until the next day."

"No way!" she hollers, falling onto your bed and kicking her feet in the air while cackling. "Hold up," she gasps after several seconds, pointing at your yoga mat that's rolled up and leaning against the wall in the corner of your room. "Wasn't it just after Halloween when you got majorly into yoga?"

"Maybe," you shrug, grinning ear-to-ear as she mentally connects the dots.

"I thought you were just trying something new since you already do cardio and strength training, but you've actually been getting more limber for sex?"

"Yep, don't wanna pull a muscle."

"You lucky bitch! I can't even get Trey to pull my hair during sex much less pull a damn muscle!"

The look on her face causes you to throw yourself on the bed beside her, both of you roaring with laughter until your phone rings.

"Oh shit, it's Joe," you wheeze as you check the display, gasping for breath to try and get yourself under control before answering. "Hey babe," you manage before immediately dissolving into another fit of giggles.

"Hey," he answers, his voice slightly bemused. "You okay?"

"Y … yeah," you pant, biting your lip hard enough to hurt before cutting a side-eye at Gina, her ridic, bug-eyed expression causing you to snort loudly before howling with laughter.

"Are you laughing or crying?" Joe asks.

"Laugh … ing," you wheeze, taking in copious gulps of air as Gina grabs a pillow and rolls off the bed and onto the floor, using the pillow to muffle her laughter.

"What the hell, babe?" he asks, sounding slightly worried. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." You take a few deep breaths before continuing. "Gina said something funny right before you called."

"Are y'all drunk?"

"No, daddy, we haven't been underage drinking."

"I don't give a shit about underage drinking and you know it. I mean, you'll be 21 in less than three months."

"You sound kinda pissed," you pout, smiling at his heavy sigh.

"I'm not pissed, and I don't care if you've been drinking. Matter of fact, I've got two bottles of your fav blush wine chilling in my fridge for tonight, I just don't want you drinking and driving. Let me know if I need to come get you."

"I haven't been drinking," you reiterate. "I'm putting you on speaker," you continue. "Gina? Have we been drinking?"

"We have not been drinking!" she states loudly from the floor.

"Told ya, daddy," you gloat in your brattiest voice.

"If you call me daddy one more time, we're gonna have a problem."

"You gonna punish me?" you purr. "Maybe ground me for a week?"

"Maybe bend you over, pull your panties down and spank your sweet ass before burying my tongue in your …"

"You're on speaker!" you yelp, laughing as Gina hops up and sprints for the door, throwing you a naughty smirk on the way out.

"Sorry. Got a little carried away," Joe mutters.

"It's fine. Gina ran like hell, but you didn't say anything super raunchy."

"Only because you interrupted me."

"I mean … we were talking about sex when you called."

"Ummm, do I even wanna know the deets since you were laughing so hard you could barely breathe?"

"Just that I got into yoga so I could be super limber for sex with you. You frequently get me in positions where my knees are pushed up by my ears or I'm basically doing the splits."

"What's funny about that?"

"Nothing. I'll tell you more later."

"You like it when I manhandle you a little, right?"

You smile at his uncertain tone. "I love it. You know I love it. The funny part was her reaction. Apparently, Trey doesn't get down like that so she was expressing her, ummm, frustration. The look on her face was what set me off."

"Does Trey know he's a boring lay?"

"Probably not," you giggle, "and don't you dare tell him."

"I hardly ever talk to him. He's been aggravated at me ever since Gina told him I pay for your monthly bikini wax, and now he feels like he has to do the same for her. I told him it's only fair since getting your pubes ripped out is no fun, and it's at least partially being done for his pleasure."

"He can be a little self-centered."

"A little?" Joe snorts.

"Okay, a lot. Gina loves him, though, so hopefully he grows out of it eventually."

"Wouldn't put money on it, but anyway … how's your day going?"

"Good. My classes were boring, as usual, but I have zero homework so that's good. Also, I picked up all the groceries I need to cook dinner for us tonight."

"Did you have any trouble using my credit card?"

You chew on your lip for a second before answering. "I didn't use it."

"Why not?"

"Because I wanted to treat you for once; you always pay for stuff."

"Listen … you go to the store, bring stuff to my place and cook delicious food for us. The least I can do is pay for the groceries."

"Just let me treat you this one time. It's part of my Valentine's Day gift to you."

"We'll see," he mumbles. "Do you need any help getting everything to my place?"

"Nah, I think I can manage the grueling five minute drive by myself," you snark.

"You gonna be a little shit all night, or is this just an appetizer?"

"Just an appetizer," you giggle. "I intend to be way worse later."

"Don't threaten me with a good time."

"It's a promise not a threat," you purr.

"Woman, I need to go work-out, and I don't wanna hit the gym with a hard-on. Can we save the sexy banter for later?"

"Yes, sir," you drawl, putting as much implied sex in the two syllables as possible.

"Keep that same energy for later tonight," he orders, his voice dropping an octave like it always does when he's aroused.

"Yes, sirrrr," you repeat, giggling at his exasperated groan.

"One more 'daddy' or 'sir' out of your pretty mouth, and I'm gonna skip the gym and drive straight to your place."

"No, you won't," you tease. "You're religious about getting your work-outs in."

"Listen, I'm gonna hit the gym, come home, eat dinner with you, then fuck you 'til you can't think straight. Then I'm gonna reload and fuck you again."

"Sounds good," you whisper, a sizzle of anticipation racing down your spine.

"What time are you coming over?" he asks, his voice still thick with arousal.

"Probably about 5:00."

"I'll be back from the gym by 5:30."

"Okay."

"And, babe?"

"Yeah?"

"I intend to go hard so make sure to take your vitamins and stretch."

"Yes, sir," you whimper, ending the call before he can say anything else. "He's def gonna make me pay for that later," you giggle to yourself, hopping off the bed to go find Gina.

* * * end of sneak peek * * *

You find Gina sitting on the sofa when you walk into the living area. "Hey," you grin, plopping down beside her. "Hope we didn't gross you out."

"Not a bit," she laughs, handing you a small gift bag. "It's your fav bath bomb and some chocolate-covered almonds," she continues as you peek into the bag.

"Thank you! That's so sweet." You give her a hug before setting the bag on the coffee table.

"You're welcome. So, you and Joe are staying in tonight, right?"

"Yeah, we don't like going out on holiday nights because of the big crowds."

"Y'all are always on the same wavelength," she smiles. "What are you cooking for him? Besides the cupcakes?"

"His fav spicy Cajun pasta plus garlic bread and salad."

"Is that the pasta that has blackened chicken, shrimp and andouille sausage in it?"

"Yep."

"Yum! That's what I want you to make for my 21st birthday dinner. I've been craving it for a while."

"I mean, I can make it for you sooner than that if you're jonesing. We don't have to wait a whole month until your birthday."

She gives you a smile as she shakes her head. "It'll be worth the wait. Besides, I'm prob gonna be eating a fucking Big Mac and fries for dinner tonight, so I need to let my digestive system recover before I gobble down that delish pasta."

"You're not eating a fucking Big Mac and fries," you laugh, grabbing your phone and hitting a number before putting it on speaker.

"Hey Y/n," Trey drawls. "What's up?"

"Hey." You smile at Gina's surprised expression before continuing. "Listen, lasagna and breadsticks from Olive Garden."

"Ummm, what?"

"You're bringing dinner to Gina for Valentine's, right?"

"Yeah."

"Lasagna and breadsticks from Olive Garden."

"For real?"

"Yep."

"Okay, cool. -- Anything else?"

"Just … remember that Valentine's Day is about romance." You grin at Gina as she bugs her eyes out at you. "Turn your damn phone off and seduce your woman."

"Did she tell you to say that?"

"No, but I've heard her grumble at you a few times lately about constantly being on your phone when y'all are together."

"That's true," he mumbles. "I def need to be better about that."

"Tonight is the perfect time to start."

"Okaaay, so lasagna, breadsticks, seduction and stay off the phone?"

"Yep."

"Got it."

"Cool. Have a nice night." You end the call and level a no-nonsense look at Gina. "Okay, girl, I did my part. You gotta take the reins once he gets here."

"What do you mean?"

"You got a fresh coochie wax and some naughty panties. Put him on his back and sit on his face."

"For real?"

"Yes! I think he's too shy to initiate that kind of action, but I bet he'll be totally into it if you take control."

"I … don't know."

"He goes down on you, right?"

"Yeah, but not like that."

"Not yet," you purr, wiggling your eyebrows.

She gives you a look before taking a deep breath. "I'm gonna try it."

"Yes!" you chirp. "Just make sure you stretch first."

"I will," she giggles, her eyes going wide when the doorbell rings.

"I'll get it," you state, quickly heading to the front door and checking the peephole before opening it. "Wow!" you gush, smiling at the sight of a vase full of blush-pink roses; a head pops out from behind the beautiful arrangement. "Delivery for Y/n," the delivery driver says, giving you a cheerful smile as you reach for the vase.

"That's me."

"I got one more delivery for this address," she says. "Be right back."

You're grinning ear-to-ear when you walk back into the living room.

"Those are gorgeous!" Gina gushes.

"For real! Listen, you need to go to the door; the delivery driver is bringing another arrangement." She gives you a 'say what?' look before heading to the front door.

You set the glass vase on the kitchen island and open the card, reading it out loud. "Happy first Valentine's Day! Can't wait to celebrate many more together. Love, Joe."

You're still smiling when Gina walks in with a vase full of red roses. "Gurrrrl," she chuckles. "I know you told Trey to send these to me."

"I didn't! Swear to God!"

"Really? 'Cause it's kinda cray that Joe and Trey sent the same flowers -- just a diff color -- from the same florist."

You nod your head for a bit before a thought hits you. "I wonder if Joe said something to Trey? If he did, he didn't tell me."

"Call him and ask him."

"Okay," you grin, heading for your bedroom. "Be right back." You close your bedroom door and hit Joe's number, hoping he isn't already working out.

"Hey," he answers almost immediately.

"Hey," you echo. "Thanks for the roses. I love them."

"You're welcome."

"Can you talk for a sec?"

"Yeah. I just got to the gym, but I haven't started working out yet."

"Did you tell Trey to send Gina flowers?"

"Uhhh, no. He called me a few days ago and asked if I was sending you flowers. I said yes and told him what I was sending and the name of the florist. Why?"

"She got the same arrangement you sent me but with red roses instead of pink."

"Well, good for Trey. Maybe there's hope for him after all."

"Maybe so," you grin, dropping your voice a bit. "I really love the roses. Can't wait to thank you for them later. They're gorgeous."

"You're gorgeous," he murmurs.

"You better go get your work-out done so you can hurry up and get home."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't expend all of your energy, okay? Save some for me."

"Don't worry about that. I got plenty," he boasts, his cocky tone bringing a smile to your face.

You end the call and walk back into the living area, giving Gina a huge grin as she waits for the deets. "Joe didn't tell Trey to send the roses."

"Really?"

"Really." You explain the situation while she shakes her head.

"Damn, I guess he was afraid Joe would show him up," she giggles.

"A little healthy competition can be a good thing," you state, laughing along with her for several seconds before y'all quiet down. "I should've got Joe a couple more things for V Day," you mumble.

"Whaaaat?" she chirps. "You're cooking him dinner and dessert, plus you're supplying the naughty panties and the contents of said panties."

"That's true," you chuckle, "plus I got him a jigsaw puzzle to remind him of the first … well ... actually the second time he asked me out."

"You mean the second time you shot him down?"

"Yeah," you grin, letting your mind rewind back to June 2018.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Early June 2018 - Baton Rouge, Louisiana (in a small bookstore just off LSU campus)

You take a sip of your iced coffee and scowl at your computer screen, hitting your delete key several times while barely registering the sound of the bell that alerts you to a customer entering the bookstore. "Let me know if you need any help," you automatically say, never taking your eyes off of your screen.

Several minutes later, you catch some movement in your peripheral vision and quickly turn your head, making eye contact with a tall, blonde man for a few seconds before he disappears behind the bookshelves. Haven't seen him here before, you think to yourself, taking another sip of your drink as you continue to look in his direction.

He eventually reappears, and you smile at him. "Need help finding something?" you ask, swallowing hard as he walks toward you, his long-legged stride making you feel a little funny.

"Just looking," he says, the sound of his voice hitting you like a roundhouse kick to the face.

"Oh … okay," you mutter, your pulse picking up as he walks directly up to the large L-shaped desk that serves as a check-out counter and sticks a hand out toward you, his impressive height and broad shoulders completely blocking out the late-afternoon sun streaming in the windows behind him.

"I'm Joe," he announces, giving you a devastating smile when you stand up from your desk chair and grasp his hand.

You try not to react to the electric shock you feel when you nestle your hand in his much bigger one. "I'm Y/n," you mumble.

"Nice to meet you, Y/n. I'm new here. Just recently transferred over from OSU."

"Oklahoma State?" you ask, grinning when he rolls his pretty blue eyes.

"Ohio State," he answers.

"You're a midwestern boy, huh?"

He raises one eyebrow before answering. "A midwestern man."

"My bad," you giggle, biting your lip as a blush rises in your face; his gaze drops down to your mouth and you feel something stir deep inside you, a rush of heat and a steady throb between your legs that makes you react by pressing your thighs together.

"No problem," he states, his already deep voice dropping a full octave lower; he quickly flicks his gaze down to your denim-clad thighs, lingering there briefly before recapturing your gaze.

Got damn, you think to yourself, trying to act normal as your body continues to react to him. I prob need to buy some new batteries for my vibrator, you muse, wiping your sweaty palms on your jeans when his sinful lips curl up in a wicked grin, like he's reading your mind and really liking what he sees.

The entrance bell ringing breaks the porny spell, and you turn your head toward the door, smiling at one of your regular customers. "Hi, Mrs. Peavy. The book you ordered came in today's mail."

"That's great news!" she chirps. "I'm just gonna browse for a bit before I check out."

She disappears back behind the tall bookshelves, and you return your attention to Joe, catching his gaze sliding down your body again before he clears his throat and checks his watch. "I gotta get to the gym," he mutters, raking a hand through his hair while backing away from you. "It was really nice meeting you."

"You too," you grin, shamelessly ogling his ass in his slinky shorts as he heads out the door.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One week later

You're sipping another iced coffee and staring into space when the entrance bell jingles, pulling your attention to the tall, blonde man striding toward you. "Hey," you grin, standing up as he walks directly up to your desk.

"Hey," he echoes, waggling his large styrofoam cup. "Am I allowed to have this in here?"

"Is it a drive-thru daiquiri? And if it is, are you at least 21?"

"I'm 21, but it's a smoothie not a daiquiri," he chuckles. "I just didn't know if y'all allow drinks in the store."

"It's fine," you state, pointing at your iced coffee. "Drinks are def allowed."

"What is that?" he asks.

"It's an iced mocha latte. I have one every workday to give me a little caffeine boost."

"What days do you work?"

"Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 3:00 - 7:00."

"That explains why you weren't here when I popped in last Friday afternoon."

"Yep, that explains it," you say inanely, your pulse picking up at the thought that he came in hoping to see you. He takes a sip of his smoothie, and your gaze is drawn to his throat, his prominent Adam's apple bobbing as he swallows the frosty beverage.

He licks his lips before giving you a lethal grin. "Did you know that you get a greater energy boost from eating an apple instead of drinking a caffeinated beverage?"

"No way," you grin, taking a big slurp of your iced coffee while he gives a vigorous nod, causing a dirty-blonde curl to bounce against his forehead.

"Seriously," he states. "There are studies that show eating an apple gives you a longer energy boost than a cup of coffee. Honeycrisp apples are my fav," he continues. "Have you ever tried one?"

"Maybe baked in a pie or dunked in caramel," you tease, "but be for real. Apples don't have caffeine."

"True," he nods. "It's the natural sugars and the fiber in the skin that give you the sustained energy boost."

"Are you a registered dietician?" you ask with a hint of playful snark.

"No, but I'm an athlete, so I've consulted with lots of dieticians and sports nutritionists."

"I see," you grin, half-convinced he's bullshitting even though he's built like an athlete. "Think I'll stick with my trusty caffeine."

"Cool," he quips, shifting his weight from one foot to the other while raking a hand through his hair. "Sooo, you go to LSU?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm in my junior year."

"Cool," he repeats. "You taking any summer classes?"

"Just one; it's an online course in business ethics. Super easy."

"What's your major?"

"I'm doing a double major in graphic design and digital advertising."

"That sounds interesting and also a little intense."

"It's really not bad," you admit. "I rarely have homework since I get most everything done in class plus the 12 hours a week I spend here at the bookstore."

"How long have you worked here?"

"Since about midway through freshman year. My parents were against it at first, but they came around once they realized how ideal it is. It's nice to make a little extra money instead of expecting them to pay for everything. Between my partial scholarship and the college fund they started when I was born, I'm gonna graduate with zero student loan debt, which is basically like winning the lottery these days."

"Damn right," he enthuses. "I did my undergrad in finance, and starting a college fund as soon as possible is one of the best things a parent can do for their child."

"Undergrad?" you ask. "Do you already have a degree?"

"Yeah, I got a bachelor's from OSU in consumer and family financial services. I'm a graduate transfer doing a master's in liberal arts."

You raise your eyebrows. "That's quite a move from Ohio to Louisiana. Do you have family here?"

"No … well, not yet. Eventually my teammates will be as close as family."

"Teammates?"

"Yeah, football teammates."

You feel your heart sink at the implication. "You play football?"

"Yeah."

"For the university?"

"Uhhh, yeah. I was a back-up quarterback for three years at OSU, so I transferred here to get a chance to start."

"A fucking quarterback," you mumble under your breath.

"What was that? I didn't hear you."

"Nothing." You give him a bland smile before taking another hearty gulp of your 'caffeinated beverage'.

He watches you closely for a few seconds before speaking. "I take it you don't like football."

"What makes you say that?" you ask, a bit disconcerted that he read you so easily.

"Your whole demeanor changed when I mentioned it."

"I like it fine," you scoff. "I mean, except for the fact that it's violent as fuck, and I'm always worried I might witness a horrific injury. Other than that, I think it's just peachy."

He hits you with that panty-dropping grin, and you're more than a little annoyed when your body reacts. Simmer down, you think to yourself. Nothing dumber than getting sprung over a fuck boy quarterback.

"How many games have you been to here at LSU?" he asks.

"Several," you lie.

"Several, huh? Like at least ten?"

"Like three," you mumble. "The last game I went to kind of ruined it for me."

"What happened? Horrific injury?"

"No. There was a drunk dude sitting beside me who kept sloshing beer on my boots, literally burped in my face, and then had the audacity to get mad when I refused to give him my number."

"Yikes. Not cool."

"Indeed," you grumble.

"Well, if you come watch me play this fall, maybe I can give you a few tips to avoid the drunk assholes."

"As if," you snort, rolling your eyes when he hits you with a pouty expression. That shit's not working on me, pretty boy, you think to yourself, squaring your shoulders as he shifts his weight again and hits you with another smile.

"Well, anyway … would you like to maybe grab lunch or something this week-end?" he asks.

"Ummm, I'm actually hosting a 21st birthday slumber party for a friend this week-end."

"All week-end? Friday through Sunday?"

"Kind of," you mutter, hoping he doesn't ask you to elaborate.

"Cool," he says, "hope y'all have fun."

"Thanks," you mumble, your gaze darting to the door as the bell jingles, signaling a new customer.

"I better get going," he says, giving you a lingering look before striding toward the door.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two weeks later

You hear the entrance bell jingle and quickly cut a glance at the door, eyes going wide when Joe walks in. Holy shit, take a hint, you think to yourself, giving him a bland look as he walks up to your desk.

"Hey," he smiles.

"Hey," you echo, trying hard not to return his smile.

"How was your slumber party?"

"Good."

The silence stretches out between you for a bit before he speaks up.

"Did I do something to upset you?"

"Nope."

"Okaaay," he mutters, running a hand through his hair while clearing his throat. "Look, I know you don't love football, but I can talk about a lot more than that. I was hoping we could maybe get to know each other better? Maybe just go out for ice cream or lunch sometime?"

"When?" you deadpan.

"Ummm, maybe Friday? I have some team activities Saturday and Sunday."

You give him a tight smile before answering. "Friday's not good for me. I have a 3000 piece jigsaw puzzle that I'm jonesing to finish, and I have it on my schedule for this Friday."

"A jigsaw puzzle?" he asks, his tone bordering on incredulous.

"Yep," you chirp, your expression daring him to question you further.

The silence stretches out for an uncomfortable amount of time before he finally breaks it.

"I get it," he mutters, slowly backing away. "Sorry for bothering you." He spins around and heads for the exit, stopping just before opening the door to look back at you; his gaze lingers on you for several seconds before he pulls the door open and walks out.

You release the breath you didn't realize you were holding and slump back in your desk chair, wondering why you feel so empty when you should really feel amazing for curving an obvious fuck boy.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two weeks later

You finish the last bite of your shrimp po' boy and dab your mouth with your napkin, quickly turning your head toward the street behind you as a car backfire causes everyone to flinch.

"Got damn!" Gina snaps, grabbing her glass of sweet tea and taking several gulps. "Damn near choked," she wheezes, both of you giggling.

Y'all are sitting at one of many picnic tables at an outdoor food court that's flanked by several food trucks; you take a sip of your sweet tea and turn your head again, scanning the lunchtime crowd until your gaze comes to rest on a familiar figure sitting at a table with a few other guys.

"Oh shit!" you gasp.

"What is it?" Gina asks, her head on a swivel to see what upset you.

"Don't look!" you hiss. "It's Joe."

"Who?"

"That guy who came into the bookstore a few times and asked me out."

"The quarterback?"

"Yes," you whisper, turning your head slowly to find him staring directly at you. "Oh shit, fuck, dammit to hell," you breathe, plastering on a fake smile and waving when he waves at you.

"He's headed this way," Gina warns.

"Should I run?"

"Hell no," she laughs. "Just smile and act unaffected."

"Fuck my life," you mutter, smiling as he walks up to your table. "Hey," you greet, annoyed at the breathless tone of your voice.

"Hey," he echoes.

"Ummm, Joe this is Gina," you say, gesturing toward her, "my roommate and bestie. Gina this is Joe," you continue, gesturing toward him.

"Nice to meet you," Gina says.

"You too," Joe grins, looking back and forth between you before Gina speaks up.

"I'm gonna throw out our trash and head to the car," she announces. "Y'all take your time talking."

"Thanks," you grimace, gesturing at the seat opposite you once Gina vacates it. "Have a seat."

"Thanks," Joe says, dropping his big frame down and resting his ridiculously sexy hands and forearms on the table.

Asshole, you think to yourself, hating the fact that you're incredibly attracted to him. "Sooo, how's your football stuff going?" you ask.

"Good. How's your jigsaw puzzle stuff going?" he asks, not even trying to hide his smirk.

"Good," you state, your cunty expression daring him to call you out.

He stares at you for several seconds before speaking. "Look … I just wanna tell you that the jigsaw puzzle thing is the worst brush off I've ever heard."

"What makes you think it was a brush off?" you ask.

"Because it's ridic. You could've finished the puzzle any other time."

"I could have," you agree. "But I was really looking forward to doing it that specific night."

He tilts his head and gives you a look. "I don't think the puzzle actually exists."

"Oh really?" you mumble, grabbing your phone and scrolling through your pics until you find what you're looking for. "This is it," you say, studying the pic while continuing. "It's a shot from the Hubble telescope." You flip your phone around so he can see it. "It's the …"

"Crab nebula," he finishes your sentence, taking your phone and setting it on the table in front of him. "Damn," he whispers, leaning down for a better look. "This is a beautiful shot." He quickly flicks his gaze up at you before looking back down at your phone. "Most colorized shots of the Crab nebula are depicted in cool colors, but this heat signature is very hot," he murmurs.

Very fucking hot, you think to yourself, studying his face as he continues to look at the pic, his long eyelashes fanned out against his slightly-sunburned cheeks.

He eventually slides your phone across the table toward you and gives you a sheepish grin. "I owe you an apology for not believing you. I'm sorry."

You feel a hot blush rise in your cheeks, more from shame than attraction, and you heave a sigh before responding. "Listen … I did finish the puzzle Friday, but you were right when you said I could've done it another time, so it basically was a brush off."

"Thanks for being honest," he states. "Why don't you simplify this by just saying you aren't interested in me."

"Because that would be a lie," you blurt, surprising yourself just as much as him with your admission.

"Okay, now I'm confused," he grins. "If you're interested then why the brush off?"

You have an answer ready because that's pretty much all you've been thinking about lately. "I just feel like we wouldn't be very compatible."

"What are you basing that on?"

You shrug. "I'm an introverted bookworm who doesn't really like to party. I enjoy cooking for my friends and hanging out at home."

"That perfectly describes me minus the cooking part," he grins, laughing softly when you narrow your eyes at him.

"Boy please," you scoff. "Most college athletes are huge partiers and total manwhores."

"What are you basing that on?" he repeats.

"I'm basing it on my experience, and also things I've seen and heard from friends."

"So you've dated some college athletes?"

"Kind of," you mumble. "He was actually my high school boyfriend, a year older than me. We dated for just over a year before he graduated and went to college. He wasn't talented enough to get a Division 1 football scholarship, but he did get a D2. The school was about a four hour drive from our hometown. He promised me we'd make the distance work, then he proceeded to fuck everything in a skirt the second he hit campus. Luckily I had several other friends at the same school who dropped a dime on his fuck boy ways."

"Was he a quarterback?"

"No, but the quarterback on his college team was even worse. One of those gross dudes who brags about getting more ass than a barstool."

"I see," he mutters, taking a deep breath before continuing. "So now you think all football players are like that? Like 100% of us?"

You shrug. "Maybe not 100% but why chance it? I know that not all snakes are poisonous, but I still avoid 'em. You're a man, though, so you wouldn't understand."

"I understand. And yes, there are plenty of fuck boy athletes, but I'm not one of them."

You bite your bottom lip to quell a skeptical smirk, noting that his gaze drops down to your mouth for several seconds before he continues speaking.

"Can I tell you a little bit about myself?" he asks, finally dragging his gaze back up to your eyes.

"Sure."

"I'm an introverted bookworm who doesn't really like to party," he states, echoing your earlier words. "I spend most of my time at football practice, working out, watching game film, and studying the playbook. Once my classes start, I'll be studying for those, as well. You can usually find me at my apartment or the football facility, which is a five minute drive from my apartment. Occasionally I do something wild like eat at a restaurant, browse a bookstore, or play blackjack at a casino."

You raise an eyebrow, and he chuckles before responding.

"I'm not a gambling addict or anything like that. I don't play very often, but when I do, I win more than I lose." You can't help but smile at his cocky tone as he continues. "I also enjoy playing chess, collecting graphic t-shirts, and reading about plus watching pretty much anything related to how the universe works, hence me nerding out over your Crab nebula puzzle. Physics is my fav subject." He gives you a big grin. "Am I boring you yet?"

"Not yet," you mutter.

"I also enjoy building LEGO sets which are basically just 3D versions of jigsaw puzzles." You stare at each other for several seconds before he speaks up again. "If you get to know me, you'll realize I'm not a stereotypical jock."

Holy shit, he's smooth, you think to yourself, wondering if his earnest expression is real or fake. Prob fake as fuck, you seethe; time to set him straight. "Listen, I'm not gonna jump in bed with you, okay?" you snap. "There are plenty of other women on this campus who'd be DTF if you flash that smile at 'em. Why waste time with me?"

"Because I'm not looking for a quick fuck. I'm looking for someone I can vibe with."

"Running game on me is not gonna work, sweetie," you snort. "You're good at it, don't get me wrong, but I see right through that shit."

"Look, I know you've had some bad experiences, but I swear I'm not running game. Don't punish me for some other guys' sins."

You stare at him without speaking, trying not to show any emotion as he continues.

"Plus, you're the one who keeps mentioning sex," he states matter-of-factly. "I'd just like to get to know you."

"You're right," you mumble, caught somewhere between admiration and aggravation that he's managed to get the upper hand in the conversation; time to put him on the back foot. "That was very presumptuous of me. You're clearly not attracted to me, so I apologize for jumping to that conclusion."

"Okay, that's not true and you know it," he mutters.

"Meaning?"

He runs a hand through his hair before answering. "Meaning … I'm very attracted to you, but I'm not just looking for sex. Does that make sense?"

"No."

His laugh caresses you like a physical touch, and you squirm in your seat, exasperated at the effect he has on you.

"You're really not making this easy," he grins.

"I don't owe you easy," you scoff, biting the inside of your cheek to keep from returning his grin.

"You're absolutely right," he states as he stands up, throwing a quick glance at the table where his friends are sitting before returning his gaze to you. "You don't owe me anything," he continues, smiling as he plucks his sunglasses from the neckline of his t-shirt and slides them on; he waits several seconds -- like he's waiting for you to say something -- before spinning around and heading back to his bros.

He takes three steps before you call his name, your pulse hammering when he turns around and removes his sunglasses before locking eyes with you; you stand up and take a small step in his direction, every pleasure point in your body throbbing in unison when he quickly closes the distance with two long strides, looking down into your upturned face. A thrill shoots through you at how much taller he is than you. Focus! you think to yourself, swallowing hard and licking your lips before speaking.

"Ummm, do you have any plans for this Friday?"

"Not yet," he grins. "What do you have in mind?"

"I have no idea," you admit. "Maybe just grab ice cream or lunch or something?"

"Why don't we exchange numbers then we can decide later?"

"Okay," you mutter, feeling a little lightheaded as y'all exchange numbers.

He eventually slides his phone back in the pocket of his shorts and gives you a cheeky grin. "Just so you know, I don't have sex on the first date," he says, gracing you with another deep laugh that sizzles your nerve endings as your mouth drops open in shock. "Just kidding," he chuckles.

"You better be kidding," you warn in a playful voice. "This is just a friendly hang-out, right? Not a date."

"Of course, very presumptuous of me to call it a date." He gives you a wink before sliding his sunglasses back on.

His wink hits you in all the right places, and you quickly slide your sunglasses on to mask your reaction. "Totally presumptuous," you grumble, matching his grin before spinning around and heading toward the parking lot; you take about a dozen steps before throwing a look over your shoulder, a jolt of heat rushing through you when you see him still watching you. "Fuck," you mutter under your breath, picking up your pace as you head toward your car. "What have I got myself into?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Y/n?"

Gina's voice snaps you out of your flashback. "Yeah?"

"Girl, you must've been having a spicy daydream because you were damn near drooling!" she chortles.

"Just thinking about when Joe and I first met," you grin, heading to the fridge to pull the frosting out. "Let me get these cupcakes frosted then I'll help you set up a little tablescape for your V Day dinner."

"Martha Stewart ain't got nothing on you," she giggles.

"Damn right," you laugh, grabbing your piping bag and dropping a star tip in before letting your mind wander, a sizzle of anticipation running through you as you think about the night to come.

[awrkive]

[TEASER] LOVE LESSONS, pt. 2 (M) — JJK.

jungkook and you talked about the deal more, escalating it to new heights.

PAIRING jungkook x (fem) reader

GENRE smut, kind of fluffy tbh, r18+

WORD COUNT 816 words for this teaser but the final chapter word count is 8.9k 

WARNINGS/MISC virgin!reader, kinda spoiled brat!!reader lol, childhood friend-ish!jk, college!au, jk college course reveal 😁 explicit sexual content. again, (awkward?) first times 

NOTES  im so excited to be posting this! i also did not realize that its been almost a year since part 1 was posted lol. click read more to see important note in the end!!

[ READ PART 1 HERE ]

FULL VERSION OUT NOW. READ HERE !

"Uhm, do you really wanna do it?" You asked. Again. For the second time that night. "Because, it's totally okay if you changed your mind."

Jungkook arched his brow. "I already said I would do it."

"Yeah, but maybe you were just saying that to get me off your back."

He rolled his eyes. "You and your assumptions…"

There was a fat pout on your lips after hearing those words.

"I said I'll do it and I will. I was just thinking that maybe we can establish some rules? Some boundaries, for you and I, both. Just so we know that there's no one taking advantage of the other. Like, I don't want you to think that I'm in on this because I'm some – perverted guy preying on your lack of experience, you know?"

Your heart melted at that. Jungkook was fairly annoying at times. He was such a perfectionist, a stickler to rules, always playing your bodyguard, always telling on your father of things you did that he disapproved of. But thinking about it, he never really overstepped. Yeah, he was a perfectionist. But that was because he knew exactly what he wanted and that was great. He was a stickler to rules but he was never a killjoy. He only stuck his nose to business he was personally involved in… and admittedly, he only ever told on your father when you did (again, admittedly) stupid things. It was even more accurate to think that maybe, you were the annoying one. Always pushing at his buttons… being stubborn… and he tolerated that. A lot of times throughout the years you've known each other.

"That's really sweet of you, Bunny."

The nickname earned you a groan from him. And it was perfect! Because you were feeling mushy all of a sudden but you didn't want to and so calling him the nickname he loathed gave you the opportunity to ease the mood again.

Jungkook grunted your name and rolled his eyes, and you only laughed at the scrunch of his face because it was always funny to see him so disgruntled by that nickname. And he looked extra cute with his fluffy, overgrown hair and prescription glasses. He wore it often nowadays. To add, the nickname was just as adorable, so you never really understood his demise. You, on the other hand, would like to be called bunny…

But anyway, he made a pretty important point.

"I don't think you're taking advantage of me. Do you think I'm taking advantage of you?" Because it was more accurate to put it that way. You were the one who came to him suddenly proposing something crazy.

He shook his head. "Definitely not. So, about rules? Do you have suggestions?"

You leaned back and passively watched the scenes playing out before you on the television.

"All I can think of right now is that you can stop it any time soon. Like, if you wake up tomorrow and think you don't want this anymore, then just tell me. Or like, you're dating someone…" Like, maybe, Eunseo? That was what you thought of after you said the word date. You chose to omit that part. You looked at him. "Okay?"

Nodding, Jungkook mirrored your action on the couch. "That's a good one. You can, too."

You hummed. "Also… I don't really know anything. I wasn't kidding when I said I never watched porn, not until now, anyway. I'm actually, really, serious when I ask you questions, even though they're kind of stupid sometimes."

Ah, there it was. Even though you liked to believe that this was all lighthearted for you (which is, for the most part, anyway), it was kind of a sore spot. Your lack of experience was an insecurity, although you try to hide it a lot. You didn't want to tell Jungkook that, afraid he might think it was stupid. Or laugh. Like he did sometimes… you were 20 years old.

But it was like he read your mind and then suddenly, he took a hold of your arm so he could look right into your eyes.

"Hey, they're not stupid. I'm sorry if I laughed at them, you can, like, punch me anytime if I do that again. Deal?"

You looked away and sighed. "You're patronizing me." You pouted.

"Okay, sorry. I'm not. Just saying I don't mock you for not having sex yet," you still weren't looking at him and so he continued, "Alright, I'm going to be honest. I really was genuinely shocked when you told me you haven't done it before."

You finally looked at him, confused. "Why?"

He let go of your arm and smiled. "You're attractive, is all. So I just thought…"

Arching your brow, you crossed your arms. A defense mechanism because you liked being called pretty and he can't know that. "Really?"

"Yeah," he looked down. Unintentionally. "And you have nice boobs."

YOU CAN NOW READ THE FULL VERSION OF PART 2 ON MY PATREON PAGE !! heres the post about the tiers and the link to the part 2 of love lessons <3 to my followers, it is def not an obligation to avail any of the tiers as i will still post my stories publicly. on the other hand, to anyone who subscribes, thank you so so much!!

© 𝐀𝐖𝐑𝐊𝐈𝐕𝐄 2022. all rights reserved. copying, editing, reposting and translating any of my works are not allowed.

[jams-sims]

Big Post about the last bit of story. I love the energy we have created in the club tonight. I find it weird- and this could be 100% wrong, because I'm assuming they're making more cards and more characters. But is uh Minhyeok Lucifer? Or better yet the son of God? I believe the main story God is dead or "Gone" an the Angels blame the demons etc. Hence why the war is happening plus Solomon deal.

I saw another theory saying that Kim could be God as a human. Which I don't disagree with but also I feel like they would have made a bigger deal about it.

The Angels are very sus during the Halloween event. An I know it could very much be a "all the angels left because this is a special event and the story has to move along some how." double with the "Everyone loses their memories at the end But not the demon so we can keep the event in both a limbo of canon and non canon"

None of the demons act weird about Kim but all the angels do. I mean Raphael tries to lick Kim but is stopped and he leaves laughing.

Then we have the scythe nonsense.

I feel like if it was purely because the two Gods will/miracles canceled each other out. The angels especially Gabriel would be a little more annoyed. It's like they all saw something and collective said. "Oh that's interesting and left." like I'm still on chapter one so I don't have main story shit to compare with it just left me tilting my head like- that's weird that's suspicious.

Now I get to talk about my favorite part. Both MC and Kim call each other My (possesive) blank My MC, My Kim etc.

I think this has to be the first time the MC has openly admitted to liking the marriage pack them and Kim have. That it brings them comfort. Sitri of course fucking hate it and all the demons hate (hate is a strong word they dislike him because he is so close to the MC) Kim. Plus I also love how the MC is allowed to open just cry when reunited with Kim. To many times have I seen a reunion be look fuckin warm.

There was a lot of shit if was purely for MC and Kim's relationships. It's adding that I still care about the Earth mentality that other games like this are missing.

I love just how much character they are giving the MC. I know a lot of games are scared to do that because they are meant to be blank for the player playing to project onto. But it helps to make it more believable when the character has some basic character that helps you ease into that.

But also- it's some good demon character development as well. Mammon was out here fucking beating the shit out of Kim. Just some left-right good night shit! He was really telling him he was stuck in the friend zone. The fuckin family zone! It killed me having to read it lol

[sequinsmile-x]

Stained Glass Windows - Chapter Sixty Nine

Life was complicated, but they wouldn't have it any other way.

-x-

Hi friends,

I know this is earlier in the day than I usually post but I am at a concert tonight - and I didn't want y'all to wait even one more day for this chapter!

So so sorry about the delay on this! I was sick and then had other fics to write, but SGW is BACK and I will go back to weekly updates I promise <3

As ever, your love for this fic means the world to me - as do any comments about what you think!

-x-

Words: 3.7k

A full list of warnings for the fic can be found on the Series Master List.

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

She blows out a steady breath as she steps back to look at herself in the mirror, her hand pressed against her shoulder as she rolls it slightly, easing the ache that would build if it was still for too long. 

“Is it hurting?”

She turns to look at her husband, a smile spreading across her face as she sees Lily sitting on his hip. Looking at him now, she never would have known he’d gone away. The beard was gone, something she protested heavily as she stood and watched him shave it off a week ago, and he was back in his sharp edged suits, a stern look about him that she’d always enjoyed that only seemed to be enhanced by their little girl in his arms. 

Emily shakes her head and lets her hand drop from her shoulder, “It just aches a little,” she assures him, “It’s fine.”

He hums, not sure if he believes her, “If you’re not ready to go back to work-”

“I am ready,” she says, cutting him off as she turns her attention to Lily, smiling as she tickles the little girl’s belly, “Daddy is just being silly.” 

“Mama!” Lily exclaims, reaching out for Emily who immediately goes to take her out of Aaron’s arms, pausing only briefly to raise her eyebrow at him as he tries to stop her out of instinct, still acting as if her shoulder was out of action like it had been the last few weeks. 

“Come here, sweet girl,” Emily says, settling Lily on her good side as she presses a kiss to her temple, “Mommy is going to miss you when she’s at work today.” 

Aaron smiles as he watches them together for a moment before he steps closer, pulled towards them as if magnetized, and he wraps his arms around them both, “Mommy is starting her new job today,” he directs at Lily, smiling when she sucks on her fist, “So we need to wish her luck.” 

It would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous, but she was looking forward to her new job. Despite the circumstances, she felt like she had earned it, something that Aaron had told her multiple times over the last few weeks. She knew she could do it, but she wasn’t sure what the Counterterrorism unit would make of her being in charge, not when she knew some of them held her responsible for their boss being fired when his arrogance could have led to her losing her life. 

Emily hums contentedly as she leans into his side, enjoying the closeness she’d had on demand for weeks, something she’d miss as they both returned to work full-time. She smiles as her eyes meet his, purposely looking up at him through her lashes, her tongue peeking out to lick her lower lip.

“Sure you can handle sitting opposite your wife in the Unit Chief briefing later?” 

He chuckles and cups the back of her head, tugging her in for a brief kiss, “Sweetheart,” he starts, kissing her again, “For the first 18 months you were in the BAU I managed to suppress my feelings for you, I think I can manage this.” 

She narrows her eyes at him, at the confidence she’s not even sure he buys into, and adjusts her hold on Lily.

“You sure do like to re-write that part of our history, honey,” she teases, reaching out to straighten his lapel, her smile turning into a smirk as he shudders at the simple touch. It had been far too long since she’d had sex with her husband. Her injury had meant her doctor had only just signed her off in the last day or so, and Aaron had been sticking to her doctor’s orders to the letter. She felt like she was on the edge, like she was close to bursting, and it felt good to know she wasn’t the only one, “How about we make this interesting?” 

He narrows his eyes at her, curiosity quickly overtaking any concern about what he was sure would be inappropriate, “What do you mean?”

She shrugs innocently, a glint in her eyes that seemed almost misplaced as she held their daughter close. 

“First one to…” she drifts off and looks at Lily, the little girl babbling to herself as she wraps her hand around Emily’s necklace. Emily felt increasingly aware of the fact that Lily could start repeating words so was trying to be careful, well aware if her daughter said a curse word anytime soon she’d never live it down. She was longing for Lily to say Dada again, a word she seemed to have lost since the first time she’d said it. Emily had half convinced herself that it was just a sound her daughter had made instead of a word, wilfully ignoring that she’d said it again when JJ pointed at a picture of Aaron during the girl's night she and Penelope had brought to their home. She clears her throat and looks back up at her husband, raising her eyebrow as she carries on, “...lose their cool pays for the next date night?” 

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, smiling at his wife despite himself, “Em-”

“Unless,” she says, stepping closer again, her breath skipping over his cheek, “You think you’d lose?” 

He knows what she’s doing, that she’s purposely tapping into his competitive nature, a not-so-subtle attempt to dampen down any nerves she is feeling about her first day as Unit Chief. He clears his throat and presses his lips to her cheek before he moves just enough to catch her ear, smiling as she shivers, her lips pressing together as she holds back a groan. 

“You’re on, sweetheart,” he says, kissing her cheek again, “Remember Dave is making dinner for us all tonight, so you’ll have to keep your hands to yourself a little longer,” he winks at her and leaves the room. She stares at his ass the entire time and shakes her head at herself, blowing out a slow breath as she tries to get control of herself again. 

“Get it together, Emily.” 

___

He distracts her all day.

She knows she started it. She knows it’s an attempt to relax her, to pull her out of her own head after an awkward first meeting as the Unit Chief of her team, but she’s sure she’s going to lose her damn mind. He walks into the meeting with all of the other Unit Chiefs and Strauss with his suit jacket off and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He flashes a look at her, something she knows everyone else will miss, and she narrows her eyes at him across the conference table as he casually updates the room on the BAU’s activities. 

It’s a game they play back and forth. She makes a point of going to his office for lunch, pressing herself a little closer to him than she usually would on his couch, acting innocent when he tenses as she wipes some mayo from the corner of his mouth once he’s done with his sandwich, purposely lingering a little longer than necessary. She presses a kiss to his cheek as she leaves, throwing him a wink over her shoulder as she heads back to her own office. 

Aaron knows he’s getting to her when she starts to text him in the middle of the afternoon, thinly veiled flirty messages that slip under his skin, making his need for his wife as strong as it had ever been. He missed her, he missed being with her. He knew if she’d had her way they would have had sex weeks ago, but he didn’t want to hurt her, didn’t want the memory of their first night together again to be tainted by anything. 

He watches the clock until it’s time to go home and he smiles as she appears in his doorway again, but it slips as she sighs, her shoulders slumping as she steps into his office.

“What’s wrong sweetheart?” 

She huffs out a breath as he walks over, wrapping his arms around her, “The babysitter is sick,” she says, “She just called.”

He groans and runs his hand up and down her back, “I can take Lily home, I know you were looking forward to seeing the team tonight.”

“No, honey, it’s your welcome home party,” she says, looping her arms around his neck, “You should go.”

He smiles softly at her and presses a kiss to her lips, “Or, we both go and use her as an excuse to leave early.”

She gasps in mock outrage as he waggles his eyebrows at her, “Are you suggesting we use our adorable baby girl as a reason so we can go home and have sex?”

He suppresses a smile, clearing his throat to choke down a laugh as he pretends to think about it for a moment, “Yes.” 

She laughs and leans in to press a kiss against his lips, pulling back barely enough to speak, “I married a genius.”

They let the others know they’ll be late and head to the daycare, both happy to see Lily after a long day at work. She chatters to herself in the back of the car the entire journey to Dave’s, a string of nonsensical words with the odd Mama and occasional sound that was achingly close to Dada. 

Aaron smiles at Lily as he gets her out of her car seat and he presses a kiss to the side of her head before he settles her on his hip. 

“Okay, Lily-Pad,” he says, walking towards the front door, throwing Emily a smile as she walks alongside him, “No matter what your Aunt Pen says, you don’t need any more tutus, okay?” He looks at the baby and she giggles, pressing her hands against his face, her laughter only getting louder when he makes a show of kissing her hand, “Glad we’re in agreement.” 

Emily watches them fondly, the desire she’d felt for him all day, slowly simmering in her gut, coming to a boil as he watches her with their little girl. She rings the doorbell as soon as they step on the porch, and the door immediately opens, Penelope’s delighted face is the first thing she sees. 

“Hi Pen,” Emily says, smiling as her friend waves at her before bypassing her completely, immediately walking over to Aaron. 

“Give me my niece,” Penelope says, already taking Lily out of Aaron’s arms, “Look at you Mini Peaches,” she says, smiling as the little girl grabs her brightly coloured cardigan, babbling loudly, “I can’t believe it’s your first birthday in a couple of weeks.” 

“Me neither,” Emily laments, leaning into her husband's side as he wraps an arm around her, “She’s growing up so fast.” 

“Yes,” Dave says sarcastically as he walks into the foyer, his eyebrow raised, “First she’ll be turning one, and before we know it she’ll be going off to college.” 

Emily narrows her eyes, playful irritation flowing from her as she settles into the familiarity of all of this, the sense of home and family that had been missing since Aaron had gone to Pakistan. 

“Shut up, Dave,” she mutters, not longer able to fight the smile as she links her hand through her husbands, “I need some wine after the day I’ve had,” she looks at Penelope, “You’re okay with her for a little bit?” 

Penelope nods enthusiastically, tightening her hold on Lily, “I’d take her forever, you know that.” 

Emily chuckles and pulls Aaron towards the kitchen, smiling as he makes sure he’s only one step behind her, his hand on her hip as he follows her closely.

“You know,” she says, turning in his embrace as they step into the kitchen, “Dave has a lot of spots in this place where we could sneak off to.” 

He hums and pulls her closer, his hand spread wide on her back, “Is that you admitting defeat?” 

She raises an eyebrow at him and leans in as close as she can, her lips ghosting over his, “Oh honey, we both know you were about to suggest it too.” 

There’s a pause, a moment of silence that passes between them, before he smiles, “Call it a draw?” 

She nods excitedly and reaches for his hand again, pulling him out of the kitchen and towards the small bathroom nearby, laughing as he locks the door behind them. As soon as she hears the click of the lock he’s on her, his hands on her hips as he traps her between him and the counter, his lips swallowing the gasp she lets out. 

She sighs contentedly, wrapping her arms around his neck, her hands sinking into his hair. He runs his hand up and down her side, helping her up onto the counter and moaning when she wraps one of her legs around his waist. He grabs her thigh, his hand warm and heavy and supportive as he holds her leg in place, moaning again when she rolls her hips against his. 

He gasps as he pulls back, resting his forehead against hers, “God I’ve missed you.” 

“I’ve missed you too,” she says breathlessly, pulling him back into the kiss, “I’ve missed you so much.” 

She hooks her other leg around him, pulling him impossibly closer, sighing contentedly as he settles into the cradle of her hips. He shifts to start kissing her cheek, and then her jaw, working his way down her throat and to her collarbone. She throws her head back, her eyes just drifting shut as she gets lost in him, just when there’s a loud knock on the door, making them both jump and hit their heads together. 

“Son of a bitch,” Emily exclaims, just as Dave’s amused voice travels through the locked door. 

“Please don’t make your next kid in my house.” 

Emily rolls her eyes and rests her forehead on Aaron’s shoulder, smiling when he kisses the top of her head, rubbing his hand up and down her back.

“We’ll be right out, Dave.” 

Emily groans as they hear the other man laugh before he, thankfully, leaves without further comment, his footsteps retreating back towards the living room. She lifts her head up and smiles at Aaron, leaning into his palm as he cups her cheek, tracing his thumb back and forth over her skin.

“Later?” He asks and she nods, turning her head to kiss his palm.

“Later.” 

He helps her down off the counter, his touch softer as his hand settles on her lower back as he guides her out of the bathroom. Emily tries to ignore the delight on Penelope’s face as they walk into the living room, everyone except Dave, who was finishing off cooking dinner, were surrounding them. She’s sitting on the floor with Lily, the baby girl surrounded by toys Emily had never seen before in her life, and she points towards them as they walk in. 

“There they are Lily,” she says, raising her eyebrow at Emily as she looks up, “There’s Mama and Dada.” 

Emily bends down to pick up Lily up but she scoots past her, crawling towards Aaron at a speed Emily is sure she’ll find terrifying once Lily can walk. 

“Dada!” 

The room falls into silence as Lily’s voice echoes around them, her tiny hands grasping at Aaron’s pants as she pulls herself into a standing position. Emily feels her chest go warm as her husband looks at her, the adoration painted across his face as he picks Lily up, hoisting her onto his hip. 

“What did you just say, princess?” He asks, tickling her belly to make her laugh, “Did you say Dada?” 

“Dada!” Lily repeats, placing her hands on his cheeks as she squishes them with her tiny fists.

“Oh that’s so sweet,” Penelope says as she stands up, her hand on her chest, “It was so cute when she said it at girl's night.” 

Emily freezes, her eyes going wide as she sees Aaron stiffen, his gaze immediately locking with hers, realisation spreading through him as he looks back at Penelope, “She said it before?” 

“Yeah,” Penelope says, “When we came over to your place a few weeks…” She drifts off as JJ elbows her in the ribs, cutting her off as she clears her throat and nods between Aaron and Emily. Penelope finally catches up with everyone else in the room, the awkwardness cutting through her excitement, “Oh crap.” 

Emily steps towards Aaron, “Aaron-”

“Dinner’s ready,” Dave says as he steps into the room, his smile immediately dropping when he senses the tension, “What’s going on?” 

Aaron is the first to move, passing Lily over to Emily as he steps past her, their eyes meeting for a second before he smiles tightly at her.

“Nothing,” he says, “I’ll help you serve.” 

The moment he’s out of the room Penelope is apologetic, her words fast and jumbled as Emily waves her off, smiling tightly as she tells her it’s fine, cursing herself for keeping the secret in the first place, for not remembering to tell Penelope and JJ she hadn’t told Aaron. 

Dinner is long and awkward, and she’s grateful when Lily falls asleep in her arms, the perfect excuse to leave - albeit a completely different one to the one she’d hoped for. They drive home in silence, and she lifts Lily out of her car seat and carries her inside and upstairs, muttering to her husband that she’d put her to bed - the first words they’d exchanged since they were standing in Dave’s living room. She changes Lily into her pjyamas, grateful when the little girl stays asleep, and then she settles her into her crib, leaning down and kissing her daughter's cheek, her love for her whispered against her skin. 

She blows out a steady breath before she heads down the stairs, her arms crossed over her chest as she steps into the kitchen, her gaze fixed on Aaron’s back as he unloads the dishwasher. She clears her throat and he sighs, turning to look at her, his expression stern in a way it hadn’t been with her in a long time. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

She presses her lips together and a shaky laugh escapes her, “How was I supposed to tell you? I didn’t want to tell you over that shitty satellite phone, or via email,” she says, throwing her hands up, “Our daughter said your name first. And you weren’t here for it. I didn’t want to drop that on you whilst you were on the other side of the world.” 

“I’ve been back for a month.” He says, trying to sound calmer than he feels, irritation he rarely felt towards her thrumming in his veins. 

She sighs and nods, “I…I wanted you to have that moment.”

He doesn’t fully understand the anger he feels. He knows she doesn’t deserve it, that he should turn it inwards, but in the moment he can’t. All he could focus on was the lie, the embarrassment he’d felt in front of their friends when some of them had clearly known something about his little girl that he hadn’t. 

“You wanted me to have that moment? You took it from me,” he seethes, his shoulders tight as he looks at her and she scoffs, the anger that had been sparking in her gut catching fire, burning in her veins as she clenches her teeth.

“I took it from you? You’re the one who left, Aaron,” she replies, her arms crossed over her chest, “You left and I was here just living our life.” 

He frowns, the fight starting to drain out of him as his shoulders slump, “You said you were okay with me going.” 

Everything she’d felt for weeks, months, bubbles to the surface and she growls in frustration and covers her eyes with her hands, taking a moment to blow out a breath as she shakes her head. 

“I was,” she half shouts, shaking her head again as her hands drop from her face, “I am, but you have to understand that things here didn’t just…pause because you were gone. I was still here,” she points upstairs, “Lily was still here. And I stand by any decision I made whilst you were gone to protect us, or you,” she presses her lips together, “I know it sucks, I can’t even imagine how I’d feel if I missed out on her saying Mama for the first time, but you cannot blame me for this. It’s not my fault.” 

He sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose, any remaining fight leaving him as he steps towards her, “I know it’s not your fault,” he says, grateful that she doesn’t flinch when he pulls her into a hug, that she sinks into his embrace, “I’m sorry.” 

She hooks her arms around him, her palms resting on his shoulders as she nods against him, “Me too.” 

He runs his hand up and down her back and turns his head to kiss the side of her head, “I’m so sorry I missed it.” 

She clenches her eyes shut and holds him tighter, heaving in a shaky breath before she looks up at him. She sniffs, pushing back tears she doesn’t want to shed and she places her hand on his cheek, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” 

He tucks some of her hair behind her ear and leans down to kiss her, his hand cupping the back of her head as he holds her in place. When he pulls back he rests his forehead against hers, his smile soft, “I love you.” 

She smiles and nods, her forehead knocking against his slightly, “I love you too,” she kisses him again, deepening it this time, her hands grasping at his lapels as she holds him closer. When the kiss ends she nudges her nose against his, “Make-up sex?” 

He laughs, the sound deep and loud, vibrating from his chest into hers, and he nods, kissing her fiercely as he backs her out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. 

“Make-up sex.”  

-x-

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[megumiswife4]

Entwined Shadows 3

Part: 3

Pairings ~ Megumi x Fem Reader

Warnings ~ slow burn, (possible smut in later chapters), aged-up Fushiguro (as well as other characters), 18+ only PLEASE.

WC ~ 1.3k

This is my first fic here. Please take it easy on me, but I would love to receive constructive criticism to improve my writing; you guys can always leave messages in my inbox or comment below once again thank you for reading, and enjoy.

*( I will be posting every Sunday night for a new chapter)*

Part 2: 👇🏻

Megumi’s POV

I pondered on my own thoughts, trying to figure out a game plan. Was I going to try and confront this man? Or sit back letting this unfold steadily and strategically? I’d prefer seeing this man try to bypass y/n. She was his next target, and yet he thought I would be on board with his scheming plan of being able to drug her and believe he could take her home.

“Please tell me that you’ve seen that too, Itadori?” Rubbing the temples of my forehead annoyedly.

“Yeah, looks like we’ve gotta stay vigilant on this guy.” Tilting his head towards me.

I scoffed in annoyance, the one night out that we decide to unwind we already have trouble coming from our first stop. Y/n needs to have her moment on that stage with Kugisaki, the last thing she needs is some punk ass trying to take advantage of that all because of his greedy little ego; Too bad I’m going to ruin his night a tad bit early.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/n exuded such a presence on that stage and wowed the entire bar, that even after she was finished everyone applauded with Kugisaki alongside her. Itadori and Megumi both joined in with the rest of the crowd, excited to see the girls having a blast their guards down knowing that they could just be themselves even if it was just for a moment.

Y/n ran up to Itadori excitedly, “How did I do up there?!”

“You did so good!… look behind. You’ve got an entire crowd of people here that thought your performance was badass! Same goes for you too, Kugisaki.” Letting out a minuscule laugh. Both girls thanked Itadori for such a warm compliment, after all he was your guy's best friend and an honest person; If something wasn’t all that great you both would know.

Y/n was gradually making her way over to Megumi before she could take her final steps towards him, an unknown body figure appeared and it was most certainly not Megumi’s.

“Wow, you looked gorgeously phenomenal up there. Did my order of sake shots help a bit with calming your nerves?” The man lustfully smiled, gazing his eyes towards y/n.

“Umm.. yeah it did, I really do appreciate the drinks, it really eased the tension up for me to feel more comfortable.” Uncomfortably smiling.

“Oh my god, where are my manners? I never formally introduced myself. My name is Hayato.” Extending his hand towards y/n.

Laughing a bit awkwardly, reaching to his hand. Instead of having a soft handshake he slowly pulled her hand upward to his lips placing a small kiss. “Uhm… the name is y/n, nice to meet you.”

Finally releasing her hand from his, it was visible she was uncomfortable. “I thought you might like this drink, it was one of the special cocktails of the night that the bar advertised.” He insisted, showcasing the drink in his hand.

Megumi horizened his gaze over Hayato’s shoulder, taking notice that the drink looked awfully different; coincidentally there had been a weird fizzing reaction occurring in the drink and not to mention there was faint white substance slowly sinking into the liquid. Megumi had only recognized it due to Hayato accidentally dropping the small zip bag of the substance much earlier. Y/n nervously smiled grasping ahold of the glass he offered her, suddenly another man’s arm interjected between the two.

“It’s alright man I think she’s had enough to drink for the night. But she appreciates the offer.” Megumi let out a stern smile, offering cash to substitute his cocktail order for her.

“And who are you?” Hayato laughed cunningly, pushing Fushiguros forearm away between the two of them.

“That’s really none of your concern, other than my friend and I are accompanying the girls here.” He hovered over Hayato, vigorously standing between y/n and him now. Proceeding to grab the drink out of his hand pouring it beside him onto the tile floor, his other hand stuffing cash into the pocket of his button up shirt.

Megumi leaned into his ear, “It’s best that you go Hayato, once again thanks for the drink she won’t be needing anything more from you.” As he patted his chest with a small grin plastered on his face.

“You bastard.” He snarled, grabbing ahold of Megumi's perfectly creased collar. Yuji quickly pressed himself against Hayato, “It’s alright Yuji I got it.” Megumi insisted.

“I’m telling you right now man, you really don’t want to do this here.” Fushiguro huffed.

Hayato firmly let go of his collar, gazing over at y/n. “I didn’t really give a shit what your name was, in all honesty I just wanted you to come home with me to have someone accompany me in my bed for the night sweetheart.”

Megumi quickly grasped his throat, tight enough for him to still breathe and speak. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, speaking to a woman like that? You really think that me standing here is going to be the only thing I’m going to do to you for disrespecting her like that? Huh?!” His eyes widening, the color of them darkening with every word he spoke.

Hayato immediately withdrew his way out of Megumi’s hold, “Look man I didn’t mean any harm, I promise!” As he lifted both arms in the air initiating a truce.

“Next time I see you around, I’m not letting you off this easy now get out.” Glaring at the man. Hayato quickly found his way out the bar feeling flustered and was never to be seen afterwards.

“Megumi, what was that all about? All he was trying to do was hand me a drink.” Questioned y/n

“Trust me you’re better off not having it.” He stammered, a hardened look on his face.

Kugisaki looked over at Itadori for an answer, “What was that guy's problem? The one that Fushiguro almost murdered?” Chuckling.

“Well for one, that guy isn’t all sweet like he intended to be when he first greeted y/n. Fushiguro and I were waiting in our section when we noticed an altercation with him and his buddy. As soon as his friend stormed out, Hayato accidentally dropped a bag with white powder inside of it…and well we knew what exactly his plan was afterwards.”

“Okay he’s totally a creep for that, I know for a fact if I had known he was such a weirdo, I would have kicked his ass right in this exact moment.” Kugisaki exclaimed.

“Trust me Kugisaki, Fushiguro and I would have taken care of it. We came with you both. It's kinda our job to be the protectors here.” Itadori insisted.

Megumi and y/n were engaged in their separate conversation from itadori and kugisaki addressing the situation that had occurred. Megumi planted his hand above her head as he lightly patted it, “Y/n I’m just looking out for you, Itadori and I noticed he wasn’t a guy with good intentions just some scum bag looking for a good time, he planned on drugging you; I saw his bag laid out on the floor before he picked it up. And that drink he offered… he was trying to have you out unconscious.” A saddened look appeared on his face.

Guiding his hand to her mid back to ease the tension from this situation, y/n nervously felt his soft hand graze the back of her dress she knew he was only trying to comfort her; but oddly enough she just couldn’t seem to grasp this butterfly feeling in her stomach. He caught a glimpse of y/n, her cheeks bright red. He couldn’t discern whether that was the alcohol flush or just the nervousness displayed by his gentle touch.

“Let’s get going, we still have another place to scope out.” Itadori exclaimed. Nobara, Y/n, and Megumi followed his lead leaving the bar.

“Didn’t you mention that one badass nightclub? It’s got those crazy lights inside with an insane smoke machine?” Nobara responded excitedly.

“Yup! That’s where we’re headed to!” Itadori announced.

The entire group yet again, explored their way into the streets of Shibuya; finding the extravagant nightclub that was greatly talked about throughout the town and its well known locals.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TAGLIST: @mariapierce789 @afatalheat

[silly-thinkings]

Twisted Daydream~

  Sorry for just ghosting, motivation for writing has been pretty slow. but my fics are being worked on! (The Cursed stone is what I've been focusing on recently. only 3-4 chapters need to be written)

I've received many kind words on "Vacation gone wrong". and it is a stand-alone story. This is just filler ya know. will a narrative come out of this? Maybe... I have been thinking about A plot. But this has been sitting in my Docs for a while now and I'm happy with how it came out. Let me know what you think about it :3

P.S this is a long read--  Tumblr isn’t letting me post all that sooooo.... this is broken up into parts;-;

Please do not Repost my work. Likes and reblogs are appreciated. I do not own any of the DC Characters. This is just Fanfic

The gentle rays of the sun graced your face as you took a deep breath. You looked out the window of your small cottage home and reviled in the beautiful view of the grand farm in front of you. You were in paradise. A paradise perfect for you and Bruce to spend the afterlife.

“You know, I still can't believe I made it up here” You heard Bruce say as he wrapped his arms around your waist.

“Whatever do you mean?” You adjust your body to face him.

“Well… the things I've done, as Batman-”

“What? Beating up the bad guys?” You said with a giggle before placing a hand on his cheek “Bruce, you’ve done so much good. And then some. Besides, plenty of magic users foretold that we’d be together in the afterlife.”

Bruce smiled, your comforting words easing his mind. He placed his forehead onto yours as the both of you just enjoyed each other's space.

That was until the scent of fire invades your senses. Bruce immediately was put on high alert as a green liquid slowly began to engulf his body.

Your breath hitched as he slowly backed away “Bruce? What's happening?” Suddenly a sharp pain began to overrun your body causing you to fall to the floor.

Bruce felt cold as if he were submerged in water.

“No… no no NO!! Can’t I have any PEACE!” He shouted as the liquid consumed his body.

You felt helpless as you reached your hand out to Bruce. Your face pained him “Y/N… I think someone is bringing us back.”

“The pit?”

“Yes…”

Bruce noticed how You had a different substance corrode you. A blue fire began to surround your body. He pulled you into him. “Y/N, I will find you. I will fix this” Bruce cradled your form as the fire spread faster.

The pain you felt crescendo before you whispered one final time “ see you soon.”

Bruce watched as the fire engulfed all of you before he too disappeared from paradise.

****

The surrounding guards watched as Bruce rose from the waters with such a rage they've never seen before. Bruce was rabid, Punching and kicking every guard who dared to cross paths with him.

“Don’t Shoot!, we can't afford another death.”

That voice, Bruce immediately turned to attack the woman before he was successfully subdued with a tranquilizer gun. The woman slowly walked forward to the now sleeping man. “Welcome back my beloved, we have much to do.”

~Elsewhere~

A scientist slowly backed away from the grand tank that housed the one and only Y/N Wayne. He was tasked with the impossible, to resurrect the dead. With some help, and a mysterious liquid that was given to him by an unknown source he believed he’d done it.

“Yes… yes yes YES! HAHAHA, the Court will finally accept me now.” He hollered in joy as he hugged the tank.

Y/N Floated in the teal-colored water as her body slightly twitched. The sound of a phone caused the Scientist to break from his glorious accomplishment “Tucker speaking. I'm busy”

“Is that so? I hope that you have the results we are hoping for.”

Tucker gulped as he realized who was on the other end of the phone “Lady Angelica. I- I didn't expect a call… especially so soon”

“The court and I wanted to know if the little project we were funding had progressed”

Tucker turned to the glass tank and smiled “Yes well, Ms. Wayne has returned. H-however I still need more time.”

There was a long pause before Angelica spoke “Excellent work Mr. Tucker. I will send a Talon your way for protection. We don't want any vigilantes spoiling our plans.”

There was a click on the other end of the phone. Tucker stared at it wide-eyed before whooping in joy “Thanks to you Wayne, ill finally be recognized in this city.” He walked over to his desk and pressed a button, draining the water “You and your husband rejected my plans for Gotham. Even Luthor thought I was crazy. But now I’ll-”

“GRAH!” Y/N slammed her head against the glass, causing Tucker to jump a bit in shock. Blood trickled down her cheek as she pulled her fists back to slam the glass.

“No no no” Tucker pressed another button causing water to drain faster before smoke began filling the tank. He watched as Y/N’s body swayed from side to side before falling limp.

“Great. She’s not really back…” Tucker placed his hands in his hair in a panic before freezing “No… I’ve essentially reset her! She is nothing more than a wild beast that must be tamed.” ~~Continue Here~~

[thephantomcasebook]

These fans are mad that the writers are lame af because ain't no way they've never imagined they wouldn't do characters dirty for no reason before lol

In all honesty ...

I've never seen anyone or anything get so goddamn feral, so quickly, in my life, than the HOTD fandom did.

We all sort of eased back into the franchise at first after being incredibly let down and betrayed. Then from 1x03-1x05 it was like being a part of the GOT fandom again with funny memes and joking around. People slowly falling in love with Alicent and kinda liking young Rhaenyra. All of us agreeing that Matt Smith is a great actor.

Then, around 1x06 to current day, everyone just lost their goddamn mind.

Suddenly there's this weird cult like hate or adoration of Alicent. Fucking Rhaenyra stans out here screaming the condoning for the murder of children and the need for it. You can't even praise Jaehaera - a sweet and innocent little girl - and wish that she get better treatment without some creepy losers shitting themselves in anger over it.

I was on discord earlier and I was showing them the kind of deranged asks that people send into my inbox and it was a large topic of conversation between people - some who may or may not work on HOTD in some capacity or another - about the level of vitriol and rage that cropped up out of absolutely nowhere.

Reddit is a hive of buzzing angry hornets at the best of times, but the level of hatred and anger in the ASoIaF fandom is just unreal and everyone who is a fan and even people who work on the show are noticing it.

I've got this major fucking loser we were making fun of today who is so fucking pissed off because I have a pet theory of A+C=D and they're so angry and offended by it that they hate read my blog and act like one of those sad pathetic "Reply guys" on twitter at every post.

There's also this person who we tracked down and whose blog we all had a good laugh at reading, who sends absolute vitriolic asks because they refuse to believe that Jessica Brown Findlay was originally cast to play Alys Rivers. There is all sorts of evidence from both Olivia Cooke and Phia Saban following her on Instagram, to the head costume designer and several directors from season 2 following her on instagram, to her even liking several instagram posts from the Costume Designer about cast fittings before someone on twitter noticed and she unliked everything.

But still, this person truly believes that if she "Stans" the replacement actress for Alys, that she's somehow a good and righteous person that can claim internet points for being the first stan.

And I think that's the weird part about this whole thing with fandom that we were talking about.

There's people in this fandom, on Twitter and Reddit, that somehow equate their favs to be linked to some sort of real life virtue. That there some sort of moral equivalency test to liking an aspect or character of this goddamn show. And if you fail it or don't line up you're not just against the tribe, you're all and all evil.

And it's so fucking wild how a fandom went from fun crank theories about Varys being a Mermaid to being evil and awful, because, you talked to someone who was around the volume for Pre-viz who heard something at lunch and you relay what they heard to someone who asked what the word is in the gossip mills these days.

Even when you preface and epilogue the post with it being a rumor and probably not true, they still gnash their teeth and post on Twitter and Reddit trying to get a hate mob together to come after your blog.

Mutha'fucker, I'm a 33 year old man who has been shot at and been in life or death fist fights with dudes twice my size.

All I have to do to kick your ass is ignore an app for a few days while I finish a chapter and watch retro anime and Downton Abbey.

Either way, it's crazy out here, Nonny.

Get strapped and stay vigilante, the hoard of rage zombies are out in force.

[kvngdomheartz]

Hello everyone, alright so this is the first chapter to my LITG MC/Suresh fanfic. I’m both nervous and excited about this. I’ve been starting back to get into writing, so I hope you all will like this. I want to give a special shout-out to @luckyqueenreign for the encouragement to write this. I’ve read her MCxSuresh fics and they are amazing, so make sure to check them out. And another special shout out to @future-mrs-suresh @squishy-noodles and all the other clowns for Suresh. We will rise! Now for the disclaimer.

Disclaimer:

So although this story is based on season 5 of the game, I’m not gonna stay true to the script/game. Granted, I will use certain dialogues but for the most part I’m basically going to be doing my own thing with this. So with that being said, I will not put up with rude/ insensitive comments, you will be blocked and reported. At the end of the day this is fictitious and is part of a fictional game, please don’t take it seriously. Also, I don’t have a schedule on when I will post due to school, so make sure you have your notifications on. Lastly, since I don’t know much about British slang nor do I watch the show, I will be incorporating American Pop Culture references. Anywho, enough of that. Here is the first chapter and I hope you enjoy it!

Word Count | 1.0k

S/N: Feedback is greatly appreciated! I know this chapter is short, but I’m making it up next chapter.

Trials of the Heart

Chapter 1: Livin’

*Based on episode 1*

This chapter is brought to you by Sevyn Streeter- Livin’

S/N: Listen to the song first to get an idea/mood of the chapter.

Ahh the summertime! A time for fun in the sun, relaxation and to get your flirt on! For these islanders they’ll have all summer to do just that. Here on Love Island sexy singles will be flirting, dating and coupling up to find that special someone. One islander is actually on her way to the Villa, let’s check up on her now!

“Alright, this is it.” MaRyiah told herself as she sat in the car that was making its way to the Villa. This was a different experience for her, but after the past three years she had, she’s more than open to something new. As the driver continued driving to their destination, she continued texting her besties to ease her nerves.

Dani: OMG, I can’t believe you’re really doing this! Eek, this is so exciting!

MaRiyah: Lol, D you sound like you're on your way here!

Ebony: Chile, if I didn’t know any better I would’ve said she’s already there, lol!

Dani: Well someone has to hype our girl up! She’s literally going to be around some hot and sexy men all summer.

Ebony: You might want to calm down babe, you know Erik wouldn’t like you talking like this.

Dani: As long as I know where my loyalty is, Erik will be ok. Besides Miss Newlywed, you were just talking about how many men are gonna be all over her!

Ebony: Lol, you betta he’s my brother after all and no comment. Anyways, Ryiah, how are you feeling sis? I know this is gonna be new territory for you.

MaRyiah: If I’m being honest girls, my anxiety is getting the best of me right now.

Honestly, MaRyiah was a nervous wreck. Her heart was racing, her right leg was shaking, and her mind was in shambles. She’s never been one to put herself out there unless she had to; however, this time is different. She’s going on a reality show where her every move and comments will be filmed for the whole world to see, whether good, bad, or indifferent. Talk about pressure. And although she has overcome a lot of things, the opinions of others tend to get to her every now and then. Nevertheless, she’s a big girl and made a decision to sign up for the show. So now she’s gonna make it count.

Ebony: Babe, everything is gonna be ok! You can handle anything! Make sure you do your breathing exercises to calm those nerves.

Dani: Chica, you are the strongest person I know, especially after everything you’ve been through so don’t let this get to you! THIS should be a breeze.

She smiled. MaRyiah couldn’t be anymore blessed and fortunate to have these girls as her closest companions. Taking their advice, she closed her eyes and started her breathing exercise. Slowly she inhaled…exhaled…inhaled…exhaled. Inhaled through her nose, exhaled through her mouth. After a few more breaths she was calm.

MaRyiah: You girls are the best! I’m so glad I have y’all by my side. I hate that it’s not literal at this moment, though.

Dani: Ugh, ikr!

Ebony: But look on the bright side, at least you’ll still be able to stay in contact with us while there.

MaRyiah: That’s the only thing that’s making this experience bearable.

“Ms. MaRyiah, we are pulling up to the Villa.” Her chauffeur informed her as he began pulling up the driveway.

MaRyiah: Well girls, I’m pulling up now, any advice before I go?

Dani: In the name of Meg thee Stalli, have a Hot Girl Summer! But make sure it’s not too hot, we don’t want you burning down the Villa.

Ebony: Do not let any of these islanders get to you. If you aren’t feeling them, you are not obligated to be with them nor be nice to them. Also, don’t feel like you need to put all your eggs in one basket. Take your time and feel them out, your heart is precious and NO ONE has the right to play with it.

MaRyiah: What would I do without my lovely dating gurus/ besties?!

Dani: Starting your villain origin story!

MaRyiah: Lol, ANYWAYS, love you girls! XOXO, tell y’all hubbies I said hi and I’ll text y’all later.

Dani: Adios chica, love ya! Don’t have too much fun while you’re away and don’t try to replace us either! XOXO

Ebony: XOXO, love you too! And hey, you never know, they may have a surprise in store for you!

Before MaRyiah was able to ask Ebony what that last comment was about, the chauffeur was in front of the Villa. She grabbed her compact mirror and quickly checked on her appearance. She shaped her tightly coiled curls and rolled some lip gloss across her lips. Taking one last look at herself, she was satisfied with her appearance. As if on cue, the driver opened the door to the black SUV and helped her step out of the vehicle. Once out, she thanked the driver and took in the look and feel of the iconic Villa as he got her luggage out of the trunk.

“This may be an exciting summer after all.” She thought to herself as she embraced the idea. She took one deep breath and put on a brave smile.

“Alright, Ryiah, this is your time to step out. No more thinking or reminiscing on the past. This is a chance for new experiences and possibly new love. Take it, embrace it and live it!”

Once the chauffeur was done unloading her baggage and took it inside, he tipped his hat to her and got back inside the SUV and drove off. After taking one last look at the outside of the Villa, MaRyiah began walking towards it, ready to take on its challenges.

“Time to live and bet on myself again.”

Well looks like MaRyiah is ready for everything the Villa has to offer, even some new experiences! Little does she know though, there’s a surprise waiting for her that’s gonna make this summer much more eventful. Stay tuned for the next episode of what…Love Island!

Tags: @luckyqueenreign @future-mrs-suresh @squishy-noodles @0shewrites0 @fujihime-litg @orangecandi (lmk if you wanna be tagged)

[linklethehistorian]

Informational Grand Directory

(Last Updated: May 31, 2023)

Looking for specific information about my blogs or their contents, but don’t know where to find it? You’ve come to the right place! This page functions as a directory to all of the sections and sub-sections of my blog(s), explaining the purpose of each of their pages and linking you to them for your convenience and ease of access.

If you are reading this from a reblog, as Tumblr does not auto-update reblogged posts that are later edited, this list may not immediately appear up to date; to ‘refresh’ it, please click here.

Finished & In-Progress Articles:

The Case for Fifteen’s Adaption into Season 3 (A Pre-BSD Season 3 release look at why a Fifteen adaptation should have been the right decision. Completed.)

Randou & the Sins of Season 3’s Fifteen Adaption (An article on all of the extremely crucial differences between BSD’s “Dazai, Chuuya, Fifteen Years Old” light novel and its animated adaption. Currently in progress still. Link leads to a Masterlist of all current posts.)

BSD Season 4 Reveal: Initial Impressions (A very early Pre-BSD Season 4 release look at possibilities and probabilities for the latest season. Completed.)

“The Storm” — A BSD Manga Chapter 95 Theory (An article discussing my personal theory on what I believe is the true identity of both the “the Storm” referred to in Storm Bringer, and the ability guarding One Order in the main manga. Evidence included. Completed.)

Of Skyfall, Sigma, Ian Fleming, & James Bond (My own personal theory add-on (involving a lyrical analysis of the song Skyfall itself) for Skelechuuchuu’s incredible theory that Sigma may actually be Ian Fleming, which you can read their original post of here. Completed.)

Total Eclipse (1995) — a Movie Review by linklethehistorian (Exactly what it says on the tin: a movie review of the film Total Eclipse (1995), about the poets Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud and their stormy affair together. Completed.)

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Major Asks & Answers:

Thoughts on the Fifteen manga (wherein anon asks me what I think of what I think of the Fifteen manga so far — answered shortly after the release of Phase 6.)

Thoughts on BSD Mori Ougai (wherein anon asks me what I think of BSD Mori and I give my honest thoughts on him, both as a person and from a narrative standpoint.)

Thoughts on BSD Paul Verlaine — Part 1: General (wherein anon asks me what I think of BSD Paul and I give my honest thoughts on him, both as a person and from a narrative standpoint.)

Thoughts on BSD Paul Verlaine — Part 2: Canon Relationship with Arthur Rimbaud/Randou (wherein I explore and give my thoughts on what the nature of the canonical relationship is between BSD Paul and BSD Arthur.)

Thoughts on BSD Arthur Canonically Having a Former ‘Paramour’ Before Becoming a Spy (wherein anon asks me what I think about the fact that Arthur mentions having had a lover before becoming a spy, in his memoirs in Storm Bringer.) Thoughts on a Theory Regarding BSD Manga Chapter 101′s ‘Fifteen Anime Easter Egg’ Panel (Response to a shared theory by Ango-Kept-The-Photograph — whom has sadly since deactivated — discussing how that one panel in Chapter 101 of the BSD manga might not be a reference to the anime adaption of Fifteen at all. You can also read my own personal thoughts on the subject here.)

See also: Two different asks regarding where one can watch the BSD Stage Play — here and here. (Answered pre-Storm Bringer Stage Play)

Thoughts on a Particular Official BONES Art of Arthur, Mori, Dazai, & Chuuya (a response to a person responding to my initial post here. See also, another person sending me a different ask regarding this, which you can read here.)

“Do You Speak/Understand Japanese?” (wherein anon asks me if I’m fluent and I answer)

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Special Ask Events & Tumblr Polls:

Headcanons & Shipping Thoughts Ask Event (CURRENTLY OPEN; includes list of previous asks and answers for the event.)

“Why Do You Follow Me?” Ask Event (CURRENTLY OPEN; 2 asks currently sitting in inbox unanswered)

Answer 1 

Answer 2

Answer 3

Answer 4

Answer 5

Answer 6

Fic Writer Numbered Ask Event (CURRENTLY OPEN; no unanswered asks in inbox)

Ask 1: Questions 20, 25, and 26 

Ask 2: Question 4

Ask 3: Question 15

Ask 4: Question 29

Ask 5: Question 37

Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask Event (CURRENTLY OPEN; no unanswered asks in inbox)

Ask 1: Questions 🛒 and ❌

Ask 2: Question 🤗

BSD: Cherish ‘Future Chapters’ Ask Event (CURRENTLY OPEN)

BSD: Cherish ‘Future Chapters’ Event — Question 1 (PARTIAL END SPOILERS)

BSD: Cherish ‘Chapter Titles’ Ask Event (CURRENTLY OPEN)

BSD: Cherish ‘Choosing an Alias’ Event (CLOSED)

BSD: Cherish 1,000 Hits Celebration Event Poll (CLOSED)

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Total unanswered asks currently in main blog inbox: 6 -

Artwork:

Most artwork can be found simply by visiting my art blog, or occasionally on my ask blogs for BSD Arthur Rimbaud, BSD Paul Verlaine, and perhaps also my side blog for my BSD multi-chapter fic, Cherish. Listed below are posts not yet included on those, but which can still be found elsewhere on my blog(s).

Original Post of my Early Concept Design for BSD Arthur Rimbaud (Before an official design was released.)

W.I.P. Week Entry 1 

W.I.P. Week Entry 2

W.I.P. Week Entry 4 (3 was a fic entry only)

W.I.P. Week Entry 5

W.I.P. Week Entry 6

W.I.P. Week Entry 7

ChuuArt Sketch

Bones Official Art Discourse Sketch (not really the main focus of the post, but it exists)

Rimbaud —> Rambo Shitpost sketch

BSD: Cherish — Chapter 1 Artwork W.I.P.

If Bones Animated Cherish: Chapter 7 Shitpost Colored Sketch

Meet the Artist/Author! Colored Sketch

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Fanfics:

Bungou Stray Dogs: Cherish — Masterlist ( A Grand Directory & Masterlist for all art, articles, commentary, content related to the multi-chapter, ongoing fic, Bungou Stray Dogs: Cherish — including a link to the fic itself. Fandom: Bungou Stray Dogs. Posted: September 21, 2021. Status: Ongoing. Read tags & description of fic before reading.)  

Bittersweet Belief (Fandom: Bungou Stray Dogs, oneshot, part of a fic exchange. Posted: January 13, 2020. Status: Complete. Read tags & description of fic before reading.)

Forever (Fandom: Bungou Stray Dogs, oneshot. Posted: July 16, 2019. Status: Complete. Read tags & description of fic before reading.)

Older fics will not be linked for now, as they are in the process of being re-written. Thank you for your understanding.

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Personal Introduction Section:

About Me (A personal introduction page.) (+Ask about my pronouns)

My Blogs & Other Sites (A sub-directory listing my other blogs and accounts on other sites, as well as places to send in an ask.)

Rules, Regulations, Methods, and Notes (A page explaining Canon Hierarchy, what it is, and the personal methods I typically use when writing theories, meta, and other articles. ⚠️ Page currently offline for construction. ⚠️ )

F.A.Q.s (A list of frequently asked questions and answers. Please consider reading before sending in an ask.)

Resources (A list of where to find and/or buy certain official material for various fandoms. Contains sub-pages. ⚠️ Some pages currently offline for construction. ⚠️ )

Personal Standpoints (Detailed Information; Contains Sub-pages, explains what fandoms I am primarily in, as well as my overall views and interests within certain fandoms and the material I possess. ⚠️ Pages currently offline for construction. ⚠️ )

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Additional F.A.Q.s:

⚠️ Historian Blog Q & A ⚠️

Ask BSD F.A.Q. (Bear in mind this particular blog connected to this ask box is currently on hiatus indefinitely. You are free to send in asks, but I’ve no idea when I will get to them.)

BSD: Cherish Blog F.A.Q.

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PLEASE INFORM ME IF ANY OF THE PAGES NOT CURRENTLY LISTED AS UNDER CONSTRUCTION DO NOT LINK AS EXPECTED TO THEIR RESPECTIVE PAGES, AND I WILL CHECK IT OUT. THANK YOU.

[archangelmacaron]

NTMF College AU Chapter 15

I thought I wouldn't have a chapter ready today but was somehow able to finish not one, but one that made more sense split up into two. Very tempted to post both but I'm still not as ahead as I'd like to be, so I'm going to wait! CW for thinking on a past car accident Happy Halloween!

-

When she woke up, Jillian had no idea where she was.

She lay there, frozen, until she recognized the familiar dullness in her head that came after taking the pills for an acute panic attack. She closed her eyes and waited for the fog to ease up, opening them again after several more minutes. This time, she recognized the ceiling and overhead light fixtures of the Dressel brothers' home.

I haven't had one that bad in ages... what happened?

She finally found the energy to roll over. Her phone was sitting on a bedside table. She picked it up, showing that it was barely five in the morning, and opened the notification.

The text from Noel brought everything back in a rush.

Jillian sat upright and swung her legs over the side of the bed, then leaned over, placing her head between her knees. She tried to breathe slowly to prevent herself from hyperventilating again, or possibly vomiting. Either seemed a fairly likely development.

Noel... is really... with a devil... she really made a contract...

She swallowed, feeling like she wanted to scream.

How did things end up like this...?

What scared her the most was that Noel should have known better, but did it anyways.

Summoning was against the law for obvious reasons, and this was drilled into every Lhaplus child's head from an early age. She remembered the first lesson in elementary school warning the class about devils. The educational video they'd shown gave her nightmares for years. It told the story of a little girl who didn't want to go bed; she wanted to stay awake and dance all night. A devil appeared and granted her that wish, only she was unable to stop dancing until her feet were amputated.

The story—which she didn't learn was fiction for a few more years—pressed the concept of devils' capricious cruelty into her deeply. Even learning that devils didn't appear quite as easily as from a child wishing on a star didn't do much to ease her terror.

As she got older, and began to read newspapers, she saw story after story about humans injured or killed by making a devil's contract. If they were lucky enough to survive the hefty payment the devil demanded, they were usually caught and arrested for the crime of dealing with one. In the hospital, or in court, every single summoner seemed to say the same thing; they thought they could beat the devil at their own game. Every single one was wrong.

And now a creature like that had her beloved Noel in its clutches.

Noel, of all people, would be sure she could win. She rarely even lost games, particularly because she didn't accept challenges if she was not confident she would be victorious. Even if she had been tricked into summoning a devil, Jillian knew that her friend would remain cool headed when dealing with one. Her theory was proven correct by Noel's demeanor the previous night, certain that she could believe what the devil had told her, secure that he would not harm her, and determined to set forth on the path she had chosen.

The worst part for Jillian was that she felt certain Noel didn't truly understand the danger she was in because of that calm confidence.

It was likely she'd tried to make a low stakes bargain, probably trusting that the devil would be equitable in the price he would set. That was a foolish assumption that at first glance seemed reasonable—if you were thinking with human morals. Although most devils seemed to enjoy tricking humans by twisting their own wishes in a way the human couldn't possibly have predicted, others would simply demand outrageous things that were no way equivalent to the wish they were granting. Jillian had no way of knowing what this one wanted, and from Noel's hesitancy when she asked what price he was taking, she knew that he hadn't told her yet, either.

Even besides the price, thinking of him near Noel—and for a full day already, without her knowledge!—made her queasy. He was probably going to use her in every way possible before taking the final cost, delighting in gaining her trust only to betray it later. Devils were capricious and cruel and could not be trusted.

Why had Noel forgotten that? Why didn't she ask me for help?

She took a deep breath, slowly sitting up now that she didn't seem to be in danger from hyperventilating anymore.

More importantly... how do I save her?

She barely remembered what the devil looked like, just a tall, pointed dark shape that had entered the room suddenly when Noel had cried out that she was hurting her. That was when her body had begun to betray her, unable to hold the terror back—she'd hurt the person she wanted most to protect with her panicked grip, and then her memories were a mess.

It was so frustrating, at the time she most needed to keep her cool, when Noel needed her to keep her cool, she was instead unable to function, like thick syrup had been thrown on the machinery of her mind, clogging and dragging it to a full halt. The pills simply forced the rest of her body to join the process.

She wiped more of the sand out of her eyes as she took another deep breath. She couldn't let that happen again. She'd never been able to stop an attack before, but this time, she knew what would trigger it—it wouldn't be unexpected things like the smell of crepes—just like the ones from the traveling vendor who parked by their door that day, or seeing a red jacket just like the one Noel had been wearing, a red that had blended in with the blood, or a horn that honked just a little too long, reminding her of the endless sound blaring until the body was removed from its final position on the steering wheel. Unlike those, which were fine some days and made her hyperventilate others, she now knew what to expect. She was going to see Noel, and there would be the worst sort of creature imaginable beside her.

The first thing I should do... is find Noel. Even if she won't listen to me, I need to know where she is, and confirm my theory that he hasn't hurt her yet—that he's dragging it out. I'll see her, and then I'll find a way to help her.

With a goal in mind, Jillian began to stand up when she heard a knock on the door. She was still fully dressed, so she didn't hesitate long before sitting back down and saying, “Um... come in?”

Fugo entered, his brow immediately furrowing in confusion—and then, strangely, annoyance—as he looked around the room. He must have just come home from a night shift; he still had a campus security coat and his boots on. She hadn't realized he'd started to work with his brother. “Noel's not with you?”

Jillian shook her head, hugging her arms. “N-no. I woke up here, I guess I had another... episode... last night...”

“A panic attack, right? That sucks. You doin' okay now?” Fugo walked further into the room, looking around as if he didn't quite believe that Jillian wasn't hiding Noel somewhere for some unknown reason.

She nodded, and he seemed satisfied for a moment before making a face and sighing deeply.

“So I'm guessing you met Caron.” The way he said the name dripped with disgust.

“That's... that devil, isn't it?”

“Yeah. Did you get filled in last night?” He dropped heavily onto the bed beside her, causing the mattress to bounce her slightly as he stretched and crossed his arms behind his head. From this close, Jillian could see that he looked exhausted—he probably wanted only one thing more than to pull his legs up and fall asleep at that exact moment.

“I guess just the basics... Noel said Spica tricked her into summoning a devil, and that the devil said it was because Spica was hoping he would kill her. Noel said she needed to know why, so she was going to work with him to find out...” She looked up at him with concern. “Noel is...”

“In danger. Yeah. She told us her side last night. Dunno that I buy his whole 'attempted murder by proxy' story, but she seems to have swallowed it whole. I think the real danger is that devil." The relief Jillian felt knowing she was not the only one was immeasurable. "Does Oscar... ?"

"Naw, unfortunately. Os doesn't really seem worried enough. He thinks she knows what she's doin'.” Fugo wrinkled his nose as he swung his legs in the air to pull himself upright in a seesaw like motion, clearly not sharing the opinion.

“I wish I could believe that, but it's a devil, Fugo! Even Noel could be taken in by something like that, no matter how smart she is...”

“Good, so you're on my side, then.” Fugo grinned at her. Jillian blinked, tilting her head.

“Your... side?”

“We both wanna get that bird head away from her, right? So let's work together and do it.” He pushed a fist against his other hand.

Jillian nodded, finally letting a small smile of hope cross her face. It quickly faded. “How, though?”

Fugo stretched again, letting out a small cough when he yawned. “You're smarter than me, Jillian. If you come up with a plan, I'll put it in action.”

A plan...

“Hmm...” Jillian set her hand on her chin as she thought. “I think... the library would have had books on exorcising devils, but there was a fire there last night...”

“Uh, yeah, I uh, heard about the fire,” Fugo said, sounding a little awkward. “But in good news, the rare books on demons and that stuff were all moved to the Performance Hall earlier.”

“Then let's hurry over there!” Jillian stood up fully, consciously electing to ignore his conspicuous discomfort at the mention of the fire. “Oh, but I want to see Noel first... she is still here, right?”

Fugo nodded. “Should be, at least... her coat'n'stuff's still downstairs, and it'd be pretty rough to go outside without that in these temps.”

Jillian shivered in agreement, rubbing her arms again. It was unusually cold for this time of year, the temperature drop the previous day had been a nearly record breaking fifty degrees Fahrenheit. “Where's your other guest rooms?”

“We just have the one other, up on the third floor. Used to be an attic, so...”

Jillian was already walking out of the door. “Thanks, Fugo. I'll meet you downstairs after I talk to her.”

“Uh, that's fine, but Jillian, you realize she's probably w...”

Jillian didn't hear what else he said. She was already halfway up the stairs and quickly arrived at the third floor guest room door. She gave a firm knock. “Noel?”

“Eh?! Um—one—one moment, please!”

Jillian's brow furrowed. It was a relief to hear her voice, but Noel sounded much more flustered than she usually did—normally, she sounded fairly grumpy or only vaguely awake in the mornings.

“Noel? Is everything okay?”

“Y-yes, yes of course! Just h-hold on for one moment, please!” There was a small crashing noise and Noel—Noel!—cursed. Jillian felt another rush of panic. Noel never cursed.

“I'm—I'm coming in—!“

She opened the door and froze.

[magicline]

Yumekuro • Link (Rainbow-coloured Wedding Road) Moon Route Meister Story Translation Part 2/3

(A/N): It is recommended to read the story with in-game voiced lines ! Beware of spoilers and enjoy reading ^_^

⚠️ STRICTLY NO REPOSTS !

A Burning Controversy.

Fancy-looking Guy 1 : Hahaha! Now we can consider ourselves as one of the popular streamers!

Link : …..

Emma : (I can't believe there are such cruel streamers…)

Fancy-looking Guy 2 : Hey, just admit that both of you are lovers in the first place!

Fancy-looking Guy 3 : You're making it so hard for us, let's just go home.

BOOM!

Emma : Huh, the equipments…!

Link : Wait—

Link : Right now, we have better things to do than chase after them, alright.

Link : Yeah ~.... They aren't serious enough about the equipments. I'm guessing they aren't compatible enough to be streamers.

Emma : Link…

Link : Don't give me that look, Emma.

Link : We're still not sure if our equipments are broken or not, so let's continue checking it out.

Emma : …. Yeah. I guess.

Link : … Ah ~. Seems like the circuit here is broken. Emma, can you check it with a tester?

Emma : It's not working. The magic formula doesn't respond.

Link : I see. If the circuit is broken, the video output will be affected—

Notification sound!

Link : …A message from Lagoon? What is it?

Link paused his work, then proceed to check the messages he received on Meister Board.

Lagoon : “Link, is the young lady (Emma) with you?”

Lagoon : “A strange man came to our apartment, demanding to see her while trying to describe her characteristics.”

Lagoon : “I managed to turn him away, but he seems fishy to me. Please tell the young lady to be more careful.”

Link : No way… Emma, please connect to Magic Line now.

Emma : Okay…!

After I connected Magic Line with the terminal I had in hand, the video that were taken just now was already posted.

Link : Figured! It must be one of the viewers that came to the apartment.

Emma : This is terrible. With such an incendiary editing…

“Ah, isn’t she the precious partner that Link had mentioned before?”

“Link looked very pissed off, I wonder if she’s still one?”

“She seems to know how to handle the equipments. Is she one of the crew members?”

Emma : (These comments are being too rough…)

Between the two groups who supports Link and those who don’t , there were heated arguments happening in the comment section.

Link : The situation is getting worse… If we’re going to stay here any longer, the people might come for us.

Link : We will need more time to check on the equipments, so we have to cancel the filming for the day.

Emma : You’re right. But…

Link : Huh?

Emma : … If I’m going back to the apartment, I’m afraid I’m going to attract attention from the people and get everyone else into this mess.

Link : No… You’re not the only one. Once they found me, I’m sure they’re going to make a fuss over it.

Link : …

Link : Wait. I have an idea—

City of Machines • Woodman

In a room of an Inn.

Link : During times like this, I’m glad they at least have one room available ~

Emma : It’s a relief they allow same-day check-ins too.

Link : Yeah. I’m sorry we have to share the room, but if you think about it in terms of safety it might be help us that way?

Emma : I have to agree on that safety part… I hope all the fiasco dies down soon.

After Link finished setting up the equipments for viewing, the Magic Line is connected with ease.

Link : Woah… Instead of calming down, the comments are getting more and more heated.

“Whether she is Link’s girlfriend or not, why don’t you ask him?”

“I went to see him, but he wasn’t there!!”

“Has anyone seen him? I need more informations!”

Emma : The comments are getting worse…

Link : Mhm… If we leave them be, people might try to find out about your personal informations.

Link : Let’s do a live-stream here. I will tell everyone, in my very own words.

To be continued…

(A/N): If there are misspellings, mistranslations etc. please let me know and excuse me. 🙏

Next chapter : Moon Route Part 3 (with Story CG spoiler)

Prev. chapter : Moon Route Part 1

[favoniuscodex]

the art of modernity [ prologue ]

prologue - jueyun karst

pairing: xiao x gn!reader warnings: canon-typical violence mention words: ~1.8k words fic masterlist [ prev ] - [ next ]

chapter summary: you drag four of your closest friends to jueyun karst to chase after possible traces of the adepti. none of them expect for you to actually find any, but hey, anything is possible, right?

a/n: can't believe 'making xiao eat a chicken nugget and french fries' is becoming an actual fic but here we are. enjoy !! :D

when you had asked yanfei the legal repercussions of disrupting jueyun karst, the entire brunch table had looked at you as if you had grown a third eye. kaeya had sat down the third mimosa he had been nursing, while childe had actually stopped speaking for once. yanfei giggled with intrigue and keqing had stared at you with an expression that screamed are you serious right now?

yet somehow, you had ended up in keqing's overcrowded car and made a road trip to fuel your farfetched dreams. sure, like any kid growing up, you had read percy jackson and the archons, but, unlike most kids, you had taken the myths of the archons seriously. shrines and ruins still sung praises of their names, but most liyuean mythology was treated as having no greater value than old folk tales. the world had moved on past the need of teyvat's expansive pantheon of the elemental archons, visions, and celestia, yet some scholars sought to prove the existence of the old gods. most of the time, their efforts were fruitless.

you, of course, were no scholar. you were simply a dumbass who graduated college and decided in their post-college/pre-settled life panic to go traverse the treacherous lands of jueyun karst. as prosperous as liyue was, jueyun karst still remained heavily untouched as there were areas that even rich moguls were scared to get their grubby hands on. why turn the beautiful mountains and swirling lakes into sprawling shopping centers if the entire area was rumored to be cursed anyways? so, the country had turned jueyun karst into a protected area in the form of a national park.

but now, with your car full of three and a half dumbasses (keqing certainly doesn't count and yanfei is only halfway to idiocy), you had decided to certainly ignore the title of protected area. you had full intentions of disrupting whatever you could get your grimy hands on. you wanted to see the adepti in action and, if others called you crazy for it, then so be it.

"gods, where even are we?" kaeya asks. his tone lacks the annoyance you would expect from childe nor the worried-yet-still-composed nature you would expect from keqing's words. so, you shrug him off with a simple wave of your hand.

"not really sure, but there's enough of us out here that we won't die, right?" you ask and kaeya stares at you blankly before turning to look behind the two of you at the three stragglers.

"keqing!" he calls, realizing that you are of no help. "where are we?"

keqing huffs as she approaches the two of you while yanfei and childe stagger behind her, both acting tired despite being some of the most athletic people you know. in typical keqing fashion, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a compass. kaeya stares as the compass needle spins around aimlessly in her hand, its connection clearly disrupted by some force in the area.

"oh gods, what does that mean? we're going to die. we're going to die out here," childe deadpans, panic creeping into his voice. yanfei swats him playfully on the arm before he can begin his usual theatrics, knowing full and well how childe loves living in the spotlight.

"dying in a protected national park is illegal," yanfei adds and kaeya stares at her with a baffled expression.

"what? are the police going to arrest a corpse?" kaeya asks incredulously and yanfei folds her arms over her chest, staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"didn't you want to be a cop at one point? shouldn't you be aware as to how arresting procedures work?" yanfei asks and kaeya recoils at her question.

"no, i was considering going into military like my dad. i don't wanna be a cop," kaeya shoots back and childe jokingly gags once he hears the word 'military'.

"military? yuck," childe says and becomes the next recipient to receive childe's incredulous gaze.

"didn't you literally join the fatui for two years?" kaeya asks but childe shakes his head.

"not like you have any proof," the ginger-haired man shoots back.

"i can easily acquire proof?" kaeya says, but keqing clears her throat loudly before the two men can engage in a full showdown of words.

"c'mon, guys, we have bigger problems to solve than childe's blatant lies," keqing redirects the conversation with ease but not before kaeya lets out a triumphant hmph at keqing's words. "like figuring out why this compass isn't working and figuring out how to get back because it doesn't work."

"ooh, maybe it's not working because there are ghosts nearby," childe says, but before yanfei and kaeya can engage with his dumbassery once more, you interject.

"it's likely just elemental energy or adeptal energy. i know you guys probably don't believe in them, but this is said to be the former realm of the adepti. wouldn't be surprised if there are traces of them left!" you say, voice far too cheery for the implication of your words. kaeya only shrugs at the suggestion that gods are watching over you as you travel through the park, yanfei only looks intrigued in a nearly-dangerous way, keqing looks nonplussed due to her strong belief that the gods no longer exist, and childe looks absolutely terrified yet is trying to act like he isn't.

"anyways," you continue. "maybe there's a domain!"

"ancient liyuean law forbids unauthorized entrance into domains without proper licensure from the adventurer's guild," yanfei says, as if knowing ancient law is a completely normal activity for a twenty-something-year-old.

"what is a domain?" keqing and kaeya ask at the same time before glancing at each other.

"i'm... not sure. pretty sure they have like... ancient monsters and stuff," you confess and, for the first time today, childe perks up excitedly, eagerly taking a step closer to you.

"monsters? like those uh... hollychirls? whatever they're called? how big do you think they are?" childe asks with an excited glimmer in his eyes.

"weren't you just worried about dying?" keqing asks, but childe ignores her question.

"so like... we're trying to find this domain, right?" childe asks, confused. "what are we looking for?"

"i don't really see why a domain would have adepti traces so we're probably better off looking for something else," you say and yanfei perks up.

"like that?" she asks, pointing off at something glowing faintly orange in the distance. you squint slightly in an attempt to better look at it, but you're unable to distinguish what exactly yanfei as pointing at.

"we might as well go see what that is," keqing says and you're slightly surprised for the purple-haired girl to suggest such a thing, but you figure she's just trying to find a place where her compass actually works. the spinning dial isn't too much of a concern for you since you're in no rush to leave, but the friends you've brought along aren't quite as keen on discovering the secrets of the adepti as you are, so you follow the herd as they begin to move over to the glowing orange light.

the five of you climb down, approaching what soon reveals itself as a stone pillar with a glowing chunk of cor lapis on top. it's certainly nothing new and is probably a protected relic, yet no guards are stationed in front of it. it's almost certainly been discovered before, so why isn't it..?

"oh, isn't this area usually flooded?" yanfei asks and everyone turns to stare at her.

"you've been here before?" keqing asks and you wonder to yourself when these people will stop asking questions and instead keep looking for hints.

"you guys haven't traveled to jueyun karst before?" yanfei asks, confused. "yeah, this area's usually flooded with water. i've never seen that thing before."

if it's usually flooded, then it was likely discovered before, but not relocated, you think to yourself and immediately break out in a sprint towards the cor lapis tower. sure, it was about the height of you, with the cubic chunk on top reaching the height of your head, yet you were more than satisfied with looking at the carvings on the side. childe is the first to catch up with you, using his long legs to match your pace. he sighs as you finally stop and watches as you frantically begin poking and prodding at the pillar.

"are you sure that's a good idea?" he asks, nervously. "what if it's a mechanism or something?"

"what's the worst that could happen?" you ask and childe sputters over his words.

"a lot of things!" childe insists, yet kaeya, keqing, and yanfei's joined arrival interrupts him from making an even bigger fuss.

"try putting your palm flat on the diamond," yanfei suggests and you take a step back. with a steady hand, you lays her palm flat against the side of the pillar, in which a diamond has been engraved onto its surface. around the group of you, the remnants of water begin to glow orange as the pillar emits an even stronger, unnatural glow of energy. the pillar begins to vibrate rapidly and yanfei lets out a small, knowing laugh while the rest of you watch, wide-eyed and confused by the moving pillar.

yet, all that happens is that the cor lapis situated on the top of the pillar falls off, landing on the side of the pillar with a resounding crack. the four of your friends immediately move over to look at the now shattered chunk of cor lapis on the ground, yet you gravitate towards the stone pillar. on the spot where the cor lapis fell, a single name is etched into the stone, as if this pillar is supposed to mark a specific area.

"'xiao'?" you breathe, reading off the word on the pillar.

"what's xi-" kaeya begins, glancing over at you, but before he can finish, a flash of green appears on the opposite side of your friends. your lips part in shock as you watch the deity appear before you. a mask rests on his face and a polearm rests in his hand, yet despite his disguised face, you can sense the anger rolling off his form in waves. his green hair ruffles in the wind as his free hand reaches up to lower his mask. infuriated amber eyes pierce into yours, but the adeptus speaks before you can.

"i am adeptus xiao. how dare you mortals infringe upon jueyun karst and disrupt my land?" xiao seethes and, for once, all five of you are silent as the yaksha points his polearm at you.

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[miraculous-trinity-leo]

Whacky Gotham, Goofy New York, and Chaotic Paris.

(part 1) (part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)

Chapter 1: Genius Little Ladybug

★—–—–†–—–—★

It all started when Sabine Cheng and her parents moved from China to America, where she met a rich boy named Tony, they weren't the best of friends at first, but they would always get into crazy shenanigans because of Tony. Sabine always finding a way to get them out of it. After a while they were practically inseparable, they had each others backs, both in the good times, and the bad.

So when Tony lost both his mother and father in a tragic car accident, and had to take over his parents company, she was there to try and ease the pain. It helped a little, but the boy changed and blocked out many people, only keeping a select few close to him. His personality changed, and he started to act differently, it saddened Sabine, but she knew it was his way of coping with his lose.

She would oftentimes find him crying silently in his office. When Tony opened a branch in Paris France, he was paranoid something would go wrong when he wasn't there, so he had Sabine become a sort of co-CEO for the Paris branch. Over the many years of her being a sibling-in-everything-but-blood to Tony, her intelligence was much higher than everyone in the company, other than said boy.

She moved to Paris not long after, always keeping an eye on both the Paris branch and Tony ( because god knows what would happen if she didn't do so). She even met a baker named Tom Dupain. Eventually dating, and marrying him. Tony wasn't the most eager when he heard of Tom, but he accepted him as family (not because if he didn't Sabine would knock some sense into him). He practically exploded with excitement when he heard we would be an uncle a few years after Sabine's wedding.

Tony was there in the waiting room with Tom, when Sabine was having the child ( Tony denies not having a mini heart attack when the nurse came in). Both men looked at the beautiful child through the glass. Tony was put to tears when he read her name "Maria Dupain-Cheng" and was comforted by a teary Tom.

When Maria was 9 months old, her Uncle Tony came to spend time with her, and talk business with Sabine. None of them expected Maria to crawl her way into their conversation and say "Uncle Tony" in the sweetest most adorable laugh both adults had ever heard. Tony had a massive grin on his face, and gave Maria a big hug and lots of kisses saying " I knew i was your favorite hahaha, and you're only 9 months old. Sabine I think we got a little genius on our hands." Sabine was just as happy and told Tom to hurry and grab the camera.

"Come on say it one more time my dear Maria, show your papa who your favorite adult is" Tony said with a very wide grin.

Maria giggled at her uncle's happiness, clapping her hands. "Uncle Tony, Uncle Tony" Tom just smiled giving his baby girl a kiss and handing Tony 10 Euros.

Tony continued to visit his little genius niece over the years. Maria ended up getting the best education a kid could get, becuase his logic was " If she is a genius (which she is) then she is going to have the best education money can buy, for nothing is to much for my Little Genius Maria!" and with that she could officially be called the smartest kid in all of Paris... heck probably in all of Europe even! So when she gained a passion for fashion at 4, Tony didn't hesitate to get her, her very first (kid friendly) sewing set. By the time Maria was 5 she already knew how to speak and write in French, English, Spanish, Russian, and is learning Mandarin.

Maria had met Chloé when they were both 6, although they weren't really friends, they were polite to each other, which surprised a lot of the other kids their age. She had met Alix a few months later. She spent a lot of the time she wasn't studying with her friends, Alix would get in trouble with another kid on the playground, Chloé would criticise the other kid, and Maria would talk to Alix and then apologize to the other kid. Overall, they had a good dynamic going on, and they (as 7 year olds) promised to always have each others backs to the very end.

When Maria was 3½ months away from her 9th birthday, Tony was kidnapped. Maria just broke down, she wanted to help her Uncle, but she didn't know where he was or how she could help if she did. For three months Maria would only speak to Chloé and Alix (they were kinda shocked to find out she was related to THE Tony Stark). A few days before her birthday, Tony came to their home, with rolls of fabric, flowers, and 'I'm sorry cards'. Maria jumped into his arms crying asking what happened, and "If you're the smartest man on the Earth, why the Heck did it take you so long? How did you get out? Are any of your vital organs hurts? Do you need to go to the Hospital? An-"

"Hey slow down My Little Genius Maria, I'm ok. 1, They didn't really give me much to work with at first, and there is only so much a genius like myself can do with so little resources, and time before your Birthday. 2, I made an anime mecha suit and flew out guns a blazing. 3, Nothing I can't live without. and 4, No because I'm spending the week with you lot before a conference I have in about 10 days." He said while holding his small little genius  in his arms.

Wiping away the tears she looked her Uncle in the eyes "Wait, you 'made an anime mecha suit and flew out guns a blazing?' How does it work? what's its power source? And why do you have a weird glowing device in your chest?!" He had a lot of explaining to do.

That week, in her words was 'The best week of her life.' She was really happy for the first time since the Tony-napping happened, although she was sad he had to go, she knew  he was safe, and that she didn't have to worry (as much) now.

When Maria was 13, both Tony and Sabine decided to have her go to public school with her friends. After hearing this Maria called for a meeting, her two commanders (Alix and Chloé) came for the meeting, and had a talk on how she should go about her first day of public school, asking questions like 'How do non-homeschooled kids act? What are their personalities like? What interests do they have? Are some barbaric like Alix is sometimes? Will they like me? Am I allowed to talk to Chloé in or only out of class? What are the seating arrangements? Who do I sit next to?' the list goes on. They were all excited to finally all be in the same study environment, now all they had to do was wait for their first day.

•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•

The night before her first day Maria may or may not have slept well due to her excitement, she woke up a little later than she ever would have preferred, getting breakfast, her clothes, the 'greeting sweets' (as Alix called them) and heading out in a slight panic.

On her way out she noticed an elderly man with a cain crossing the street, and a car coming a little faster than what was allowed, she pulled the man out of the cars way without losing any of the sweets, after making sure the man was ok, she gave him a sweet before saying good day and heading over to school. She never noticed the man walking away without the use of his cain.

She still got to class on time, when her teacher walked in she greeted everyone in the class "Bonjour, je m'appelle Maria Dupain-Cheng, c'est un plaisir de vous rencontrer! (Hello, my name in Maria Dupain-Cheng, it is a pleasure to meet you!)" after the introductions she sat down in the empty seat next to Alix, both giving a fist bump, and a smile to Chloé, who looked away as if she didn't care (the girl had an image to keep after all). When class was over she handed out the sweets and went with her friends to lunch. During lunch, one of the other students from a different class was mocking one of their classmates that Maria remembered as Ivan, for having a crush on Mylène and not saying how he really feels to her. Ivan ran off into one of the locker rooms, and Maria decided to go and comfort him, she explained that she overheard what happened and that he should try and tell Mylène about his feelings, listing many different things he could do or say, and that he should stay positive.

Ivan thanked Maria afterwards and went off to write a song for Mylène. Ivan later showed Mylène the song he wrote for her, but was teased by other students near them, Ivan ran away not wanting to be embarrassed more.

Back in the classroom Alix and Maria are sitting and talking when everyone hears crashing and screams outside, the class looked out to see a giant rock thing destroying everything  on its way to the school. The teachers sent the kids home in an attempt to keep them safe.

When Maria got home she noticed a small box with writing she didn't recognize, she carefully opened it, instantly releasing a glow of bright red-ish pink light.

"Greetings Maria Dupain-Cheng, I am Tikki, the Ladybug Kwami of creation and good Luck, it is a pleasure to meet you." Maria couldn't believe her eyes "Mon dieu..." was all she could say, before going full interrogation mode "You're a Kwami? What is that? How are you floating like that? How am I able to understand you? Do you have some sort of ability to communicate in any language?How did you fit in this box? w-"

"There is no time, Paris needs you! I can only explain the powers I grant and how to use them, so please listen carefully."

•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•

Soon Maria was running in a red suit with black spots and amor. She ended up facing the 'akuma' as Tikki called it in a stadium, meeting her partner (a blonde furry she decided) for the first time.

"Bonjour m'lady, so what's the plan to take this thing down?"

Without hesitation she explained her plan " The plan is for you to have your Cataclysm ready, I'll give you a signal when it's your-"

"Cataclysm!"  The boy proceeded to use his ONE attack on a GOAL POST!

"I said to wait for a SIGNAL! Now you only have five minutes before you power-off."

"Oops" The blonde was really wasting her more useful braincells. After the boy was thrown out of the stadium, Maria was left to fend for herself, and she did really well, considering this was her first non(but sort of) official villain fight, up until she lost her footing and was knocked into the side of the stadium. The akuma was gone before she could get back, more and more people were turned to stone, but it showed just where Stoneheart was heading.

She arrived at the Eiffel Tower, where blonde was fighting stone people, he just managed to get away and actually listened to the plan this time.

They defeated Stoneheart, Maria gave her speech to the villain, and did a fist bump (though at this point Maria just wanted to get some sleep), when a reporter came to interview them.

"What are your names, and where did you come from?"

"My name's Chat Noir an-"

"Ladybug, and we're hear to protect Paris from Moth-Man, as much as we would love to give you a bit more details, we don't have much time at the moment" right on que their Miraculous' beeped signalling they had 2 minutes left " Stay safe, and positive, Bug-Out. "

•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•

"Well done Maria!"

"Thanks Tikki." and with that Maria went downstairs to get something to eat, when she saw her parents watching the news.

"Earlier today Paris gained a villain and two heroes: Ladybug, and Chat Noir. Many of our viewers submitted pictures and videos, but only one of Ladybug came out clear."

"Thank you Ladybug and Chat Noir for protecting us, bonne journée à Paris."

.................

"Maria you're taking self-defense classes starting tomorrow" Sabine spoke, though Maria didn't have any complaints, plus it'll help when fighting akumas so it's a win win.

"Yes maman."

•~~~~~later in Maria's room~~~~~•

"Ok, so you're basically goddess of creation personified into a cute little Ladybug creature?"

"Kwami, but yes."

"And you've existed since basically the Big Bang?"

"Correct."

"... how are you able to float like that? How are we able to talk without any ancient god language in the way? And what other kinds of um kwamis are there?"

"I float with magic. Yes their is a language only for the Kwami, but we've learned every other language in existence, so there would never be an issue with communication. And to your last question, there are many different kinds of Miraculi all over the world, some even across the universe, so I am unable to list every single one in existence, but there are just as many Miraculi out there as there are starts in the sky."

"Impressive... does that mean I could learn magic?"

"As a human you are limited to what you can do with magic, but you have a strong creation soul. So yes it is possible for you to learn basic magic, I can teach you some life magic to help you heal quicker if you get hurt outside the suit. You can also learn other types of basic magic based on what Miraculous you are most aligned to. Surprisingly you have a close affinity to most of my brothers and sisters that are here in Paris."

"Are they in the hands of other Miraculous users?"

"... aside from Chat Noir, only two: one belongs to the Guardian, and the other to Hawkmoth."

"What are their names?"

"...Wayzz is Kwami of Protection, and is the partner of the Guardian. The other is Nooroo Kwami of Transmission, Hawkmoths Kwami.

"Ok, so then I assume the 'Guardian' is who you were with until now, right?"

"That is correct."

"And how was I chosen exactly?"

"The Guardian chose you because he saw your kindness in action, and sensed your strong Creation Soul, he has only ever been wrong once, but I can tell you will be a great Ladybug, maybe even one of the few who achieved a higher sence of life."

"... I feel like you kind of described a Sage, also how would he have seen an act of kindness, I mean, I got my things, went out helped an older man with a cain, wait."Maria squinted her eyes at Tikki as if looking for something.

"The elderly man's the Guardian isn't he?"

"..."

"I get it, you don't have to tell me, it's all apart of the 'plot' like some show, I get it. Welp, good night Tikki, have to get up early tomorrow."

"Good night Maria." Tikki never messed up so badly before, then again she never had a user with such a strong Creation Soul before either... Maria is something special.

•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•

And Tikki was right, she excelled at Life Magic, learning a fair bit of healing, luck and slight plant manipulation and communication magic. Tikki wasn't sure if she should be proud of her Bug, or scared at her fast learning skills.

A few weeks passed and Maria was thankful for the self-defense classes, she even started doing her own training routine with Tikki guiding her. She didn't like that her partner was a flirt, it got distracting and almost got Chat killed a few times. She often wondered 'what the hell did I do in my past life to get a partner like this?'

•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•

Tony Stark was called by Sabine to meet her earlier than they had planned, she informed him that Paris now has a villain and two heroes.

"Ok, so what's the problem? We agreed to put Maria in self-defense classes so she would be safe... is it a boy?! Don't tell me it's a boy, she's to young to be dating!"

"It's not about a boy."

"Then what is this about?"

"She's Ladybug, *sigh* I swear she gets it from you Tony. She learned it from your dumb@ss, and it didn't help the need to protect people she loves when you got kidnapped. I need you to teach her how to be a good hero, good combat strategist, and to give her your support. She already has a tactical mind, I'm proud in a way that she shares your bravery."

"Ffffffffudge... ok, where is she?"

"Upstairs."

•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•

After a slightly awkward conversation Maria started to get even more training, and became a pretty much badass on the field, she incorporated the known fighting styles of: Black Widow (her favorite hero), Captain America, Deadpool (favorite hero to some degree), Daredevil, Wolverine, and some moves from famous villains like, Kraven The Hunter, Red Skull, Doctor Doom, Scorpion, Shocker, and Taskmaster ( her favorite villain). And she used ALL of those skills in battle, it was damn impressive to watch, and then Sabine had a talk with Tony.

〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜Bonus〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜

"Ok Tony wtf? I asked you to teach her how to fight for protection when she's out there, But you turned her into a complete badass, I mean none of the akumas have lasted more than 10 minutes with her! I want to hug you and kick your @ss at the same time."

" Sorry not sorry Sabine, but she is our Genius Little Ladybug after all."

•—–—–†–—–—•

First fic, wahoo (mario stile), hope you're all having an Absolutely wonderful day, stay safe, and stay positive, BUG-OUT!🐞💮🐞

〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜 Tag List 〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜

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@lupagrimm

[telehxhtrash]

A masterpost on Togashi’s gay subtext and why it’s intentional.

Hi ! After seeing so many posts about Togashi dropping subtext about Killua's possible romantic feelings for Gon, I thought it'd be a good idea to make a sort of "masterpost" with all the subtext that Togashi has included into his work.

I usually see a lot of people trying to say that HxH isn't about romance and that Togashi isn't interested in writing romance into the manga, but when you analyze all the subtext that's been going on the further Gon and Killua's relationship progresses, I think it's incorrect to say that Togashi has never hinted at the possibility of romance in HxH.

This is going to be a long post, enjoy your read!

Also, please note that I will only base this analysis on the manga, so there can be no mistake that "maybe this is just something the anime made gayer" : i want to prove that the subtext is 100% intentional on Togashi's part.

I'd also like to mention, although I will analyze it further after listing the subtext, that Togashi is a VERY smart man. There are always little details in the story and/or foreshadowing that are easily missed at first but when you notice them, it truly makes you understand how much attention and care Togashi puts into his work. There are countless details and symbolism that are analyzed daily through wonderful meta posts, from the main 4′s birthdays and their link to their character or the religious symbolism in Kurapika’s story arc.... Togashi loves to foreshadow and plant little details into his work, so when Togashi plants subtext, I'm sure he 100% knows that he's writing it, and it can't be seen as unintentional.

I'll also link all my references for this post at the end of it, so feel free to read all the additional textposts and content if you want to know more.

Well, let's get into it!

EDIT : i can’t believe this post is still being used as a reference it makes me so happy... thank you so much !!! i edited this to tweak it a bit because i wrote this a while ago and the phrasing seemed off to me, so if you’re reading or re-reading this post, hi, welcome to masterpost on gay subtext 2.0 !

GREED ISLAND ARC

Greed Island is to me the arc that lays down the nature of Killua and Gon's relationship. It's during this arc that we get to see a bit more of what Killua thinks, how he's lucky to have met Gon and that he feels really grateful. Gon’s behavior in this arc is also very affectionate, with him always reassuring Killua about his place next to him. While the scene where Killua thinks "You've got it backwards, Gon, I'm the one that's glad I met you." can't be considered as subtext, I think it's something that lets the reader know a bit more about how Killua feels towards Gon. 

But other than this scene, which can clearly be dismissed as platonic, there are 2 more moments in the Greed Island arc that are layered in subtext.

• The Rainbow Diamond (chapter 151)

During their time in Dorias, Killua uses Risky Dice to gain cards from the slot machines. The first card that Killua gains is called "Rainbow Diamond", the description of the card being "A diamond that shines in a rainbow of colors. Propose with this diamond and she is guaranteed to say "yes"". 

There are 3 different things we can take from this panel. First, the card is a marriage proposal card, so it's obviously romantic in nature. Second, the object is a RAINBOW diamond. And third, Killua, wanting to keep the card safe, gifts it to Gon.

In short, Togashi sat down at his desk, decided to draw Killua winning a MARRIAGE PROPOSAL CARD (it could've been any card, but Togashi CHOSE to make Killua win a marriage proposal card) that has a RAINBOW diamond on it and made Killua gift it to Gon. 

While I personally don't think that subtext can be used to 100% ascert that Killua has romantic feelings for Gon, I think it's a funny little touch from Togashi, and I'm even gonna say a sort of hint towards how Killua's feelings for Gon are going to evolve in this arc and the next.

• “It has to be Killua” (chapter 166)

Now this is a scene that I've never seen anyone talk about, at least on Tumblr, but when I read a bit of analysis on it I was 100% convinced this was intentional subtext. I'm basically quoting here what this article explains, so if you want more detail, I recommend reading it.

As you probably recall, during their deadly dodgeball game against Razor, Killua decides to sacrifice his hands to ensure that Gon could use all his strength. When confronted about it, Killua insists that it's nothing, and Gon shocks him by saying that he knew all along that he was hurting himself for his sake. 

Gon then says that it can only be Killua holding the ball, and that it has to be Killua, resulting in Killua being absolutely awestruck and embarassed. I'm also going to talk about the anime adaptation for this one, because it's perfectly executed and translates extremely well the nuance that the second sentence bears. If you want to rewatch it, this scene happens in episode 70. It's worth noting that in the anime, we see Killua not reacting to Gon's first sentence, but losing his composure entirely when Gon says the second sentence. But why ?

The reason was lost in translation. His exact words are "Booru wa Killua ga motte-kurenai to. Killua ja nakya dame nan da.". Both sentences basically say the same thing : It has to be Killua holding the ball. That second sentence can be translated literally as "If it's not Killua, that won't do." However, the second sentence, in a different context, can also be used to say a totally different thing. 

While it's certain that Gon used this sentence in the context of the dodgeball match, the sentence "~ja nakya dame nan da" also serves as a confession of one's feelings in japanese. It's basically the equivalent to "you're the one for me". When you google the sentence, it turns up romantic songs, forum posts asking what it would translate to in English and posts on how to confess to someone. 

The sentence basically drowns in romantic subtext. As mentioned before, Killua has no reaction to the first sentence "Booru wa Killua ga motte-kurenai to.", but loses his composure at the second one, and I think that was a very deliberate thing Togashi wanted to convey : this sentence has an additional layer, and clearly Killua is taking it to heart.

I will come back to this specific subtext in a bit, because we can parallel it with another subtext-y situation, so please keep it in mind for now.

CHIMERA ANT ARC

Now onto the sad gay arc! This arc is so RIDDLED in subtext and parallels that it's making me lose my mind.

• Gon, you are light. (chapter 199)

This scene is just... So romantic in nature. I’m not too objective on this, but I really do believe that this moment is the exact moment Killua fell in love with Gon and started to realize he felt a bit more than friendship towards him. It’s Killua respecting Gon for who he is, realizing that he’s light and he’s always been, he’s the one who saved him and who’s always been so bright and optimistic and always makes the best out of any situation. In this scene, Killua lets himself drown in Gon’s light, allows himself to feel this “wow” moment of pure admiration and love, and it’s absolutely beautiful.

It's extremely important to take the context of this scene into account. What happened is that Killua, who has been struggling mentally for the entire series with the fact that he's always running away, ran away once more, leaving Kite to die with Pitou. This ENTIRE chapter is literally adults absolutely DESTROYING Killua, first Kite's troupe bashing him for leaving Kite behind, and then Netero, Morel and Knov coming in like icing on the cake telling Killua that "After all, he's just a kid", and that he should hurry up to his mommy. 

Killua is beating himself up for running away again, got destroyed by Kite's team and 3 extremely strong pro hunters. His morale is down in the drains right now. He expects Gon to be mad at him for betraying Kite, for running away once again, for leaving Kite to die alone and ripping Gon away from Kite : he expects that he'll lose Gon for his cowardice.

HOWEVER, the first thing that Gon says to Killua after having been passed out for god knows how many hours is "Thank you". 

Gon woke up and instantly eased up all of Killua's fears : he wasn't a loser for running away, and Gon was actually thankful for him. Gon, at this moment, was the only one that showed kindness, understanding and gratefulness towards Killua. Gon even goes so far as saying that he knows that Kite isn't dead, and that they have to help him. At this instant, Gon is truly Killua's saving grace. He's the one that trusts him with his entire heart, and believes in his choices when even he can't believe in himself. Gon is truly Killua's light at this precise moment, because he was the only one who supported him, trusted him and reassured him in this awful situation.

How can someone shine so bright in such a terrible situation ? How can someone be so positive that nothing bad will happen ? 

Gon asserting all of this makes Killua respect him a lot. Keep this word in mind, because it’s going to be important in the next piece of subtext I’m analyzing, because those two scenes canonically follow each other and are basically Togashi highlighting that something special happened when Killua called Gon his light, and that his feelings deepened.

• Introduction to Palm's character (chapter 200)

This piece of subtext is very very easy to miss but it's one of the most important subtext-y scene, because coupled with the “Gon, you are light” scene, it’s very clear that this dialogue is deliberately highlighting Killua’s feelings.

This chapter introduces Palm's character (which, imo, is a character introduced for the sole intent of being a catalyst to Killua's feelings towards Gon, but I'll talk about it in my post talking about the CAA parallels) - edit: i talked about this briefly here.

So, Killua having looked into Gon's eyes for like 10min straight and concluded that Gon was the light of his life a chapter ago, is now chilling with Gon as they meet Palm. 

Palm takes them to a café and STRAIGHT OFF THE BAT harasses them about how much she's in love with Knov. Like when I say harassing, it's literally a whole page of her explaining her feelings towards Knov. 

There are two interesting things that can be drawn from this interaction.

First, it's extremely easy to draw parallels between Palm's situation towards Knov and Killua's situation towards Gon. Palm starts by saying how amazing her master is, that she probably has special feelings for him but the most important thing is to respect the other person. Remember how I talked about how this last scene was Killua having a surge of deep, deep respect for Gon ? Palm makes sure to highlight that special word, that it’s important to respect someone when it comes to love.

She then goes on to say that she hasn't said anything to Knov, and never will. All of this adds nothing to the story, it's empty dialogue, Togashi could've introduced Palm in virtually any other way possible, but he chose to drag her and the gay duo to a café and make her have a monologue about love RIGHT after the extremely emotional panel of Killua declaring that Gon is his light just a chapter ago.

But there's more. Not only does Palm monologue for a while about love, but after finishing her monologue, this happens :

This panel features ONLY Palm and Killua, her looking at him like the psycho she is, and straight up telling him that "love can suddenly spark out of nowhere, don't you think so?". 

What's so interesting about this is the fact that Togashi made the deliberate choice to have Palm say this to Killua and Killua ONLY, which after the gay existential crisis he had last chapter, can very much be applied to his situation. Love DID spark out of nowhere, and Togashi wants you to notice. Togashi could've made Palm say this to herself, with no distinct listener like the last panel, but he made the conscious choice to draw this panel with Palm adressing herself to Killua SPECIFICALLY. 

Those two pieces of subtext, that fit perfectly together, make me believe 100% that Togashi knows what he's doing and he's not unintentionally planting gay subtext in his work. The fact that Togashi sat at his desk, drew Killua calling Gon his light, and then followed this scene with the introduction to a character who picks Killua apart to tell him that "love is something that just happens, don't you think?" is 100% proof that Togashi knows what he's doing.

• Date with Palm (chapters 217 and 218)

I think this situation has many layers, but many people still dismiss it as bro behavior so I'm gonna try my best to counter argue. First of all, and although that's not proof of anything, Killua looks EXTREMELY distressed by the prospect of Gon going on a date with Palm, but that can be counter-argued by saying that Killua is just worried because Palm is completely crazy. 

What I want to talk about is the scene that happens right after, when Gon and Killua go to the gym (because theyre DUDES YEAH WE WORK OUT NO HOMO), and the conversation casually drifts to Killua asking Gon if he's ever been on a date before, valid question considering what just happened previously. There are multiple things here :

1) Killua seems distressed that Gon has been on dates before. While it can be argued that it's a normal reaction because Gon has and he hasn't, I believe that Killua - who is in no way a normal person who would get flustered about "not having been on dates before a certain age" - would not feel uncomfortable that his friend is more experienced than him - especially when literal seconds later, he monologues about how he doesn’t care about dates and just wants to stick with Gon.

2) Gon then proceeds to ask Killua if he's ever been on a date, to which Killua responds :

What I want to highlight is the panel where Killua says "And the truth is, I want to stay by your side... Always...". Basically, what Killua is saying, is that he doesn't care about dates, all he wants to do is be with Gon.

I don't think this can be counter-argued as bro behavior, but with all the subtext I've explained before, this right here is pretty gay. Togashi put this panel deliberately to show that Killua doesn't give a crap about dates when he can stay with Gon, and with the "gon you are light" scene and everything in mind, this is another intentional subtext.

There's also the fact that Killua stalks the date like a jealous girlfriend - but I'm not gonna count that as subtext because it can be argued that he's just worried about Gon because Palm is insane.

• Gon is my best friend ! (chapter 219)

Remember how I told you to keep the "It has to be Killua" subtext in mind because I was gonna come back to it later ? Well.

During Palm's date with Gon, Killua runs into Rammot, who would definitely have ran into Palm and nenless Gon. Killua is forced to confront his worst fear : this is the moment where he knows that if he runs away again, Gon WILL die. Killua is literally overcoming his "programming", the physical representation of years of abuse out of love and care for Gon. He's ripping out the needle from his forehead out of pure, genuine care for Gon, because if he doesn't, then he'll lose him forever. 

Now, what I actually wanna talk about is this panel :

What we see is Killua thinking happy thoughts about all his adventures with Gon because he can't - won't - doesn't want to run away anymore, and all this for his sake. But what I wanna draw attention to is the dodgeball panel that's bigger than all the others, and the only one where you can actually clearly make out what's written : "Killua ja nakya dame nan da". 

Now, isn't that interesting that the panel that takes a bigger place in the whole panel is the one with this particular sentence? Remember what I talked about a bit earlier, about how "~ ja nakya dame nan da" is a sentence with a lot of romantic connotations (would pretty much equal to "you're the one for me" in English). Clearly this particular sentence stuck with Killua. 

I'm not completely objective on this matter since I firmly believe that at this point, Killua has romantic feelings for Gon, but I interpret this as another deliberate thing Togashi did : putting the panel bigger so we can see that it has a particularly significant importance to Killua, and Killua's state of mind right now (not wanting to lose Gon). 

In my opinion, two things happened here: One, Killua remembers this specific interaction because he knows how much Gon trusts him and he doesn't want to betray his trust. But I also firmly believe that Killua remembered this specific interaction because of the romantic connotation the sentence "Killua ja nakya dame nan da" has. Those words clearly shocked him, and I think he remembers them in this life-threatening situation, after the "gon you are light" scene, Palm talking about "love just happens", the "i want to stay with you, always" because he realizes that he wishes Gon would say that sentence in a romantic context, and not in the context of the dodgeball match, thus leading him to surpass himself to prove his love and perhaps live to see the day where Gon could say those words in that romantic context.

Now, of course, all of this is my interpretation, so it's really up to debate, but I really wanna highlight the fact that Togashi deliberately CHOSE to highlight this particular interaction between Gon and Killua, this sentence with romantic subtext, to lead Killua to finally break his chains and be able to be protect Gon fully. It’s also interesting to note that the 2011 anime adaptation also makes it a point to emphasize how deep these words stuck to Killua by making it the last flashback that makes Killua effectively rip out the needle out of his head. 

Also let's quickly mention the irony in the situation here : while Gon is on a romantic date, Killua fights to protect him, overcoming his weakness to prove his love. It’s not Palm who deserves that date, it’s Killua.

• A lovers’ suicide (chapter 286)

Now, onto the most important piece of subtext, that can not be counterargued as platonic in any way, shape or form. During the palace invasion, Killua leaves Gon's side, proceeds to go kick Youpi's butt only to have to fall back because he used up all his electricity nen. When Killua is charging up, he meets with Meleoron, and tells him that once he's done charging, he'll go back to Gon's side. 

They briefly exchange information about the battle, and then Meleoron proceeds to ask Killua what's the plan for him and Gon. That's when Killua explains that "Once Gon is like this, he won't budge an inch. Worst case scenario, it'll be a double suicide.". At worst they both die, cool. They “go down in flames together”. It’s actually much, much more meaningful than that.

The specific word that Killua uses for double suicide is "心中" (shinjuu), which is a heavily romantically connotated word in japanese. Shinjuu, also translated as "lovers’ suicide", is when two people die out of love, by the same method, because there's a belief that this'll allow those two people to spend eternity together. Shinjuu is a major theme of Japanese literature, and it is always used romantically. It's a very uncommon word to use to refer to two people dying together, because of its heavy romantic connotation, and because it always refers to double suicide committed by people bound by love. In literature, it always refers to two lovers, in love. If you want to read more on shinjuu, i suggest this and this, those articles explain its historic roots and the definition, also emphasizing the feeling of "oneness" that characterizes shinjuu. If you’re interested, I also suggest reading the japanese article that defines shinjuu, and hitting the google translate button, it has some pretty interesting sentences like “Shinjuu is traditionally committed by men and women out of mutual love, in the hope that they will be connected in the afterlife because they can't be together in this world.”

So basically, what Killua is saying is that he wants to go back to Gon's side to die with him, committing a "lovers’ suicide" because he doesn't want to leave Gon to die alone, and wants to die with him.

I also want to emphasize how special this word is to Killua, and that he and everyone around him know the special meaning of this word - In chapter 300, Ikalgo literally says "We were... No, KILLUA was ready to commit shinjuu with Gon". Ikalgo is really highlighting the fact that this word holds special meaning, especially to Killua, and that it was HIM who was willing to commit shinjuu by staying with Gon. Ikalgo and company dying with Gon wouldn't be shinjuu, but Killua dying with Gon would be, and Togashi emphasizes this through Ikalgo's thoughts.

This is pretty much the gist of it, but I suggest reading the wonderful post I linked in the references below if you want to know more about this specific subtext.

(edit : i actually wrote a post going a bit more into detail on Killua’s shinjuu wish if you want to read it here ! :3)

• “The one that Gon needs the most is you” (chapter 294)

I will go into this subtext more in details when I write the post about parallels in CAA, but I still want to talk about it briefly here.

Like I said before, to me, Palm was introduced as a catalyst for Killua's feelings towards Gon. Togashi purposefully wrote Palm as having romantic feelings for Gon to foil Killua's feelings for Gon and make him show jealousy towards Palm. 

To Killua, Palm is someone who stole Gon from him, he sees her as a threat because maybe she'll make Gon happier than he does ? (ofc we all know thats not true but Killua is baby) - Basically, Killua thinks Palm might be more important to Gon than Killua is, because he believes they are romantically involved. That's why when he sees her again later on, after Gon rejected his help, leaving Killua helpess as to how to save his dear friend, Killua sees Palm as a saving grace. 

He knows that if Gon sees Palm as a chimera ant, he will spiral down even more, so he tries to reason with her to get her to be gentle to Gon, because if not her, then who could? Palm would clearly be able to comfort Gon, with whom Killua believes is romantically involved with, better than him, right ? If Gon rejected Killua, then clearly Palm could help, since she seems closer to Gon (BECAUSE HE BELIEVES THEYRE DATING), right? 

This confrontation between Palm and Killua closely ressembles a situation like an ex confronting a new girlfriend - and I think this is exactly why Togashi wrote Palm this way. He wanted Killua to confront who he thought was a threat to their relationship, making him believe that this person who's """"dating"""” Gon is more important to him than himself, only to have her openly admit that she means nothing to Gon. The only one Gon needs is Killua.

And that, my friends, coming from someone you believe is romantically involved with your best friend (who you probably have a crush on), someone you're jealous of, the one you thought was the person most important to him, that's a pretty meaningful statement. 

Basically, what's happening, is that Palm reaffirms that Gon holds Killua closer than a potential romantic partner. And that's why Killua is so, so happy to hear that. He was questioning his entire relationship, questioning if Gon even cared about him, because he rejected him a few minutes before, but then his "rival" comes in and reaffirms that even she knows that no one comes close to Killua to Gon.

I also want to mention that this act of pure love (Killua only thinking of saving Gon when in a life threatening situation) is what made Palm come back to her human senses. d'awwwwww

• Illumi and Hisoka’s parallel on lovers who die of Alluka’s requests. (chapter 323)

Now onto the final significant subtext - while I don't particularly think of it as subtext-y, I know a lot of people have so I still want to include it here.

When Illumi explains Alluka's powers to Hisoka, he explains that there are two different types of linked deaths when a request is failed : 1) the person who failed + the person they love the most 2) the person who failed + the people they spent most of their time with. 

When applied to Killua, Hisoka naturally comes to the conclusion that no matter the outcome, Gon would always be the one dying with Killua, because he's spent so much time with him, and because he's the one that Killua loves the most. In the panel where Illumi explains this, we see a romantic, heterosexual couple  demonstrating the effects of not completing one of Alluka's requests, and thus the "most important person dying". 

While not making any true parallels, the fact that Hisoka, and the readers, are drawn to compare a heterosexual, romantic pairing to Killua dying with Gon because he's his "most important person" is an interesting piece of subtext.

_______

I want to finish by talking about Killua's birthday and how significant it is in my opinion. All the main 4 characters have birthdays that fall on specific dates, related to Japanese tradition, and often with events that can be associated to their character. Gon's is 5/5, which is Children's Day. Kurapika's is 4/4, the number 4 being considered an unlucky number, and this being an unlucky day to have a child. Leorio's is 3/3, Hinamatsuri (not really any main parallels here but still). But Killua's birthday is 7/7, and is the Japanese day to celebrate Tanabata. 

If you are not familiar with Tanabata, the story is as follows : Orihime is a princess who works for her father, working hard and well, but she laments the fact that because of her hard work she can't meet someone and fall in love. Her father arranges for her to meet Hikoboshi, allowing Orihime to leave because he expects her to come back to work for him, but the two immediately fall in love and get married, and she never returns. I won't get into the rest of the story as it's this part that interests me the most, but if you want to read more about Killua and Tanabata I suggest reading the post I referenced below.

Does the story of Orihime remind you of anyone ? Killua also works for his father, but laments the fact that he can't go outside and meet someone. His father then lets him go, saying, and i quote: "he will come back, because he's my son". Doesn't this remind you of the tale of Tanabata ? Killua's story references the tale of Orihime perfectly, and I believe this is intentional : Killua's birthday isn't of any importance to the plot, so why make it Tanabata, a day that celebrates a love story that closely ressembles Killua's story ? The answer is simple : subtext.

With all this in mind, I think it's pretty clear that Togashi is writing intentional subtext to hint at Killua's feelings being romantic in nature. Togashi is a master writer, he has years of experience, and I strongly believe he knows what he's doing and not planting unintentional subtext. He's a very smart man, and knows how all of this can be interpreted.

I will finish by saying that Togashi is NOT an author that would deliberately queerbait his readers. So many people dismiss the possibility of having gay subtext leading onto an actual canon gay relationship because "it's not like the author would ever have gay main characters". While this holds true for a lot of manga authors, especially shonen manga authors, it does NOT apply to Togashi. 

Togashi has always displayed interest in queer subjects and queer representation, putting trans characters in all of his major works (Miyuki in YYH, Mikihisa in Level E and Alluka in HxH). There were also canonically gay characters in his previous works : Itsuki in YYH, and a character named Kuramoto in Level E. 

Togashi also always had interest in mangas having BL elements, citing Maya Mineo's "Patalliro!" as a manga he was attracted to during High School. If you're unfamiliar with Patalliro, the story focuses on the main character's love life as a gay man.  He also admitted to basing Hiei's (YYH) design off a character from that manga. 

Last but not least, Togashi mentioned in a note included in volume 1 of YYH that he wanted to write a sports manga, called The Trouble Quartet, where basically all the characters are gay. Togashi said he based it off his own interests as a writer, and that while it was refused by Shonen Jump, he got deeply attached to the project and that he would love to explore this project in a different shape once he made a name for himself. I suggest reading this post because the parallels between The Trouble Quartet and HxH are HILARIOUSLY accurate.

In short, Togashi has always had interest in queer matters, and was always interested in putting queer representation in his work. After YYH, which was a terrible experience for Togashi as a writer, he managed to snatch a contract that basically allows him to do whatever he wants with HxH. Having always held dear BL matters but never being able to explore it to his full intent, I believe Togashi is exploring queer identity further with HxH, because Shonen Jump basically lets him do anything.

To conclude, with Togashi's past experience and skill, his interest in queer representation, and the amount of subtext surrounding Killua, I honestly believe that Togashi is trying to explore further queer representation, and I wouldn't be surprised if HxH ends with Gon and Killua becoming a canon pairing, whether it be delivered in an ambiguous manner or not. 

Edit : I actually wrote a post on why I believe it won’t be ambiguous, and that it’s truly never been ambiguous, just developing : here.

I hope you enjoyed the read, thank you for reading all of this, and feel free to show this to anyone who denies subtext in HxH !

REFERENCES

- "It has to be Killua" - Medium article, "Impossibilities in Translating Queerness : The Dodgeball Dilemma" 

- Palm's Date Scene - Reddit post, "Togashi's love of Ambiguity: Chapters 217 and 218" 

-A thematic analysis of Palm’s character : ”The Issue With Palm”

- Shinjuu - Tumblr post by hunterxhell, "A lovers' suicide, I guess." :  + the post that mentions Ikalgo talking about shinjuu 

- An analysis on different subtext-y situations

- Illumi and Hisoka’s parallel : here and here 

- Killua’s birthday : "Killua, July 7th, and the significance of his birthdate”

- Togashi's interview mentioning Mineo's Patalliro 

[the-witty-pen-name]

Deadbeat Pt. 7

Lee Bodecker x F!Reader

18+ ONLY

Warnings: age gap (reader is 21), fluff, angst, cursing, abandonment, toxic parent, violence, toxic siblings, infatuation, cheating/divorce, insecurity, mild housewife kink, mentions of prostitution, mentions of alcohol, corrupt official, fake relationship, jealousy

Word Count: 2.5k

Summary: You work at the bar at the edge of town, the Sheriff is going through a divorce and needs to rent a room.

A/N:

IMPORTANT UPDATE

I made a Google form to be added to my taglists, so if you want to be added, the link is in my bio. I’ll only be adding people to the list if they requested to be added by filling out the form! This way all of the requests are just in one place so I don’t miss requests! Thank you!!!

I’m sorry for this chapter being shorter than normal, but it is more of a transitional chapter to set up some new stuff! I’m trying a new writing style in this chapter and this is why the word count is shorter. I’m nervous about posting this chapter honestly, since I tried something different. The following chapters will be back up to 3.5-4k as usual! This story is not over! 

Thank you all so much for reading and sharing my work. Everyone whose reached out and told me how much they love the story really makes my day, oh my gosh!! I love you all so much, I’m so thankful.

Address mentioned is completely made up. 

This is unedited, and I missed anything I should include as a warning let me know! I hope you all enjoy!

Tags and Requests are OPEN

Part One // Part Two // Part Three // Part Four // Part Five // Part Six

Lee never stopped telling you how much he loved you. At first, you had thought it was a spur of the moment exclamation but you were mistaken. When you realized he meant it, you reciprocated telling him you loved him too, making him the happiest man in the world. It all happened so fast, and your relationship was evolving quickly.

Maybe living together played a factor in how quickly the relationship progressed. It’s hard to just be dating someone you already live with and can’t take out on proper dates. It made everything else happen faster. He wished he could spoil you and take you to restaurants and walk into a room with you on his arm, but he couldn’t yet.

But from that moment on, he never stopped telling you. He said the phrase probably every moment he could manage. Every time he called from his office; he wouldn’t hang up without muttering the phrase. He’d tell you that he loved you before he left the house, or he’d just announce it unprompted when you both were home together, like it was some epiphany or declaration. He’d love to whisper it to you, especially at night with you pulled tightly to his chest.

He made sure he’d tell you in nonverbal ways as well, always letting you know he was thinking about you. Somehow, you’d end up with flowers on your desk at work at least once a week as well, never with a card. He’d cook, and on his days off, he’d spend them with you or he would surprise you by fixing things on the house. Never in a million years had you ever expected Lee Bodecker to be such a romantic, and when you’d joke about it, he’d say,

“You give me a reason to be, doll.”

It was thrilling, having someone to love and to have those feelings reciprocated. The ability to just be able to give and receive love was something he was never able to manage, perhaps it was just never the right person, or perhaps he had always been too selfish.

Now for the first time in a very long time, he wasn’t thinking about himself.

You gave him purpose and something worth fighting for.

“When this whole thing is over and we’re out of this town, I’m gonna marry you,” he said rubbing your arm as you lay in bed cuddled up to his side. You lay your arm across his tummy and rest your head on his chest. You hum in agreement, resting your eyes, both of you waking up earlier than you needed and you were enjoying the peaceful moment of the morning together.

“I hate seeing you with that Russel kid,” he’ll mutter, possessively pulling you closer, you could feel the vulnerability in his voice.

The past weeks have been really hard on Lee. It bothered him more and more each day, knowing Arvin was the one who got to drive you home from work and just being out and about with you. He knew you were his, and he never didn’t trust you. But you were so blind to the boy’s obvious feelings for you. It was something that would eat at him at night.

He couldn’t even blame you, if Arvin was able to sweep you away from him. Arvin was a good kid- took care of his family, worked a decent job, went to Church, and he was your age. He was much better looking in the traditional sense than Lee as well. Plus, you had a history. The boy was your first love and no one forgets their first love.

He knew you didn’t look at Arvin the same way Arvin looked at you, but he was always worried that a shift could come. If that damned reporter wouldn’t leave town and the more time you spent with Arvin, the more you’d see how much you’d actually want to be with him instead. You always told Lee he was the one you wanted and he believed you, but he worried that you would change your mind. He was so insecure, and he felt guilt, and he knew that he didn’t deserve to be happy, that he didn’t deserve your affection.

Sometimes he couldn’t let himself relax. Scenarios of all the different reasons you could leave him for polluted his mind and he hated how it took him out of being in the moments he just wanted to enjoy. He’d see you in his mind, happy with Arvin, marrying him instead and creating all those experiences with Arvin instead of him.

“He’s just my friend,” you reiterate, probably now for the millionth time. You were patient, and it never seemed to bother you, that the two of you ending up having this same conversation over and over. He needed the constant reassurance, and he hated the fact that he did.

“I want you, Lee,” you’ll mumble affectionately, trying to shower him with compliments and praise, to lift him up when he got down like this. “I don’t want any other man,” you’d affirm.

“This town is poison,” Lee mutters, looking out the window, the blinds pulled back as the sun is steadily rising. “Everything feels like it’s tainted,” he observes.

“Except us,” you correct him. He nods, but he knows his statement especially applies to him.

“Except you,” he sighs, his fingertips tracing circles on your bare shoulder.

“You don’t think you’ve ruined me, Sheriff?” you tease, making him smile, gradually pulling him out of his state. You’d lean up and kiss him, and the sensation would help his thoughts fade away for a few minutes. The feeling of your lips and soft skin against his own just putting his mind at ease, using his other senses to just keep his mind at bay.

He’s not sure if you realize how much he means it when he talks about escaping away from the town and marrying you. He thought about it all the time and it was what he was working toward. He knew even if he managed to go straight, if when Curtis left town, if the case around your mom was resolved, the town would still eat you up. The image of you both would be sullied. Reputation was crucial for survival in a town like this. You’d already been subjected to it before your relationship started.

He knew the solution was simple. He needed to take you away from Ross County, move to a new town where no one knew you both. It would just be a Sheriff and his new bride looking for a place to settle down. No rumors, or peeping eyes, or reporters, or exes, no corruption- just the two of you. Get a house, maybe start a family if you wanted that too.

He hoped you did. He’d be content either way, but he wanted a big family. His growing up was much less than ideal and it was just him and his sister. He loved the idea of a bigger family. He loved the image of having a house that was loud in a different way than what he grew up in. He often worried if he’d be a good father, but he never once doubted how excellent of a mother you would be if you wanted.

The only thing he wanted in his future was you, and everything else would be a blissful bonus of things he also doesn’t deserve. But to him you deserved the world and he simultaneously wanted to give you everything but then at the same time he felt like he would hold you back. You were young and had so many good years ahead of you. He couldn’t imagine you’d want to waste the rest of your life or even the rest of your twenties with him.  

You could get a job doing anything you wanted and he could run for Sheriff in the new town maybe, or he could do something else. It didn’t matter to him anymore really. The time he’s been with you has really helped him see what is actually important. It was the only thing he wanted. He wanted to be able to give you that because he knew that you deserved it and more than he’d ever be able to give you.

Laying in bed with you on this lazy morning, reminded him of the last time he was there when you were still bartending. It was the first time that pesky day dream of his started. It was something a lot bigger now than it was then. He loved you, and he was relieved he could say it to you now, and he wanted to settle down. This backwards way the two of you got together was a mess but it was yours. He wouldn’t trade it for anything, but he knew he needed to make things right.

He had been so blind, for so long, and he finally started to feel like he could be someone he actually wanted to be.

All he needed was time and he could set it all straight.

***

Arrest of Pimp in Knockemstiff, Ohio Reveals Corruption of Town Sheriff

By: Henry Curtis

Sheriff of Ross County, Lee Bodecker, has been allegedly involved in the coverup of a local brothel, run by Leroy Brown. Brown and several of his associates were arrested on Wednesday night by local police for drug possession and possession of illegal firearms. As the group resisted arrest, there was a shoot out at a small bar in Meade, which was revealed to serve as a front for their operation. Seven men, including Brown, were arrested Wednesday night for questioning by the local police.

While giving his statement, Brown confessed to the charges and in hopes of a lesser sentence, cooperated with police and provided names of all involved in the underground prostitution ring. He provided the police with twelve names, including that of the local Sheriff Lee Bodecker and his sister Sandy Henderson, who has since also been apprehended by the local authorities.

Sandy Henderson was apprehended on Thursday morning, and made bail for $500 that Saturday. Henderson and her husband, both denied an opportunity to provide a statement. The pair only stated they will be promptly returning home and want to put this behind them.

Although there has been no release of his official statement as of yet regarding this alleged involvement, Bodecker was taken into custody the next morning, apprehended by his deputies from his home. Deputy Bill Thomas has since announced that the Sheriff will be subject to a trial in the near future, and for now faces an indefinite suspension from his post until his innocence has been proven. Deputy Thomas has also said that regardless of the outcome of the trial, Bodecker will be unable to run for reelection next term.

With this new development, it is also worth noting that the Sheriff is a tenant of (Y/N) (Y/L/N), the daughter of Estelle (Y/L/N)-Tucker who is currently wanted by law enforcement for embezzling thousands from her husband Harvey Tucker’s company, Tucker Brokerage, and then fleeing with her sixteen-year-old son. When police arrived at her home Thursday morning to apprehend the Sheriff, deputies on scene took an official statement from (Y/L/N), where she denied knowledge of the Sheriff’s involvement in any of the alleged criminal activities nor any knowledge regarding her mother or brother’s whereabouts.

Woman Wanted for Embezzling Funds from Tucker Brokerage Arrested in Indiana

By: Henry Curtis

Former resident of Knockemstiff, Ohio, Estelle (Y/L/N)-Tucker was arrested in South Bend, Indiana yesterday morning before dawn. Being able to identify her as a wanted person, Este and Harold Turner, owners of the Sunnyside Motel where (Y/L/N)-Tucker had been staying for about three days prior to the arrest, notified the local authorities she was staying in one of their rooms. She also was accompanied by her sixteen-year-old son.

The boy’s older sister has now become the boy’s sole guardian and he has since returned to his hometown. According to the police, the boy was completely cooperative and they believe he had no knowledge of his mother’s crimes. In a statement given the night of the arrest, the boy told police he believed they were running from his step-father, as his mother insinuated, she had been a victim of domestic abuse. There is no evidence yet as to whether her statement is true, but there will be an investigation of husband, Harvey Tucker, to discover if this claim is true.

Both children of Estelle (Y/L/N)-Tucker have not agreed to speak about their mother or the situation to anyone except police. Daughter, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), said when she arrived in Indiana to pick up her brother, seemed to only care about getting her brother home safely. Locals report she never asked to see her mother, and only focused on her brother.

As of now, (Y/L/N)-Tucker will remain in the custody of the South Bend Police until they are ready to transport her to Columbus, Ohio where she will face jail time and then eventually a trial.

Corruption in Knockemstiff High School Staff, Principal Arrested for Illegal Distilling- Sheriff Involved in Cover Up

By: Henry Curtis

Principal of local high school, Mark Cunningham, was arrested today after local police discover an illegal distillery on his residence. Police had retrieved a warrant to search Cunningham’s land after receiving an anonymous tip from a source close to the Principal.

Following his arrest, Cunningham admitted to the felony, but also claimed Ross County’s previous Sherriff, Lee Bodecker, had prior knowledge of the still, and in exchange for his silence, he demanded Cunningham offer a secretarial job at the high school to his landlord, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), who is the daughter of Estelle (Y/L/N)-Tucker, who recently was tried for embezzlement.

The vice-principal of the high school, Meredith Lively, has stepped forth as interim principal until the position can be filled, and ensured the press (Y/L/N) had been fired effective immediately, despite her claims of being unaware any such deal had conspired. Police have found no evidence to contradict (Y/L/N)’s statement, and in an official statement taken from Bodecker, he confirmed that it was part of the deal she not be made aware of the circumstances.

New Sheriff Elected to Ross County

By: Henry Curtis

Former Deputy Bill Thomas has been elected Sheriff of Ross County. Following the trial of former Sheriff Lee Bodecker, who had been found guilty of all charges, Bodecker was barred from office, and given a five-year sentence.

Deputy Thomas in an acceptance speech during a recent town hall meeting, ensured residents of Knockemstiff that “one bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch” and the Sheriff’s department under new control will keep the town safe, and clean of crime and corruption. When asked by reporters how he felt about Bodecker, Thomas only described his situation as “unfortunate.”

There has been no other evidence of corruption within Ross County Sheriff’s Department although the investigation is still ongoing. When asked during his trial if he received any corroboration from any other law officials, Bodecker stated he never involved other members of the force with his wrongdoings.

REAL ESTATE  

Room Available for Rent in Knockemstiff, Ohio

$50 monthly rent (utilities included)

1 Bedroom (250 sq. ft.), furnished

Private bathroom with shower

4 Birch Street

Knockemstiff, Ohio

Please call the following number with serious offers. Price negotiable.

PART EIGHT

Taglist

@scar-is-bi @jiminlife2k18 @asylummaniac01 @rosalynshields @charmed-asylum @jamesbuchananbuckybarnes1917 @alexandrathegreat3 @hersilencedscreams @malar-region @purplerain85 @vesper852 @smilewolfdolan @softshell-taco @champagnebucky @lilacmeadows @mollygetssherlockcoffee