#I didn't expect them to be (unofficially) so close to each other! \(//∇//)\

[zu-is-here]

Happy Blueberror [11/9] & Error [11/10] Days ♡

[dotster001]

It makes me want to read something sad. For example, there is a celebration at the college, but Remshekle does not participate in it because it is not official. Crowley tells MC and Grim that they can't participate in the preparations for the holiday and come to it because they are banned. MC agrees, but is still upset. What happened next I can't think of, but I would like some angst. How will the dorm leaders react to this?

That's What Friends are For

A/N: Hopefully this is what you were looking for. I got some angst in there, but also comedy and a nice ending, even if it's not the expected ending. I'm not super good at solely angst 😂

3k follower Masterlist

"Due to budgeting constraints, we cannot allow unofficial dorms to participate in founder's day activities."

"Oh. Okay. I understand. That's fine. I get it."

"I appreciate your benevolence with this decision."

You stood up from your seat, and left Crowley's office.

You knew that you were living here for free, in an unofficial dorm, nonetheless, so really that you could even be allowed to attend the festival at all was generous in itself. But your friends had been going on and on about the stuff they got to present, and the new costumes they would get to wear that represented the icon of their dorm.

You were honestly more upset that you'd have to tell Grim. He had been so excited to have a cool new outfit. His sad little face would just devastate you.

But you'd get through it. And maybe he'd understand. One day.

….

"Where is my child of man?" Malleus asked. He had finally been informed about a housewarden meeting, and was distraught that his favorite person seemed not to be present.

"Ramshackle is not participating in the founders day parade," The headmage said off hand as he continued to inspect the paperwork Azul had brought forth regarding the founders day buffet menu.

"Pardon?" Riddle seemed startled.

"With having to feed, house, and teach them on our dime, the Ramshackle budget, which was nearly non-existent as an unofficial dorm, is completely drained."

"But it's founders day. Ramshackle was there at the opening, wasn't it?" Leona said with a glare, sparking some widened eyes around the table.

"Yes, but-"

"You only have an 800th anniversary once!" Kalim burst out. "I can pay for their outfits and exhibits if I need to!"

"As could any one of us at this table. And everyone of us would without a second thought," Vil mused. "So I think something else must be going through that bird brain of yours."

Crowley stood from his place at the table, feathers clearly ruffled.

"How dare you insinuate anything less than benevolence on my part! I am simply trying to care for this school-"

"You didn't think about it, did you? Lmao," Idia's tablet cackled.

Crowley's jaw opened and closed a couple of times, before he said, "I am aware of the monetary situation of our housewarden, I just did not wish to infringe upon-"

"Damn, the turnip was right. You really didn't even think about it," Leona laughed.

"So we'll fund their part of the festival. What is our next topic?" Malleus sighed out in relief. He didn't want to even be part of this festival without you. The stares and whispers without your gentle reassurances would be overwhelming.

"No, no, the decision is final. Besides, Ramshackle doesn't have a known founder. Whoever they are was lost to time!" Crowley snapped, clearly embarrassed, and also very stubborn.

"-They can just dress in the Queen of Hearts' inspired attire-"

"-Obviously they will borrow clothing from my grandmother's collection.-"

"-They would look fetching in the fairest Queen's robes.-"

Three voices spoke up at once, and all three turned to glare at each other.

"See! This is why they can't participate! Ramshackle's participation will only sow dissent amongst you. Now let's move on!" Crowley cried, beginning to sweat from the rising hostility levels.

"Oh, shut it!" Leona snapped, before turning back to the housewardens. "It's obvious they'd look the best in an outfit designed after the king of beasts."

"Imagine how op they'd look designed after the god of the dead!" Idia mused behind the tablet, seemingly not realizing he hadn't muted himself.

"Probably not as "op" as if they looked like an octo mer," Azul hissed through a tight smile. "Imagine the radiance and brilliance of-"

"Both of you are gross," Vil snapped. 

"Why are they gross?" Kalim asked.

"Because they don't care about the festival, anymore. They just want to see Y/N in looks they find hot, and can slobber over" Leona grinned.

"Like your intentions are oh so pure!" Idia's tablet screeched.

The table erupted into shouts, the meeting long forgotten as Crowley curled up in a ball in his chair.

Meanwhile….

"We've all discussed it," Ace said as he sat on your bed. It seemed he was the appointed spokesperson of the first year crew.

"We aren't going to let the two of you wallow in despair while we have fun. So we aren't going to have fun either," he said with his signature grin splitting his face.

"None of us are going to participate in the festival!" Ortho interrupted, clearly too excited to wait for Ace to be dramatic.

"Damn it, Ortho! I was supposed to say it!" Ace pouted.

"Language! He's a child!" Sebek hissed.

"He's in advanced potionomics with the third years. He'll be fine," Epel rolled his eyes. 

"But you were all so excited to participate," you said, covering Grim's mouth to keep him from immediately agreeing to their thought process without a second thought.

"It's not fun without you," Jack muttered, looking anywhere but you.

"Look, like it or not, you've woven yourselves so tightly into our lives that we wouldn't enjoy ourselves if you weren't a part of it!" Deuce stated factually, his cheeks turning red as he realized what he said.

"So, like they all said, we aren't going to wear any cool costumes, or work at an exhibit, or eat at an all you can eat buffet-"

"IT'S ALL YOU CAN EAT?" Grim screamed.

"Because we're gonna boycott the whole thing and have fun doing something else," Ace finished with a glare.

"Forget it Y/N. Forget them!" Grim cupped your face with his paws, looking earnestly into your eyes. "There's an all you can eat buffet! I don't need a fancy costume! Let's go to the buffet!"

You gently shifted Grim to your lap, and scratched his ears. "You guys, I don't know what to say. That's so sweet of all of you!"

"Yeah, we're pretty cool," Epel grinned.

"Buffet…" Grim sadly trailed off, knowing he'd lost.

"And we can find even cooler outfits while we're out!" Ortho cheered, excitement clear as he buzzed quickly around the room. 

"Honestly, it was less about the outfits, and more about feeling left out," you said with a sad smile.

"We know," Ace grinned, playfully nudging you with his shoulder.

"It's alright, we can beat up Crowley so he lets you participate next year," Deuce grinned maniacally, wrapping an arm around your other shoulder as he sat next to you, nuzzling his head against yours when you set it on his shoulder.

"Besides, if I let my Liege's dearest friend be sad, what kind of knight would I be!" Sebek said with a grin.

"Dude, don't pretend this is just about Malleus. You totally were about to cry when you heard they were sad."

"NO I WASN'T!"

You giggled, watching as your idiot friends began to yell at one another. This was what you really would have been disappointed to miss. But luckily, thanks to how amazing they were, and how much they cared about you, you wouldn't have to miss it.

[callsign-dexter]

We're Sorry

Summary: IceMav's daughter runs away after a heated argument. She runs to the only couple she feels safe with, her Aunt Carole and Uncle Goose.

Pairings: Maverick x Daughter!Reader, Iceman x Daughter!Reader, Maverick x Iceman

Warnings: running away, fluff, angst, yelling

Blizzard

Masterlist

Carole and Goose had just finished supper and were in the process of cleaning up the kitchen when there was a knock at the door. Both of them looked at each other and Goose went to answer the door. What he wasn't expecting was the Mitchell-Kazansky daughter. "Blizz? What are doing here?" Goose asked the young girl and she just looked up at him and her lip started to wobble. She just crashed into him and full-out started to cry. Carole having heard the commotion had come to the front door.

"Y/N/N? What are you doing here? Does your fathers know you're here?" She asked and the little girl just shook her head.

"No, we fought. I snuck out. Please don't tell my daddies that I'm here." She said letting go of Goose and looking at Carole.

"Oh, Honey. What was the fight about?" She asked as they ushered both the little girl and her husband into the living room.

"I failed a math test. I tried to get help but everyone just brushed it off and said that it's easy." She said sniffling.

"Did you try to get them to help?" Goose asked and she nodded.

"But they were too busy to help. So, I backed off." She said and then Goose wrapped her in a hug and she returned it as he rubbed her back.

"Oh, Blizz. It's ok. Everyone has been stressed at work they didn't mean it." Goose said using her unofficial callsign that everyone had given her. She yawned and snuggled closer into him. Carole looked at Goose and they seemed to have a silent conversation they only looked away and down at the little girl, who had fallen asleep. They both smiled and then Carole got up when the phone rang and she answered it. It was Maverick.

"Carole, it's Mav. Y/N ran off and we can't find her anywhere." Maverick said frantically.

"Mav-" Carole tried to cut in but he wasn't having it.

"We fought but I didn't think it was a big one. In the middle of it, she took off toward her room upstairs." Maverick said to her not letting her get a word in.

"Maverick-" She began again but nothing.

"Oh God, what if something happened to her? What if she's hurt? Or what if she's been taken? I don't know what to do." Maverick said and Carole knew he was just worried but he wouldn't listen to her.

"Put Ice on the phone." She said and he seemed to listen to that. There was the sound of the phone handing off and talking between the couple.

"Hey Carole." Ice said

"Hey Ice. I couldn't get a word in with Maverick." She said and he chuckled.

"Yeah, he's being a little frantic." Ice said always the calm one but freaking out on the inside. "But Blizzard is missing." He said.

"Yes, I know. She's here with us." Carole said in a low voice trying not to disturb the little girl. Carole could hear Ice sigh in relief. She also heard Ice tell Maverick.

"Oh thank God. We'll be on our way soon." He said but before he could hang up Carole stopped him.

"She said not to let her daddies know she's here." She told Ice and he could've sworn that his heart shattered.

"Why would she say that? Did she say why?" He asked and Carole shook her head but knew he couldn't see it.

"No idea. She's asleep on Goose right now." She said and he sighed.

"We're on our way. Don't wake her up." He said

"Ok, we'll see you both soon. Bye." She said

"Thank you, Carole. We'll see you soon. Bye." Ice said and then hung up. She walked back into the living room to see that she had fully crawled into Goose's lap, she smiled. Goose had his eyes closed. She took a picture and sent the picture to both Maverick and Ice.

Maverick and Ice were relieved that she had run to them. She loved Bradley, Carole, and Goose. Honestly, the fight should've never happened. They were both stressed from the pressure of the new Top Gun class that when Y/N asked for help they blew up. The way her face fell so quickly and the way she stormed off. They hadn't even eaten supper.

---------------------------------------------------

It was a Thursday when Ice got a call as he was going over some paperwork it was from Y/N's math teacher.

"This is Admiral Thomas Kazansky, speaking." Ice said into the phone.

"Hi, Admiral. This is Mr. Blake, Y/N's math teacher." Mr. Blake said and Ice stopped what he was doing and focused on the phone call.

"What can I do for you?" Ice asked

"Well, I'm calling because Y/N seems to not be doing so well in class with the subject we're on. She's usually a good student and excels at everything but her answers have been wrong on her homework and she failed the last test we had. She actually failed another test as well." Mr. Blake said and Ice's blood was already boiling but this was icing on the cake. "I tried to reach Pete Mitchell but was unable to." Maverick had been up in the air at the time.

"Yes, he was up in the air at the time. Is there any way she can make up the tests?" Ice asked

"Yes, she will be able to make both of them up on Wednesday." He said and Ice nodded.

"Thank you for calling. We'll talk to her and get it settled." Ice said

"You're welcome. I'm sorry that we are speaking on a not-so-nice occasion. Have a good day, Admiral." He said

"You too." Ice said and then hung up.

When the day of teaching the newest cadets came to an end for them and they were switched over to the official Dagger Squadron is when Ice pulled his husband into his office.

"I just got a call from Blizzard's math teacher." Ice said and Maverick looked at him telling him to continue. "He said that she is doing poorly in class and that she had failed the most recent test." He said

"What? Blizz is excellent at math." Maverick said in shock.

"I know she is, but her teacher said that she has been doing poorly in this subject. He didn't tell me what it was though." Ice said and Maverick nodded his head.

"We'll talk to her about it when we get home. Carole is picking her up." Maverick said and Ice nodded. They were already stressed and then getting that news just soured their mood even more.

By the time it was time to go home their mood just soured even more. Traffic had been slowed to a stop and it was getting even later. It was already 5 PM by the time they got to The Bradshaw residence to pick her up.

They walked to the front door and knocked on the door. Carole answered it and let them come in, Goose wasn't home yet due to some paperwork that Bradley had asked him for help. Y/N was sitting there working on some homework and when she saw them, she didn't even smile or get up to greet them, which was unusual for her.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Maverick asked and she nodded her head and packed up her stuff. Carole walked over to her and helped her.

"Thank you." She said quietly and then hugged her.

"You're welcome, honey. Have a good night." She said and she nodded and walked out the door with her fathers.

The drive home was silent. She knew what had happened and was just waiting for it to be brought up. When they got home Ice killed the engine after parking in the garage and they headed inside. They dropped keys and she dropped her backpack off at the front door.

Y/N started her way upstairs but was stopped by Ice. "Hold on. We want to talk to you about something." He said and she slowly turned around and stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"Ice got a call from your math teacher." Maverick said and bowed her head.

"Oh?" She said quietly.

"He said that you weren't doing great on this subject of math. He also said you failed two math tests." Ice said "He's letting you retake the test on Wednesday." He said and she looked up at him.

"But you're grounded until you get that grade back up." Maverick said and she looked at him like he was crazy.

"What? That's not fair!" She yelled out.

"I think it's completely fair." Ice said

"I tried to ask for help! You both just brushed it off!" She yelled out.

"No, we didn't." Ice said and she looked at him like he was crazy.

"Yes, you did! You said that you were too busy right now to help me. I tried to go to Dad and he said the same thing. I tried my best. I did really but division is hard. I tried asking Mr. Blake but when he asked if anybody needed more explanation and nobody raised their hand so we moved on." She said with tears rolling down her face.

"You're still grounded." Maverick said and she turned around and marched upstairs.

"Get back down here! We're not done talking!" Ice yelled up at her but only got the slamming of the door as a response. He turned to look at Maverick but he was deep in thought.

"She did try to come to us and we did brush her off." Maverick said looking up the stairs.

"When was this?" Ice asked

"Last week. They had just started the division section of their math class. We were stressed that week because all of our cadets weren't focusing and not learning." Maverick said as he turned to Ice and watched his face fall.

"Did we really brush off our child when she needed help?" Ice asked and Maverick nodded.

"We really did. Should we go and apologize to her?" He asked his husband and he nodded.

"Yes. But let's wait a few and let her calm down." Ice said and Maverick nodded as they went to their office and did some work, they would worry about supper when everyone had calmed down.

It was an hour later when Maverick went up to her room and knocked on her door. "Blizz, it's supper time. We're sorry." He said but got no response so he knocked one more time. "Blizzard, please open up." He said and when he didn't get a response he twisted the handle and opened the door and the room was empty but her window was open. He checked everywhere before raising the alarm, the attached bathroom was the main other place but he knew that if she was in there she would've hollered back at him. When he couldn't find her, he ran downstairs and to Ice. "Blizzard is gone!" He yelled out frantically. Ice turned around and looked at him.

"What do you mean gone?" He asked

"She's not in her room or bathroom. The window is open." Maverick said in a rush. "I didn't think the fight was that bad." He said starting to spiral.

"Calm down." Ice said and Maverick looked at him bewildered.

"How are you not freaking out?" He asked his husband.

"Oh, I am trust me. But, someone needs to be the calm one and think with a straight head." Ice said to Maverick. "She couldn't have gone far. I'll send a group text to the Daggers and you call Carole." He said and as soon as the words left his mouth he regretted it.

Dagger Squad:

Ice: Blizzard has run away after a little argument. If she's at one of your houses please let us know. Please keep a look out for her.

Bradley: She's not here. I would've texted you or Mav. I'll keep a lookout for her. Call mom and dad.

Jake: Blizzard's missing? She's not here. I'll keep a lookout.

Bob: She's not here. I hope you find her.

Natasha: Poor girl she's not with me.

Mickey: I'm with Javy and we haven't seen her.

Slider: You mean to tell me that my favorite Mitchell-Kazansky is missing? She's not here. I'll keep an eye out for her though!

Ice: Thank you guys. We'll keep you updated. Also, Slider..... how dare you! But I get it.

Maverick was losing hope when he read through the texts but then when Carole answered the phone he started rambling.

"Carole, it's Mav. Y/N ran off and we can't find her anywhere." Maverick said frantically.

"Mav-" Carole tried to cut in but he wasn't having it.

"We fought but I didn't think it was a big one. In the middle of it, she took off toward her room upstairs." Maverick said to her not letting her get a word in.

"Maverick-" She began again but nothing.

"Oh God, what if something happened to her? What if she's hurt? Or what if she's been taken? I don't know what to do." Maverick said and Carole knew he was just worried but he wouldn't listen to her.

"Put Ice on the phone." She said and he seemed to listen to that. There was the sound of the phone handing off and talking between the couple.

"Hey Carole." Ice said

"Hey, Ice. I couldn't get a word in with Maverick." She said and he chuckled.

"Yeah, he's being a little frantic." Ice said always the calm one but freaking out on the inside. "But Blizzard is missing." He said.

"Yes, I know. She's here with us." Carole said in a low voice. Ice sigh in relief. He pulled the phone away and looked over to Maverick.

"She's with Carole and Goose." Ice said and Maverick sighed in relief.

"Oh thank God. We'll be on our way soon." He said but before he could hang up Carole stopped him.

"She said not to let her daddies know she's here." She told Ice and he could've sworn that his heart shattered.

"Why would she say that? Did she say why?" He asked

"No idea. She's asleep on Goose right now." She said and he sighed.

"We're on our way. Don't wake her up." He said

"Ok, we'll see you both soon. Bye." She said

"Thank you, Carole. We'll see you soon. Bye." Ice said and then hung up.

Dagger Squad:

Maverick: Blizzard has been found. She's with Carole and Goose.

Slider: Thank goodness.

Bradley: I knew that's who she would run to. I'm glad she's safe.

Bob: I was so worried. I'm glad she's safe.

Mickey: Javy and I are glad she's safe. Give her some love from us to her.

Natasha: Oh thank goodness!

Carole: Sent a photo

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Maverick and Ice arrived at Carole and Goose's in no time. That's probably because Maverick was driving and he likes to drive how he flies. They parked in the driveway and got out and walked to the front door. They rang the doorbell knowing that Y/N could sleep through anything.

Carole walked to the door and opened it and motioned them inside. "Hey, guys come on in." She said.

"Hey, Carole. Thank you so much for taking care of her. I'm sorry if this caused an inconvenience." Ice said and Maverick nodded. She waved them off and they walked in then she led them to the living room where Goose, now awake, was holding her and he smiled at them.

"Nonsense. We love her." She said and Goose nodded.

"Hey guys." Goose said.

"Hey, Goose." Maverick and Ice said at the same time.

"I don't want to wake her." Ice said. "We'll just do a quick handoff." He said and walked over to Goose and they did a very fast but smooth handoff. She stirred a little bit but snuggled into Ice's neck and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Maverick and Ice thanked them profusely and a bunch of apologies. They headed out the door and to Maverick’s black Rav4 and Ice gently put her in her booster seat. She never woke up.

When they got home Maverick pulled into the garage and parked and killed the engine. Ice was already out and getting her out by the time Maverick was getting out of the car, truth be told he was just sitting there and reflecting on what happened. Maverick finally got out when he saw Ice walk by with their little girl.

Maverick followed Ice up to Y/N's room and watched him change her and then put her in her bed. "Goodnight, Blizzard. I'm happy you're home. I love you." Ice said and kissed her forehead. Maverick walked to her and kissed her on the forehead as well.

"Goodnight, Blizz. I love you." He said and they both walked out and turned off her light and cracked her door. They got ready for bed silently, none of them had supper but that was important. What was important was that Y/N was safe and sound at home.

---------------------------------------------------

The next morning Maverick and Ice got up and started their usual and then Maverick went and started getting Y/N up for the day and getting her to school. Maverick walked into her room and smiled and then walked over to her "Hey, Blizz. It's tike to get up." Maverick said.

"No." She said and turned over and Maverick had to hold back a laugh 'Just like Ice.' He thought to himself.

"Don't you want to eat breakfast with me and Papa?" He asked and she slowly blinked her eyes open and nodded.

"Yea." She said still riddled with sleep.

"Ok, then let's get ready for school and meet him down there." Maverick said and she did just that. 10 minutes later she was ready and headed downstairs. Ice turned when he heard patters of feet coming down ans he smiled. He already had some pancakes and bacon on the table and was finishing up the master bit when they came down.

"Good morning, Blizzard." He said and she smiled.

"Good morning, Papa." She said and sat at the table while Maverick fixed her plate. A few minutes later Ice was joining them.

Breakfast was eaten in silence but it was a comfortable silence. Ice knew that they had to talk about and he figured to go ahead and do so instead of putting it off. Apparently, Maverick had the same idea. "Blizzard-" they both began they looked at each other and Maverick nodded at Ice to continue.

"Blizzard, we're sorry for the way we blew up on you. We're also sorry for pushing you away. We were so stressed out and we should've left it at work and we didn't." Ice said and the Maverick started talking.

"If you ever need us, come to us no matter what. We'll drop everything for you. We should've dropped everything for you that day but we were not very smart. After school, we'll help you get ready for those tests. You can also come to any of The Daggers as well." He said and she nodded.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly.

"No, it's not your fault. It's our fault we should've helped you. Your also not grounded." Ice said and she nodded and then got up and hugged both of them and kissed their cheeks. They ate the rest of their breakfast and then they headed off to work and school after everything was cleared up.

They both went and dropped her off at school and she was back to her normal cheerful self. They smiled they were glad to see her back to her normal self.

---------------------------------------------------

True to their word they helped her after school and all weekend. When Wednesday rolled around and she took the tests she was ready for them. The next day when she got them back she was smiling when she saw that she had gotten an A on both of them. Mr. Blake praised her and high-fived her, he was happy she was back to excelling at math.

When she got home Thursday she showed them to Ice and Maverick and they smiled and praised her. They vowed again to help her and drop everything and she believed them. Everything for them was back to normal and they were a happy family again.

Tag list:

@kmc1989

@els-marvelvsp

@atarmychick007

@nyx2021

@grandstrangerphantom

@callsign-revenge

[kookiecrush]

I know tkk were together quite a lot during their solo time, but jikk have been together for majority of the past 10 years. And I am not talking about the official content. Whenever any member took group selfies or videos, they were always the ones always sitting and standing together and tae always far in the corner. There have been so many jikk selfies throughout the years posted by jk himself, they were spotted so many times either alone or with friends. Do you really want to believe that everything was just bh trying to "promote the official ship"?

Them being closer can be termed as friends but why was tae never with jk in these scenarios? People did believe that tkk weren't close bcs of everything they've seen in the past few years. Jk himself said that he didn't talk to anyone except for hobi and jm when they were on that break. Even on jk's graduation jm was the one who was stuck to his side throughout the day. Tae was only on the sidelines with the other members. Tae and jk might've gotten closer during the last year or so but I don't believe that they were as close as jk and jm. Every footage from the past so many years can't be a lie. Tae is rarely seen with jk when they hang out as a group. It's always jk and jm. I don't think that jk and jm are a couple, but I really don't believe that jk and tae are either.

I'm seriously questioning if you've ever paid attention to BTS content properly, anon. You are so innaccurate that I'm actually quite confused right now. You're acting like Jungkook and Tae were never close until last year, and yet and you couldn't be further from the truth.

You basically implied that j*kook have been joined at the hip for the last 10 years..wrong. Did you forget how taekook have been close from the very start?? How they were always together in bangtan bombs being mischievous together, spending lots of time together off camera, stuck together at award shows, often sitting squashed together with no room between them, being clingy in interviews, always wanting to be on the same team. You said there were so many times j*kook were spotted alone or with friends, but so were taekook 🤷‍♀️ and they've gone on holiday together, gone to restaurants (alone) together, stayed at a hotel together, visited a fortune teller together, went to the cinema together, late night beach walk together, bowling together, etc. The list goes on. Does that seem like the behaviour of two people who are not close to you?

I rewatched Jungkook's graduation bb to see if what you said was accurate, and surprise, surprise, it was not. If anything, it was Tae that was next to Jungkook the most. All three of them were in the same car, not just Jungkand and J*min, and it was Tae Jungkook sat next to at the restaurant. How did you get "Tae was only on the sidelines" from that video? There's even pictures of Tae feeding him from that day. Do you just ignore what you don't want to see?

I'm really not sure what j*kook taking a lot of selfies together is supposed to prove because they're close friends. Why wouldn't they take selfies together? And I've actually never said that j*kook spending time together "was just bh trying to promote the official ship."

You think that people believe taekook weren't close because of everything they've seen in the past few years, but that's not true. People believe they weren't close because of what they DIDN'T see. I don't use company content to gauge how close taekook are because it's not reliable. You would know that if you actually paid attention to the unofficial content and the way taekook are always with each other off camera. It simply doesn't match up to how BH portrays them. But I'm not expecting you to start questioning BH's editing because then you'd have to go down the rabbit hole of why they're even reducing taekook's on-screen interactions in the first place.

You said that taekook "might've gotten closeer during the last year or so," which is conveniently around the time that official content was reduced. I'm guessing you were pretty confused when taekook started spending so much time together, huh? It's funny how the dynamics changed once the company wasn't involved. Taekook together all the time, and yoonmin and jihope together a lot as well. I understand that taekook's "sudden" closeness has confused a lot of people and now you're scrambling to explain it in a way that fits your narrative, but the truth of the matter is that Jungkook and Tae have ALWAYS been close.

[bearhugsandshrugs]

The Gorsimp Chronicles - Chapter 1

Gortash x Tav | Explicit Read on AO3 | Next Chapter

A slightly (and with slightly we mean: completely) alternate AU in which Gortash had a twin brother Horatio: A true gentleman, a kind and vulnerable version, alike in looks but oh so different in personality. Horatio accidentally died facing the Netherbrain, allowing Enver to live his life out as Horatio Gortash. But there's one person who he couldn't fool. The only person who matters.

If you want to read plenty of hot smut and mindblowing sex and two people being madly in love, you've come to the right fic. If you want to read a lot of drama and angst, you're also at the right place. You're only wrong here if you're expecting canon-Gorty.

This fic is written by @bloodlessbhaalbabe (writing Enver's POV mostly) and @bearhugsandshrugs (writing Tav's POV mostly). Sections separated by dividers signify a POV change.

Enver couldn’t believe his luck when he ran into Tav in one of the raunchiest sex parties in all of Baldur’s Gate.

He hadn’t been able to help himself. While he’d been posing as his dead twin brother Horatio for several months now, something had lured him back here, into his own old ways, seeking an adventure with a stranger. Instead, he’d found Tav. They had been flirtatious for months back when they were preparing to fight the Netherbrain. Back when Enver still had been the Archduke. But then Horatio (and with him the gentler, kinder of the two) had died on the day of the Netherbrain fight – taking Enver's place as Horatio had done so many times before, not thinking anything of it. Neither of the twins had expected what would happen that day: Horatio, posing as Enver, dead. Tav, not knowing they had exchanged places, mourning his loss.

Enver and her had been friendly, even flirty, the months leading up to that fateful day – and Tav had been a constant fixture, someone he’d gotten along with, that he’d liked, more than he had probably ever admitted to himself. Neither of them had ever acted on it. 

Now that she’d bumped into him, eyes wide as she took him – or better: "Horatio" – in, he breathed in deeply and squeezed the hand that was offered to him in a type of overly formal greeting.  The words that stumbled out of his mouth didn't make sense, but they were true. “I’ve missed you terribly.” 

“Missed me? I don’t think we’ve been that acquainted”, Tav replied, confused. “Unless you want to count exchanging a nod across a funeral and reoccuring run-ins with Enver accompanying you as that.” 

There was a brief moment in which she wondered if this was actually Horatio, the particular spark in his eyes seeming overly familiar, but she pushed the thought away. 

Enver blinked a moment realizing his mistake. He opened and closed his mouth trying to come up with a way to save this. “I– um… I mean… I have seen you around when you were with… Enver. You have a profound presence about you that's not easy to miss.” 

He cleared his throat and let go of Tav’s hand. 

“My apologies for the confusion, but it is good to see you again and even better to meet you… At least officially and not due to unfortunate circumstances.” 

Enver played with his ring, his old ring, spinning it around his finger. He was never nervous, never vulnerable, but posing as Horatio allowed himself to feel those unpleasant feelings without the fear of being seen as weak, and he was grateful to be able to fall back on his brother’s tender heart especially now. 

His Tav stood before him and he couldn’t afford to be swept away; at least not yet. 

Raising an eyebrow, Tav couldn’t help but chuckle. “Meet… ‘officially’?” She looked around, watching people fawn over each other, grope, touch, press, suck at each other; all while the low hum of the music set the tone for the raunchy party they were at. 

“I’m curious to know what ‘unofficially’ looks like for you, then.” 

She hadn’t taken Horatio for someone to attend these types of gatherings. At least not alone. Not without an agenda. Not without Enver there–

She stopped herself, unwilling to continue that thought. They were here now. That, in no small part, had been Enver’s doing, no matter how horrific the rest of his persona had been. Horrific. And intriguing. She’d grieved him terribly after he had died, unwilling to believe the universe would play such cruel jokes on her. For months she had had a crush on Enver, and just when the Netherbrain was to be defeated, he died. With too many things having remained unsaid, unacted on. 

Meanwhile, in the present, Enver smirked and leaned back against the wall. He cocked his head to the side as his eyes slid down Tav’s body taking in every curve accentuated by her tight leather clothing. 

“Unofficial would be more along the lines of going into one of those rooms with the glory hole,” Enver nodded toward the back rooms before dropping his voice to a low, rumble, “or allowing someone to come up and take you from behind without introducing themselves first.”

Enver licked his lips and remembered his character. He smiled, his eyes squinting much like his brother’s would have. “However, I am a gentleman and prefer to make it known to the person I may be pursuing.” 

Enver grappled with his personal desire of wanting to immediately make it known to Tav about who he was and who was actually gone. If anyone found out that the real Enver was alive and it had been Horatio who had perished, he would be hunted for his crimes against the city. Even if he knew he could trust Tav, he couldn’t bear to put her in that position. She already had seen the loss of Enver once and he couldn’t make her go through that again. 

“If you’re a gentleman, then what are you doing here?”, Tav smirked. 

Enver shrugged and looked around the room. Truthfully, it was a glimpse at his past and he'd been hoping to indulge himself a little bit. It had been a few months since he was pronounced dead and buried. Soon his name and everything he had hoped to become would fade. He knew that there was a possibility of anonymity at these parties where no one cared what your face looked like or who you resembled. 

“In truth, I knew Enver frequented these places and, as messed up as it sounds, I was hoping to come here and experience his old life. To try and connect myself to him,” Enver replied with an exhale. “It wasn’t what I was expecting, but I did run into you, so perhaps things are looking up?” 

Enver did not mean to sound so needy for Tav, but everytime he opened his mouth it seemed as though his mind couldn’t help but flirt with her. 

A blush spread on Tav’s face as she listened to Horatio’s murmurs. She’d never taken him to be so smooth and.. Interesting? But here she was, staring at him even though the place was full of men – and women – with less baggage than the brother of the dead tyrant. 

Enver and her had never acted on the tension that had formed between them, but she’d found him attractive, and seeing his twin brother now just reminded her of how much she still craved his body. 

Catching herself, she rolled her eyes and chuckled. “You almost sound as if you’re coming onto me, Horatio.” Then, after a short pause, and another sip from her drink to gather some more courage, she added: “Are you? Coming onto me?”

Enver raised his eyebrows. It couldn’t be this easy. Could it have been so easy when he was alive? Enver bit his lip and smirked. “Not yet, but I could be persuaded.” 

Downing the rest of her drink in one go, Tav briefly considered her options. Hooking up with her late crush’s twin was exactly the bad idea that a night like this demanded. So… 

She stepped up a little closer to Horatio, leaning in so close that her warm breath reflected back on his skin. “Hmm”, she sighed into his ear, “in that case, tell me what works better: the carrot or the stick?”

Accentuating her question, she dragged her index finger down his chest, hooking it into the messy laces of his shirt, vaguely reminding her of someone… 

Enver’s hands automatically rested on either side of Tav’s hips. His fingers gripped firmly against her leather trousers. He stared down at her as she leaned closer to him; grateful she couldn’t hear how loud his heart pounded in his ears. He pushed down a shiver that ran up his body as her fingers playfully pulled at his messy shirt laces. 

A loud cackle pulled him from his thoughts and he looked around the room. Not here, he thought. Tav deserved something more, something better than to be fucked publicly in front of everyone despite the idea compelling him to do so. No. Tav would be his and his alone. At least for tonight. 

“For you? As you’re dangling the carrot right in front of my face?” Enver smirked and leaned down until their noses brushed against each other. “You’re holding the stick, my dear. I’d follow you anywhere.” 

Enver pulled away and wrapped his hand around her wrist. “Come with me?” 

She made the decision in a split second, then whirled around and hurried out the room, down the stairs, and out of the building; Horatio holding onto her wrist tightly. This was a really bad idea but Tav didn’t care – it felt as if somehow fate had presented her with another chance of getting what she wanted, who she wanted. 

Once they reached the dim lit street, his hold on her loosened and they stood outside, staring at each other in silence for a brief moment. 

Where should they go? Her place was on the other side of the city. But maybe they didn’t need a room. Maybe they didn’t even need a bed. Glancing sideways she took in the empty back alley, sufficiently secluded and, most importantly, close enough so that she was moderately certain she wouldn’t lose her courage halfway through. 

“If you want me to come with you, you better start with the foreplay now”, she nodded towards the side, grinning. “You don’t seem like the patient type.”

Enver pulled her down the alleyway by her wrist and pressed her up against the wall. He grabbed her other wrist and held them over her head. Again he leaned in close to her, almost as though he was teasing himself before allowing himself to taste her. 

“You’ve talked to me for all of five minutes and you think you can read me?” Enver whispered in a low rumble. His hands slid down her arms until they were cupping her face. “You’re right, though. I’ve never been a patient man. But I do like to take my time.” 

Enver pressed a thigh in between Tav’s legs and pulled her against his lips, soft at first, but quickly deepened as his need to touch her, to taste her grew within him. His tongue brushed against her bottom lip begging for more. 

Tav sighed against Horatio’s mouth, fighting with herself to keep her eyes open and not just surrender into his touch. When he pulled back his head just ever so slightly, she chased his mouth with her lips, catching his bottom lip between her teeth, playfully pulling it towards her. 

She could feel his body crush against her in turn, his erection straining against the fabric of his pants and her hips. He smelled good, and oh so familiar, and she wondered briefly if that very specific scent ran in his family. 

“You talk a lot”, Tav sighed when he still wouldn’t kiss her back, leaving her hanging between teases and nibbles, “is there actually anything to back that up?”

Enver let out a small gasp as his lip was bitten. He grabbed her by the throat and turned her head to the side, then mouthed his way down her jaw to her neck. His teeth grazed against her sensitive skin, pulling slightly, and sucking until he left a mark. His thoughts were hazy as she teased him. A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. Same old Tav, he thought. 

In one quick motion, he dropped down to his knees. His hands pushed up her shirt exposing her stomach. His mouth latched onto her as he kissed down her torso. He looked up at Tav as his fingers dug into the waistband of her pants, pulling slightly. 

“I’m thinking of one way you could shut me up and make use of my mouth,” Enver replied, his hot breath cascading over her lower belly with each heavy pant. His cock pressed up against his own trousers as he nuzzled his face against Tav. Waiting for her to tell him he could take what he wanted. 

“Fuck”, Tav breathed out, scanning the still empty alley one last time. She’d never expected Enver’s twin to be so similar to him, and the way he looked up at her sent her heart into a frantic rhythm. Undoing the buckle of her belt with shaky fingers she worked on freeing herself from her suddenly too tight leather pants, pushing them down together with her panties, exposing herself to him. 

The air was cool against her skin, and his hands on her made her shudder, her body reacting involuntarily, instinctively, to the man before her. 

“Get to work then”, she said hoarsely, “if you’re any good… maybe I’ll let you fuck me after all.”

He didn’t care if anyone saw them at this point. He chuckled softly at her last remark and pushed her legs apart as much as he could with them being constrained by her leather trousers. 

“Anything for you, Tav,” Enver mumbled as he nuzzled against her folds. His tongue spread them apart as his fingertips dug into the flesh of her thighs, pulling her closer to him. He moaned as he flicked his tongue against her clit, holding her up as he felt a shudder from his ministrations. How he craved to feel her entire weight surrounding his face as she ground her hips against him for her pleasure, but this would have to do. He swirled his tongue around her sensitive nerves in an unknown alphabet spelling out poetry against her skin. 

Each caress of his tongue encouraged the beautiful whimpers and moans to escape Tav’s lips. He'd missed her. He wanted her. He craved her. 

Tav’s hands found his head, moving them in sync to her core grinding against his face. He felt good on her, greedy and maddeningly patient, and she felt like she was on fire, burning up from the inside. 

She closed her eyes, giving herself into the sensations, and she couldn’t help but think of the man whose smug looks and mocking words kept echoing through her mind, pulling her attention towards what was, what could have been. 

This didn’t feel like a different man, this felt like it was meant to be, and she stifled a moan as she remembered a moment between Enver and her, too intimate to be simply an innocent association. Enver, no, Horatio was using his tongue so cleverly she felt her breathing pick up speed, and it was not long until all she could do was pant helplessly against the concrete wall he’d backed her up against.

“I…”, she wanted to let him know she was close, wanted him, needed him to stand up and fuck her, but he wasn’t letting up, wasn’t slowing down–

“Enver, stop”, she moaned, pulling at his head, trying to lift him up. 

Enver paused for half a second before doubling down. To hear Tav say his name after all this time? Tav knew better – he didn't stop at anything until he got what he wanted. He smiled as he tightened his grip on her thighs, hard enough to leave bruises under each finger tip. He could only moan in response, to let it be known, he had no intention of stopping until he got his reward. 

His tongue slid over her clit and circled it with expert precision. The pulling of his hair only pushed him deeper inside of her. He could feel she was close as her body shook and legs began to fail her. 

She realized as soon as he didn’t stop. Horatio would never… Enver, on the other hand, absolutely would. 

Fuck. 

The thought of Enver actually eating her out, pleasuring her, devoting himself to her, pushed her over the edge as the onslaught of sensations wouldn’t let up. Tav’s knees gave out as she shuddered underneath his tongue, her mouth sobbing out incomprehensible curses mixed with his name. 

When he pulled back for air, his face wet with her slick and a knowing smirk on his face, a sudden surge of energy made her shove him away from her, his body falling backwards. 

Chest heaving and cheeks flushed, Tav couldn’t believe her eyes when she finally realized: This wasn’t Horatio. This was Enver. 

“You fucking liar”, she panted, slowly calming down, “don’t think you’ll get anything else from me.”

Enver slid onto his back and exhaled with a smile, bringing his thumb up to the side of his mouth to suck and get one last taste of her. He hummed with approval and looked over at Tav. His legs spread out as he propped himself up onto his elbows in the middle of the alley. 

“I never lied. You made the assumption and I went with it. You’d really fuck my brother? That’s low,” Enver said with a huff of laughter. “I didn’t realize you missed me, Tav. I sure missed you.” 

“Made the assumption?! We buried you”, Tav scoffed in disbelief. She suddenly felt vulnerable and exposed, so she hurried to pull up her pants, getting dressed again. While she was overjoyed that Enver was still alive, she was also confused, and embarrassed, and hurt; and she didn’t look back when she hurried back home. 

If he wanted her, even just for a night, he would have to put in more work than that. Tav sighed when she got back to her room in the Elfsong, taking off her boots and clothes, changing into something more comfortable almost immediately so she could hide under the covers of her bed, pushing away all thoughts of that damned mouth on her cunt. 

[greenbergwrites]

When Bucky first meets them ettiene is 100% hissing, biting, ready to throw hands at anyone who tries to get too close to Steve. Whatever situation they were previously in has made him very protective, and if Bucky wants to even look at Steve he has to go through ettiene. Luckily for him, Ettiene’s protective ways are NO match for the massive crush that Steve has developed on Bucky. Steve and Ettiene definetly fall asleep piled around and ontop of each other for comfort, but in the middle of the night Steve always sneaks off to Alpha Buckys office, peeping through the cracked open door, admiring Bucky as he does his work and takes calls, scurrying off if he hears someone approaching.

The thing is Bucky KNOWS that Steve is there, he’s scented him since before he even entered the hallway, but since steve is so shy and small he says nothing to avoid scaring him off, instead just enjoying the company of the pup.

I imagine this goes on for a while, there may even be times where Steve falls asleep with his head against the door, only to wake up tucked in right next to Etienne in their pup pile, faint memories of strong warm hands carrying him.

So, I've had this idea floating around in my head for a while, not fleshed out enough to be an actual plot but kind of like the Nameless Alpha & Omega story where I just had ideas

I was going to try to actually scrape it together and write it as an original story, but what you said lines up enough with it that I might as well throw it in the ring as another 'verse

The basic idea is this:

A world where humans know about the supernatural, but it's still a fresh discovery. Decades old, maybe. Everyone is still trying to figure out how the worlds fit together, and there's a lot of fear on both sides, but it's mostly working out.

Enforcers used to be the protectors of the pack, but now they're protectors of the supernatural community in general.

I toyed with the idea of the Enforcers being an official branch of law enforcement, but if we're leaning towards criminal!Bucky, then it would definitely have to be unofficial.

Or maybe the Enforcers are official and Bucky is the guy they call when their hands are tied.

Either way, when something goes down and a parahuman is involved, the Enforcers get called in.

It's one such call that changes everything.

Bucky arrives at a desolate, abandoned warehouse. Bright lights from the ambulances, cop cars, firetrucks--they flash in the rain, a beacon of trouble for some, a port in the storm for others.

A steady line of hunched figures climb into the waiting ambulances. All of them are human, though, and so not his problem.

An Enforcer approaches the caution tape where Bucky stands waiting. He lifts it, stepping aside for Bucky to duck under.

"This way," he says softly.

For humans, the words would've been lost in the rain. Not for them.

Bucky follows him into the warehouse. He abandons his umbrella by the door and keeps walking.

The inside of the warehouse is exactly as he would expect. Dust and debris everywhere, cobwebs and shadows that might move if you looked too long. It's not the look of the place that gives Bucky pause, though; it's the feel.

He's been in many abandoned places, many warehouses. None felt like this. There's a weight to the air, a stillness that threatens to suffocate anyone stupid enough to linger. There are ghosts here, and not necessarily of the supernatural kind.

A gigantic hole takes up most of the center of the warehouse. There's a few ladders scattering its edges and some sort of pulley system, as if the idea is to get as many people out at once time as possible.

There are less humans inside the warehouse, but still enough. They glance sideways at the Enforcer, and then at Bucky, and if the rain outside didn't hide the Enforcer's words, it's muffled pattern on the roof definitely doesn't hide the trip and gallop of their heartbeats.

The Enforcer doesn't lead him to the hole or to any of the ladders. Instead they take the stairs. They're at the back of the building, and as soon as Bucky steps onto them, he understands why that isn't the evacuation point. These stairs wouldn't be able to handle that much weight at one time.

They're old, rusted and just as dusty as everything else, sand falling to the floor below with every shaky step they take.

When Bucky reaches the bottom, he has to stop and steady himself. The atmosphere down here is somehow worse. The scent is acrid, cloying.

It stinks of waste, but the other scents are worse. The salt of tears, the taste of desperation. Pain. Anger. Fear.

Isolation, hunger, loneliness--those things don't have a proper scent. Scenting them out takes context clues, pairing the general scent of someone's unhappiness with body language, behavior.

Bucky knows he can't scent them, but somehow, somehow, he's sure that he does, anyways.

"I know," the Enforce intones grimly, and nods his head towards a hallway on Bucky's left.

There are cages.

They might have been rooms, once. Offices, laboratories, who knows. But someone's taken the doors off the frames and replaced them with bars.

No one is in them, anymore. They've all been unlocked, opened, the prisoners set free. At the end of the hall, there's a crowd of humans. They're just standing there, motionless. Onlookers to something, something that has them smelling fearful and heartbroken at the same time.

Bucky hears the hissing before he sees what the spectacle is.

The crowd of humans part, making way for them. Hugging the wall so there's no chance of accidental brushes. Humans are a superstitious lot, and somewhere in the past years, they've gotten in their heads that a wolf can't take your scent--can't track you--as long as you don't get close enough.

It's bullshit, but Bucky's not in the business of educating humans. And especially not here, not now.

Not when he moves past them and the spectacle that held them captive now takes hold of him.

Omegas. Two of them. Pale and rangy, covered in dirt and grime, torn clothes and fearful scents, but very clearly Omegas.

One of them sits with his back against the wall of their cage, his knees pulled to his chest, bright blue eyes peeking over their horizon. He's so still, so quiet, even his heartbeat seems quiet. It's as if all he wants is to melt into the wall and disappear. Be invisible.

The other is the opposite. He stands between of his companion and the gathered crowd, teeth bared and eyes blowing amber. He prowls the length of the cage in a way that's more animal than human, and it's clear with every movement that he makes that he's ready for a fight. Not just ready--he wants it.

He's the source of the hissing. It's wrong, on a fundamental level. Wolves don't hiss. It's as if his vocal cords are half-shifted themselves, unsure of where to go, and this is the result.

Bucky can hear the little grumble of a growl every once in a while, but it retreats quickly.

There's no humanity in his eyes. Only the fear and rage of a caged, abused animal.

He's feral, or close to it, and that thought has acid rising in Bucky's throat. A Omega in a place like this is the worst kind of transgression, but one that's turned feral because of it is a shame the world might never recover from.

There's blood is in the air. Fresh blood.

When the prowler turns to continue his march back across the room, Bucky spies the source. A wound on his leg, trickling down his calf. It isn't the only source, though.

Scenting the differences in blood in a confined space like this takes practice, but it's possible. If he concentrates, Bucky can detect two separate blood scents. Both of the Omegas are bleeding, but Bucky can't see the source on the Omega on the floor.

"They're injured," the Enforcer murmurs at this side, unnecessarily. "But we can't get in. When we try, that one raises hell."

The prowler, obviously.

"I thought I was making headway," he continues. "I thought he was gonna let me close, but then he saw..."

The Enforcer grimaces, holding up his bared forearm. He's a bitten wolf, turned months before. The scars from his attack are more faded than they would be on a human, but they stand out in stark contrast against his tanned skin. Jagged, silvery lines from a clawing, and the half moon imprint of a bite.

"He went ballistic when he saw it."

Bucky tilts his head, flicking his gaze between the scars to the prowling Omega. The Omega hisses again, spitting on the floor, his derision palpable.

He isn't certain, but Bucky thinks he understands.

"They don't trust humans," he murmurs. And then, as an afterthought, he added, "Clear the room."

It's more of a hallway than a room, but they get the idea. The humans grumble at being kicked off even a portion of their own crime scene, but they oblige. The Enforcer goes with them, because while not actually human, the bite damns him as being born one. It shouldn't matter, and usually, it doesn't. But it matters here, now, to these Omegas, and their opinion is more important than his own.

When it's just the three of them--Bucky and the two Omegas, separated only by iron bars--he takes off his jacket and folds it over his arm and then, to the bewilderment to both Omegas, he sits on the dusty floor.

He leans back against the wall opposite of the bars, as far away as he can get. It's not far, of course. When he stretches out his legs, he's only a foot away from touching metal with his shoes.

The prowling Omega pauses, his hissing dying out. He wavers, disoriented and confused.

"You're both injured," Bucky says calmly. "I'd like to see to that, but not until you're ready."

The blood scent isn't overpowering; neither of them are in danger of bleeding out. It's more important to earn their trust right now.

The prowler, unsure of what to do, lurches back into his pacing. He isn't vocally warning Bucky away anymore, but his body language still does.

Bucky focuses on the silent Omega. He tilts his head, meeting his bright eyes--the only part of his face that can currently be seen.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he promises. "You don't know me, but I'm an Alpha. I won't let anyone else hurt you. Not while I'm here."

The prowler stops again. It was that word--Alpha. They both know what it means.

There's nothing more sacred to an Alpha than an Omega. Wolves as a whole covet them, cherish them. But to Alphas, they are holy.

Bucky had hoped it would mean something to these two Omegas, that it might mean safety, and he's gratified that he isn't completely wrong. Slowly, so as not to startle either of them, he tosses his jacket in front of the bars.

"Go on," he says. "Take my scent."

The prowler snatches it through the bars, darting forward and away almost too quickly to follow. The fabric rips, caught on a nail, but Bucky isn't bothered. He'd rip a thousand jackets for an Omega's safety.

The prowler takes it to his companion, kneeling down beside him. The silent Omega takes a sleeve between slender fingers and buries his nose in it, breathing deeply enough that Bucky can hear it. After several long seconds, he offers it up to his companion, encouraging him to take the scent, too.

The prowler does, but it's clear he's reluctant. After scenting the jacket, the protector grumbles wordlessly, knocking his forehead into the blue-eyed Omega's. A tiny little smile answers the gesture.

It's only a few seconds of interaction, but enough to show the dynamic between them. The prowler is the protector, of course. Fierce and vigilant, a sentinel in the night. He defers to the blue-eyed Omega, though. It's obvious in the slump of his shoulder, the way he plops down on his ass with a huff.

They both look toward Bucky at the same time, and a thousand things are said in the silence between them.

Please don't hurt us, the blue-eyed Omega seems to say.

His companion's glare is more direct: Try to hurt him and I'll claw your eyes out.

After a moment, the prowler dips his chin once. It's barely perceptible, and hardly a nod at all, but Bucky was looking for it and he understands it for what it is.

Carefully, he stands and dusts off his slacks.

"Let's get you two out of there, hm?"

[pawsebs]

Hello! I saw your listing and was wondering if I could request for an Enid and Wednesday (seperate, if possible) x gn! reader fic where the reader is just really flirty but they flirt back one day and reader is just super flustered? It's my first time requesting so do tell if this request makes you uncomfortable;;

Moon Anon 🌙

©FLIRTY TALKERS.

masterlist | . . .

─ ★ pairings ,

enid sinclair x gn! reader ,, wednesday addams x gn! reader

genre : fluff

type : drabble

requested : yes / no

warnings : possibly bad flirting ( ? )

a/n , hi ! this will NEVER make me feel uncomfortable dw !! so sorry if I turned them into drabbles instead and you are HONOURED to be my first anon :,) ♡

enid & wednesday flirting back with you

★ ENID SINCLAIR.

You had just gotten back from walking around Nevermore Academy. It was your first time here ever since your best friend, Enid Sinclair, had managed to convince you to join Nevermore Academy. You couldn't have been more happier when the school accepted you. You were the same kind as Enid, and that's what made you both similar to each other since you both share the same problems as well.

You had also made a special request to the school to change your dorm to be with Enid because you and your old roomate couldn't be together since you both always quarrelled about each other and that you couldn't get along with her. Enid's roommate, Wednesday, had to move to another dorm which she gladly accepted since she couldn't stand Enid's eagerness everyday and needed a quiet room to stay. Once you settled in your new dorm, Enid started to ask about how you've been and other things about life. "So, have you met a new boy/girl? You seem to alwayss have a different partner when I can be the one standing here and waiting for you, you know?", Enid questioned while doing a cheesy wink at you ;). You were surprised to say, you didn't expect her to be suddenly flirting with you.

It was so unexpected that you had stood there looking stunned or that you looked like you just got struck by cupid. You slowly started blushing like a little fangirl that admires big teen boys except that it was Enid, your best friend. Your heart had skipped a beat as you stared at the floor. Had you been liking her for awhile and didn't realize or was this a bisexual attack ?? Enid suddenly went closer to you and waved her hand infront of your eyes to snap you from staring off to space. You looked up at her and gave her a smile that signified a embarassed and awkward look. You avoided her gaze and said nothing. "She probably knew what I've just thought.", you thought to yourself. What a embarassing first day afterall..

★ WEDNESDAY ADDAMS.

Wednesday was a very quiet and cold girl. To others, she looked like she was going to stare into their souls while to you, she looked like a caring girlfriend- I mean, "close friend" to you. She wasn't the same to others as she was with you, you only get to see the good side of her. Yes, she was sarcastic with her dark humor sometimes but you were the only one who was okay with it and still continued the friendship. You both only had each other since others did not want to approach you because of your close relationship with Wednesday.

Everyone thought that you two could be dating at some point but soon dropped it since you both had different energy. Well, you thought that the both of you had the vibe of "golden retriever and black cat" which suited you and Wednesday. Surprised to say, but you and Wednesday had become an unofficial couple. You both have not came out to the whole school yet as people would look down on you even more. So far in this relationship, you were the sweet talker while Wednesday had a really dry humor or dark humor, as said earlier.

Never had you took Wednesday as a flirty talker until today. You were just casually flirting with her with those cheesy bad pick up lines to annoy her further. She took it seriously and decided to surprise you by doing the same. "Since you said those very bad pick-up lines, why don't you do something better like take me out somewhere? ", Wednesday replied while smirking just a littlee bit at you. You gasped in surprise, not expecting her to say that. You grew flustered from even the teeniest, tiniest flirty line from your girlfriend. You started wondering to yourself and thought "Why not??" as you started dragging your girlfriend out of her dorm and started searching for a coffee place nearby...

©-spzdrboy. 2023

[radiant-reid]

🐳🦖

😘😘😘

is this forced proximity ? i don't really know, but, in my biased opinion, it's cute

🐳 Dad!spence 🦖 forced proximity

Coming home to a house in slight disarray was something you'd learned to expect years ago. With four Reid children, your house always had something out of place. Whether there were toys on the floor, homework on the dining room table, or soccer cleats not put away, there was something messy.

When Cleo was born, Spencer struggled to come to terms with how much stuff came with a baby. Three babies later, the mess hadn't lessened. But the chaos was what you had made together, and you both loved it.

After a busy day at work, you unlocked the front door, stepped into the warm house, and took your coat and scarf off. Once you left your bag in the office, you followed the noise up the stairs of the townhouse until you found the four kids sitting around the kitchen island and Spencer cooking.

You held a finger to your lips, instructing them to be quiet while you snuck up on Spencer. He definitely knew from the little giggles coming from Maisie, and the way Zara clamped her hand over her little sister's mouth.

Still, when you touched his shoulder, Spencer pretended to jump in fright, and all four of them burst into giggles. "Hi, Mrs. Reid." He greeted you, wrapping one arm around your waist and pulling you closer to him.

"Hi." You replied, tiptoeing up to place a kiss on his lips.

"Ew!" The kids clamored, all pulling the same disgusted face when you pull away.

Spencer shook his head with a laugh, looking back to you before raising his eyebrows and you didn't have to ask to know what he was thinking. All you did was wrap your arms around his neck while he cupped your cheeks and kissed you as dramatically as possible, tipping you backward and keeping his lips on yours for as long as possible.

The whines of protest made you both laugh at them. "Oh, I forgot you were here." You joked, earning some confused looks as you pull away from Spencer and walk around to kiss each of their foreheads. "How was your day?" You asked all of them.

There were excited comments from all of them, but something Cleo said stuck out. "We've got a surprise for later on." It earned her shushing from the rest of her siblings, who weren't happy she jeopardized the secret.

Suspiciously, you look up at Spencer with your eyebrows furrowed. At 7, Cleo didn't get things confused like the twins did. Spencer just shook his head, not giving up the secret. "And what's for dinner?" You asked instead.

"Spaghetti got the most votes." He answered like there had been a serious vote. "And it's ready, munchkins, so sit up at the table." He instructed and they swiftly moved to sit at their unofficial assigned seats.

Family dinners were something you adored. You knew that as they got older and started staying with friends, participating in hobbies, getting jobs, and eventually leaving home, the dinner table at the Reid house wouldn't be set for 6 people. It saddened you, but you made the most of them while your kids were still babies. It might have been your biased opinion but not only were they cute, they were also hilarious.

Once dinner was over and everything had been cleaned up, you went to get changed and ready for their surprise. The first thing you noticed in your room was that the blanket was missing, but you shook it off and made your way back out to the kitchen with pajamas on.

"Mommy, close your eyes." Zara insisted, surrounded by her siblings all sporting matching grins.

"Okay." You agreed, placing your hands over your eyes.

You knew Spencer was behind you before you spoke, from the warmth of his body and the smell of his cologne. "She'll cheat if you let her do that." He told them, causing you to turn around and scoff. With one hand on your waist, he spun you back around to face them and placed the other hand over your eyes. "Mace, Mais, you take her hands and guide her." He instructed Mason and Maisie, the twins.

They each grabbed one of your hands and pulled you in what you thought was the direction of the living room. "Can I look now?" You asked when everyone finally stopped walking.

"What do you guys think?" Spencer asked them, big palm still over your eyes. He must have earned four silent nods because he pulled his palm away and you came face to face with a massive blanket fort, taking up all the room between the couches and floor.

"Wow! Did you guys do all of this?" You asked in shock, looking at their wide grins. They were lucky their dad was an engineer because the fort not only looked impressive, but it also looked structurally sound.

"And we get to sleep in it," Mason told you. "Daddy said."

You looked to Spencer who was standing by his decision with a faux firmness. "I guess we just have to then." You decided. "But you need to show me where I'm going to sleep first."

"Daddy and you have to sleep on the floor," Cleo informed you, pointing out the different areas. "Zee and Mais are sleeping on one couch and me and Mace on the other."

"And we get to watch a movie," Maisie added, bouncing up and down with excitement.

After two movies, impressively, all of them were asleep, and you figured it was because Spencer took them out to the park to run them around.

When you turned back to look at him, he was already looking at you. "Hi." He whispered, brushing a strand of hair out of your face softly.

"Hi." You replied, reaching out to rest your palm against his cheeks. Over the years, he'd grown into his features and you loved them all the same. "You're so pretty."

"Mm, I think you're the pretty one," Spencer disagreed, inching his face closer so your noses were touching. "I love you, you know? Like so much."

You smiled widely at him, mumbling your reply. "I love you, too."

"We've got to sleep now, though, because I also promised breakfast tomorrow." He sheepishly mentioned, biting down on his lip.

"Hey, it's not me that's going to be making it." You joked, earning a smirk from him. "But I want a kiss first."

Spencer pulled you closer to him, so close that you were basically laying on top of him. He leaned up and placed a soft kiss on your lips before pulling back and kissing you again. Your arms wrapped tighter around him and you pulled the blanket tighter over the two of you before falling asleep together in the blanket fort made by your amazing kids.

[tanoraqui]

☔for the fic ask game!

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

There is in my heart a canon divergence fic, maybe proper narrative maybe just bullet points, which I have functionally written out as much as I ever will below this cut, in which:

Shortly before the Fall of Númenor and more importantly the Changing of the World, Finrod has a Prophecy of what's coming

He tells Celechwes, who says, "Oh, I...am not okay with it. I didn't plan to go back, but if I can't? If the road truly, utterly only goes one way? That's- that's not okay. I can't, I won't live like that."

So Celechwes goes and talks to some people (quietly, unofficially), who talk to some other people (quietly, unofficially)...

She ends up leading a small fleet that sets out from a southern port just a few days before the Númenoreans are expected to land in the north (fully aiming to avoid the Men). it's about half veterans of Beleriand who have never felt like they fit in on Aman (45% Fëanorians but many close followers of Fingon and more non-Noldor), a quarter elves from other places who don't want to be cut off forever from what was once home, and a quarter Aman-born elves who've grown up on stories of mortal lands and who feel a little restless in the Land of Bliss.

(Finrod joins at the last moment. Amarië found him sitting on a balcony overlooking Valmar and sadly playing the song he once played as the Beorlings woke to see their first shining elf-lord, and she said, "Findaráto Ingoldo, Finrod Felagund Adanil, I will not willingly part from you again - but nor do I want to arrive in the lands across the sea only for war a second time, too late to see all their storied beauty. Also, you know Mingoneth* convinced Veryawendë* to join the fleet, right? Can you imagine how much trouble they'll get into with only Celechwes for supervision?" And he looked up, and saw that she'd packed both their long-distance travel bags.) *OCs, see: "Of the Golden Horde"

(By then, Rawen Ectheliel, once Lieutenant Right Hand of Himring, had already apologized to her wife - who thought they were done with this sort of thing - and followed her lady aboard. She IS done with this sort of thing (ie, rebellion; the House of Fëanor...as it became). But she lost Himring; she couldn't abide herself if she let ill fate befall Celechwes as well.)

The thing about being on at sea when the world abruptly turns from flat into a globe, sailing from a continent that is no longer on said globe, is that you get EXTREMELY turned around and lost. And, frankly, split up as a fleet.

[Cue: several-decades-long montage of several hundred elves - about half hardened (relaxed, but still hardened) war veterans, a quarter friendly nature people just trying to get home, and a quarter kids (in the eyes of all the rest) who have never met a real mortal before - scattered throughout the new southern hemisphere in ones and twos and a few coherent shiploads, trying to find each other and - for most - make their way north toward the lands and people that they know best.]

(If they happen to arrive in time to help beat the ever-loving shit out of Sauron, that's not, like, a drawback for anyone.)

Adventures are had! Hardened war veterans process trauma and old grudges (and sometimes get new ones). People re-find old homes and settle down once more, or realize that either home or they have changed and continue onward with their new companions. Kids grow up.

After a number of sidequests and other delays - flooding rivers, saving an innocent forest from an encroaching swarm of giant spiders, saving a small country from a neighboring evil king influenced by fell whispers from the depths below his castle... It occurs to some of them that all these delays might not be coincidence. They haven't received any official penalties from the Valar for their, er, polite but overt defiance of if not the letter than certainly the spirit of several laws, but...

"I think we are being made Agents of Good," Amarië said thoughtfully. "I think the price of being here is that we must lend a hand where it is needed, where the Great Ones fear to tread for their touch is not...'delicate'...at the best of times."

Celechwes did not like being used without her permission. But, fallen Beleriand never forgotten, she couldn't fault Amarië's analysis.

"I think we should try leaning into it," Finrod suggested. "They'll see that we're here in good faith, and no doubt speed our journey to where our hearts most yearn to go."

(The nearby stream blooped encouragingly, because Ulmo had been explicitly forbidden from giving explicit messages again.)

A few nights later, a local Mannish hunter approached their camp. Emphasis, perhaps, on Man-ish. Her eyes were the blue of a northern wolf-dog. She asked for help scouring the nearby mountains of a dark cult.

[cue: several more decades of montaged adventures. the local folk legends will be rich for generations]

They do arrive in the north just in time to help kick Sauron's fucking ass. Though not early enough to avert the tragedy of the Battle of Dagorlad, they learn later. But before the final, would-be pyrrhic victory; when the soldiers of the Last Alliance are marching into Mordor proper.

Galadriel is the first to know - she's aiding in a healing tent on the foul northern border, ready to ride in a second wave or to hold firm any retreat, when a mind touches her which she hadn't expected to feel again ere either the remaking of the world or her own death and rebirth (for she still had no intention of Sailing.)

Alatariel! her eldest brother calls. How goes the day? I've missed you, of course! Also, do you have a recommendation for where best to land 500 assorted elves, men and cavalry mounts coming up from the south, that we may swiftly come to whatever aid you all need?

A day later, a small host stood at the crest of the path past retaken Minas Ithil, looking out over the shadowed plains of Mordor. All before them was bloodied and embattled: Men fought Men, Elves fought Orcs, eagles and other goodly birds clashed in midair with giant bats and scrawny but deadly petty firedrakes. The very earth groaned in pain beneath the enemy's chains. And far in the distance, near the foot of a fire-spitting mountain, two star-studded banners - one white on black above a white tree, one silver stars on a blue field - approached a red eye on black.

At the head of the bannerless Host of the Returned, Rawen - generally elected battle-leader - raised her blade. Celechwes put a hand on her arm. "Do not call 'Súlaearil.' It's embarrassing. Don't do it." "My lady," Rawen protested, with her particular intonation that made it clear she was saying 'your majesty.' "No," Celechwes said firmly. "'Finwë and the North'?" suggested the elf on Rawen's other side, once third in command of Fingon's Dragon-frighters. "Can't go wrong with that," agreed Finrod, a little further down the line. Rawen sighed. Her blade, which had sagged a little, she raised straight again, then pointed forward with that battle-cry that had long united the great Siege-line of the Noldor: "Finwë and the North!"

"FINWË AND THE NORTH!" roared the Host of the Returned - all hardened veterans by now, though less brittle in it than some had begun. The fiery-faithful of Himring and the valorous of Barad Eithel, the quick of Ossiriand and the cunning of Nargothrond and the devoted of Doriath, the bold and restless of Aman and those who loved Middle Earth so dearly that they could do naught but defend it; slayers of orcs and spiders and feller beasts, saviors of lands besieged and heroes of legend, swept down from the heights to descend upon Sauron's unsuspecting eastern flank.

Ahead of them all streaked a single swift rider, blond hair streaming in the wind of her passage. Her mount was a prong-horned antelope from the plains far to the south, faster than any cavalry horse (and not usually suited to riding, but blue-eyed Alatar had whispered it some encouragement before they'd parted).

They leapt the first line of the enemy, hastily reassembling itself to meet this unexpected new foe. They jerked and dodged and ducked through the others, as behind them the battle lines slammed together. Jagged orcish blades came at her, and the sharp iron of men enraptured or enslaved to the dark, but mostly in passing - they didn't have time for a single rider driving through with no weapons of her own, her only goal the bright silver-on-blue star in the distance.

Eventually a pair of clever firedrakes managed to herd them up one of the low, ragged cliffs that spurted up here and there on the barren land. Celechwes rolled off her antelope to avoid a stream of fire and ran the other way without hesitation - the quick, clever creature would get to safety far more ably with no heavy elf on its back. Without, slowing, she sprinted off the edge of the cliff.

She'd planned to tuck and roll to the bottom, then pick herself up and keep running. The land ahead was clear for a few miles, save for the pits. Instead, great, sharp talons grasped her gently, and (non-specifically) familiar wings beat around her, with a screech that echoed in her bones.

She laughed as one Great Eagle dropped her carefully toward another. With a sailor's grace she landed with both feet on its broad, shifting back, and returned a joyous screech of challenge into the racing wind.

Below and ahead (though less far with every wingbeat), Ereinion Gil-galad looked up. Eagles had been screaming for battle all day, all month, but for a moment he could've sworn -

Celechwes's eagle dove to avoid a vampire. She dropped her knees and gripped its feathers tightly, and thanked the stars that she wasn't trying to do this while keeping someone from bleeding out from the wrist.

As they dove toward the volcano and the forces advancing against one another there, she eagle-shrieked again, in greeting this time, and shouted, "Erein, hold your position! Re-enforcements are coming!"

Even - nay, especially the High King of the Noldor in Middle Earth knew better than to question the finest royal courier in Beleriand, much less his mother the queen. "Hold!" Gil-galad bellowed over the clash of blades.

Celechwes circled back up, looking back across the field. But Sauron, too, had heard her message, and knew a victory when it was about to slip from his grasp. Mighty and fell, he strode forward toward the banners of Gil-galad and Elendil, and the kings of Elves and Men.

In swift, vicious, terrible combat they were soon joined, Sauron with his dark, burning blade and Gil-galad with bright Aeglos and Elendil with shining Narsil. Likely, at best, all would have been slain -

But Celechwes hadn't been the only one of her host riding hard across the dark plains, dallying with no enemy save the greatest foe. She was only (as ever) the fastest.

"HEY, GORTHAUR!" yelled Finrod Felagund, with a particular intonation that made it clear he was saying, Hey, motherfucker! "I CALL REMATCH!"

And this time, as he raised his voice in a Song of trust unbroken and faith fulfilled, of Sea and sand and second chances, Amarië of the Vanyar Sang with him, their souls entwined, she who had learned to Sing from Maiar on the slope of Ezollohar where stood the Trees; and with them also Sang their daughter Veryawendë Tinúviel, named by prophecy from both parents, fated to be a bright melody in darkness and a great change in the world, and this was not her time but still the Great Music swirled thick around her; and you bet your ass Galadriel had also ridden down from the north to join as fast as she was able -

The last time Galadriel and Amarië joined their voices in powerful harmony had been the final duel between Morgoth and Finarfin, Anairë, and the last of the Host of the Noldor. With Sauron's power reflected and redoubled unto himself through his terrible Ring, this duel was no less hard-won, but it was very definitively won. They even prevented him from erupting the volcano as a final spiteful blow.

"We should destroy the Ring," Gil-galad said at the end, exhausted, bloody, and leaning on Elrond for support. Isildur eyed it - shining golden on Sauron's cut-off black hand - with battle-fire lingering in his grey eyes. "I would rather claim it as weregild, for Anarion - " "For the love of - " said Celechwes, dismounted now that the worst of the battle was over (though there was a great deal of mopping-up to do, of orcs, corrupted men and etc.) "Is this still the Noldorin influence?" she demanded, of nobody in particular. "Or is it a new Edainic thing? No, I suppose Thingol fell to it in the end, too - is it being inland? Do you not spend enough time near the sea, and that's why you're constantly obsessed with cursed jewelry? Here, I'll do it - don't go anywhere, Erein; I'll be right back."

She shucked off her leather hauberk to use as a glove, picked up Sauron's still coal-hot black hand, and sprinted up the volcano slope before anyone else could say a word.

"...I'm really sorry," Elendil said into the relative quiet that followed, "I think I know who you are, my lord - " he bowed toward Finrod, as best he could while leaning bloody and exhausted on Isildur - "and Lady Galadriel, I'm so glad you caught up with us. But I'm not sure about any of these other ladies who have come to our rescue? Including that one?" He jerked his head toward the bright-haired figure already halfway up Oroduin's rocky slope, with the air of a man wondering if he should call for soldiers to chase after her.

"That's my mother," said Gil-galad.

"Ah," said Elendil and Isildur, with perfect understanding. They, too, had mothers.

The Forge of Sauron rumbled ominously, shuddered and spat out first sparks, then sprays of lava. Celechwes, briefly out of sight in the cavern near the top, sprinted back down ahead of the molten rock, empty handed.

"Everyone move!" she shouted. "Should've evacuated first! Go, go, go!"

And then everyone lived happily after - though a lot of them probably did Sail not long thereafter, including most of the Host of the Returned - including the Finrod, Amarië, and Veryawendë, though not bold-hearted Mingoneth, and Celechwes, and Gil-galad. Because they'd accomplished a Great Task and Aman is, actually, objectively more pleasant for Elves than most mortal lands (and Beleriand was still gone). The spiritual weather is just so much better. Everyone stuck around to see Elrond and Celebrian get married, though, and to meet their kids and see Gondor and the Greenwood both regain their feet.

With no Gil-galad to come and sort out several conflicting emotions about his parents, Fingon does stay in Mandos, keeping Maedhros company for longer...but not too much longer. There weren't many casualties among the Host of the Returned, but Rawen Ectheliel was among them (her last thought is that her wife is going to be really, truly, perhaps irrevocably disappointed). She manages to find them before she leaves, the memory of Thangorodrim which Maedhros has made to hang from in his self-pity, self-loathing and twisted self-aggrandizement, where Fingon sits by his feet out of loyalty, devotion, stubbornness, pride and fear; and she gives their behavior such a scathing review that Fingon actually pulls his shit together a few years later and tentatively leaves, and Maedhros pulls one of his hands out of the chains.

[putschki1969]

hi puts. till today i still think its strange that Hikaru and YK personal Twitter can follow hundreds of other people but not Wakana. i understand their situation but not even a follow really? am i reading too much into it? it makes me have bad thoughts about their friendship. sometimes i feel down because of that. feel like i can never be at peace until i know the answer. am i just being ridiculous? they are still friends 100% surely right? im just thinking too much right?

Hello there!

I would like to preface my answer with a little advice. This may sound a tad hypocritical but believe me when I say that it is not at all healthy to be this invested in public figures and the things they choose to share with us. I fully understand the desire to get more insight but please don't make your happiness and peace of mind contingent on something that is so completely out of our control.

As for your question: It's very important to never underestimate the avoidant nature of Japanese culture. There is no such thing as confrontation or open discussion. Anything that has the potential for conflict will be ignored and swept under the rug. I was never one of the conspiracy theorists who believed that there was a huge amount of drama or hostility involved in the whole situation but Yuki's departure from Space Craft and the subsequent breakup of Kalafina undoubtedly caused some trouble. Things most definitely didn't go down as smoothly as they could have, money was lost, plans were thwarted and the fragile sensibilities of old men were offended. That leaves the involved parties with only one choice. Save face by ignoring the hell out of each other. These are unspoken rules and people are expected to follow them. The fact that Wakana is still under contract with the agency that everyone else has left, practically makes it impossible for her to openly interact with the others. While the others may not be under strict orders, they would still abide by these rules and keep a low profile. This whole act of ignoring each other also applies to presumably private accounts. In 98% of cases, "personal" social media accounts of public figures aren't as personal as you might think. They are still under the supervision of a management and may even be controlled by them to a certain extent. So even though the accounts are occasionally used for private stuff, they are still considered official outlets for work promotion etc.

There are exceptions of course. On multiple occasions they have talked fondly of each other in unofficial closed-off settings (the most prominent example being Keiko's Instagram Lives). Yes, it's bread crumbs but as long as they continue doing that, I see no reason to assume that they have had a falling out. I cannot offer you anything else but I hope I was able to ease your worries a bit.

[fromriches-tosin]

Honestly I loved how much develompent Reijean got in the last arc, to the point it felt like their characters arcs were made for each other in a way. But one thing i DO would have liked to see was if the story had acknowledged that the only reason Reiner survived Shinagami was cause Jean didn't want him to die. He even manipulated Hange despite it going against "the best of humanity". Maybe Hange outright ordering Jean before their assault of Marley "do NOT make contact with Reiner if he appears" cause they know the bias Jean has with him, or Reiner thinking about, or something like that

Yes to all of the above.

As a person who has shipped Jean and Reiner since the Battle of Trost, I sometimes wonder if all the parallels between them were a result of pure coincidence or Isayama's meticulous planning. In S1 we get to see Jean and Reiner as people with different ideals and deliciously contrasting energies (that complement each other oh-so well), who suddenly develop mutual respect for one another while (unknowingly to us) remaining on opposite sides of the war: Jean – the unofficial leader of the 104th Cadet Crops, and Reiner – the leader of the Warriors.

Reiner is saved by Marcel only for Marcel to die tragically. Jean is saved by Marco only for him to perish, too. Both Jean and Reiner incorporate their deceased friends' personalities into their own, trying to live up to whatever expectations they might have had of them. The paths they take are different, but as we can see in S4, they still arrive at the same conclusion. The fact that we learn about Reiner's involvement in Marco's death mere minutes before Jean saves his life in Shiganshina is heartbreaking, but also shows how much these two characters keep orbiting each other the entire time.

I have the impression Jean might have been ordered to stay away from Reiner in Marley for the exact same reasons you mentioned. At the end of S3 we see Jean sticking close to Hange, clearly trying to make amends and acting all professional. In Marley he's all over the place, keeping everyone in line and following his orders, not his heart (even when he has to shoot a child). He might have used different methods, but Reiner was doing the exact same thing in Trost. He was following his orders, not his heart.

To a great extent, Jean's storyline is about forgiveness, giving second chances and trying to do the right thing when most of us wouldn't even bother to try. Reiner's storyline is about a fall from grace and about seeking forgiveness he doesn't even believe he deserves. Jean gives Reiner the push he needs to keep on fighting, but at the same time he finally allows himself to let go of his grief and start living for himself. What happened between Jean and Reiner in Shiganshina was crucial to their entire relationship, and I would definitely like for it to have been explored further, but I'm still quite satisfied with what we got.

[tinkabelle24]

To Build a Home

Chapter 9: Gilmore Girls

TW! No trigger warnings.

Masterlist / Chapter 8

---

Since their first (unofficial) training session, Val and Raph rarely had many spectators. Mikey visited mostly, which was nice. Unlike the others, he didn't simply stand around and quietly watch.

He was Val's cheerleader, breaking into applause whenever she successfully dodged a strike or landed one of her own. It always made her laugh, subsequently breaking her concentration. Raph would give her a stern look but usually kept quiet; the commentary had the added benefit of making training infinitely less awkward for them.

Seldom had Donnie or Leo entered the Dojo during this time. Donnie, she understood; he worked about as much as she did, so she rarely saw him out and about in general. Though she managed to catch him for a few quick chats here and there in the past couple weeks.

On one of his nights off, he invited her into his lab to check out his hydroponic garden (Raph must've told him she liked plants). She was amazed. Her little hobby garden paled in comparison to his set up. An entire wall had been dedicated to dozens of various fruits, vegetables, herbs...

After explaining to her how his system worked, he proceeded timorously apologising for his part in invading her privacy.

"I understand," Val reassured with a gentle nudge. "Don't stress."

They've since bonded over their shared interest, through the exchanging of ideas and produce. Val had little to offer in the latter department, so she often bartered a batch of cookies or brownies for a bag of stuff she didn't have.

Leo was a more complicated story. Val could tell he was putting in the effort to help her feel welcome, which was appreciated. Instead of the stiff nod, the blue-banded terrapin now greeted her with a smile and an offer to brew her favourite tea. She wasn't expecting him to memorise it that night, but he had. It was a nice gesture.

Despite this, she still felt rather distant from him. Their conversations were often brief and consisted primarily of small talk (e.g., How've you been? What have you been up to? It's getting warm out there, etc.), which was fine... She'd been attempting to facilitate a deeper connection but, once the tea was set in front of her, he always claimed to have somewhere else to be.

It was nearly always the same place. When Val finally enquired about it, Donnie told her it was where their father spent most of his time. She only saw the blue-banded terrapin for maybe five- ten minutes during each visit; the remainder of which he spent in that room, with the door closed.

"Let him be," Raph advised her, when he caught her gaze lingering over said door. "He likes bein' alone."

Something told her it was more complicated than that, but she didn't push it.

It wasn't just her he was like this with, either; there appeared to be varying levels of disconnect between Leo and his brothers, with Raph arguably bearing the shortest stick. The tension between the eldest brothers was palpable. They barely spoke to or acknowledged one another; whenever they did, it was likely to exchange snide remarks.

Though they were few and far between, heartfelt moments have occurred in the Hamato household; most memorably the time their father's favourite series rerun on television.

---

It was about a month ago.

After a particularly gruelling session, Val and Raph spent the remainder of the night glued to the sofa, mindlessly flipping through channels on the obnoxiously large plasma television. Nothing of interest was on so Raph eventually let whatever play, setting the remote down and closing his eyes.

Val's gaze drifted from the screen to his face, and she smiled. He'd reclined himself with his hands clasped together in his lap, bandana pulled over his eyes.

He looked so peaceful...and cute.

Raph must've sensed her gaze as a smirk suddenly appeared on his lips. "You're staring."

Startled and embarrassed, Val's initial thought was to deflect. Ultimately, she decided to pluck up what little dignity she had left and run with it.

"I was just about to ask where you put your slippers - grandpa."

At this, Raph repositioned his bandana and opened his eyes. He shot her a playful glare, and she grinned back at him. He grabbed the nearest cushion and launched it at her; she smacked it away with a laugh.

"Get a room, you two!" Mikey teased as he strode past.

The pair shared a mischievous look, before Val snatched the same cushion off the floor and hurled it at the orange-banded terrapin. It missed, of course.

Mikey's expression fell mid-laugh; something behind her had captured his attention. An unfamiliar jingle filled Val's ears as she followed his gaze. As she turned, she found Raph sitting forward, staring intently at the television screen. She read the title - Gilmore Girls.

She'd heard of it. It didn't seem like the type of show she'd watch, so she never gave it the time of day. Raph and Mikey knew all about it though, it seemed.

As the (very early 2000s-esque) introduction montage played, Val felt a presence approach her from behind - it was Leo, bracing himself against the back of the sofa. Mikey climbed into the seat to her left and Donnie joined soon after, settling into the adjacent armchair.

All eyes were fixed on the screen.

About five minutes in, Val heard a sniffle to her right - it was Raph. Concerned, the brunette reached out to rub his shoulder. He stiffened for a moment under her touch, before finally turning to her with a tearful smile.

Her heart sank.

The hand promptly left his shoulder, moving down the length of his arm until it found his hand. She gave it a comforting squeeze.

He squeezed back.

Raph's gaze shifted upwards slightly, and Val followed it, finding Leo staring back at his brother. He held the closest thing to a smile she'd ever seen in Raph's presence, as he consoled a teary-eyed Mikey. Donnie, who was near tears himself, leaned forward to give the youngest brother's knee a comforting shake.

Val felt in the way. Giving Raph's hand one last squeeze, the brunette removed herself from between the brothers and into another seat.

"Remember how he used to call these 'stories'?" Donnie offered wistfully, attempting to lighten the mood.

Leo and Mikey chuckled; Raph eyed Val quizzically, who nodded to his brothers with a smile.

"Obsessed, he was," Leo murmured.

"That song is fire, though," Mikey chimed in, sitting up straight to expand his diaphragm. With one hand to his plastron, the orange-banded terrapin proceeded belting out the show's theme song.

🎵"If YoU'rE oUt On ThE rOaD, fEeLiNg LoNeLy AnD sO cOlD-"🎵

Raph groaned and threw his head back; Val laughed, Donnie covered his ears, and Leo playfully rolled his eyes.

Mikey continued, undeterred, until Raph clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Aw, yuck!" The red-banded terrapin whipped his hand away, before grabbing the back of Mikey's head and smearing what Val presumed to be saliva all over his face. "You're so disgusting! Here, have it back."

Mikey was eventually successful in wriggling out of Raph's grip, shoving his brother into the sofa as he did so. With a triumphant grin, he resumed strangling cats.

🎵"WhErE yOu LeAd, I wIlL fOlLoW, aNyWhErE tHaT yOu TeLl Me To-"🎵

"Alright, Mikey, that's enough," Leo interjected gently.

"Just cos you guys don't have my amazing voice."

"Yes, we're all devastated," Donnie deadpanned. "Are we gonna watch the rest of the show now, or what?"

Val didn't make it till the end of the episode. She only intended on resting her eyes, but she was exhausted, and the chair was so comfortable...

That was the first time she slept over.

She awoke at her usual time, on the largest sofa with a pillow and blanket. Raph was already up, eating breakfast; the others were presumably scattered about the Lair.

"Mornin', sleepin' beauty," the terrapin called across the room, as Val sat up to stretch and rub her eyes. "Coffee?"

"Please," she croaked, disoriented. "I fell asleep..."

"You did," he chuckled. "Arentcha glad I moved ya so ya didn't wake up with a crick in ya neck... Don't worry, I wasn't gonna let ya sleep in; I was just about to bring out the spray bottle."

"How thoughtful," she tittered, rolling her eyes, before offering a warm smile. "Thank you."

"D'ya know ya talk in ya sleep?" Raph grinned wickedly as he pulled out an extra mug.

Val gawked at him, the colour draining from her face. "You're joking... I don't- really?"

He said nothing; he merely continued grinning as he prepared her coffee.

"Raph," she urged. "What did I say?"

"Aw, I shouldn't; it was positively horrendous."

The harder she stared, the wider it grew.

"You're so full of shit," Val laughed, shaking her head.

---

Leo didn't want to make a habit out of using the truck, for fear of attracting the attention of a particular group of undesirables. So, for the past three weeks, they'd been using the sewer tunnels.

The smell all but disappeared once Val got used to it.

About halfway through their walk, Raph finally decided to offer context to last night's event. "Gilmore Girls was our dad's favourite show," he explained quietly. "We hadn't seen it since he passed, so it was a little... confronting."

The image of an older man geeking out over what was essentially a chic flick made the brunette's heart swell. "What was he like... i-if you don't mind my asking?"

"Strict," Raph chuckled softly. "Nah, he was good. He did everything he could to shape us into who we are today; even if it meant- watch ya step-"

Tugging her in by the waist, he steered Val around the stray faecal matter. Once they were clear, he let go. "...even if it meant kickin' our shells every once in a while..."

"T-thank you...” she murmured, fighting to keep the heat from rising to her cheeks. “Um... w-what was his name?"

"We called him Splintah."

"Was he- it sounds horrible, but... was he like you guys?"

"Nah, he was a rat... He used to be human though."

"Oh... Were you human, as well?"

"Nah, just regular ol' box turtles... We had a chance to become human once but, uh... we didn't... we didn't take it."

"Okay..." Val nodded thoughtfully. "Can I ask why?"

"There was a moment where we - well, Mikey and I, at least - considered it. It's hard, y'know, bein' isolated from the rest of the world..." The terrapin then heaved a wearied sigh and shrugged. "I guess I decided I wanted it for the wrong reasons..."

"What was that reason?"

"Acceptance," Raph answered solemnly. "I wanted to be able to go topside and do whatever, without worryin' about how people saw me. I wanted to stop feelin' so alone..." He then scoffed as he proceeded derisively imitating somebody else (Leo?). "But Raph, true acceptance only comes from within... Yeah, whatever. I don't care anymore..."

"Are you sure?" Val probed gently, unconvinced.

The terrapin glanced over at her; for or a split second his expression read 'no, I'm not', but it disappeared as quickly as it came. "Yeah," he replied quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine... Dad's passin's just brought up a few things I need'a work through."

Understood.

“Okay, well...” The brunette lowered her gaze as she mustered the courage to say what she wanted to say. “I know I’m only a spec in a sea full of people, but...” She offered Raph a gentle smile. “If it’s of any consolation – I accept you.”

He stared blankly for a moment, before a rather large smile spread across his lips. He quickly looked away.

“What, too corny?”

“Just a bit.”

They shared a small chuckle.

"How're things on your end?" Raph finally asked. "Heard anythin' else from your mom?"

"No, thank God," Val replied, shaking her head. "I've finally blocked her number; probably should've done that sooner, hey."

"I wouldn't be too hard on yourself; it's normal to want a good relationship with a parent."

"Yeah..."

"And your sister?"

For a time, Liv refused to respond to neither Val's calls or texts. It took intercepting her on her way home from school for her to finally acknowledge her eldest sister's existence.

Thankfully, Val didn't need to elaborate on the fight with their mother for Liv to forgive her; she was just happy to finally see her.

It'd been way too long...

"Yeah, we're good. She and Noah came to the apartment for the first time the other day; they both told me it needs some 'zhuzh'."

"It needs somethin'," Raph chuckled. "It looks as though nobody lives there."

"Hey, it's called 'minimalism'," Val retorted lightheartedly. "It's all the rage right now - you should get on it."

"Nah, I'm fine with bein' normal," he winked.

The pair finally made it to Val's street. Handing over the flashlight, Raph ascended the ladder to peak out the manhole cover, before removing it completely.

Val noted the change in placement of his hands as he hugged her goodbye. They'd always been along her shoulder blades; this time, they were at the small of her back. His grip felt firmer and lingered longer than usual.

It sent a shiver down her spine.

The brunette jerked her head back when her nose accidentally brushed against his cheek. "Sorry," she tittered nervously.

"S'alright..."

They locked eyes for what felt like a very long moment, before Raph abruptly turned away.

"You should, uh... you should get goin'; you'll be late for work..."

"Right," Val agreed, pushing a strand of hair behind her thrice-pierced ear. She offered him one last smile before returning the flashlight and heading for the ladder. "I'll see ya when I'm lookin' atcha."

"Yeah... seeya."

She turned up five minutes' late but, for the first time ever, she was in too much of a good mood to care.

---

Val readied her three-inch practice blade as Raph circled her like a starved animal, ready to pounce. Not once did he escape her gaze.

All the brothers were here together, along with April and Casey. Tyler was fast asleep in another room.

This was it. Finally, a chance for her to showcase two-months' worth of blood, sweat and tears. Hopefully she performed well enough to impress the masters of the craft.

"No breaks, no corrections; I'm just gonna keep comin' at ya until one of us yields... Ya ready?"

"Come on, then," Val beckoned. The longer they spend talking about it, the more anxious she'll become.

"Fine," Raph smirked, then proceeded stalking toward her.

Val's first objective: keep him from getting too close and/or disarming her. Should be easy enough... Right?

Yeah, no.

Raph had her almost immediately; snatching her knife-arm (seizing her weapon in the process) and yanking her into a reverse chokehold. He lightly pressed the tip of the 'blade' against her lower back.

A chill shot down Val's spine as he hissed into her ear. "You let me get too close."

Tossing the knife aside, the terrapin used the same hand to hold her neck in place. "Let's see if you can get out of a rear naked choke," he challenged.

Obviously, Raph wasn't utilising all his strength; just enough pressure to make it interesting.

"C'mon, Val!" She heard April shout.

The brunette obliged.

Chin down as far as it could go, Val buried the fingers of one hand between his arm and her throat, anchoring it down. Her other hand went to his behind her head, latching onto one of his fingers. She yanked it upwards over her head, securing it under her armpit.

Without skipping a beat, Val gripped Raph's other arm with both hands and jerked it down, breaking his hold. She twisted both his arms over one another as she spun out to face him, before releasing him to flee.

Cheers could be heard by their spectators, but Raph offered her little time to relish it; he'd already pocketed the knife and was ready to make his next move.

"You're in an alleyway," was all the terrapin needed to say for her to understand her next objective: keep him from brandishing the knife.

In an open area such as the Dojo, it would be smarter to put as much distance between herself and her attacker. But in close quarters...

Val lunged for the knife as Raph reached down, pinning the weapon to his side. After a brief struggle, the brunette was finally able to pry it from his grasp, sending it to the mat. She used her free hand to simultaneously press against his throat, to create distance between them.

As Val attempted pushing away to flee, Raph rushed forward, grabbing her by the throat and occiput. She dug her heels in, but it was no use; he pulled her toward him as he spun, forcing her off her feet and onto her back.

The position of his hands protected her head as she hit the ground.

The terrapin gave her an expectant look as he moved between her legs. Ignoring the heat blooming in her stomach, she prepared herself for her next manoeuvre.

Val bridged her hips, pushing herself along the mat to break Raph's hold around her neck. Whenever he shuffled forward, she pushed against him with her knees. Once freed, she snatched his wrists, securing one to her chest while forcing the other beneath his chin. She'd also slung her legs over his shoulders, hooking her ankles behind his head.

The brunette quickly shifted her hand at Raph's chin to the back of his head, pulling him down toward her chest. As she did so, she used her other hand to pull her ankle down against the back of his neck.

Mustering one last burst of energy, Val curled her foot back and slung her other leg over the first, locking Raph's head in place. She held him there for a few moments before her muscles finally gave out, and she collapsed in a heap on the mat.

"You had me for a second there," the terrapin chuckled as he helped her to her feet.

"I'd thought about it," the brunette quipped breathlessly.

"Triangle choke - nice move, Dudette." Mikey complimented as he and the rest of the group approached.

"Yes, well done," Leo concurred, offering Val a warm smile; she returned it in kind.

"I'm taking you out the next night you're free," April declared eagerly. "To celebrate-"

"-kicking Raph's ass?" Casey offered with a shit-eating grin; the terrapin in question playfully rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn't attempt that manoeuvre on Raph too often," Donnie teased. "He's been knocked out so many times I'm surprised he doesn't already have brain damage."

"You've got brain damage," Raph retorted.

"I stand corrected."

"Alright, ladies," Val interjected, having grown tired of standing around in sweaty clothes. "Raph, if you aren't gonna take the first shower, then I will."

"You could both go first?" Mikey proposed suggestively.

Val gawked while Raph shot him a sharp glare; the others were struggling not to laugh.

"What?" He was playing dumb.

"Mikey, don't start-"

"Why, what's the problem? We have two cubicles and they're completely separate; it's not like you'll be seeing each other naked."

Raph growled under his breath, before reaching out to touch Val's arm. "You go first," he prompted gently. "I'll jump in after ya."

---

Raph was prepared to let it slide - until Mikey started sniggering.

"Ow! You're so sensitive-"

"-You need to stop."

"Did you need to hit him, really?"

Raph stared at Leo incredulously as he gestured to their youngest brother. "He's bein' inappropriate!"

"So, let me deal with it," the leader shot back. "I don't need you getting your fists involved."

"He's fine," Raph dismissed. "I didn't punch him - I smacked him."

"Don't be smart with me, Raph; you knew what I meant. Keep your hands to yourself."

"I will once he learns to keep his trap shut-"

Raph suddenly felt a force nudge him forward by his shell - it was Casey, directing him toward the door.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" The tone of his voice indicated Raph had little choice in the matter. Once he was convinced his friend would be compliant, Casey let go to walk alongside him.

"So, tell me - what's goin' on?" He probed, once they'd found a more private place to chat.

"Mikey bein' a little shit; that's what's goin' on."

"Y'know he's only doin' it cos you react to it, right?"

Raph glared at him. "And that's supposed to make it okay?"

"No, that's not what I meant. He knows something's up with you two. Hell, I'm pretty sure everyone knows; you guys aren't exactly subtle. So, he's doin' what siblings do best - callin' you out on your shit."

"There's nothin' goin' on between Val and me," the terrapin bit out, struggling to maintain eye contact.

Casey quirked a brow at him. "Wanna try that again?"

Raph scoffed, shaking his head. "Whaddaya want from me, Case?"

"I want you to start bein' honest with yourself. You like her. You know you do and you know she knows, too."

"Yeah, well... I can't really do much about it, can I..."

Casey frowned. "Whaddaya on about?"

"C'mon, you're not stupid." The terrapin then gestured to himself. "Look at me."

"I am. What's your point?"

"Well, I ain't exactly her type."

"So, you do like her."

Raph let out an exasperated sigh.

"Look, if you're worried about it bein' one-sided - don't be. I'd like to think I've been around the ladies long enough to tell when they're into a guy. Dude, trust me; from what I've seen and heard - she's into you."

Raph wasn't worried about that. Not to toot his own horn, but he already suspected Val was interested in him. He may not have the same 'experience' his buddy claims to have, but he was not hopeless, nor blind. He knew a few things...

Though he tried keeping it platonic, it became near impossible to continue ignoring his own feelings.

From the moment he saw her in that green dress, he knew for certain he was at least physically attracted to her. Those feelings grew stronger over the weeks as he watched her steadily acquire a healthier, toned figure. Nothing drastic; she was still a rather petite woman, but nothing compared to how she was the night they met.

Everything changed the night the brothers were blindsided by a rather painful memory - Gilmore Girls.

Had she not been there, the lot of them likely would've dispersed; their usual routine these days, whenever things got heavy. Raph, himself, came precariously close to scratching that familiar itch...

Then she touched him.

She handled him with such care and understanding...

Suddenly, he felt grounded, and no longer alone.

She smiled at him, and his heart sang. He would've gone for it then and there, had he not been such a pussy.

Like he was still being...

"That little voice in ya head that's been holdin' you back - tell it to kindly fuck off," Casey said bluntly, jabbing a finger in Raph's plastron. "Don't let the past control you. Whatever you may think, you deserve to be happy... The lot'a ya deserve to be happy."

"Goddamnit..." Raph sniffled as he looked away, swiping the tears from his eyes. It'd be awesome if I could stop fuckin' cryin'… "I hate you so much."

Casey chuckled softly as he gave his friend's shoulder a comforting shake. "I love you too, brother... Now, if I were you, I'd get my ass into gear; there's a pretty girl waitin' for you in the shower."

---

Raph wanted to throw up.

As the terrapin hesitantly approached the bathroom door, he noted the lack of running water - she must already be out.

Was that a good or bad thing? I don't know; I can't fuckin' think right now...

He stood there; palm pressed against the stainless-steel panel for what felt like forever - frozen.

The door suddenly swung away from him, and he snapped his head up.

Val, obviously not expecting anyone to be on the other side, nearly walked into him.

"Oh! Raph, hey. I was just... are you okay?"

Don't think, just do it. Don't think, just do it. Don't think, just do it...

He went for it.

---

---

Masterlist / Chapter 10

@android-cap-007 @happymoonangel @miss-andromeda

[k-dokja]

Can I request a friendship headcanon between female reader, Zack and Mira? The reader is a childhood friend and she's the type to joke around that Mira will be her wife and loves being close to each other, much to Zack's frustration. There's nothing hostile between the three of them but Mira is definitely their number 1 person. Zack's unofficial rival- practically platonic soulmates but they're each others Mira-blocks. I CAN ALREADY IMAGINE THE CHAOS AND FLUFF THEY BRING TO EACH OTHER 🥴🥴

I'm combining these two since they can work together 😩

— You were almost a sister to Zack, if only you weren't so infuriating half of the time. You used your gender to your advantage when it came to Mira, always coaxing and dragging her away when Zack wanted to spend time with her.

&. It's not like he didn't have enough troubles to deal with when Johan was around. The three of you were basically Mira's harem, with you and Zack at the forefront because of how annoyingly competitive you both were. However, you were different from Zack in one aspect.

▲ Unlike Zack, you never saw a competition in Johan. In fact, you got along with him in a way that set you from your relationship with the other two. While both of your affection lay with Mira, the two of you share an understanding that Zack, juvenile as he was, lacked.

&. Mira was the glue that stuck the three of you together, but you were close with each of them in your own way. Which left you in disarray when Johan vanished and Zack began to spiral. For a while, it seemed like there were only you and Mira.

▲ Somehow, getting what you wanted didn't bring you the happiness you expected. You and Mira continued to be close friends, but things turned out awkward for you and Zack. It didn't help that Johan broke Mira's heart with his dismissive words after the tournament either.

&. You actually met Johan again before everyone else. Somehow, he looked almost glad to see you again. The two of you kept in touch for a while, with you mostly trying to keep tabs on him. You didn't disclose any of this to Zack and Mira, not because you wanted to hide it from them, but because you felt that it wasn't your secret to tell.

▲ For a while, things appeared to improve. Zack was back to his old self again thanks to the influence of Daniel, Mira seemed to smile much more these days. The atmosphere between the three of you once again reminded you of the older days, enough that you could crack jokes about marrying Mira and relishing in Zack's fuming.

&. And just when you thought that everything was going well, the news about the God Dog gang surfaced and the name Johan Seong entered your notice for another reason altogether. Of all people, you should've known better than to believe that good things last forever.

[dlaprobably]

Servantember, Day 1: Johannes Gutenberg (Caster)

So, back in January, I decided I would take out two New Year's resolutions in one (doing stuff with all the concepts I had for Fate OCs and finally getting around to practicing drawing), and ultimately I decided to give myself a month-long challenge of drawing a character a day, chucking the list of names into a randomizer wheel and drawing whoever came up. I didn't quite manage to stick to the daily thing as I ended up busier than expected, some days having to double or triple up to play catch-up, and I didn't manage to stick to it for the whole month, but I made it 23 days in, which was pretty damn close, and I do intend to get back to the rest at some point. With all of that said, I'll be posting those here for the next while, each with a bit of lore/trivia/etc. to go with them under the cut.

First one to come up was Johannes Gutenberg, German inventor who revolutionized European publishing with his printing press! He's accompanied by Titivillus, a demon said to be responsible for causing mistakes in manuscripts on the devil's behalf, and considered to be a possible origin for the term "printer's devil", used to refer to a printer's apprentice.

Lore Notes:

-A dignified, serious sort, for the most part, befitting of his status as a master craftsman. He's constantly tinkering with something or other, and thrives on new ideas, however foolish they might seem in concept. He admires creativity in his Masters, and when he does manage to get a plan going, he can't help but have himself a good laugh. It'd be easy to underestimate him based on his lack of magical ability, but you would come to regret it quickly, as he can be a dastardly son of a gun when he wants to be.

-Gutenberg's magecraft is based on the spread of information. While his combat ability is practically nonexistent, he excels in his particular niche and is very much a force to be reckoned with.

-His main Noble Phantasm, Das Werk der Bücher, is the conceptual embodiment of his invention of the printing press, and the free spread of information it entails, granting his Master unlimited access to information on their opponents, as well as the ability to pass on that knowledge to others far and wide if they so wish. It can also be weaponized to bombard one's enemies with useless information, serve as a distraction, or even print money. As long as it's within the realm of distributing information or printing things, he can make it happen. The main drawback of this ability is that it takes extensive setup, as he must first rebuild his printing press from scratch with all of the trial and error that it took the first time.

-His passive Noble Phantasm, Aventur und Kunst, allows him to read through existing archives and written texts pretty much instantly as long as he can access them in some format, as well as allowing him free reign over physical printing of said information, since he claimed his initial period of research granted him the secret of printing.

-He's a frowned-upon choice by the Mage's Association and mage society at large, what with the importance of one's methods maintaining their secrecy. If there's a Holy Grail War banlist, he's certainly on there, however unofficially.

-Titivillus typically hangs around Gutenberg's rival, Johann Fust, but has unwittingly been dragged along with Gutenberg this time. As part of his responsibility as a demon is collecting stray chatter and misspoken words during church services, he carries his ERRATA sack with him. He's agreed to serve as a proper assistant to Gutenberg while he's around, peppering his enemies' works with typos, making them trip up their words at critical moments, and generally helping out with printer's devil duties. He may not seem like much, but it might be he's just holding back until he gets the raise he's been hoping for.

-While Gutenberg's workings mainly involve printing and information, he's also quite skilled in the making of mirrors. They have no magical effects whatsoever, and mostly just kind of look nice, but maybe you can pass them off as something special and make a quick buck?

Design Notes:

Went fairly straightforward with the depiction to start things off, using the few existing posthumous portraits of Gutenberg as a reference for his appearance. The coat was initially going to be designed to look like an open book, but I liked the idea of making it out of pieces of type more, so I went with that instead, keeping the book thing to the lapels. There are two easter eggs hidden on the coat, if you're interested in looking for them! Finally, Titivillus was the result of me going down a rabbit hole researching the term "printer's devil", and I thought the office worker getup made sense for a more bureaucratic, word-based type of demon.

[kenkaodoll]

Kamiya Dojo Monogatari Tale 61 (JUMP SQ 23/01)

About Kamiya Dojo Monogatari:

Tales of Kamiya dojo is written by Kaoru Kurosaki and published along with the “Rurouni Kenshin Hokkaido” arc in JUMPSQ. The tale involves the Rurouni Kenshin character in daily life that takes time between Kenshin and Kaoru marriage until the epilogue chapter in the original manga before the Hokkaido Arc. Until this month (December 2022) there are a total 61 chapters in Tales of Kamiya dojo. This is an unofficial translation. 

Previous Story : https://www.tumblr.com/kenkaodoll/702235103534923776/kamiya-dojo-monogatari-tale-60jump-sq-2212

Coincidentally Tsubame passed by when Yahiko was getting off the boat and the boat was rocked by the waves.

“Oops!”

“Hyaa!”

Miyako, a girl Tsubame didn't know hugged Yahiko.

“…!”

Tsubame looked at them with wide eyes.

“See you tomorrow!”

Seeing Yahiko being so friendly with the girl, Tsubame instinctively hid herself in the shadows.

“I'll pick you up by boat, then. Tomorrow, I'll wait for you at this place and we'll go together, okay?”

“Okay.”

An appointment?

Tomorrow?

Tsubame was confused. Is she close to Yahiko? Why had Yahiko never told her about that girl?

She thought she knew Yahiko very well, having talked about Kamiya Dojo, *Gekikenkai, and many other things with him often during the break in Akabeko jobs.

Was he kept a secret?

When she thought about it, for some reason I felt very sad.

She couldn’t believe that I didn't know that he had such a female friend who would go out on boats with him and hug him so casually.

She thought that Misao was Yahiko's female friend and partner in crime. Why he's being so casual with a girl who wasn't Misao.

“See you!”

“See you!”

Yahiko and Miyako waved goodbye.

Tsubame watched timidly from her hideout until the girl's boat went away.

・

Tsubame realized that a lot of time had passed and it was time to return to Akabeko to prepare its opening for evening business. She rushed back to Akabeko. 

The employees  were all already in the changing room. Most of the employees in charge of the kitchen were not in the dressing room, so most of them were female waitresses. Yahiko, who usually works in the kitchen, was also in the changing room today. Since they were all young girls, you can hear them talking happily in bright voices, saying how delicious the lunch was and how they want to put new ornamental hairpins when they go to the *hanami. Tsubame quietly entered the room where everyone was gathered.

“I… I’m sorry I’m late…”

She timidly apologized to Tae.

“Oh, it's unusual for you to be late. But it's nothing to be late for, so there's no need to apologize so much.”

Afterall, it was a time when no one carried a watch on a daily basis, unless he or she was a tycoon. People would not be called tardy for being late by even a minute.

“Ah, yes, sorry…”

“You apologize like that again.”

“Oh, yes...”

Tsubame didn't know what to say and turned bright red, mumbling in her mouth.

Tae looked at her and smiled.

“…”

Seeing her face, Tsubame was relieved that she was not angry.

Then, Tae shouted out to all the employees, 

“Well, everyone! Today I'd like to talk about a new project.”

The pleasant conversation before work stopped abruptly at the sound of Tae's voice.

All the employees are quiet for a moment. Then, just as they thought it was over, they began to murmur.

“A project?”

“Something new?”

“Pretty uniforms?”

The waitresses were talking to each other and looking at Tae with expectant eyes.

TheAkabeko’s proprietress, Tae said, "A new project". How could their eyes not light up?

“The plan is…”

Tae waited until all the noise from the waitresses had calmed down before opening his mouth. The whole place fell silent again.

“How do you attract customers? Instead of handing out flyer, I think we should use a more conspicuous method.”

The waitresses started to stir again.

・

In the midst of all this, Tsubame was thinking vaguely about what she had just seen.

Who is that girl?

The Sumida River was sparkling in the evening light. In the midst of the sparkling water, a girl rode away on a boat.

The girl who was friendly with Yahiko.

When I recall the way she hugged Yahiko on the boat, my heart aches.

If it's painful, why don't I just not think about it?

I try not to think about it, but I end up thinking about it. My thoughts go back to that time and scene.

・

“So I'll leave it to Tsubame for her long service.”

Suddenly, her name was called by Tae, Tsubame couldn't help but said,

“Yes!”

“I knew you wouldn't mind doing it, Tsubame-chan!”

Tae spoke with full smile, Tsubame had no choice but to smile back.

No way... It's hard to say that I hadn't heard anything at all.

What on earth would they make us do?

Another Western-style outfit?

Or something else?

No, but Tae asked Tsubame to do something uncomfortable for her. Come to think of it, the first time I was asked to wear Western clothes, I thought it was a pretty reckless request. But I couldn't say no because I owed them a debt of gratitude for hiring me as a waitress....... But after being asked to wear Western-style clothes many times, I got used to it.

She wondered what Tae asked for this time.

Tsubame looked around with a wry smile. She was looking for someone to explain the situation to her.

Then....

“If you do something so conspicuous again, you're going to get some weirdos involved. I don't agree with that.”

Yahiko objected with Tae’s idea.

“Advertising is all about standing out... If you're afraid of strange people getting involved, you can't do business.”

“That may be true, but...”

“So I'm going to ask Yahiko-kun to join us as a bodyguard.”

“I can't promise that I can protect you all by myself.”

Yahiko was against this project from the viewpoint of crime prevention, while Tae wanted to do it by all means. Even Tsubame, who had not been listening to the conversation at all, understood this.

“Yes, yes. That's why I've prepared a reassuring ally for you.”

”Oh, you don't mean Kenshin?”

Yahiko guessed, and Tae shook his head.

“The helpers are this person. Come on in, come on in!”

The one who came into the waiting room after being called by Tae was...

“You! What are you doing here?”

As soon as Yahiko saw him, he raised his voice.

“Greetings, I see.”

It was Yutaro who entered.

“The other day, Tsunan Tsukioka drew a picture of Yahiko and Yutaro, right? That picture was very good.”

Tae was a big fan of Tsunan.

“That picture was a great publicity stunt. That's what just as you'd expect from Tsunan’s work.” 

“I think so too. Yahiko, who I am used to seeing, looked a hundred times more handsome. I knew it, the samurai paintings are great.”

They were entranced.

“Well, I wanted to recreate that painting.”

Is this the modern equivalent of 2.5 dimensions? No, it was originally a drawing of Yahiko and Yutaro, so perhaps not. In any case, Tae's desire for his hobby knows no bounds.

The desire to have Yahiko and Yutaro as bodyguard and to create a scheme in which "the two boys from that samurai picture team up again" is strongly conveyed.

“What? I’m going to work with this guy as a bodyguard?”

Yahiko was dissatisfied.

”You're not satisfied with me?”

“Don't you have a job with Tsukayama Company or something?”

“We held a product fair the other day, but that was just like a festival," Yutaro said. "Essentially, I'm still a long way off from helping out in the family business in earnest. Come September, I'm going to be a student, so for now I'm just trying to stick my neck out in various places and broaden my horizons.”

In the Meiji Era (1868-1912), students were required to enter school in September, in line with the global standard. It was not until the Taisho Era (1912-1926) that the school year began in April, as is the case today.

This is the cherry blossom season, so it is not the time to enter the school.

“So, part of your idea of broaden the horizon is to be a bouncer for Akabeko?”

“I'm doing this as a way of thanking you for your help with the product fair. Well, this has already been decided, so I can't overrule it on your own.”

While listening to their conversation, Tsubame was nervous.

…A bouncer?

Actually what am I going to do?

“I'll make the western clothes! I want to show you what I've learned about Western-style clothing!”

Midori raised her hand.

“Great! What a good girl.”

Tae nodded with a smile.

This is.... Probably it must be like the Tsukayama Company product exhibition.

But, well, I've gotten used to wearing Western-style clothes, and although I used to be embarrassed, I don't dislike it now. I said "yes" without knowing why, but I'm okay with at least wearing Western-style clothes.

Tsubame's relief was short-lived.

“And these are the dance teachers.”

… Dancing?

“Hello.”

“Ichiwaka and Kogiku, Fukagawa geisha*, entered the room.”

“I'm going to give you a hard time.”

“Prepare yourself.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The Akabeko waitresses responded in a straightforward manner.

Tsubame’s heart felt uneasy.

Without knowing what she was going to do, she was moving forward steadily toward something.

And yet, with Tsubame's personality, there was no way she would have the courage to ask what she was going to do at this stage. Not knowing what to do, she was puzzled.

Notes: *)Gekigenkai: Kendo style match or event test their strength in swordsmanship and fight (for entertainment or even gambling purpose) *)Hanami : Literal flower viewing, a party for cherry blossom (Sakura) viewing *)Fukagawa Geisha : The story of Ichiwaka, the Geisha is in Tale 37-50

.…..to be continued in chapter 62…… https://www.tumblr.com/kenkaodoll/706523661597835264/kamiya-dojo-monogatari-tale-62-jump-sq-2302

TLnote(1): translating Japanese is so hard because the sentence structure is very different compared with English. Also the style of writing is different, plus there’s a lot of figurative, poetic language and things that don't make sense if it’s directly translated into english. So forgive me if this is very weird to read, and please tell me if you want to give corrections. 

TLnote(2) I will provide the original Japanese text for correction if any of you who read have better knowledge of the Japanese language. Just dm and I’ll send the file. 

TLnote(3) Dtninja had translated some earlier chapters on his website. You can go and check on there

Read the rest of the tales here https://www.tumblr.com/kenkaodoll/686193523858538496/rurouni-kenshin-tales-of-kamiya-dojo?source=share

[impernaway]

prompt #1: Envoy

(time to play catchup because the prompts go out at 20:00 my time and i'm real good at missing 'em!)

----

The Scions of the Seventh Dawn were, politically speaking, in a bit of an odd place. Beholden to no one city or peoples but working for the betterment of the star as a whole, they were a group who had envoys of a sort all the same: Thancred's skilled and knowledge had made him the best suited for handling Ul'dah, Y'shtola went to Limsa Lominsa when such visits were required, and Alphilauld and Alisaie had stepped up for the Black Shroud after the group lost Lyse and Papalymo.

Officially speaking, the Scions had never actually declared a specific envoy for when matters meant somebody had to go speak to Ishgard.

Unofficially speaking, everyone knew that this had been the Warrior of Light's job and one of the ones he truly enjoyed doing.

The last time anyone had implied anything about the Warrior of Light and how he kept volunteering to go, it was before Doma and Ala Mhigo had their freedom. The conversation had led to Dacien not speaking to Thancred for a week.

"I'm just saying," he had huffed at the time, arms crossed as he leant back against the wall, "You're rather a bit too involved to be objective."

"How so?" the duskwight had answered, one leg folded over the other as he sat primly in his seat. He had kept his hands folded over each other in his lap, and his body language was so aggressively calm that it came off as unnatural. The whole thing just made Thancred snort a little.

"Well, let me see. Besides being a ward of House Fortemps, you're known for working closely with eldest son of the Haillenartes and being involved with the Skysteel Manufactory with him. There's rumours about you spending time up in the Churning Mists with the former count of the Dzemaels, and you've thrown yourself headlong into helping them rebuild a fairly major residential area. Oh, and they all hail you as hero of Ishgard whenever you walk in the door. Am I missing anything? Did you perhaps marry one of them as well?"

Across the room, Alphinald flinches.

"You forgot the way I single handedly built several orphanages, as you are so fond of commenting on," Dacien answered frostily, slowly tilting his chin up. "Who would you have go instead, then?"

That had brought Thancred up short at the time - Not because he didn't have answers already, but more because he had never expected the challenge in the first place. Dacien had, for the longest time, always been willing to listen to their advice. He hadn't been timid since the very earliest days of joining them, but he was quiet as he heard people out. Always with that stoic little nod.

Thancred had been left wondering, very suddenly, if he could remember Dacien ever actually saying no to one of them before.

The rogue re-assessed what he was seeing, eyes flicking across the scene again. Dacien's body language was no less carefully poised, but now Thancred was looking closer he could see how tightly strung the elezen was; He was subtly gripping his hands together where one lay over the other, his ears had started to flatten back, and he wasn't looking around or away at anyone else. His shoulders were low and loose, but he was holding himself stiff and upright.

Thancred's friend was subtly bracing himself for a fight in ways he had never used to, every single mannerism screaming Ishgardian nobility in its origin.

"Tataru, Alphinald and I still have the best knowledge of the city," Dacien had said after the quiet stretched on a little too long. "Tataru is too valuable to send out on errands like this and we all know it. Alphinald doesn't have the variety of connections I have, and you can't just swap us either. I'm a member of the Adders, if you'll remember, and a White Mage on top of that. I answer to Kan-E-Sena in ways that I certainly am not beholden to Ser Aymeric. That, and it would be insulting to her to be the only one facing a revolving door of envoys whilst we still look for. And before you suggest him, the last time Urianger went to Ishgard he showed up in open toe sandals."

And then he stood up and swept out of the room before anybody else could say anything, putting a very firm end to the conversation.

----

Of course, looking back on that conversation had left Thancred kicking himself later on. Things had been...Rough between Dacien and he after their reunion following the Bloody Banquet. Thancred hadn't blamed him for what happened, but Minfillia's loss had been something of an open wound. And after that day at Raven's Roost with Emmanellain and his foolishness, things had only ever grown more distant between them, though Thancred had never quite worked out that one.

It had been Tataru who had set him on the path to understanding in her own gentle way.

"It scared him, you know," she'd told him without preamble as she set tea down in front of where Thancred had been sat in the Rising Stones. "After the Banquet, whilst we were all hiding in Coerthas together. None of us knew where you'd gone or what had happened."

"I really hadn't intended to get trapped in the lifestream for moons on end," he said, taking the cup she'd assigned him. "Though I will admit that he and I haven't had much of a chance to catch up about any of that as of yet."

"Of course not," she huffed. "It really did scare him, you know. Not that he ever admitted it outright to either of us, he was too busy trying to put on a brave front for Alphinald most of the time. But between you and me?"

Thancred leant in as the lalafel dropped her voice, playing the part she wanted from him as obediently as any stage performer.

"He was terrified, Thancred," she whispered. "He told me that the Admiral and the Elder Seedseer saw the Crystal Braves throw him on the floor in front of the whole Banquet and accuse him of murder, and they both walked away and just left him there. If it hadn't been for Ser Harchefant's kindness in hiding us and the other Ishgardians pushing the Braves back whenever they came looking, I don't know where we could've gone. He was so scared. He didn't know if there was going to be a Scions of the Seventh Dawn anymore."

"And I just told him they like him too much," he sighs, eyes sliding closed. "No wonder he hasn't spoken to me in a week."

"I think that was mostly the marriage jab," she sighs. "Why would you say that?"

"Why?" he frowned at her. "Because it's true. He's been adopted by the Fortemps, he wields a weapon made by the firstborn son of another High House, and befriended a key member of a third who used to have political clout from what I've heard. Ser Aymeric looks like he wants to buy him flowers every time he sees him. And I've heard of how Ser Harcherfant saved his life and he went on a whole quest for revenge for him. Short of buying a home there and moving in or deciding to date somebody, he really is getting too close."

Tataru's face had fallen with every word he said. "Oh, Thancred..."

"What?"

"Did- didn't you hear? Did nobody tell you? Did it really not come up, not even once? How could you not have heard about it?! You need a better network at once!"

"Tataru, you really-"

"He was courting! He and Ser Haurchefant were head over heels for each other! His little brother Emmanellain had asked me what ring size Dacien is in case he needed to put a rush order in on Haurchefant's behalf!" she wailed, covering her face with her hands in her fluster. "He probably thinks you already knew about it and just decided to rub it in!"

The tea sat in his stomach like lead.

----

It was improper on multiple fronts. He was both technically uninvolved and far too entrenched in the goings-on of Ishgard for it to be appropriate. But Dacien did love Ishgard, and Ishgard's people (for all that could be said of the nation) fiercely loved him back.

The Scions asked a great deal of the Warrior of Light at times. If it simply happened that they all had silently chosen to turn a blind eye to this particular matter and ignore whether it counted as a transgression or not, then - well.

It's not like it was an official posting, after all.