#I’d like to point out that you’ll simply prove my point

[tommykinard6]

Buddie fans, my loves, come have a seat for a moment.

I want to have a chat, from a long time Buddie lover to you, whether you’re new or have been here a long time.

It’s okay.

I’ve been in the trenches with you. I’ve been pulling for Buck and Eddie to get together for years. I haven’t given up, even as I’ve seen other fans leave because they lost hope. I don’t blame them. The Buddie section of the fandom has been powerful and beautiful and all consuming. We’ve gone seven seasons and up until this point, not one of the two men in question was even confirmed to be queer.

But we all need to take a moment and breathe. That’s it. Stop doom scrolling for a moment and breathe in.

Good. Now hold for a moment.

And breathe out.

I’m going to get real here, alright? And you might not like everything I say and that’s ok.

We need to stop being a problem. Stay with me. I’m not saying we need to stop shipping Eddie and Buck. Far from it. I will love that ship forever. I’m not saying we need to stop our fanfics or fanart or our love for these two. Our feelings are valid. Many of us have been in love with these two for a long time. The Buckley-Diaz family is a strong unit.

Our feelings are valid and we feel what we feel. But our reactions are utterly and entirely our own responsibility.

We need to stop the bullying.

Let’s face it, many Buddie fans have also been long time bullies in the fandom. Particularly in regard to the actresses who have played the female love interests in the past. Don’t get me wrong, aside from maybe Ali, I have disliked every love interest introduced. But have we not yet learned to separate actress from character? If we are going to dislike an actress, let’s do it for a valid reason. Marisol’s actress for example is problematic. But many fans have rained hell down upon any woman introduced.

I’ve noticed this issue for a long time. But now we’re dealing with the issue being even more widespread because of Buck/Tommy. Now fans are bullying each other. The fandom is divided, even in what is probably one of the better seasons we’ve gotten (in my opinion). I need you guys to stay with me here.

Buck is bi.

Let’s say that again. Evan Buckley is bisexual. A major character on a major show on a major network, previously a womanizer and still a very masculine figure, is queer.

This is monumental. This is amazing.

But so many of you are letting your feelings about Buddie get in the way of appreciating the progress we’ve made. Especially with the reintroduction of Tommy Kinard, Buck’s love interest.

Let’s clear up a couple of things, shall we? Tommy Kinard is not Sal DeLuca. He is not Captain Gerrard. While he was part of the old 118 and definitely was in the old boys club, not only is he not the major problem, but in most cases that he’s an asshole, it can be traced back to his own secret. It’s not great, sure. But let’s look at the facts. Chimney is friends and still keeps in touch with him. Hen appears to hold no animosity and was clearly comfortable with him. In Bobby Begins, they all are friends. And clearly, Tommy has undergone a massive self-growth period. You cannot try to back up your point with inaccurate facts.

People can change. People can also be forgiven. It’s the prerogative of those involved. Enough said.

“But TK6,” you may say, “Buck should be with Eddie! Tommy is a plot device!”

Let’s set aside instant gratification culture really quick and talk about storytelling. You cannot get everything you want when you want it. You also cannot have your cake and eat it too. Buck and Eddie, if both queer, were never going to come out at the same time. Do we really want that?! Because identity is messy. Self discovery is messy. Eddie has Catholic guilt. Buck has self esteem/worth issues. Life isn’t a fanfiction. The real possibility of their relationship surviving such a transition isn’t all that high. IF Eddie is canonically queer, he’s going to have a rougher path than Buck has had.

Also, everyone is a plot device. Let’s get real. If a character doesn’t move a plot along, what’s the point? YES, Tommy is there for a storyline. That doesn’t in anyway invalidate his existence or his presence in Buck’s life.

If you want an instant Buddie storyline, visit ao3! There are amazing stories on there.

Now let’s talk about Buck/Tommy, or TEvan.

I am a long time Buddie lover. I also proudly ship TEvan. Yes, those can coexist. I don’t often multiship, but it’s a beautiful thing. I want Buddie to be endgame, sure! But I’m also okay if TEvan lasts. If they end up being endgame, will I be disappointed about Buddie? Of course. I will also be thrilled because Buck and Tommy are a sweet couple and I’m here for it.

As a queer woman, I’m happy that Buck is bi. Multisexual representation is still sorely lacking. Male sexuality that lets a man keep his masculinity while being queer? Even more so. Just take a look at the ao3 tag. Buck is emasculated in many fics. That’s why I stopped reading a lot.

We have a ship here that includes two very masculine men, who are emotionally vulnerable and exploring something new. I understand ship disappointment. But the negativity is wild. We need to stop the bullying. We need to stop the cheating storylines. We need to stop making Tommy into an ab*s*r only because we apparently can’t handle a love interest being a good person.

At the end of the day, these are fictional characters. It’s a fictional show. But these are real people. All of us are sitting here behind our screens with real feelings. We need to stop.

Buddie may one day happen. And maybe they won’t. TEvan might be endgame. They might not be. Tis the way of 9-1-1. It’s exciting, isn’t it? Waiting for something new and exciting. It was starting to get a little stagnant.

As a queer person, I’m not trying to gatekeep anyone. However, we cannot sit here and say “stop queerbaiting us!!!!” (They weren’t, we’ve always had queer representation on 9-1-1) “give us more representation” and then when they give it to us say, “NO! Not that way!”

If it was about the representation, it being Eddie or Tommy would matter a lot less.

So if you are someone using representation to shield yourself, kindly just be honest with yourself and everyone else.

In the words of our Lady and Savior Taylor Swift, “You need to calm down”.

Now, back off into the world of scrolling you go, my lovelies. Remember, keep an open mind and breathe. At the end of the day, it’s a show. But I for one will happily wait for every episode because I’m loving this.

[kuroshitsuji-scenarios]

Commission – Bestseller

Requested by: Anonymous

Pairing: Sebastian Michaelis x Reader

Words: 4,363

Prompt: Sebastian makes a contract with someone who wants to become the world’s bestselling author. This time, however, he's willing to spice things up a little.

Warnings: None.

[ commission me ]

At first, you wanted to shout: “Go to hell!” but quickly found it quite ironic and eventually sat back down, picked your pen up and pretended to be writing something in the notebook, while the only thing that appeared on the blank pages were curly lines. Honestly, you could hardly recall the last time you met someone who’d be as eager to get on your nerves as the man who was now standing in front of you. The smirk on his lips only proved that the whole conversation you just had went according to his sly plan and in the end he was gratified with your outburst of emotions. Not a very common occurrence, he had to add, and therefore even more pleasant to observe.

“My, my”, he shook his head in a disappointed manner, as if he was scolding a child. “I wasn’t aware that this kind of information will have such an impact on you. Could it be that you’ve grown worried?”

“Worried?” You shot him a deathly glare. “I’m not worried. I’m angry and I’m starting to consider which side you are actually on. What made you think that killing (or whatever happened to that journalist) was such a bright idea?”

The demon smiled, the expression on his face clearly amused as the whole situation seemed to be rather entertaining for him. It’s been a long time since he actually gave his new contractor a little push—not to the right side, of course, but rather to watch you struggle and keep the balance as you always did in the end. It was almost as funny as listening to people beg for their lives, while all of them knew that there was no coming back once he was summoned.

“Sebastian,” you hissed his name through the gritted teeth. “Answer me.”

“Well, I must disagree with you on using the term ‘bright’ regarding this little incident.” He pretended to be lost in thoughts, touching his chin and looking at the wall of your office where all the prizes, photographs taken with famous people of literary business and newspaper articles were framed and hung on display for everyone to see what you were capable of when it came to using an imagination and pen. Or keyboard, as it was nowadays. “I’d rather go for ‘enticing’. ‘Compelling’, perhaps. ‘Thrilling’ even. ‘Enjo—”

“That’s enough.” You interrupted his speech, considering it pointless and a waste of your precious time. “I don’t care why you did that, I want you to stop. You’re perfectly aware that I’ve been giving interview after interview for the last two weeks and I’m going to continue doing that no matter what kind of dirty games you decide to play behind my back.”

“How threatening…”

“Moreover,” You pointed a finger at him. “If you keep doing this, I’ll have the right to consider it as acting against the rules of our contract.”

“There was not a single rule included which could prevent me from adding a little spice to the generally boring outcome of events. I thought you were aware of that. Signing books, doing interviews, all of that blown to make your ego grow until it pops.” Sebastian clicked his fingers to highlight the meaning of his words. “Like a bubble.”

“Hilarious.” You couldn’t frown no more even if you tried. “Now let's get back on topic. I forbid you to interrupt my hard work with your silly, little demon games. You’ll have your reward in the end so right now you’re only wasting your own time, because no matter what you do, I simply won’t give up. It can take the next forty years to complete while you’re stuck here with me, it doesn’t matter. So if you want to finish it quickly, I’d recommend you getting out of my way.”

There was a spark of amusement behind the demon’s eyes as he carefully observed you—as if something in your words struck him in a pleasant way. Undoubtedly, he made a good choice while deciding to answer this new contractor.

“That’s exactly what I meant while speaking about the lack of something enticing,” he admitted before turning on his heel and heading out of the office, his fingers intertwined behind his back and the corners of his lips turned upward in an eerie smile.

Pouring rain hitting the windows reminded you of a thousand fingers patting the glass in an unrhythmical manner. Focusing on a single droplet sliding down to the window frame didn’t help you concentrate, especially not with the pleasant silence now filling your bedroom up nor the fact that the last time you allowed yourself to rest was more than nineteen hours ago. Your body was giving you more significant signs of exhaustion with every passing minute and yet, you didn’t want to waste any of your time. Not when you’ve gotten to the perfect plot twist of your upcoming story—the second volume of the world’s bestseller book sold in millions of copies all around the globe. Although your success was guaranteed, you couldn’t simply sit and do nothing while waiting for applause. 

You jolted when the sudden thud hit the glass right next to the desk where you were sitting. It was loud, like a lost pigeon didn’t notice the window and flew into it at full speed but when you stood up to check whether it was hurt, laying somewhere near, it was impossible to notice any sharp shapes in the downpour. Perhaps it flew away or maybe it was just your brain tricking you into finally going to bed. Whatever it was, eventually it made you close the laptop and rub your tired eyes until you saw the stars behind the eyelids—and when you opened them again, you found out that the shadow in the corner of the bedroom is unusually dark compared to the rest. 

Almost as if there was a tall, slim figure standing there, facing the wall, covered in black robes.

Your initial reaction was paralyzing terror. Blood ran down from your face and in the next moment blew in your heart causing your cheeks to immediately heat. You could only sit there, watching the silhouette with unblinking eyes as your mind wanted to scream, to run, to fight, to—

“Sebastian.” The demon’s name left your lips almost involuntarily, just like shouting ‘help!’ came naturally to the drowning man. “I order you to stop this nonsense immediately.”

At first, nothing happened and for a moment you thought that maybe you weren’t even in your bedroom anymore, that the image in front of you was but a photograph glued to your face while the real you was dead, burning and bleeding and shrieking and—

“My, my…” You blinked at the sound of a familiar voice and the shadow from the corner was gone; surprisingly, you could also breathe freely again. “There’s no fun with you…”

Instead of the terrifying derealization, you were once again safe in your bedroom, everything in its own place. By the door, however, stood Sebastian with the same amused smirk on his handsome face, as if it was the only genuine emotion he was actually capable of showing.

“Fun?” You stood up from the chair, your fingers still slightly trembling after the heavy anxiety attack.

“I was worried that you might get some kind of… writer’s block, as they say,” he stated and nodded matter-of-factly. “I couldn’t bear the thought of you losing your spirit.”

Oh, how much you wanted to rip that happy expression off his face. Or maybe slap him. Or both. In all honesty, you could do it by giving him a simple order and yet, it didn’t feel right. What kind of satisfaction would you get from simply forcing him into your own will instead of actually making him feel a certain way? The leash you got him on was rather long, as the demon was almost free to roam around and do as he pleases, and maybe that was why you found those rare moments of his confusion so precious. 

And so, instead of scolding him or making him apologize, you simply decided to say:

“If you’re getting so bored during our contract, perhaps you’d enjoy it if we played fetch for a while? I have a feeling that it might be just your cup of tea.”

He didn’t say anything and yet, you could feel his disapproving stare burning into your back as you walked to the wardrobe. Surprisingly though, the memory of the silhouette in the dark corner still seemed to linger in your memory, although not as a bad one. Instead, you couldn’t help but wonder if it wasn’t just what you were looking for to fill the plot in the next chapter of your book.

“I can’t believe it…” you muttered, raising the menu card higher in front of your face to hide it from the not-so-subtle photographer who was waiting for his perfect shot outside the café. So far, you managed to run inside the building without being filmed and you could call it quite a success considering how tense the situation grew since the latest news got released to the public.

“The greatest author of the decade caught in love!” 

“Who is the mysterious man by her side?”

“Can we expect the next volume to be delayed due to the newfound romance?”

The headlines of newspapers and celebrity gossip websites were screaming at you from every angle—so much that you started to wonder if there would be a journalist jumping out of your own fridge to ask a few questions before lunch. Since the rumor about your romance—yours and Sebastian’s—were fairly new, you still didn’t manage to calm the public with some words of truth and a little sneak peek into your personal love life. Not that it was your intention, it was all but a play, of course. Another necessary step taken to avoid getting accused of the disappearance you certainly had nothing to do with.

Which you couldn’t say about the demon sitting right next to you by the table.

“Me neither,” Sebastian clicked his tongue, while still eyeing the menu. “The prices have surely gone up since the last time I’ve been there. Not that it’s an issue with your budget now, is it?”

If you didn’t know better, you might have believed that the kind smile he put on was sincere. Still, with the amount of knowledge you possessed and the time you wasted on trying to clean up after his mischief, you wanted nothing but to make him regret everything he’s ever said or done. He was the one to put you into this situation, after all. Like a single puppy left home alone, Sebastian went first for your new slippers, then the table leg and now he was chewing on your precious sofa—the couch meaning your privacy and relative peace of mind.

“Don’t give me that look.” He placed the menu back on the polished wood. “It wasn’t me who said that we were dating.”

“You forced me to do this! How else could I get a reliable alibi that I didn’t, in fact, murder anyone and especially not my own best friend?”

“I’m certain there was a lot of different ways to prove that.” He waved at the waiter. “Did you pick your order yet?”

“I’m not hungry.” You whispered something about going to the toilet when the waiter approached you two and only came back when he was gone, now your favorite beverage waiting for you at the table and Sebastian slowly sipping his tea.

“Besides,” he continued after you sat back down, moving your chair so your back was facing the window. “This outcome isn’t so bad, as you can see. You’re now even more famous than before.”

“I didn’t want to be some stupid celebrity and have people wonder what kind of bikini I wear and whether I have cellulite or not—I wanted to be known for my hard work. It’s something completely different than being stalked for having a guy like you nearby.”

“A guy like me?” He raised his slim eyebrow. “I doubt that would make it to the first pages.”

“I don’t care. I need to figure it all out and you’re going to help me whether you like it or not.”

“How overbearing.” Sebastian chuckled. “Enlighten me then, how do you plan on making it right?”

That’s where he got you. You still didn’t have any solid plan to retrieve your freedom and intimacy back and with all this chaos happening around you, with the demon constantly scheming against you behind your back, you felt quite overwhelmed. 

“That’s exactly what I thought.” He took a sip of his tea and placed the teacup back on the saucer. “And I suppose I have a perfect solution for this problem.”

“Meaning?” You wondered, hoping that this time you would finally hear some more useful news than another joke or allusion.

Instead of answering, Sebastian gently reached to you and placed his warm hand upon your cheek, caressing your lips with the featherlike touches of his thumb. His gaze was focused on you, slowly trailing from your eyes, through the curve of the nose down the mouth and back up again. He smiled at you but this time there was no insincerity behind it but rather pure fascination. Amazement, even, and one could say that also adoration.

It’s been a long time since Sebastian took a look at your soul, after all. Although he was present in your life almost everyday, it was quite rare for you to open up to him—you weren’t the type to cry your eyes out on his shoulder nor beg him for love. On the contrary. And for some odd reason he found it the most amusing—your soul, your price waiting to be paid hidden from his gaze, except for those tiny moments like this one when he was finally capable of looking you in the eyes and almost tasting your spirit at the tip of his tongue.

The sensation made him shiver with anticipation.

Eventually, Sebastian leaned forward and after not witnessing any kind of resistance from you, placed a soft, sweet kiss upon your lips. His own were still warm from the temperature of the tea he drank, tasting like herbs and honey, and his smell overwhelming your senses when you gave up to this gentle affection and closed your eyes to savor it. For the first time in months your heart started to beat faster but not because of stress or fear but rather excitement—something so trivial, you wouldn’t expect yourself of.

Sebastian kissed you slowly, barely nibbling at your lips and not taking any step further. His fingers left your cheek with an unpleasant coldness and rested at the crook of your neck, slightly pulling you closer but not strong enough to make you feel caged. Involuntarily you leaned toward him also, supported by the elbows on the wooden table and not paying attention to the fact that you have just most likely exposed yourself to all the people passing by the café. If the creepy paparazzi was still there, he had a once in a lifetime opportunity to immortalize the first official kiss of yours with your mysterious company.

And somehow, you thought it was alright. If you wanted your alibi to be solid, you should prove to everyone that Sebastian was, indeed, your husband and the mysterious disappearances had nothing to do with you. 

Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth.

Initially, Sebastian was like some kind of hideous decoration standing in the middle of the living room—painted in vivid colors, with weird, eye-catching shape and not fitting to any particular home decoration style. You could place an elephant there as well and the overall effect it had on the guests would be quite similar. He was an interruption, a sudden chance of weather, an anomaly in your life, the one you called for yourself and although you considered him to be a hassle most of the time, as months passed you found yourself paying less and less attention to the abstract puzzle at the center of the jigsaw. It wasn’t that he was becoming less visible or having less impact on your everyday life—on the contrary, Sebastian’s actions were as ostentatious as always, it was just you who started to tolerate and maybe even like the strange addition to your new life.

Indeed, one could even accuse you of enjoying his company too much, especially when you were sharing a bed, tangled in the bedding and droplets of sweat glistening on your temple. His fingers were delicate and movements calculated to bring you nothing but pleasure when he was caressing and massaging your naked body. In those moments, you found him beautiful. With a warm gaze, perfectly cut lips, strong jaw and slim silhouette he could stand on the same pedestal as countless of Greek sculptures stood. Right now, however, he was not cold as marble but rather soft and attentive, all the previous flirts replaced by what could be described as nothing but endless love and adoration.

Fortunately, you knew better than to trust the perfect mask he chose just for you. It didn’t stop you from indulging into the pleasure, though, for how could you deny yourself a spark of joy when in the end it was supposed to be him to devour your whole existence and turn you into nothing? It would be a shame to not take everything this man, this demon, had to offer.

You were walking down the shore, the view of setting sun rays dancing over the nearby buildings making it seem like the whole world has somehow turned into molten gold. Yellows and oranges painted your surroundings into the real piece of art, something you weren’t sure anyone could ever capture on the canvas with mere brushes. The town you decided to stay in (small and rather unknown, free from the crowds of tourists) had everything you could possibly need for an effective rest and refreshing inspiration—restaurants by the sea, both museums and clubs, promenade near the beach and a whole street of various shops. It was truly something new, the change of scenery making it easier to breathe and prepare for the upcoming premiere of a brand new video game based on your story alone.

You could say a lot of things about Sebastian and how he managed to get on your nerves like nobody else, but you had to admit that there wasn’t a single slip in his plan to make your biggest dream come true. Everything he promised you was truly happening, step by step, one at a time, but eventually you could clearly see the results. As much as you loved it, you couldn’t not notice how it was all leading to the end of your own story also.

“Lost in thoughts?” Sebastian asked, his long fingers intertwined with yours as you slowly passed by the sailboats docked to the pier. “Were you thinking about the grand premiere?”

“I thought I had nothing to worry about in this regard.” You peeked at him from under your sunglasses. “Was I mistaken?”

“No, not in the slightest. I assure you I took care of everything.”

“So it’ll be an indisputable success?” You insisted.

“Are you doubting your own skills all of a sudden?”

For the first time you left him without an answer. Perhaps it was the matter of the different surroundings or maybe it was the setting sun that brought this mood to you, but watching as it slowly drowned in the endless ocean you wondered how it will feel to have your soul sucked out of you. Will it hurt? Will you be scared? Or maybe you won’t notice it at all? Was it up to Sebastian to decide on how he will take it?

Your dreams were coming true, the very thing you craved for such a long period of time was finally yours, kept in your hands and there was no obstacle nor foe that could take that away from you, so why were you getting nostalgic all of a sudden?

“Should I take it as a ‘yes’?” Sebastian’s voice brought you back to reality but he didn’t give you enough time to answer. “My, my, I didn’t take you for an insecure type.”

“You shouldn’t worry your pretty, little head about things you won’t understand. Emotions are not your strong point, if I remember correctly?”

He chuckled but admitted you were right.

The oranges turned into burning red, making it seem as if the horizon was on fire. Behind your back, the sky was slowly fading from all its colors, leaving the thick stripes of pale pink, purple and navy blue at the east. You could spot a few stars shyly appearing there.

“I merely did what you ordered me to,” Sebastian continued and to your surprise, added further:. “I cannot say whether you would be able to achieve it with or without my intervention.”

“What do you mean?” You frowned.

“I’m speaking about the ‘right place and right time’ occurrence. Surely you know that your work is good as it is, don’t you?”

You stopped and looked at him confused, not really understanding where he was going with all this dialogue and unexpected confession. Pulling him slightly by the hand, you forced him to stop also.

“Explain yourself. Or should I get worried about you having a sun stroke?”

The demon tilted his head and you thought that he was going to kiss you again, just to make you forget about all those questions and doubts. Nevertheless, he knew that you were smart and wouldn’t simply be silenced by some sweet nothings.

“What do you think I did to make all your books bestsellers?”

You shrugged. It could be some kind of his hellish magic or personal charm which allowed him to get whatever he wanted wherever he got. Quite difficult to tell for an ordinary human, since he never bragged about his methods and you never cared enough to ask.

“I’m aware that you’re not familiar with my ways of working,” he admitted. “However, influencing a group of people can be rather troublesome, not to mention when the target group is reaching almost the whole world. Simply put, it would cost me a lot of time and energy to force them all into purchasing your precious books, leaving flattering reviews and recommending further and so, I decided to wait instead.”

“For the ‘right place and time’?” you quoted him.

“Exactly.” He gently pulled you after him so you could continue the afternoon stroll in the sunset. “I was waiting and observing the people involved until finally the perfect opportunity struck. That’s when I whispered a word or two to those who were in charge of certain matters, sneaked a copy of your manuscript et voilà! It doesn’t change the fact that the one who created and wrote those stories was you.”

The sounds of small waves swinging in the shore filled your brain with peaceful, rhythmical melody when you were analyzing Sebastian’s words over and over again. You were walking mindlessly by his side now, too lost in thoughts to notice that the circle of light finally hid behind the horizon and left the whole palette of colors above your head. The salty smell of the water was reaching your nose and you could hear people chatting and laughing somewhere in the distance—there was also music playing in one of the gardens of a nearby restaurant.

It was such a peaceful scenery, it completely didn’t match the chaos in your mind.

“Are you…” You cleared your throat, finding it difficult to form your thoughts into sentences. “Are you saying that I could have achieved all of that without your help?”

Sebastian smiled at you with such an adoration that it made your blood run cold.

“And you knew it from the very beginning? From the day we met?” You insisted, feeling as his silence started to fuel the spark of anger inside your heart.

“No, I cannot predict the future. All I did was calculate the turn of events and pick the best moment to strike. If it turned out that your books were a complete failure, then I’d have to intervene in a different way but fortunately, they were not. I suppose I can share this little secret of mine now that you almost reached your final goal.”

Your fingers were suddenly cold against his, the fresh breeze caressing the heated skin on your cheeks when you turned to the side and looked at the endless sea. You wondered if perhaps it was better to not know the truth and die clueless.

The smile which appeared on your lips was rather surprising to Sebastian and maybe it surprised even you. Whatever his intentions were, he wasn’t expecting you to react positively to this kind of news—you could cry and wail, cursing him for using you for his own gain, you could argue with him, accuse him of breaking the rules of the contract or tricking you into believing that you were completely hopeless without him, you could do anything! And yet, you simply smiled and then let out a happy chuckle.

Then, without a warning, you were the one to pull him to the side and head toward the restaurant where you could hear the music playing.

“Are you not going to respond in any way?” Sebastian frowned and you could clearly see that it was the first time in many centuries that someone managed to puzzle him.

You looked at him over your shoulder and pushed the sunglasses up your head to meet his stare. Then you laughed at his confused expression, so different from the everpresent smugness and confidence, and you swore that whatever was going to happen, it was worth living all those years, even if just for witnessing him making this face at how far he still was from understanding human nature.

“Well, what can I say?” You shrugged. “I told you I’m the best writer in the world.”

[ commission me ]

[neo-nomatrix]

She’s a princess, and you’re a Mandalorian

That’s something no amount of potion will ever change

Din Djarin x reader

summary: A princess has fallen in love with a mandalorian, and he can’t seem to figure out why

a/n: reader is from the made up kingdom of Avana

word count: 824

Mandalorians do not love, it’s simply a fact. If someone so happens to fall in love with one it would never be a princess.

You met Din Djarin when he crashed outside of the grounds of your kingdom. Villagers who lived near the gates of Avana soon started to talk about the mysterious ship that landed in the forest.

“Princess! Have you heard?” One of your mothers advisors asked.

“Heard what?”

“The ship that crashed outside, near the forest,” she said.

“Is anyone going to help?” You wonder.

“Technically, it’s not our grounds, so we don’t have to,” she finished before getting back to her papers.

How could they do that? Just leave someone, presumably helpless all on their own? You honestly thought it was horrible how they decided to just look the other way. You decided to take the matter and do something about it.

You packed a small bag with food, water, first aid, and a small dagger just in case. As you approach the ship you can tell it’s been through a lot of damage. Half of it is lodged into the ground with plenty of scratches and marks to prove its been through hell and back.

You enter through the small opening on the side of the ship, prying open the metal.

“Maker,” you whisper to yourself as you take in your surroundings.

“Hello!” Your voice echoes through the ship, yet no response.

You search through each room until you reach the cockpit. You glide your hands on the panels and intricate details of the room. Your hand grazes over a leaver that’s clearly had the top screwed off, wondering how that would even happen.

You halt in your steps as you feel the front of a blaster pressed against your head. Your shaky hands are lifted in the air as you slowly turn around.

“Who are you?” A gruff, muffled voice says, less of a question and more of a demand.

“I just want to help you,” You say, slightly scared.

“Answer the question.”

“I’m the princess of the kingdom who’s gates you’ve crashed in front of,” You say slightly aggressively.

“We have mechanics, we can fix your ship,” you mention.

“They sent a princess to look at a shipwreck? Without backup? I’m doubtful,” He says, finally putting down his blaster.

Dank Farrick, he’s got a hot voice.

“You can trust me okay? If you do, you're more than welcome to stay in the castle. Have a bed, a warm meal,” you offer.

“What’s the catch?” He wonders.

“You have to talk to me. Have dinner with me, I swear you’ll enjoy it,” you promise.

He starts to wonder why you’re acting like this. Why you’re treating a stranger with such kindness.

“Fine,” he relents.

_

You send mechanics out to the wreck and you bring the man to your castle.

“It’s breathtaking don’t you think?” You ask him as you sit down at the table, pointing out the paintings on the ceiling.

“Quite,” he murmurs.

“What are you?” You ask, taking a spoonful of soup.

“I’m a mandalorian. I’m afraid I can’t take off my helmet to eat,” he admits.

“Oh that’s alright, I don’t mind.”

“Why are you doing this? I haven’t done anything to spark your kindness, so why?” He asks.

“I don’t know why, but I seem to have taken a liking to you. One that I cannot explain. But it’s a feeling I've had since we first met,” you smile.

Love. That feeling is love. You and the mandalorian both know it.

“What will it take for me to see your face?”

“We would need to be bonded by blood.” He says.

“Hm, interesting,” you say, eating more of your soup.

“I still don’t understand. You’re a princess, I am not the kind of person you should be taking a liking to.”

“Are you saying you don’t like me?” You wonder.

“No, I’m not saying that. I’m saying you shouldn’t like me.” He says.

“But I do! I really do. And, once your ship is fixed, I’d like to go with you wherever you’re going. I know that’s a lot to say but I think it would be nice.”

“It’s dangerous. It’s not the kind of place for someone like you. There would be a point that I won’t be able to protect you. And that’s something I'm not willing to do,” he admits.

“I know you might not believe it but I don’t need protection. I do just fine on my own,” You say, but you know he’s still not convinced.

The back and forth goes on between the two of you before he reaches a decision.

“If I take, and I mean if, you do whatever I say, when I say it. No questions, you just do it. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” you respond.

Din still doesn’t understand why you like, maybe even love him so much, but he definitely isn’t complaining.

[teabutmakeitazure]

„I deserved more from my life than this… (Chrollo)“

Gentle wind accompanies your silent confession. The night is cool, and the wind is continuously blowing at varying speeds. Though you were first scared at being reprimanded, you feel relieved as the wind carries away the words. It’s a shame. If they weren’t so sad, you could have imagined them to be seeds being carried away to create life in the ground.

Your flowing nightgown is smoothed over by Chrollo’s hand. It’s an odd thing to do because it’s just going to do the same thing again. Despite that, he continues the act at least six times before giving up and resting his forearms on the terrace railing next to you. The city below is quiet, the hotel room even quieter. It’s way past 2 in the morning but you don’t care. He woke you up by trying to leave the bed, so it’s his fault you both are here at this hour.

Regardless, when he opens his mouth, the wind keeps blowing. “And what more could you have wanted?” His question is met with indifference from your side. Chrollo does not understand your sentiments. That is the most common source of all your arguments. Whether he tries to or not is a different discussion. The fact is that he does not.

“‘More’,” you echo back, “what do you mean ‘more’?” He opens his mouth quickly to respond, but shuts up even quicker when you cut him to it. “I don’t mean to be rude, but being kidnapped by a man I stopped seeing after catching hints of his criminal background isn’t a very desirable life.”

Instead of remorse, that irritating, self-satisfied smile is on his face. “Have you ever considered that I planted those hints on purpose?” You groan immediately, already knowing what he’s about to say when he continues. “I laid out the bait, and you, my darling, took it like the curious fish you are.”

“Oh yes. Because I'm the fiddle you played with a smile on your face. You’re simply proving my point.” You turn to face the city again, chin now coming to rest on your forearms. The wind is still blowing, but it’s gotten chillier. “You don’t see me as a loved one,” you continue. “You see me as something to play and get entertainment from. Everything you have done was for your selfishness. Like a kid refusing to share a toy.”

A chuckle comes from your side, and you can see Chrollo copying your pose from the corner of your eye. “Is that really what you think of this? That you’re a toy? Perhaps I am inexpressive at times, but that certainly does not warrant such a conclusion.” A hand reaches to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear, but it gets blown away by the wind right away. “Believe me, love,” he whispers, “Had it been up to me I would have given you the world. Until then, you’ll have to settle with me. I’m sorry if that’s disappointing.”

A comment is on the tip of your tongue, but you are beaten by Chrollo in speed. “And if you really do fall in love during that, I’d like to ask you that question again. We’ll then see how your answer changes.”

[lovevuni]

Double Dare Romance : Enoch O’Connor x Reader : Part 2 Success

Warning: Flirting, Fluff, slight dirty flirting (like two bits), Slow burn

Summary: You take your new challenge into effect, taking every oppurtunity to flirt with enoch to get him flustered in order to soften him up. Your only goal is to get under his skin and have him admit defeat. Is this when you succed?

A/N: Again I hate using Y/N but sadly have to. Enjoy~

Part 1: Challenge Accepted

You are unpacking your luggage in your room Miss Peregrine has assigned to you.

“Ah, Y/N. Always one step ahead of everyone else. I must say, I admire your tenacity.” Enoch says as you are unpacking causing you to look at him.

“tenacity?” You question not understanding the word. 

“Yes, tenacity. Despite our initial differences and the challenges that arise when you’re around, you never give up or lose sight of your goals. Whether it’s advancing your mission or getting under someone’s skin, you always keep pushing forward. It’s an admirable quality, even if it does drive me mad at times.”

“The only thing I want under is you pretty boy.” You tease him causing him to raise an eyebrow at your amusing words.

“Ah, I see you’re still trying to rile me up. Well let me tell you, Y/N, there are much more effective ways to get under my skin than cheap taunts and insults.”

“I bet there is, but this is a lot more fun” You wink.

He chuckles at your antics, “Indeed it is, Y/N. And who knows, maybe someday you’ll find a way to genuinely get under my skin. But until then, I suppose I’ll just have to content myself with watching you try.” 

Claire walks into the room announcing that it was time for dinner before skipping out of the room. (I love claire)

“The night is still young, Y/N. Perhaps we could continue this conversation over dinner? My treat, of course.” In your head you roll your eyes knowing Miss peregrine and the children make the food.

“We shall” You say as you grab his arm for him to escort you down to dinner.

He smiles as he takes your had, leading you out of the room and towards the dining hall.

“A charming lady like yourself should definitely make the most of social situations. Who knows, perhaps tonight will bring about a new opportunity to annoy each other further...or perhaps something more meaningful may come from it? Only time will tell.”

“Oh I plan on it” You finish the conversation as you take a seat next to him, planning your next attack.

He takes a sip of his drink looking pleased as ever, “You know, Y/N, sometimes I wonder what motivates you. Is it simply the thrill of the chase, or do you truly wish to engage in meaningful discourse with me? It’s hard to tell with you; you’re so elusive and unpredictable.”

“I’d never tell you” He grins at this.

“Of course not, Y/N. That would defeat the purpose entirely. Part of the fun is trying to figure you out, to test your boundaries and push your buttons. And yet, despite our differences and opposing viewpoints, there’s something about you that draws me in.” 

You decide to end the conversation there and move your focus to Millard, conversing with him about different books you both enjoy.

Enoch watches as you begin to speak with millard about literature, “ Ah, a love of reading. How quaint. I must admit, though. I’m suprised to see you conversing with such a lowbrow individual as Millard. Then again, perhaps you seek to prove some sort of point by associating with those beneath you?”

You decide to ignore him and continue your convo with Millard.

He seems offended but stays silent as you converse with Millard, but continues to watch you carefully.

As you finish talking and begin to eat Enoch takes this time to try and speak with you again, “So, did you enjoy your chat with Millard? I must confess, i found it somewhat amusing to observe.”

“You’re observing me now?” giving him a shocked look knowing full well he was.

He smirks, “Indeed, I find myself fascinated by your every move. Perhaps it’s because we have such a strong connection. Or maybe it’s just that I enjoy pushing your buttons. One cannot be sure in these matters. What do you think drives your interactions with me Y/N?”

“You believe we have a connection now? If I were any better I would say your catching feeling now Enoch” You say teasingly as you run your foot up his leg under the table making sure non of the children see what is happening.

He laughs as he glances at your foot on his leg before meeting your gaze once more, “Oh, I know you are much too good for me, Y/N. But perhaps there is something about the way I challenge you, the way I push your boundaries, that appeals to you on a deeper level.”

“I wouldn’t say that now” You continue to move your foot up his body to a more intimate area of his, still making sure no one else can see.

He smirks leaning closer to you, their voices low enough not to be overheard, “is it possible that part of you enjoys the thrill of danger, the excitement of exploring forbidden territories? Are you secretly drawn to the darkness withing me even though it terrifies you at times?”

“there is nothing intimidating about you my boy, I’m just trying to prove that I can get under your skin” You whisper with your hot breath in his ear.

Gasping with shivers down his back as he feels your warm breath against his ear, “You certainly succeed in getting under my skin, Y/N. And yes, I admit it - there is something about the darkness inside of you that draws me in like a moth to a flame.” SUCCESS!

You laugh as you completely pull away from him in a succeeding manner, “told you I would get you”

He laughs, “Well played, it seems our little game has become quite heated. Shall we continue?”

“why should we, when I have already won.” You get up in victory from the table to help Claire get ready for bed, “Come on Claire, time for bed.”

He watches you leave the table and take care of Claire, feeling conflicted emotions swirling within him.

“Intrigued by your wit, intelligence, and hidden desires. Driven by the need to understand you better, to uncover the depths of your soul.” He says to himself.

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

Part 3 : Only Fun

[alwritey-aphrodite]

That’s My Whole World

Chapter 8 of There’s Nothing Like This

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Jamie Tartt x fem!footballer!reader

Warnings: angst, discussions of injury, vague depression thoughts

Word Count: 2.7k

Author’s Note: here she is, the final chapter!! Thank you for all the love on this series, and I’d be happy to write an epilogue or any other little drabbles anyone would like to request <3

Life doesn’t change in any dramatic way after you kiss Jamie. Really, it’s a little shocking how normal everything is. The two of you still spend almost every night together, parked on one of your couches in front of the TV while snacking or eating dinner, and the only difference is that now, you sit closer and you cuddle and you kiss him goodbye. Otherwise, everything’s the same as it has been.

Training is even more grueling than usual with your final game of the season against Arsenal on Saturday. If you lose this game, you come in second and everything you worked for this season would mean nothing. Even though coming in second place your first year in the league is astounding, you need to win, need to prove to everyone that you’re able to play with the big dogs, that you’re just as worthy of praise as the men.

Most nights when you come home, your mind and your body ache, sore all over and running in circles creating every possible scenario for Saturday. Jamie, though, has always been there when you’ve gotten home, no matter how late it was, and he always had warm food and would let you cry and rant and complain to him as long as you’d like.

Even though the end of the men’s season is right around the corner as well, there’s essentially no plausible way for them to lose, as they’ve been on top for the entire season, with even Man City trailing quite a few points behind. Your team, though, has been neck and neck with Arsenal for the entirety of the season, with the two of you switching between first and second place practically every week.

For now, though, you’re winning, and you’d like to keep it that way.

Jamie, despite his own stress about the upcoming end of the season, has never been anything but wonderful and reassuring, spending hours telling you that you have nothing to worry about and gently scolding you for working so hard and putting so much stress on yourself. It’s difficult to balance your intensity during training, and even though you know you need to be in the best shape possible with working muscles when Saturday rolls around, you also know you need to push yourself in training to get yourself to be as great as you know you can be.

Most evenings are spent with you icing your feet and your ankles and sometimes your knees, with Jamie gently rubbing the tension out of your shoulders. He never says it, but you know he thinks you’re pushing yourself too hard, but you can’t stop now. You’ve made it this far, what’s the point in slowing down when you’re so close to the top?

When Saturday morning rolls around, you’re sore and more anxious than you’ve ever been, feeling nauseous and unable to eat. Still, you manage to choke down some food because you know you need to eat, know that if you skip breakfast you’ll just feel worse when you get to Nelson Road. You take a steaming hot shower in the hopes of relaxing your muscles as much as possible, and by the time you’ve dried off and packed your bag, Mackie’s waiting in your driveway.

Silently thanking the universe for her perfect timing, you climb into the passenger’s seat to be greeted by the playlist you had made years ago to hype yourself up before your first game on the national team, even though you both sat on the bench the entire time. Just hearing the songs, remembering how far you’ve come, was enough to momentarily replace your ceaseless anxiety with pure joy, allowing you to simply enjoy a car ride with your best friend and turn off your worrying mind for a few minutes.

Pulling up to the Dog Track, though, it all comes rushing back and you’re an anxious mess, walking on autopilot to the dressing room and trying to ignore all the reports that call out to you in the parking lot. Inside, it’s noisy and bustling, the players and coaches scurrying through the dressing room with Keeley and Rebecca popping in every few minutes to “check on the state of everyone”.

All in all, it serves to make you more jittery, but it’s reassuring to know that everyone’s feeling much the same as you are. Changing into your kit, you take a moment to thank the universe for everything that’s happened to you, the good and the bad, because without that injury, you might not be here with a Richmond on your chest and a 9 on your back.

As Elena fixes your hair, making sure it’s slick and secure the same way she always does, the coaches stand at the front of the room with Keeley and Rebecca, clearly getting ready for their pregame speech. Instead of one of the coaches, though, Keeley steps forward.

“I just wanted to thank you guys for everything, for your hard work and dedication and positivity, even when it wasn’t easy,” she smiles at you, even though her eyes shimmer with tears, “and whatever happens out there, I’m proud of you.”

The room erupts into murmurs of agreement, shouting out your love for Keeley as she steps back by Rebecca, who wraps an arm around her shoulder and squeezes gently.

“Let’s go fucking crush them!” Roy adds, and the room explodes into noise, the team huddling up for the final time of the season.

Heading out onto the pitch, it’s shockingly loud and the stands are completely full, but they’re full of Richmond blue and red. Near the pitch you recognize the three men from the pub, all decked out in Richmond gear, even with their faces painted. It’s not hard to find the men’s team, either, who are all covered in Richmond swag as well, and you try not to grin when Jamie blows you a kiss. Mackie notices, and blows one back to him.

The energy is electric, and for the first time all day, you’re thinking that maybe you can win this.

In the final few minutes of the game, your hard work and hope are so close to being paid off, with a two-two tie and a clear path to the goal, you make a break for it, receiving a perfect pass from Mackie and closing in on the undefended goal when suddenly everything stops. You can’t see, you can’t breathe, and all you can hear is the ringing in your ears.

There are hands all around you, touching and prodding and supporting your head, and it’s not until someone reaches out for your right ankle that your body explodes in pain. It all comes back to you, the vicious tackle from an unseen defender that sent you flying and crashing onto the ground, your entire body weight landing on your bad foot. It feels like the whole foot, your ankle and your leg and your hip have been shattered, and now you’re hyperventilating as the medics rush over, your head placed in Mackie’s lap as she holds you steady.

The crowd is silent, waiting with bated breath to see what happened, to see if you’re alright, but the area around you is full of noise; the clear, direct speech of the medics and the frantic responses of all the players, teammates and rivals alike. Unable to move, unable to sit, unable to breathe, you’re placed on a stretcher and hurried off the field.

Of course it would end like this, in defeat and destruction. You were naive to think anything else would have happened, naive to think you were able to play with the big dogs because all these years later, you’re still just a stupid little girl who can’t stop herself from getting hurt. It doesn’t even hurt anymore, but you can’t tell if that’s from whatever they’ve injected you with or because of the shock and adrenaline coursing through your body.

Instead of taking you to the medic’s room, that warm little room with ice packs and various braces, you’re loaded into an ambulance and taken away from Nelson Road, away from your last chance at doing something great, doing something worth remembering other than getting spectacularly injured.

The last and first thing you see are blindingly bright lights, shining down from on high and you wonder for a second if you’d died, from shame or your injury, until the lights are shut off and your eyes adjust to the bleak hospital room. You’re on your back, foot wrapped like a mummy and elevated above your heart, and everything hurts, your entire body aches and screams in pain, but all you can do is let out a pitiful little moan.

This is your life again, helpless and stuck on your back like a sad classroom turtle, just something to be looked at with varying degrees of pity. You don’t even want to think about how helpless you were last time, how you needed to rely on someone to do everything for you, to cook for you and help you shower and walk you to the bathroom, and even just the thought of being stuck like that again makes bile rise in the back of your throat.

You’re interrupted from your self pity party by a soft knock at the door, and it takes all your effort to turn your head just the slightest bit.

“There are some people who’d like to see you, if you’d be ok with that?” The doctor asks in a gentle voice as if you’re a child. Helpless, helpless, helpless.

“Sure,” you try to say but your lips are cracked and your mouth is dry so you’re not confident any words come out but the doctor understands and leaves to usher someone else inside.

“How’re you feeling?” Mackie asks as she enters the room, and she can’t help but chuckle at the withering look you send her because obviously you’re not doing too great. She’s followed into the room by Elena and Keeley and Rebecca and Roy and Beard and Nate, all of them crowding around your little hospital bed. You can’t help but notice that Jamie isn’t with them, and you hate how it makes your chest ache even more.

“The rest of us are waiting outside,” Elena says, taking in your wandering eyes and knowing just what to say, “they wouldn’t let us all in and we won rock paper scissors.” You think you laugh at that, but you’re not convinced any sound comes out.

“I get to take you home later, take care of you like my little baby,” Mackie says, placing a kiss on your forehead in a rarely tender gesture, “I’m glad you’re alright.”

“Did we win?” You croak, desperate to know the answer while dreading what you might hear.

“3-2,” Roy nods over at Mackie, “this one almost ripped a hole in the net.” You smile at your best friend, despite the resentment and despair that sit deep in your chest. That should’ve been you, scoring a showstopping, game-winning goal, but instead you got a broken foot and endless misery. You want to be happy, but you feel like crying.

You stay that way, for a long, long time. The doctors are unable to determine the scope of your injury, saying that you could be back to playing by the start of next season or you could never play again. You could score the season-winning goal next year or you could never walk normally again. They don’t know, and you refuse to get your hopes up, refuse to think of soccer or the Greyhounds as much as possible.

Mackie, though, is always there, moving herself onto your couch while you wallow in the ground floor guest bedroom, reeking of misery and defeat. The physical pain of your shattered foot is nothing compared to the emptiness in your chest, the disgust you feel over needing someone to take care of you. Mackie doesn’t mind, you know she jumped on the opportunity to be your guardian while you were out, but something painful blooms in your chest every time she brings you food or your meds or asks if you need help getting to the bathroom.

Most of your time is spent crying, the sound of the TV turned up to drown out the noise even though you know Mackie can hear you. You’re just grateful she never says anything, never looks at you with those wide, pitiful eyes and instead she remains her sarcastic, witty self. It’s a nice reminder that not everything has changed, that while your career is most likely over, your life isn’t over.

The Greyhounds come over to visit often, gathering around your bed or sitting on the floor when you’re finally able to make the trip to the living room without gritting your teeth in pain. Rebecca and Keeley send you gifts all the time, pastries and books and snacks you know cost a fortune to ship over from the States, and even the men’s team make sure you know they care, ordering dinner for you or stopping by to chat and vacuum and make sure you’re not going insane with having only Mackie to talk to.

Jamie comes the most, though, relieving Mackie of her babysitting duties as much as he can and as much as you love him, you hate how often he’s around. You hate that he has to see you like this, that he doesn’t mind that you haven’t showered properly in weeks and that you barely brush your hair and that most of the time you’re together, you just sit and cry.

He doesn’t mind at all, though, telling you time and time again that if you want him to leave, he will, but he doesn’t want to go. He’s happy to wipe your tears when you cry and brush out your hair for you, happy to help you to the bathroom or out to your backyard once the weather gets warmer and the doctors say you don’t need to elevate your foot 24/7.

“I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore,” you say for what feels like the thousandth time, voice thick and swiping aggressively at your eyes with the back of your hand.

“You’re gonna play football,” Jamie says, just like he always does, trying his best to be a beacon of light for you.

Even though you tried to believe him before, even though you desperately wanted him to be right before, the start of the season is creeping closer and closer and your foot is still encased in plastic and velcro, you still struggle with walking by yourself and you haven’t even started physical therapy yet. It feels like your heart is physically breaking, but you know you won’t be playing this season.

“Take a season off,” Jamie says, readjusting your position so he can hold you better, “sit on the bench and annoy grandad all year.” You laugh wetly, and you can feel Jamie smiling into your hair, “or maybe you don’t come back and play, but you could coach or find a pundit gig or write books for kids like Leah Williamson.”

“She still plays though,” you counter, knowing you’re being shitty but thinking that maybe in this situation that’s acceptable.

“Your life isn’t over,” he places a kiss to the crown of your head, “we’ll figure it out, yeah?”

And you will. Clearly, with how slowly your foot is healing, you have plenty of time to figure it out, and you know Jamie and Mackie and Elena and all your other friends and teammates will be there with you every step of the way. You could always wait a season, let yourself rest and heal properly, the way you deserve, before stepping back onto the pitch. Or maybe you’ll never step foot on the pitch as a player again, but you could coach or write or do a thousand different jobs that keep you in the soccer world, or you could leave it all behind forever.

Maybe this chapter of your life is over, but a new one’s about to begin and you can’t wait to see what it holds.

Tags: @andr0medafallen @whimsical-roasting @sokkigarden @hopefulromances @buckychristwrites @guccilongboard @onceuponaoneshot @yepyeahuhhuh @allthefandomtherapy @gibby31 @buddyjuststop @ellietartt @cancvr @brianandthemays @sonyume @aiyaiy @yokolesbianism @jamietarttdodo @innocentbi-stander @skewedcherries @neenieweenie

[ohmygodtheywereparabatai]

i wanted to invite a conversation about this because it’s genuinely been bothering me for a long time. and i in fact wasn’t immune to it either and am just now realizing this is the power of cinematic brainwashing.

but like, tgm is so many bad things. sexist, racist, ageist, to scratch the tip of the iceberg. token characters that meet the bare minimum for diversity, and sidelined women - i’d even say exploited women. a narrative that is so egocentric that it’s miraculous that some characters manage to hold their own instead of being swept under the charismatic magnetism of the reckless bad boy character who can get away with murder because deep down, he’s regretful, and he has a good heart.

what a shallow representation of the military, and what a disservice to those who were inspired to join because they thought the real life experience would mirror even a fraction of what is presented on screen. the reality is that there was never a competition to win a top gun trophy, and in fact today you have to pay 5$ at the top gun school if you even mention the film. that speaks for itself.

tom cruise being a huge part of the production process has made it impossible for me not to hold him responsible for the choices that have been made. to even subtitle the sequel movie with “Maverick”, the same protagonist as in the first one, comes across as insanely egotistical - and honestly a testament to how mav’s story manages to drown out the autonomy and validity of other characters. i’ll explain this terms of ice, penny, carole, and charlie. you’ll notice how i’m gonna be bringing up three women.

ice-

i don’t care that val kilmer gave the okay on using his cancer as a plot point. i care that cancer was not only used as a plot point, but treated like this ^

“i’m dying. you have bigger problems.”

the original script seems to peel back the layers of tgm’s intended messaging, so i’m using several examples. this is what is being communicated. i honestly don’t know what else to add. in or out of context, this is incredibly disturbing - and that it’s played as a self-aware quip from ice, even more so. the bond of wingmen goes both ways, and i just didn’t see that… if anything, that aspect leaned so heavily on the first film (the photo of them smiling at each other) that it just proves my point. it took ice’s death for mav to get up off his ass and do something to keep his career afloat besides get a cop-out from the compacflt. ice in the first movie was a compelling antagonist and voice of reason - now he’s mostly relegated to the role of babysitter, denying mav’s character the growth of accountability by simply erasing his poor choices with a phone call.

it’s why the darkstar scene pisses me off. to stop at mach 10 would have been fine, but to push it just for the sake of it is ridiculous. the fact that earlier mav states “i know what happens to everyone else if i don’t” in regards to his decision only makes this screw-up more laughable, because to me it’s the very contradiction of maverick: his intentions do not balance with his actions. costing the military millions of dollars in a few seconds somehow balances with his heartfelt desire to protect the interests of its workforce.

penny-

shortly before, during, and after this screenshot, i counted a total of 6 times that penny made it clear she would not appreciate mav’s advances. regardless, mav goes on to say “you look good”. this flirtation happens before mav is even aware of her marital status, as he asks amelia “where’s your dad?” in a later scene… which… dear god.

penny also says “it always ends the same with us, so let’s not start this time”, indicating this is a repeated pattern in which her boundaries weren’t respected and moreover, the relationship ended up failing. yet this is framed as the main romance of tgm, a wonderful and nostalgic callback to the original that ends as stereotypically as possible.

i love penny. she’s witty, caring, independent, and of course stunning. so i find her treatment in tgm a disservice to what started out as a rich and compelling character. she later ends up mav’s shoulder to cry on, more or less, comforting him after losing his wingman and his position as instructor. the song “hold my hand” is thematically suited for penny, playing in the background at the bar and in the notes of the score during her scenes - even musically, she is turned into a source of consolation first, and her own woman second. she’s his prize at the end of the film, falling for the promise “i’m never gonna leave you again”, which i don’t buy for a second. they fly into the sunset, presumably signifying a new horizon for their relationship - but i feel so dissatisfied with this arc for her and think she deserved much better.

that mav gets away with this behavior is something i’d like to see more people reflect on. it seems to be a pattern with male protagonists, in which case the function of male and protagonist in hollywood cinema needs an examination.

carole-

top gun (1986):

this is an especially crude exploitation to me. not only is carole the one consoling a young maverick (if a full-fledged 24 year old can be called young, in light of the tendency people have to dismiss his choices in ‘86) after his mistake costs her own husband his life… but her stance, even following a tragedy of that magnitude, didn’t change. goose would have flown anyway, and she knows that well enough - on top of that, it’s easy to see she would have supported him.

it came as a surprise to me that she wouldn’t in turn support her own son, who is clearly committed to a career as a pilot. in the end, i see a cheap narrative device that contradicts carole’s character, undermines her strength as a wife and mother, both in order to serve the interests of the plot. maverick in tgm needs a viable reason to hide a secret, to be tortured by his own consequences, to put further strain on his tension with bradley. there were plenty of other ways to do it, but the fact that it was this leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

charlie-

it’s my understanding that tom cruise’s personal reason (his excuse) for not bringing back charlie was that he didn’t like how their relationship ended. if there’s any source confirming or denying this, i’d appreciate a link.

anyways. yeah. this is… a huge problem with hollywood at large, which kelly mcgillis understands, but i’ll break it down. there’s a simpler reason this pisses me off more than anything. tgm’s entire subject matter is about repairing relationships. penny benjamin was dredged out of obscurity to do it. maverick and rooster’s grudge of 30+ years was used to do it. iceman’s character, as warped as he feels, is another way the film made this its theme. but charlie is out of the question?

that val kilmer could be asked to return, and make an insane amount of money for each second he’s on screen, but such an opportunity is never given to kelly mcgillis, who herself centers on the 1986 poster, speaks volumes to me. tom cruise even planted his foot when it came to reprising iceman, saying he wouldn’t do this movie without val in it.

it’s worth mentioning that viper and slider were also present at ice’s funeral, but this scene was cut out. for a film that’s quite heavy-handed with its nostalgic callbacks, this was an odd decision. until realizing, as my friend put it, that even ice’s death couldn’t be about him, whether it had brought in his own teacher or his rio - his goose. it had to revolve around mav, to catalyze a turning point for him in the plot.

also… a shoutout to the erasure of sarah kazansky, pretty much everywhere. that also tells me a lot.

…

this was just a dissection of the various character portrayals (or absences) in tgm that have bothered me since forever. this isn’t even going into how tgm accomplishes everything that propaganda sets out to do. combinations of stunning visuals, soaring music composed by masters like hans zimmer, the charismatic power of a cast packed with stars… all play a role in the blinding awesomeness of tgm, which has taken me this long to break away from.

consider the white/poc duos in the film: maverick and hondo, hangman and coyote, cyclone and warlock. who has more lines? who plays a greater role? why is that?

i don’t see this as real diversity. it masquerades as inclusion, which i find worse. and to cast an actor of asian descent, and give him the callsign yale? … wow.

framing is powerful. its influence in cinematography is unmatched. a story is being constructed and told not only through dialogue, but sound, visuals, editing… really, nothing can be dismissed as insignificant. i’m not asking for a scholarly interrogation of all media you consume, though, that would be so excellent, and so healthy… but i am trying to raise these questions in the community, of what gets lost when a main character is so overwhelmingly main. when someone like tc has so much control over the decision-making process, since it’s sort of a running joke that maverick is a tc self-insert. my focus isn’t the inclusions, but the exclusions.

and finally, since i’ve unfortunately spent a lot of life writing this post… it’s interesting to me that many viewers in hindsight seem to see top gun 1986 so differently. as kids, they sided with mav over the antagonist. an older audience returning to the first film now seem to side with iceman, seeing him as the rational one attempting to raise important points. i wonder if this will be the case with top gun: maverick in the future. in which case, i’m excited to see more cyclone fans. he’s my favorite character… unsurprisingly.

oh. one last thing.

“the man, the myth, the legend” … the word myth has two meanings:

…

happy reading.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

Is Dolores gonna announce about her regime any time soon?

Heading into town was her next call of action. If shutting her family up had been that satisfying, then shutting the townspeople up would be her own ideal of heaven.

She paraded herself through the centre of town, in a similar fashion to how Señorita Perfecta Isabela would have graced these same street no less than a year ago, but with her silencing sound waves in place of fresh flora.

Anyone she passed, whether they looked at her or were talking about her or not at all, immediately found that they were unable to make a sound. Some of the smarter ones decided to run, but not even that would save them. It had never saved her. No matter where she went or how far she ran, she was still forced to listen to audible torture.

Señora Pezmuerto had been the one to spot her first, whispering to Padre Flores, asking him to try speaking some sense into Dolores. After all, they had been close once - she was a dedicated member of the gospel choir in her school years, the harmonious backing vocals to Isabela or Camilo’s solos. She turned from the priest, as if attempting to make the situation better by placating the listener, only to be waved off entirely.

Dolores only smiled that the aghast look on their faces and the villagers surrounding them. As Señora Pezmuerto silently spluttered, Padre Flores was quick to make a sigh of the crossover himself as Dolores continued onwards. She’ll come back to him later maybe - church would be much more enjoyable without his rambling sermons, that’s for damn sure.

The serene moment was interrupted by a chorus of shouting. Three of the village kids, no doubt children Camilo had babysat at some point or another and who had become friends of Antonio’s since his ceremony, were yelling at her.

“You can’t do that! It’s mean!” Called Juancho.

“What is she doing? Why is she doing this!?” Cecilia asked anxiously, glancing at the other two.

“She’s being a bully, that’s why!”

“Juancho! Shush, you’ll make her more mad!” Alejandra tried to hush him.

Dolores thought for a moment.

They were children… but, she had been a child too. And that never seemed to cross anyone’s mind back then, why should it cross her’s now?

She beamed, bringing her hand down to them. Her smile only stretching wider, bearing the whites of her teeth like a jaguar greeting its next meal, as their shouting disappeared and was replaced with ugly, inaudible sobbing as they ran back to their respective families.

“What is the meaning of this?” Old Arturo asked, stepping through the crowd. A member of the council - simply trying to put a stop to this before things got more out of hand. “You have to stop this, these are innocent children!”

“And as was I.” She countered, shushing him.

The old man stumbled, some of the younger members of the council immediately came to stable him, finishing off the argument he had started.

“You all did promise to help us Madrigals more,” she teased. “And well, the best way you can help me is by not uttering another word. Fair is fair, you expected me to be silent about every dirty rumour and scandalous secret I heard against my will, now it’s your turn.”

Proving her point, those yet unaffected did not remain quiet.

“This is completely unfair!”

“Ay dios mio, she’s worse than Bruno.”

“We never did anything to you!”

“I always knew she would I eventually snap. I mean, just look at her mother.”

“It’s not our fault you’re so ungrateful about your gift!”

Her eye-twitched. Her confidence and enjoyment seemed to fracture, boiling back into pure, unrelenting anger. She locking her gaze on whoever said that last comment.

The crowd abruptly went quiet. The person, an old classmate of hers and Isabela’, Abigail Montez, did have the sense to shut up at that point. She looked green, stepping back amongst the crowd, sweat visibly - audibly in Dolores’ case - dripping down her face.

“You know,” she started softly, matter-of-fact. “I’d rip your vocal cords out and strangle you with them if I could, Abigail, but alas, as I cannot...” She raised her hand, a twisted look on her face. “This will have to suffice!”

[blushyeleven]

Tickletober - DAY 4

Weak spot

Characters: lee!tara carpenter x ler! Sam carpenter

Warnings: tickles, swearing (not a lot)

a/n: I hate how dragged the tickle part was but otherwise it would be rlly short so I’m very sorry😭

𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆

it was late one evening in the city of New York. The carpenter sisters sat peacefully on their sofa, watching tv as they both distressed from their busy day. Although, not both of the girls were.. distressing. Tara was noticeably more quite then usual. Sam obviously picked up on it almost immediately but she considered that the last thing tara would want was to be overloaded with questions. She didn’t like to push Tara to offload either but at the same time she figured if she knew what was wrong.. she could help. Sam would do anything for tara. Any time tara was around her big sister instincts would kick in and take over, making sure tara was safe at all times and was okay. So sam simply looked over to where Tara was sitting. The younger girls eyes focused on the tv with a drowsy expression.

The tv just softly playing in the background, until she heard a soft voice speak up “don’t you think how crazy it is how much we’ve changed?” Tara asked nonchalantly, her eyes still gazed at the tv, looking a little more alive now. “What do you mean?” Sam questioned “well.. like we’re whole new people now..” Tara stated, her eyes adverting from the tv and finally meeting sams. “Well, i wouldn’t say we’re completely different. Your still you tara” sam smiled reassuringly. “Yeah, but.. I’m so different now?” Tara asked herself. “Well yea your different, but you haven’t completely changed, I’d say your just more mature now” Sam giggled seeing taras fake offended look wiped across her face. Her mouth forming a small ‘o’ shape with her eyebrows slightly furrowed. “Excuse me?! I was always mature!” Tara argued back, obviously joking. Same lips curved upwards, showing the sillest smile as she watched tara try to argue against her point. “Yeahh.. sureee..” sam mused with a sarcastic tone “no but for real, don’t stress about changing, you’ll always be my little sister no matter how different you are” Sam reasured and Tara gave the softest smile, her lips curbing upwards and showing her dimples.

“Even If your still immature sometimes” sam added, not being able to hold back a smile of her own. Clearly winding up her younger sister “I’m not even immature!” Tara whined, trying to prove her point. But clearly failing miserably. “Everything about what you just said, just shows that you haven’t changed that much and your childish” sam snickered seeing Tara get more and more wound up by the second, so to aggravate her poor little sister some more.. Sam reached out one of her fingers and poked Tara right in the ribs. Tara jumped slightly and let out a sharp exhale while her hand shot out to shield her ribs. “Oh my god.. I forgot how ticklish you are!” Sam giggled and Tara shuffled in her seat slightly, her face flushed. Sam took that as an opportunity to dart her hand back out and scribble directly at Taras side, causing the younger girl to squeak and let out a small flurry of giggles while wiggling around aimlessly

. This didn’t satisfy sam, so without warming she crawled her fingers up to taras armpits. Tara immediately clenched her arms to her sides, trying to block out the deathly ticklish spot. “Ohh! Same weak spot from when you was younger hm?” Sam asked, well.. it wasn’t really a question. It was more of a statement with a slight edge of tease to it. Tara used all of her strength to block her armpits.. but unfortunately for her. Sam has the advantage of being stronger. You know.. she was the older sister. So with ease sam managed to squirm and wiggle her fingers into taras armpits. This small amount of movement was enough to make taras laughter shoot up a few decibels. “WAHAHAIT-“ the squirming became more relentless as tara realised there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop sam from tickling her armpits. “See! Your not all different! Your still ridiculously ticklish!” Sam teased and without any difficulty, she pinned taras arms above her head. Leaving her armpits completely exposed and an easy target to wreck. And that’s exactly what Sam intended to do.

Ever since they were little sam absolutely loved tickling Tara. Not in a mean way, but she adored the cute faces and reactions that Tara gave. Followed by the sound of taras loud, care-free laughter. So any chance she could, she would tickle tara. Even if it was just to see her smile.

Taras eyes then widened slightly as she came to realise that there really was no stopping this. That there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Even after putting up her best fight.. it still wasn’t enough to stop sams evil tactics. “nonohoh! S-sam! Come on!” Tara tried to plead with Sam, a few giggled already lingering in her voice. Sam snickered at her younger sisters attempt to reason with her before darting her nails into taras hollows, scribbling at them. The ear-splitting squeal that tara let out could be heard for miles. It bounced off the apartment walls and probably woke up the people from half way across the globe. Sams own eyes widened as Tara then fell into heavy bounds of laughter, kicking her feet and tugging at her arms. “BAHAHHAHAHA NONONOOHHOHOOH!! AHAHAHAHHAHA!!” Sam simply smirked at her little sister. “I still can’t believe how ticklish you are, I thought we grew out of this a long time ago?!” Sam teased and just listened to taras forceful laughter as it was filling the apartment. She really did sound like a toddler, sam thought. “SAHHAHAHAMM PLEHEHEHHEHEASEEE!!!” Tara pleaded again, her face becoming a bright shade of pink as she desperately tried to pull at her arms. Although sams grip was strong as she continued to use one hand to hold both of taras arms up.

Without warning, sam then Switcher armpits. Clawing at it mercilessly. The sudden movement catching Tara off guard and causing her to let out a scream. It was soon enough before Tara then fell back into the deafening laughter that their poor next door neighbours could definitely hear. “AHAHAHAHHAHA I CAHAHAHHANNNTTT!!!” Tara was wiggling around while kicking her legs like a toddler having a tantrum. “See! Your still just as childish and dramatic as you were when you were little!” The older girl ‘reassured’.

Sam then had the amusing idea of slowing down her fingers, just lightly brushing her fingers up and down the full length of taras pinned arm, stopping just above her armpit before repeating this same slow and annoying movement over and over again.. causing Tara to twitch slightly whenever sam got close to her armpit. Tara was letting out a lot of uneven breaths and she was clearly very confused from this sudden soft feeling. It was clear that sam was feeling especially evil and when she stopped just above taras armpits again, sam then dipped her fingers back into her armpits. Not yet moving them. Tara let out a sudden gasp and jumped upwards slightly with a sudden pull from her arm. Sam then used the tip of one of her nimble fingers to carefully and lightly circle around taras hollows. The soft and feathery feeling caused Tara to Buck up slightly and begin to twitch and pull at her arm with the corners of her lips were tugging upwards. “W-whahat are you dohoing?” Tara asked, still giggling at the ticklish feeling. “I’m being nice” sam replied innocently. With a sweet but deceiving smile. Tara knew that this wasn’t sam being nice but infact she had a plan. Stupidly, Tara spent to long focussing on what sams plan might have been and Sam used this as a chance to quickly use both of her hands to dive back into her armpits. Targeting her weak spot and obviously being cruel about it.

“FUHUHUCKK!! SAHAHAHMM!!” Tara instinctively moved her arms back down to her side. Still not blocking out sams scribbling fingers. After she saw the tear trickling from taras cheek she finally let out, giggling as tara was gasping for air. “Literally.. fuck.. you” tara said jokingly as the tried to regain her breath. “It’s not my fault your still as ticklish and have the same weak spot from when you were a toddler” sam stated and Tara rolled her eyes, grabbing the glass of water that was sat on the coaster on the coffee table. “See, no matter how different you are.. or how much you grow up.. the one thing that will never change about you is how ridiculously ticklish you are” sam snickered and smirked at her younger sister who was still catching her breath.

“shut up Sam”

Tara smiled before wrapping herself in a blanket, turning her attention back to the tv before her eyes began to flutter. Shortly after Tara was sound asleep on the sofa and sam didn’t have the heart to wake her. So instead sam collected both her and taras covers from their bedroom before placing Taras cover over her and sam snuggled down on the sofa with her cover. Both of the sisters sleeping peacefully.

[loveotomization]

For the past 10 years of my life as a Mikan enjoyer, I've been daydreaming about writing a series of essays examining Mikan's fall scenes through a lens of both satire and in-universe character motivation. Finally got off my butt and did it.

Presenting:

Mikan vs. Fanservice

Part 1: A Doyalist look at satire of fanservice in SDR2

(warning: contains images of anime girls in skimpy clothes)

This is a part of my larger Mikan fansite, Sad Nurse.

Essay can also be read under the cut!

(Please don't go picking a fight with me over cartoon people. I'm old and tired. I probably won't respond.)

I’d like to start off by saying that analysis will deal almost exclusively with Mikan’s portrayal in the SDR2 game, rather than the DR3 anime or any manga adaptation. Being a different medium, and produced a few years after the game, I believe that the writing and art could at times have different intentions than the games.

I personally find the writing choices for Mikan’s character absolutely fascinating, to the point that it invites both Doyalist and Watsonian exploration of what makes her function.  (simply put, Kodaka’s writing and Mikan’s in-universe motivations work in concert, rather than at odds)

I’m writing this series of essays in response to the constant, not to mention surprising, confusion I’ve seen surrounding Mikan’s character over the past ten years. Mikan is a very unique character, and her motivations are difficult to find perfectly mirrored in another existing character (not to say that I have consumed every piece of media ever, but I have yet to run across another character like her). Either way, I’m hoping to challenge some incorrect views or at the very least have the chance to say my piece after so many years.

Now, of course, I am not Kodaka nor have I met him personally. I have, however, been in the fandom for longer than the average DR fan, not to mention being somewhat older, so I may have different experiences with media than some other fans.  

Now that I have all of that out of way, I’d like to begin with what I personally believe was Kodaka’s primary intention in creating the scenes where Mikan falls over-

Satire.

Dictionary.com defines satire as:

‘The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.’

So just what is the ‘stupidity or vice’ that Kodaka is satirizing?

Fanservice.

(and perhaps the dojikko archetype, but we’ll visit that in another article)

I feel as if the term fanservice has become skewed as of late, as terms often do with passing decades. Back in the early days of English-speaking online anime fandom, fanservice was most often used to mean a scene or piece of artwork that was literally intended to be sexually appealing to the (usually straight male) viewer. At the same time, these scenes would do nothing to further the plot or add to the characterization of the woman in the scene.

These are images of Faye from Cowboy Bebop. I choose her because she exists in a sci-fi action canon that contains a well-written story and characters, as opposed to a pure fanservice series that is only created to showcase women’s bodies for an assumed male gaze.

While it can be argued that the way Faye dresses can make a statement about her personality, it is also clear to the viewer that her outfit is intended to be sexy not just in-universe, but for the viewer as well.

Let’s consider these pictures.

Faye’s top leaves little to the imagination, showing much of her cleavage, which is of course something that many female-attracted people find to be a turn on. You’ll also notice that her booty shorts are unzipped in front, inches from her privates. While I am neutral on the topic of fanservice, characterization and story-wise, there is no reason for the creators to dress her this revealing other than for viewers' pleasure. The adjustments to her costume in the live action prove that she can still be a strong and attractive woman without letting it all hang out.

The same goes for her cocktail dress. There is no vital in-universe need for jiggle physics.

(Disclaimer: This is not a critique of Cowboy Bebop. I think it’s a brilliant show. These images are here solely to juxtapose true fanservice with Mikan’s suggestive pose scenes)

Now, let’s take a look at some characters you’re more familiar with. These are from a collab with a mobile game called Sengoku… something. I’ve never heard of it, and I’m not sure what the actual characters from it look like. That said, let’s look at Mikan and Chiaki in these images.

These images are stand-alone, rather than being scenes from DR canon. In that case, they say nothing about the personality of characters in question, or the story they are from. These images serve no other purpose than to titillate the viewer. The outfits are clearly drawn in ways specifically to highlight their chests and other areas.

So what does this have to do with Mikan’s scenes in SDR2?

I firmly believe that Kodaka is doing three things with the following scenes: satirizing fanservice, satirizing the dojikko character type, and showing quite a bit of Mikan’s character at the same time. I find this pretty clever writing, and the reason I felt compelled to write this series of essays. We know that Kodaka likes satire and parody. Please just take a look at the entire DR series. Even the major themes underlying the games as a whole, such as reality TV culture and the pressures placed on Japanese youth, are largely satire. So why wouldn't smaller moments of satire be present in these same games as well?

These are the scenes in which Mikan falls over on purpose in order to diffuse tense moments, and shift the focus back onto herself by using her sexuality (I’ll go into this topic in depth at another time). As I said, these scenes show us a great deal about the personality of the character, making them immediately more valuable than simple fanservice scenes.

Take a look at her pose, and how she is dressed. Compare it to the ninja costumes above. They show quite a bit of skin, and the poses highlight their breasts and thighs.

In SDR2, Mikan is fully clothed in a reasonably well covering outfit (I once saw someone on Tumblr say that her skirt was drawn too short, and sometimes I feel like we’re one step away from visible ankles becoming scandalous again lol). Her chest is covered. There is the tiniest little peep of plain white panties in one of these images, but that’s about it. I can assure you that these scenes are not very sexy to the average female-attracted person. They are over the top, and clearly present a parody of the sort of scene truly meant to be sexy. Now, of course, literally anything can be a turn on to someone out there, but I’m talking about on average, of course.

Does this mean that Kodaka is against fanservice? I’m sure that’s not the case. However, it is possible to satirize things that you enjoy as well. In fact, I encourage creatives to critique tropes that they personally enjoy. I personally think that it’s a good way to challenge your own point of view and to not take yourself too seriously.

Satire can be shocking, or bring on feelings of discomfort. It is not always intended to be funny. Spending ten years of my life in the DR fandom, it’s always been strange to me that depictions of sexuality--even when they show very little or are used to further characterization--are more shocking to the general viewer base than the actual murders themselves, but that is likely a larger discussion for another day. Back to my point however, is that even if you do feel disgust or discomfort at Mikan’s scenes, they do elicit an emotion in the viewer, which is a large part of the point of art in the first place. In short, you have every right to feel discomfort at these scenes, but I do think that understanding the meaning and value behind them can help deepen enjoyment of the game, or at the very least of Mikan’s character.

Upcoming- A look at the dojikko archetype, followed by a Watsonian look into Mikan’s own motivations in the conscious use of her sexuality.

[rustycopper4use]

It’s Always Been You Pt. 2

(Kyoya x Male Reader)

Chapter Two -The Dance-

 The Club room was covered in tropical leaves, adorned with vibrant flowers. The members wore costumes, having them fit right with the room.

 Now the only issue to this perfect paradise was Haruhi, she was late. Leaving everyone else to wait.

 The door opened, causing a rush of petals to fly past a, now very surprised honor student.

“Welcome!”

 “You finally made it, Haruhi. You’re so late.” The Twins announced.

 Haruhi pauses, before pulling a calendar out from her bag.

   “I could be wrong, but my calendar still says it’s early spring.” She states, before a flamboyant blonde takes over.

   “Huddling under a kotatsu table, fearing the cold is nonsense! And besides… the heating system we have is the best!” 

 Leaving Haruhi mildly annoyed once again 

   Kyoya stepped in a now closed book in hand, and with a polite smile spoke.

 “Do you have a problem with the way we run our club, Haruhi? Be careful what you say. You owe us eight million yen.” He looks at Haruhi.

 “Remember?”

  Haruhi is caught off guard, leaving a sense of dread at the memory.

 Tamaki pulls Haruhi to his side, beginning an unwarranted speech.

“Gentleman, don’t bundle up in bulky clothing. It may be chilly in early spring out there in the real world, but here at the club we want to surprise our chilly little kittens with a warm paradise!” 

 Haruhi is still stuck to Tamaki’s side, and doesn’t seem to care for what he is saying.

 “Oh yes, we’ve turned this place into nirvana! A balmy tropical island of everlasting summer!”

 “That’s funny. Cause I feel a massive chill now.” Irritation painted all over her.

 Amongst the chatter of hosts and enormous guests, lead to the reveal of the spring formal dance, and as the the twins did they usual act, causing the guests to yell in excitement.

  Haruhi stands off to the side with Kyoya and Y/n.

“The guests seem to be even more worked up than how they usually are.” Haruhi states watching the rest of the club's guests.

 As Y/n looks to be watching for other reasons.

“Showing some skin proves popular with the ladies.” He spoke, looking over at Y/n who is still not paying attention.

 He sighs and hits Y/n with his book.

“And apparently Y/n.” 

Y/n whips his head towards Kyoya. 

“What was that for!” He spoke, rubbing his head.

“So, are you the one who came up with this tropical paradise idea?” Haruhi questioned.

 “I have no decision making authority. All the club policies have been laid out by the club’s king, Tamaki.” He pushes his glasses up.

 “I guess there’s no harm in admitting to causally slipping a Bali photo book onto his desk.” 

 “Haruhi, did you really think this club would last if Tamaki is the only one in charge?”  Y/n asked, leaving Haruhi to think.

After Haruhi now left charming her own guests, still in her purple school uniform.

 “Are you going to wear a tropical outfit like the other boys?” One of the girls wondered, starting another girl to join in.

 “I’d like to see that.”

 Haruhi now flustered waves her hands in front of herself.

 “Well, no. I-I just don’t think it’s appropriate to wear anything, but early spring attire in early spring. You know?” She stammered trying to avoid the question.

 But Tamaki intrudes and shows a matching outfit to Tamaki.

“But we have one ready for you Haruhi! I think you’ll like it! You and I are a pair!” Tamaki begs.

 Y/n joins in. 

“Booo! Don’t be boring!”

 “No thanks.” She said flatly, turning back to her table now ignoring the two.

A girl with a brown bob interrupts Haruhi and the girls.

 “Excuse me. I hate to disturb, but I think it’s time for the hosts to switch clients.” The girl explains, with a polite smile.

  The girl sits with Haruhi and begins talking.

 Y/n begins to walk back to kyoya, who is writing in his black notebook.

 Y/n points towards Haruhi and her new guest, with a laugh.

“Tamaki is not going to like this, you're ready for him to lose his mind.” 

 Kyoya looks up from his book, and simply smiles.

 “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” 

All of the guests are now long gone along with the setting sun. Leaving the host to plan for next week's party, well that’s what is supposed to happen.

 Tamaki is in the corner of the room eating ramen while the rest are at the table trying to work.

“Hey boss! Why don’t you stop eating that commoner's ramen and come over here to help us with the party planning?”  Hikaru spoke, looking at the whimpering blonde.

  “Does it really bother you that Princess Kazugazaki has taken a liking to Haruhi?” Kaoru adds in.

Kyoya counties working away on his computer, doing the majority of the party planning.

 “He shouldn’t be surprised. She has had the illness for quite awhile now, has she?”

 Haruhi, now worried for the girl, asked.

“What illness?”

“She has the host hopping disease.” Y/n answers, not really paying attention.

 The twins slide in on both sides of Y/n.

“A.k.a. The never the same boy twice disease.” They answered, starting to try to annoy Y/n. Kyoya looks at the twins briefly before talking once more.

 “Usually our customers choose a favourite host and see them regularly. However, Princess Kanako tends to change her favourite on a regular basis.” 

Honey joins in the explanation.

 “That’s right! Cause before she chose you, she chose Tama-chan!”

“Oh. So, he’s upset because I took her from him.” Haruhi finally understands why.

 Tamaki who is now suddenly at the table with everyone else, seemingly fuming.

 “Shut up! I couldn’t care less! I’m running out of patience!” He lifts his arm in the air. 

 “Haruhi, it’s time you started dressing like a girl!” 

Haruhi is baffled at Tamaki’s words since he never had a problem with it before.

 But now the blonde is frustrated beyond belief, gripping his hair threatening to pull out his hair.

 “I don’t understand how you could be so popular with the ladies when you, yourself are a lady!” He screamed, clearly missing the point.

 He swiftly put his hand in a fist towards his chest

 “No one in this entire school knows the truth except for those of us here!”

The twins now leaning against Y/n, jump in the argument.

 “Yeah, she opted out of gym classes.”

“-and the attendance numbers are all mixed together so no one can tell.” 

They spoke, adding more fuel to the fire.

 Tamaki hastily drags a trunk and starts digging through it.

“That’s enough, Haruhi! Now you listen to Daddy!” He pulls a comically big framed photo of Haruhi, but with long straight hair and a middle school uniform.

 “Daddy wants you to go back to the way you were be-”

 “Don’t go showing my photos without asking me first!” Haruhi was now fed up with the prince.

Everyone begins to circle round the portrait of a younger Haruhi that’s now on the wall. 

 “The more I look at this picture, the more amazed I am. How could this possibly become that.” Hikaru starred in pure confusion.

 “The day before school started, one of the kids in my neighborhood got some gum in my hair.” She ruffled her short hair. 

 “It’s a real pain to get gum out of long hair. So I decided to cut it all off. I didn’t care if I looked like a dude you know.”

 Tamaki grabs Haruhi’s face.

“Girls should never refer to themselves as a dude!” He’s now crying towards Kyouya

“MAMA!”

“-Haruhi is using those dirty boy words again!” He’s on his knees, tears pouring from his face.

“Dude, sorry. But who is mama?” Kaoru questions turning towards Kyoya.

 He sighs, and looks at the club.

“Based on club position, I assume it’s me.”

 “You never told me you had kids!” Y/n faked gasp, teasing Kyoya.

Haruhi, freed from Tamaki, puts her hands on her hips, showing her annoyance.

 “Look, I don't see what you’re crying about. Working as a host, I can back more of my debt. It’ll never happen if I'm just an errand boy.” She sighed, already wanting to go home.

“Hate to change the subject but, do you have formal dance experience? You’ll need it for the party.” Hikaru states, surprising Haruhi.

“Uh… no… But the party doesn't have anything to do with my quota, right? I’m not interested in going to events. So, if I could be excused?” She spoke, dread from the mere idea of the party.

 “You're a host now, you gotta go.” Y/n spoke before Tamaki took over.

 Tamaki comes up to Haruhi and places a hand underneath his chin.

“Absolutely not! A refined gentleman must know how to dance. If you want to live the life of a host so badly, you’re going to have to show us how far you're willing to go, Haruhi.”

He holds up his arm in elegance.

 “I order you to master the waltz in one week and you will demonstrate it for us at the party or-“ he harshly points at Haruhi.

 “I’ll tell the whole school that you’re a girl and we will have to knock you back town to arrand boy!” 

During the next week Haruhi starts practicing the walz, with Princess Kanako, causing the sinking of the prince’s mood.

“Why so gloomy boss?” The twins look towards Tamaki.

 “It’s because loverboy here, was hoping to dance with Haruhi.” Y/n explains gesturing towards the two dancing.

 “I think you're right but he’s way too tall to stand in as a woman.” Kaoru teasing the blonde

Practice ended, and now Haruhi is having tea with Princess Kanako. Who is oddly hyper fixated on the tea-cups.

A voice echoes throughout the room.

 “Hello? I’m here with the teacups you ordered.”

The girl's head raises at the voice.

 “Ah, thank you very much. Every item you’ve chosen for us has been extremely popular with the ladies. I’m quite impressed.” Kyoya spoke observing the arrays' teacups.

“Well, that’s good to hear.” Toru smiled.

 “So, do you sell tea sets?” Haruhi tilted her head.

 Toru turns to fully look at Haruhi.

“No. I'm just a regular student. Can’t you tell by the uniform?” 

 Kanako laughs and sighs.

“Oh, Haruhi. You’re so funny. I can’t blame you for not knowing.” She stands from the table with a smile.

“After all, he doesn’t really look like an heir to a first-class company.” 

 Haruhi looked back at Toru in surprise.

“First class company?” She looks towards Kyoya for any form of answer.

“His family’s business, the Suzushima trading company, deals primarily in the importing of tableware. They currently have the top market share in the country.”

 “Wow” Haruhi uttered.

“So, whenever something exceptional comes in, we’ve asked him to send it our way.” Kyoya states.

 Toru keeps staring at Kanako giving almost a sad look. 

 Y/n thinks for a moment before breaking the silence.

 “He definitely has a great eye for fine China. Don’t you, Suzushima?” 

 Toru snaps back to reality and looks at Y/n and smiles awkwardly.

“You think? I’ve still got a lot to learn, but thank you.” He spoke slightly caught off guard.

 “Aren’t you leaving next month to study abroad in England?” Kyoya asked, knowing the answer already.

 “Yes, I am. Well, I’d better go now.” He quickly left but not before looking at Kanako one last time.

Kanako is left in her own thoughts, till a blonde comes in.

 “So, enjoying the host club?” Tamaki 

spoke.

 “I-” she barely got a word in before Haruhi comes.

 “I got the feeling you and that guy are kinda close.” Haruhi spoke slowly, connecting the dots together.

Kanako abruptly flips her head.

 “Oh! don’t be ridiculous! We hardly know each other and what makes you think that, Haruhi? Now, if you’ll please excuse me! Take care!” She left quickly, causing more confusion for the sudden departure.

 “You probably shouldn’t have said that.” Y/n still not helping Haruhi.

“What Why-” Haruhi jumps at Honey-senpai suddenly on her back.

 “Because! They do know each other! Suzushima is Kasugasaki’s fiancé!” 

“Kyoya, Y/n.” Tamaki muttered, causing the two to look at the now serious blonde.

 “How long have you two known about this?”

 “What, about them being engaged?” Y/n tilts his head towards Kyoya, who is looking through a black folder.

 “Well, as you know I conduct general searches on all of our customers. The two of them were childhood friends. It seems that their engagement was arranged by their parents. I didn’t think this information would benefit us. So, I disregarded it.”

“So, stalking?” Y/n teased

“Not necessarily, and besides how do you know?” Kyoya is still looking at his folder.

 “His parents deliver shot glasses to my moms businesses.” 

“I see..” Tamaki muttered in thought.

“Toru Suzushima. Outstanding grades, bare social status. He’s ordinary looking, but he’s reliable. If I had to fault him for anything.”

 The twins stand next to Y/n

“He doesn’t have much of a presence.” Hikaru spoke with lack of care.

 Kaoru leaning fully on Y/n who is truly used to the twins' antics.

 “And he’s faint hearted.”

Kyoya glaring at the twins, shuts the sleek black folder. And continues.

 “So in other words, he’s boring.”

Honey sits on Mori’s shoulders, with his hands ruffled in Mori’s hair.

 “Suzushima is a good boy, right?”

“Yeah.” Mori plainly answered.

Tamaki takes a step forward.

 “Alright, everyone. We’ll have to work on our strategy.”

“Men, it is our responsibility as members of the elite Ouran Host Club to make every girl happy.”

The night of the party…

 The school's biggest ballroom filled with guests waiting with bated breath for it to start.

  The club members stand on the grand stairs, wearing formal attire, all eyes are on them.

“It is so good to see you here tonight, my little lambs. The Ouran Host Club would like to bid you..” he bows.

 “Welcome!”

The lights turned on, music began playing. And the ladies begin clapping, excited for the night and the host club's big entrance.

Kyoya outstretched his arms with grace.

 “As always, ladies, the Host Club members are here for your entertainment. So, we invite you to dance to your heart’s content. Based on your dancing skills, one lucky young lady will be chosen as tonight’s Queen. The Queen's reward will be a passionate kiss on the cheek from our king.” He caused a roar of claps and cheers.

 “Good luck to you, my darlings~” Tamaki winked. Even more cheers erupted from the crowd.

The twins slide behind a grumpy Haruhi.

 “Haruhi show some enthusiasm!” The twins tease.

 “Well, excuse me, you guys. Sorry, I’m not used to this sort of thing. I’ve only ever gone to the festivals held in my neighborhood park.” She crossed her arms with a huff.

“I don’t think you can really call that a party, Haruhi.” Y/n spoke.

 “You might as well get yourself something to eat. We’ve got quite a spread.” Kyoya notes, causing Haruhi to turn her head slightly.

 “A spread?…”

“With fancy tuna?” She spoke softly.

“Fancy tuna?!” The rest of the club yells. Tamaki jumps off the stairs with ease, and points to kyoya.

 “Get some fancy tuna here right now!” Kyoya is already on the phone, next to a giggling Y/n.

The twins hug and flustered Haruhi in comfort. 

 “You poor thing. You poor little dear.”

They pout, while Haruhi is irritating at the two.

As the night goes on all of the hosts are left entraining girls with far too much time on their hands. But Y/n waited for someone to ask him for a dance but to no luck.

 The hosts began starting their operation, which included “discretely” kidnapping Haruhi. 

 The host club ends up in an empty room with angered Haruhi.

 “You didn’t have to be so forceful!” Haruhi argued while being put down.

 “Never mind that. Go get changed!” Kaoru shoved a pink dress onto Haruhi.

“A little accident towards the end of the night would be quite thrilling and remember Haruhi, there are only twenty minutes before the party reaches its climax. Suzushima is already waiting for you in the classroom across the hall.” Kyoya spoke while Haruhi finally leaves the changing room.

“Too bad I missed most of the party. I was hoping for at least one dance.” Y/n said thinking out loud.

Kyoya briefly paused, but still continued preparing Haruhi for the plan.

Tamaki comes through the door.

“Gentleman. There you are. What are you doing? The guests are waiting for-”

 Haruhi stands up to look at Tamaki with a slight blush. 

“So, What do you think, Tamaki?” Y/n a small grin formed his face.

Haruhi stiffly walks towards the door.

 “My face feels heavy and it’s hard to walk in these shoes.” 

Twins grinned.

“Good luck, Haruhi!” Followed by the evil chuckles of the twins.

“What was the letter you wrote for Suzushima?” Y/n asked towards the twins.

“Here, we have a copy.” The twins hand over a pink letter, just drenched in glitter.

 After a moment of silence, y/n look disappointedly towards the twins.

“Who writes like this?” Y/n now trying to clean the glitter off himself.

“Don’t blame us.” The twins raised their hands. 

 “Kyoya also helped!” 

Y/n turns towards Kyoya with a deep exhale.

“I expect this sort of thing from the twins, but really? You too. I’m not mad I’m just.. disappointed ” 

 The rest of the host club begin to head outside for the final event.

 As the couple run outside stage lights shine on the two.

“Ladies and gentlemen.” Tamaki's voice booms across the crowd.

“It is now time for us to begin the final dance of this evening's festivities. The 

Last Waltz of the night has been chosen by the club for this couple!”

  As Toru offered a dance to Kanako, the two danced to the music, as cherry blossom petals fell around them. A soft smile rests on Y/n’s face watching the couple dance.

“May this awkward couple be forever blessed!” Tamaki said, proud of the two.

 “And now we’ll announce the Queen of the ball!” Hikaru announced 

“Congratulations Princess Kanako Kasugazaki!”

 The crowd claps celebrating the girl.

“-and for her reward, a kiss on the cheek from the king!”

Tamaki starts walking towards her but before he could he gets pushed out of the way.

 “Haruhi Fujioka, will stand in for Tamaki!” Y/n announced shocking Haruhi and Tamaki.

Y/n smirked looking at the club, with the twins behind him.

“ what? Kyoya did say a little accident towards the end of the night might make the night more thrilling.” Y/n cooed, while the twins smirked devilishly.

“There’s no way I can kiss her!” Haruhi is now very defensive.

 Kyoya without looking up from his book.

“If you do it, we’ll cut your debt by one third.” Kyoya spoke bribing the honor student.

“Well it is just a peck on the cheek..” she muttered walking towards Kanako.

“Ah, that’s the spirit Haruhi!” Y/n joked, throwing a thumbs up.

Honey looks up at the others.

“Hey, you don’t think this is Haru-chan’s first kiss, do you?” Causing Tamaki to freak out over this realization.

“WHAT!”

Tamaki jumps down the stairs towards Haruhi.

“Wait, Haruhi!” Causing Kanako to turn her head.

Tamaki stumbles and pushes into Haruhi, making them kiss on the lips.

Y/n begins bursting out in laughter, while Tamaki is crying over his mistake.

“That went way better than I thought it would.” Y/n spoke.

“-what do you think, kyoya?” Looking towards him.

 Kyoya lets out a small smile, soft lighting painted on his face. 

“It was very entertaining.” He looked out onto the crowd.

Y/n stared, just appreciating this weird sense of calm between the two as the party emptied out, the two stood in comfortable silence watching the end to yet another party.

[the-al-chemist]

Swansong

A/N: this month’s theme for @hp-12monthsofmagic is “School’s Out For Summer”. For Zadie, school is out forever. This story sort of follows on from Acceptance, but it can be read as a stand-alone. Features Reva Amari @lifeofkaze and Robin Willows @that-scouse-wizard. Warnings: FOMO and dubious impressions of beloved characters.

The end of the summer term was close, and for Zadie Taylor-Allen, that meant she was nearing the end of her Hogwarts education. She was not yet sure how she felt about it; on the one hand she was excited to start studying at the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts, on the other, she was anxious about leaving the safety of the school she knew and loved. She didn’t yet feel that she was ready.

It did not help matters that she was the only one of her friends who would be leaving Hogwarts that year. She was only in her sixth year, and was leaving school a year early to take her place at W.A.D.A., while the rest of her classmates would continue studying for their N.E.W.T.s without her. It was not that she wished to take the N.E.W.T.s herself — on the contrary, she hated exams with a passion — but she already felt as if she were missing out on all the the fun parts of school that her friends would get to enjoy: Quidditch matches, parties, gossiping in the courtyard, and going for excursions in Hogsmeade Village. And that was without all the traditional end-of-school events that she simply would not be able to attend, or would now have to attend alone, such as leaving ceremony on the final morning of term.

Today, the invitations for the ceremony were ready to be collected, and Zadie’s closest friends — Victoire, Reva, and Robin — had all agreed to stay behind after Charms class and wait for her to get hers.

“What actually happens at this ceremony?” asked Robin.

“Not much, it’s just boring and pointless,” Reva said, and yawned theatrically as if to prove her point. “Everyone shakes McGonagall’s hand and gets a little hat, and they give out some awards, and then do a walk down to the lake and ride in the boats.”

“What’s wrong with that? It sounds alright.”

“It is at first, but then it goes on for ages. If it wasn’t for Zadie, I’d fake a stomach ache to get out of watching it again. I don’t love my brother enough to sit through it just for him. I’ll endure it for your sake, Zee, but you should know that if I die of boredom, I will haunt you.”

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” Victoire looked as if she were trying not to either roll her eyes or laugh, or both. She shook her head, sending ripples through her silver-blonde hair. “I went to Teddy’s last year, and I thought it was a sweet send off, even if it did take a while. It’s a tradition, a right of passage.” Reva pulled a face, but Victoire ignored her. She turned to Zadie and smiled as she added, “You’ll really enjoy it. And it’ll make your parents so proud to watch it.”

“I hope so,” said Zadie. Her front teeth grazed her bottom lip. “I still think they’re a little disappointed that I’m not finishing school properly and doing exams and things like my sister did. Not that I’d ever do that as well as her, but still… Hopefully this will make it up to them.”

After the lesson ended and the rest of her classmates filtered out into the hallway outside, Zadie approached Professor Flitwick, her Head of House, at the front of the classroom.

“Um, Professor,” she said, and his moustache twitched as he smiled at her encouragingly. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to come and collect my invitations.”

“Invitations?”

“Yes, for the leaving ceremony. I want to send some to my family so they can come and watch, if that’s okay.”

Professor Flitwick fidgeted slightly, and looked up at her with eyes filled with sympathy.

“Oh, dear,” he said awkwardly, and Zadie felt her stomach twist. “I’m not quite sure how to say this, but…”

“Have they run out of invitations? Am I too late?”

“No, no, if anything you’re too early.”

“What?”

“Miss Taylor-Allen, I am so sorry to have to say this,” said Professor Flitwick. He really did look very sorry. “Unfortunately, only final year students are allowed to take part in the leaving ceremony.”

Zadie’s heart sank. “You mean I can’t go?”

“I am afraid so.”

“Hang on,” Reva’s voice called out from the side of the classroom, where she was waiting with the other two. They both looked sad on Zadie’s behalf, but Reva did not. She looked angry. “That’s not fair! You can’t exclude Zadie from the ceremony. It’s a rite of passage!”

“It’s a rite of passage for final year students.”

“But it’s not called a ‘final year students’ ceremony, it’s called the ‘leaving ceremony’. Zadie is leaving, so she should be allowed to go!”

“I…” Professor Flitwick sighed heavily. “I shall talk to the headmistress on your behalf, Miss Taylor-Allen. It might be that we can come to some arrangement for you. Leave it with me, and I will see what I can do.”

Disappointed, Zadie thanked Professor Flitwick, and left the classroom with her friends, who were all far more determined than she was.

“Leave it with him? As if he and McGonagall will do anything,” Reva muttered angrily. “I say we should take matters into our own hands.”

“I agree,” nodded Robin. “We can find a way to make sure that Zadie gets to go to this ceremony, I’m sure of it. Even if we don’t play by the rules.”

“Playing by the rules is for Quidditch.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

Zadie looked anxiously at Victoire, who smirked slightly.

“Why don’t we just wait and see what the professors say?” she suggested. Reva and Robin looked affronted, and Reva opened her mouth as if to argue, but before she could do so, Victoire continued, “If they can’t solve the problem, then it’s down to us to do it for them, isn’t it?”

The other two murmured their approval, and Reva wrapped one of her arms around Zadie’s shoulder as the four girls walked down the familiar corridor together, as they had since their earliest days at Hogwarts.

“Don’t you worry, Zadie. One way or another, we will make sure that you get the final send off you deserve.”

Unfortunately, as Reva had predicted, neither Professor Flitwick nor the headmistress were able to help her with her predicament. They had both seemed apologetic about the situation, but apparently there was nothing to be done. If even Professor McGonagall couldn’t convince the school governors to let Zadie take part in the ceremony, then no one would be able to.

At least Reva and Robin had given up on their idea of finding a way to disrupt the ceremony so that Zadie could attend. She had been worried at first about what sort of chaotic plan they might be brewing — after all, she did not want to get into trouble on her very last day at Hogwarts — but as it turned out, they had not mentioned it since the first day they considered it. They might even have forgotten about it altogether.

Or so Zadie thought, until the morning of the leavers’ ceremony arrived, and she was awoken by the sound of a wooden spoon banging on a metal pot, and opened her eyes to see Victoire, Reva and Robin all standing around her bed.

“How did you two get in here?” Zadie asked Reva and Robin. She tilted her head at the wooden spoon and saucepan Reva held in her hands. “Where did you get that?”

“Kitchens,” came Reva’s answer. “We also got all these.”

She nodded to Robin, who opened her school bag to reveal an assortment of pastries.

“It’s breakfast time,” she said.

“What about going to the Great Hall?”

“No time, we need to eat now and get your trunk to the carriages ready for the ceremony.”

Zadie swallowed her mouthful of croissant. “I’m not going to the ceremony.” She looked helplessly at Victoire. Surely Victoire would make them see sense. “I’m not, am I?”

“Don’t worry. We’ve got our own ceremony planned, just for you,” said Victoire. Her lips twitched. “You’ll love it. I promise.”

Victoire’s promise reassured Zadie a little, so she allowed herself to relax and enjoy her last breakfast with her friends. Once they had finished, Victoire helped her carry her trunk to the horseless carriages that were waiting ready to transport the students to Hogsmeade station, before all three girls escorted her to the courtyard outside the Great Hall, where the leavers’ ceremony was taking place.

“Take a seat, Miss Taylor-Allen,” Victoire told her, mock-seriously, and Zadie did as instructed. She sat on the wall of the cloisters, and watched as her friends raised their wands and pointed them at their clothes.

A moment later, Robin was clad in a tatty brown coat, Victoire in a smart three-piece suit, and Reva in robes of emerald green. Zadie frowned.

“What is this?”

“It’s your leavers’ ceremony,” said Reva, in a clipped Edinburgh accent that made her sound almost exactly like Professor McGonagall. She cleared her throat. “Dearly beloved students, we are gathered here today to witness the leaving of Zadie Taylor-Allen from Hogwarts School. Miss Taylor-Allen has been a credit to the school in her time here, performing unimaginable feats, the likes of which I have not seen in my time as an educator. And I’ve been an educator for, like, fifty years.” She turned to Robin. “How old is McGonagall?”

“I dunno, maybe a hundred?”

“And I’ve been an educator for seventy years, maybe even eighty. More if I’ve been using really good moisturiser, I dunno,” Reva continued, her Scottish accent having returned, a little less convincing than it had been before. “We shall now hear from the deputy headmaster and head of Ravenclaw house, Professor Flitwick.”

“I have been Zadie’s Head of House since she was a very small and cute eleven-year-old,” Victoire said in a squeaky voice that was reminiscent of Professor Flitwick’s. “Now she is less small, but still very cute, and much better at both dancing and playing Quidditch.”

“But not so good that she stopped Gryffindor from winning the Cup this year,” Robin chipped in.

Reva nodded and beat her fist to her chest twice before raising it into the air above her head.

“Go lions,” she said, and Robin repeated the gesture.

“Anyway,” Victoire shook her head, “I, and everyone else in Ravenclaw, for that matter—”

“In all of Hogwarts.”

“— are incredibly proud of her. We are sad to see her go, but we can’t wait to see what incredible things she does once she is no longer held back by her troublemaking friends or stupid school rules.”

“Like ‘only seventh years at the leavers’ ceremony’,” said Robin.

“Or ‘no Ever-Bashing Boomerangs in the Potions classroom’,” Reva added. “Or ‘Professor Trelawney’s crystal balls are not to be used as Quaffles’.”

“Yeah, or—”

“Now, because we are time-limited,” Victoire interrupted Robin with a pointed look, “we will proceed to the end of the ceremony. When I call your name, you will step here so that the headmistress can put a hat on your head.” She cleared her throat and looked at the palm of her hand before calling out, “Zadie Taylor-Allen!”

Zadie laughed and stood up to the sound of her friends’ applause. “You haven’t actually stolen one of those hats, have you?”

Reva shook her head and held up a conical silver hat with an elastic chin strap and multicoloured ribbons cascading from the point of it. Zadie laughed harder as Reva placed the hat on her head and pulled the elastic under her chin.

“Next, Professor Hagrid will escort you to the last part of our ceremony.”

“There’s more?”

“Yeh, bu’ yeh have ter follow me ter the lake first,” said Robin. She walked away, mumbling, “I should not have said that.”

They walked down the cliff path in single file, Robin loudly imitating Professor Hagrid the entire duration of the journey. When they got to the bottom of the hill, they paused on the lakeshore, where the wooden boats that they had taken to the castle from the station on their first ever night had Hogwarts were waiting for the final years on the pebbled bank.

“Pick one.”

Zadie blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Pick a boat,” Reva told her.

“What for?”

“To ride back across the lake, duh!”

“I can’t do that,” Zadie shook her head. “I can’t steal a boat. Victoire, tell them!”

But Victoire was on Robin and Reva’s side.

“It’s not stealing, it’s borrowing,” she reasoned. “And you deserve to have the same boat ride as everyone else.”

“But—”

“What are they going to do, put you in detention? Expel you? You’re already leaving!”

“And you’re leaving on one of these boats. We won’t take no for an answer. So pick one.”

There was no point in arguing; Zadie had learnt the hard way that when all her friends had made a decision, there was no way that they would change their minds. So, she looked at the boats and pointed to the one nearest the boat house. The girls cheered and set to work, carrying it to the water’s edge and into the lake itself, standing shin-deep in the water and holding it still for Zadie.

“Your chariot, milady,” said Robin. Zadie giggled, and with one final, cautious look back at the castle, joined them in the water.

It was ice cold, and soaked through her trainers and socks. She shivered, and took hold of Reva’s hand to step into the boat, which bobbed and rocked under her feet. Once she had sat down, the girls gripped the sides of the boat.

“Ready?”

“No, wait,” said Zadie. She bit her lip. “I just… Thank you. For this, and for everything. You guys are the best. You’re the best friends I’ve ever had.”

“Yeah, and we’re going to be your best friends for ages yet, so don’t start getting mushy,” Reva warned. “Victoire’s eyeliner isn’t waterproof.”

“Well, I didn’t think we’d be actually getting in the lake…”

“Also, we need to go. McGonagall’s coming.”

At Robin’s words, the other three girls looked up at the lake path, where the real Professors Hagrid and McGonagall were leading the seventh years down to the lakeshore. Zadie’s friends’ hands tightened on the sides of the boat.

“On three,” Victoire said decisively. “One…”

“Two…”

“Three!”

In perfect unison, Reva, Robin and Victoire pushed hard on the little wooden boat, which began to glide away through the water, small waves rippling away from its bow as it cut through the gleaming surface. The sunshine reflected on the water and warmed Zadie’s face, and a gentle breeze stirred her hair. Behind her, her friends were clapping, hollering, and laughing, and Zadie found herself laughing too, even as the headmistress strode across the pebbled shore towards them, a stern look on her face. But she did not look nearly as disapproving as Zadie had seen her look before, and behind her Professor Flitwick was giggling and… was that a single tear of joy tumbling from the gigantic eye of Professor Hagrid?

Clearly, none of them were that angry, and even if they were, it was too late. Zadie was gone, Zadie had left, Zadie was untouchable now.

Above her, a group of long-necked white birds had taken flight, the image of them reflecting on the surface of the lake and causing a familiar melody to play in her head that she hummed to herself as she sailed away from Hogwarts, ready to take to the next stage in her life.

She was ready.

[dreamiesformula]

Cómo podría ser esto un acto? - PG10 (Pierre Gasly x Reader) | part 2 |

Hello everyone,

this is part two of my “only just an act series” you can read part one here: https://dreamiesformula.tumblr.com/post/685612752735256576/todo-es-un-acto-pg10-pierre-gasly-x-reader I’m not entirely happy with this part it’s more a filler, I am overwhelmed by the love my writing page has received so thank you all so much. Although I am not well I promise to work hard for you all! Please take care of yourself I hope you’re all going well. 💙

As always if it’s written like “THIS” it’s being spoken in Spanish ✨

————————————————

Y/n’s p.o.v

The weekend came by too quickly and we were sat for qualifying in a corporate box surprisingly, I guess that’s what happens when you’re being shown off by Alpha Tauri. Chris, Mary, Erick, Richard, Richard’s daughter and I all there Richard got to spend some off time with her and so he brought her on this little vacation is you could call it that. It was clear she was growing restless as we had arrived quite early Pierre had gotten there hours after us, I was a little too excited in all honestly. Richard hands her the spare phone he Carrie’s loaded up with her music, Disney songs, videos and games and let’s her play, “y/n sit with me!” She pats the spot next to her and I sit there “are you listening to your music?” She nods I knew Richard was a chill but protective father I’d spent many dance practices with his daughter she was simply adorable, a little angel. She liked old Justin Bieber and did a little dance to it every time, “wheres your boyfriend?” Erick slaps the back of my head playfully “I don’t know, I can’t just go down there” I shrug “actually you can our tickets are paddock passes I just didn’t wanna drag her through it” Richard points it his daughter blissfully unaware she’s being spoken about. I look at what I was wearing was it good enough? I mean sure it wasn’t anything special but I didn’t pack fancy shit, just a pair of black ripped jeans paired with white Air Force ones, a white tank top and black bomber jacket, paired with light makeup and some rose gold eye shadow my hair braided into two braids. But would he even want to see me? More importantly why was I so nervous? I was doing some research and knew it was a sprint race qualifying, this track was tricky to overtake however it was possible and Pierre was going to be starting 17th as sprint race qualifying was a nightmare for them. Maybe I should go wish him luck, “I’ll go see him then I guess” I shrug before they lined the cars up on the grid I had to play into this act, make people curious about who I was and what was going on? I walk out of the box heading towards the Alpha Tauri garage where I find him talking to his engineer I just wait by the door until he ends the conversation turning around, he looked good in his race suit I couldn’t lie, there was just something about him. “Bonjour sexy” I smile that’ll get his attention “y/n!” He smiles pulling me into a hug “I’m really happy you came” he whispers into my ear sending chills down my spine “I’ve watch some of the practices, I know you’re upset so I hoped seeing your loving girlfriend would cheer you up” I smile looking at his eyes for an indication of how he was feeling “I know it’s just a lot of pressure” he sighs he was breaking “hey hey” I grab his hand forcing him to look at me “you’re going so well, there are millions of people in this world who could never do what you do. Everyone has bad days, sport star, singer, dancer, receptionist it doesn’t matter what you do sometimes you’ll fuck up, but that’s okay it’s how you learn it’s how you grow. A world champion driver doesn’t give up when shit gets hard they use that lesson as motivation to prove they are here for a reason.” I could tell I had an impact he pushed his shoulders high “you’re right mon amor, thank you” he once again rested his forehead on mine something I found he did more often than anticipated “I know I’m supposed to be here on the down low but, I’ll be right there after qualifying, before and after the race, if you need me just text… I’m in your corner remember” I whisper quietly it felt odd to share such an intimate moment around a heap of people “yo Pierre” a voice interrupts he pulls away and look behind me to a smaller man “ah Yuki, this is y/n my girlfriend, babe this is Yuki my teammate” he smiles pointing between us I bend down to hug the smaller man “it’s lovely to meet you Yuki!” I smile and he looks between us “you too, how did Pierre trap a beautiful woman like you?” He jokes I just shrug they really didn’t tell him about the deal “he’s quite the charmer” I smile “I’ve heard” Yuki rolls his eyes playfully.

After he left the drivers and cars were called to the grid “no distractions allowed out there” he smirks at me “oi I’m no distraction” I smack his arm “trust me” he bends to my ear “to me you are” I roll my eyes blissfully unaware that the sky sports camera was making its way down filming the garages in preparation for the big sprint I hug him goodbye and turn but suddenly remember our date “Pierre” I call running up to him again giving him a peck innocently on the lips “show ‘em hell baby” I smirk walking back to the box to my friends shocked at what they witnessed “uhhhh y/n” Erick points to a delayed stream of sky sports and sure enough there I was kissing him on the cheek “fuck” I shout were we in trouble, surely not… it’s was all apart of the act, right?

Pierre’s p.o.v

My heart lit up a little bit she actually gave me a good luck kiss, how could I fall in love so easily after being the way I was, how could one person restore so much faith? I got into game mode, I couldn’t ponder outside issues it was focus time. I had to do well for her, I mean my team and I, yeah the team. That’s when it hit me, my mother was here soon to be sitting in the garage. Shit I hope she didn’t see anything, she’d told me she was coming to watch after barely hearing from her after the whole turned their back, I couldn’t blame her they didn’t paint me as the son she raised and I had became a monster lashing out at everyone.

Y/n’s p.o.v

It was a nightmare to be honest, a blown tire after a collision, he’d be starting tomorrow 17th meanwhile his teammate would be 12th I may not of know Pierre all that well but I knew he was disappointed, angry and upset. No one likes failing or under performing I get it there have been times I didn’t give enough and I hated myself for it, I could kind of relate and it’s soul crushing. “Aye go see your man girl” Richard calls at the conclusion of the sprint “comfort him with a kiss” Erick calls as I leave the room before everyone burst out laughing “I’ll kill you Erick” I quickly shout back, almost running I make my way to his garage through the paddock I make it there within 6 minutes or so he looked pleased but not thrilled as he takes off his helmet I decide just to keep my distance Fabiana shouts at him “media time” and he follows I would just see him later going back to the boys getting ready to leave “I’ll just catch him later he’s busy” I shrug “dinner?” Richard’s daughter yells making us all laugh “you want McDonald’s baby?” He asks her dropping yo her level “of course silly papa” she rolls her eyes causing us all to laugh we head out the box and through the paddock passing the media pen, I look in seeing him there a dishevelled look on his face he looks too see me pass the pen eyes intensely on me as he answers questions. I walk away unaware of his stare firmly on my back as we all leave Richard’s daughter wanted me to hold her hand so I do, we ordered in deciding to go to my hotel room as it was closest and she was growing tired, I open the door and open Uber ordering everyone’s meals. “Dinner will be here soon lovie” I tell her as her tired eyes shut for a nap no doubt I carry her to my bed laying her down and pull a blanket over her and some noise canceling headphones I had, “rest well angel” I say before closing the door. We play some music dancing about, I was blissfully unaware of the Frenchman blowing up my phone. Until I got a call from my Uber driver to pick up the food at front reception, heading down I check my texts “I need to see you” “where are you?” “I’m going to lose my mind” “y/n please” “I’m coming to your hotel” “be there” “I’m sorry” shit how’d I not get any notifications for these “Pierre I’m sorry I didn’t see these, I’m at my hotel but so is everyone else if you come knock on the door we can go somewhere private” I hoped he was okay I was meant to be there for him and I just… well wasn’t.

I arrive downstairs and sure enough there was my food with the receptionist and so was Pierre “baby” I call after all it was public eye “I’m so sorry, Richard’s daughter was getting tired and hungry I wanted to stay but you were gonna be busy” he sighs “I’m sorry I just, I don’t know what came over me it was like the first thing I wanted to do was be in your arms. That sounds so stupid” he shakes his head I head the three take out bags from the woman and start walking he follows “it’s not stupid love, I think it’s pretty sweet” smiling softly “that’s a lot of food” he chuckles “one of these bags is just for Chris, boy eats like a tank” I smile as we enter the elevator I clear my throat pressing the floor number putting the bags done for a minute of relaxation but Pierre pushes me against the wall his lips quick to find mine as the door closed he breaks for air “I’m sorry, mon amour, I- I don’t know what came over me” he looks down scratching the back of his head I say no words just pecking his lips quickly as we reach the floor “say something, please” he whispers “we will talk in private” I say lowly opening the door too chaos the boys were shirtless dancing around to their song me necesita “welcome to my life” I scoff walking in “dinner is served losers” I yell laughing at their antics Pierre looks lost “I’ll go wake the sleeping child” Richard excuses himself “once they’ve left you’re all mine yeah?” Pierre whispers and I nod a non verbal agreement to give him what he needed a shoulder to cry on, a friend or a well a girlfriend. “Aye lovie you’re awake, your dinner is there” I run my hand through her hair and sit her at a stool near the counter so she can get her food “gracias tía” she mumbles and my heart burst “aye she’s gonna make me feel old” I smile fondly she was basically family the only I had. Pierre sat in the couch on his phone which was fair enough he couldn’t really eat with us, cnco played in the background and we ate dancing around a little while doing so I kept looking over at Pierre I felt bad he was left out but every time I looked his eyes were fixed on my dancing frame. This was intense but I kinda liked it his attention on me, watching me sway almost protectively, it was oddly attractive. “Alright let’s get the kiddo back to your she’s gonna pass out” I announce watching her almost fall asleep into her half eaten fries all is had finished eating anyways saying our goodbyes they even said goodbye to Pierre who kindly returned I closed the door behind me letting out a sigh “before anything I’m getting changed” I say walking into my room swapping my jeans for white sweat pants and my crop top for an oversized one I had from when Chris got rid of his clothes, then I turn off the music grabbing my phone and sit across from him on the couch “balcony or bedroom?” I ask referring to where he wants to talk “bedroom, too cold outside” I nod standing up and walking to the room.

We sit on the bed him on the end me right beside him “what’s going on Pierre?” I break the awkward silence “I don’t know, I’m performing awfully, the odds are stacked against me and I fear I’ll never get the red bull seat again. I’ve lacked so much in life and F1 that I’m replaceable, sure prior to this whole cancelled thing I had a few girlfriends but when not I slept around… I think people have forgotten what skill I can hold, me included I’ve been reduced to rumours and names. Now my mum finally came to a race and I’m doing shit.” I was shocked at first he opened up a lot, he looked broken, like he couldn’t hold in anymore I pull him softly closer to me his head moving to my thigh as he laid down, I put my free hand in his hair playing with it “Pierre, honey you’re going through so much” he hums I didn’t except the 26 year old to be so vulnerable with me he really has had no one there for him. “It’s heartbreaking watching you like this love, you’ve lost the boy just chasing his dreams long ago. I know it’s been hard on you, I’m going to ignore the part where you said your mum was there that’s anxiety inducing enough by itself. You know she’s your mother, she’s never going to truly stop believing in you and loving you, it’s her purpose in this life.” He was quiet it’s funny to me how much he hide just too keep up this public image he’d created “you’re really good at comforting people mon amour” I smile not that he could tell his head still in my lap “why don’t we get you to bed, I think you need some rest” I figured he’d be exhausted anyways “trying to get down and dirty with me already are we love” he smirks I smack his head lightly, playfully “you either want to cuddles or not Gasly” I act tough but he doesn’t fall for it “I’m very lucky to have been put with a girl like you y/n” put with, not found, this was forced but right now it didn’t feel like it. “Pierre, I promise you things will start working out. I’m here to remind the public you are more than some shitty rumours, I’m here to remind you of whatever you need from me. I’m your own personal cheerleader” a kind smile offered followed by a gentle forehead kiss “you make me feel safe” he sighed standing up “come on let’s get some rest Pierre” I fell asleep wrapped up that night in his arms, it felt right natural even and all I knew on that moment was I was defiantly going to get hurt from this, but maybe he was worth it.

This was way beyond an act, how could I of fallen for an actor when he was still a stranger?

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers LOST EDEN ー Ayato Maniac [Prologue]

Monologue

I fucked up again.

Before I knew it, it was already too late.

My magic had already flurried out of control,

to the point where I could no longer stop it,

and with her being right next to me in that moment,

I had to use everything still left in me just to save her.

Once again,

I had sent the manor flying. 

When I snapped back to my senses, the others had passed out on the ground,

so I left her unconscious body behind,

and left.

Because I simply did not want,

to have to face anyone at that time...

However, there were only so many places,

I could go to. 

So without another choice left,

I headed towards the Sakamaki castle in the Demon World. 

ー The scene starts in the living room of the Sakamaki castle

Ayato: Haah...I’m bored out of my mind...

Oi, I actually came back here for once. Don’t you have anythin’ to keep me entertained? 

Butler: That’s easier said than done...

Ayato: Che, you’re useless. Guess that part of you hasn’t changed since I was a kid.

...Haah.

Butler: Ayato-sama...

Ayato: Ah? What?

Butler: I realize that this is none of my business, but should you not go check up on the situation in the human world? 

Ayato: Haah? And why would I have to do that? 

Butler: Why, you ask...? I mean, all of this happened because of...

Ayato: Fuck off! Those guys are to blame for opposin’ me in the first place, no? 

Butler: However...As you can tell, the Demon World is currently facing times of uncertainty. 

We do not know when other species might come and attack this Castle either. 

If that were to happen, I believe you might have to rely on the help of your brothers. Therefore...

Ayato: Hah...Don’t be ridiculous.

What exactly would they be able to do for me? Unlike me, they’re practically powerless. 

Butler: Ayato-sama...

Ayato: If you continue spoutin’ that bullcrap, you’ll have to face the consequences as well.

Some other species will come and attack us? Very funny...I’d like to see them try. 

I’m the King. Nobody can beat me. 

I see no issue, do you? Who cares if those guys are around or not. I’m the only one that matters.

Do you understand that!?

Butler: ...

Ayato: Hmph...

( So he finally went quiet? The Old Fart needs to learn to shut up... )

( Brothers, my ass. ...They went against me. So they deserve whatever happens to them. )

( But...I wonder how Chichinashi is doing...? I left her behind in the heat of the moment. )

...

ー Ayato heads towards the door

Butler: ...Where are you going? 

Ayato: Oh fuck off. Why does that matter? The human world, okay!?

Butler: ...! Then...

Ayato: Che. Don’t be gettin’ the wrong idea now. I don’t give a flyin’ fuck ‘bout those jerks!

I just accidentally left Chichinashi behind, that’s all. 

I’m sure that havin’ her by my side will help keep me a bit more entertained. That’s why I’m gonna go pick her up. 

Besides, she actually had the nerve to try and protect Reiiji and the others. 

I better give her a thorough punishment. Hehe...

ー Ayato leaves

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to Kino’s manor

Subaru: Nn...

*Rustle*

Yui: Ah, Subaru-kun...! Thank god...!

Subaru: ...Where am I?

Yui: Um, it’s a long story...

Monologue

I told Subaru-kun,

about everything which had happened till now.

The place we were brought to,

was Kino-kun’s manor.

These past couple of days,

I spent taking care of the guys’ injuries. 

This proved to be fruitful when first Reiji-san,

and shortly after Shuu-san, both regained consciousness. 

I do not know,

what became of the Sakamaki manor after we left.

Nor what happened to Ayato-kun,

who has seemingly vanished off the surface of this earth,

ever since that dayーー

ー Kino enters the room

Kino: Hey, how’s it going over here? How are the remaining three doing? 

Yui: Yeah, Subaru-kun finally woke up...

Shuu-san is still in bed, but he doesn’t seem to be in pain or feeling sick.

Kino: Hmm, I see. ...That just leaves...

Yui: ( Kanato-kun and Laito-kun... )

ー Reiji walks up to them

Reiji: Those two were standing closest to him, so they took the biggest blow.

They may be Vampires, but I fear that it might take a while before they regain consciousness again.

Yui: ...

( Kanato-kun, Laito-kun...I’m obviously worried about them too. But... )

( I’m even more worried about what Ayato-kun is up to... )

Reiji-san, um...

Reiji: ...Yes?

Yui: ...No, it’s nothing. 

( I’m pretty sure that Reiji-san blames Ayato-kun for this whole ordeal... )

( And perhaps it is his fault. But, I... )

( I still believe that we should listen to Ayato-kun’s side of the story as well... )

( He was already beating himself up internally... )

( On top of that, they all ganged up on him like that...I’m sure he... )

Kino: Aah, speaking of which. The ghouls I asked to investigate the situation have returned just now.

Apparently Ayato is staying at the Sakamaki castle in the Demon World right now.

Yui: ...Really!?

Kino: Why would I lie about it? It’s true. Apparently he was making a scene about being ‘bored by himself’. 

Yui: ( Thank god...He’s safe and sound... )

Reiji: I see. He truly is carefree.

By the way, Kino...you said your name was? There is something I would like to ask you.

Kino: Me? What is it?

Reiji: According to what she told me, you introduced yourself as Father’s illegitimate child. 

Is that true? 

Kino: ...What do you think?

Reiji: Well, knowing what kind of person Father was, I would not be surprised if he had one or two of those running around.

Furthermore...From what I have seen, your magic is nothing to scoff at either.

I suppose it would make sense for you to be of special descent. 

Kino: Hmm, I see...

Reiji: While I am not quite sure about your personal objectives, you did provide us with shelter and care at the very least.

So for now, I do not see any reason to perceive you as a threat. ...For the timebeing, at least.

Kino: Fufu...I’m glad you’re quick to catch on, Reiji. 

From what I’ve seen, you always keep your head cool and rarely ever make the wrong judgements. 

I wonder why Karlheinz decided to choose Ayato over you?

Reiji: Good question. Knowing Father, he must have done so with a certain reason in mind?

That being said, I fail to understand what that reason could have been as well. 

Kino: ...Fufu. I mean, makes sense...

Hey, from what I’ve heard, Karlheinz had the ability to look into the future, right?

I wonder if he really did? In that case, he might have chosen Ayato because he foresaw a good future by doing so.

Reiji: Kino, let me ask just one thing. You never personally met Father?

Kino: Yup, never.

Reiji: So in other words...

Kino: You think that perhaps Karlheinz was unaware of my existence? 

Reiji: Well, pretty much.

Kino: I’m not sure? But if he was able to see the future, then wouldn’t it only make sense for him to know?

Well, if that’s the case, I really wish he would have found me and ‘added me to his inventory’ (1) as soon as possible. 

Reiji: Like you just said, he should have definitely known. 

In which case, it must have been a deliberate decision to not have you raised alongside us. 

Kino: ...

Yui: ( ...Deliberate? What does he mean with that...? )

Reiji: Well then, let us move to the main topic at hand.

Kino: Main topic?

Reiji: Yes. Why did you rescue us?

Kino: You’re asking that now? I mean, we’re brothers, aren’t we? On paper, at least.

You acknowledged that as well, didn’t you? I’m pretty sure you said so earlier?

Reiji: I see. So you offered your help out of nothing but goodwill, as our brother. 

Then may I ask why exactly you have your Ghouls supervise us 24/7? 

Yui: Eh...?

( Supervise...? What is he talking about...? )

Kino: Fufu. Oh geez. You noticed...?

Actually. I was asked...by a certain someone to keep an eye on you guys over here.

Reiji: A certain someone, you say...? I suppose you will not spill the beans so easily.

Kino: No, not really? ...Right, Ruki?

Reiji: ...?

Yui: ...?

( What did he say just now...? )

ー Ruki enters the room

Ruki: Long time no see. 

Yui: Ruki-kun...!? 

Reiji: Hooh...Who do we have here? Now that was unexpected.

Well then, Ruki...Are you the one who ordered this man to keep an eye on us?

Ruki: Well, I guess I did.

It will take some time to explain everything. Let us sit down and talk.

Monologue

After I took a seat on the sofa,

Ruki-kun began to explain one by one. 

About the fact that Eden has been continuing to break down,

ever since Karlheinz-san’s passing.

As well as,

all of the unsettling developments surrounding the sovereignty over the Demon World.

According to what Ruki-kun told us,

all of these problems are taking place,

because Ayato-kun, as the heir to the throne,

has failed to wield his powers correctly. 

Perhaps Ruki-kun is speaking the truth. 

However, I was saddened by his words.

Because I realized,

that this meant that yet another person,

had lost faith in Ayato-kun...

Ruki: It was none other than Karlheinz-sama himself who selected Ayato as his successor. 

Not once have I gone against that man’s will up till now.

That was because I strongly believed that he would always make the right decision. 

However...I feel like this might be the one time I will actually have to disagree with him.

Allow me to be frank.

Keeping a whole clan together by means of absolute power and authority in a way Karlheinz-sama did, is simply beyond Ayato’s capabilities. 

Yui: ...

Ruki: Eden is crumbling down with each passing day. This shows that he is still inexperienced as the new King.

And of course, I am not the only one who has taken notice of this. 

Any outside parties wishing to claim sovereignty themselves, see the absence of the one man who ruled with an iron fist up until now, as their chance, obviously.

I am quite certain that a united force between the Vibora, Wolves and Alders will come to attack Eden any day now.

Furthermore...It is not only other Demonic species which would like to bring us Vampires to their downfall. 

Reiji: What do you mean?

Ruki: The Church. They have never been too thrilled about Demons gradually migrating to the human world. 

Especially in regards to Vampires. After all...

As long as we are around, the Church will have to continue to provide new sacrificial lambs. Just like that woman once was. 

Yui: ( Sacrificial lambs... )

Ruki: Using this opportunity, the Church has allegedly been making plans to rid the human world of all Vampires.

I have to say that I did not expect to cross paths with this guy during my investigation on their movements. 

Reiji: This man...? Well then...Kino, are you perhaps working with the Church...?

Kino: Well, I guess you could say that. But don’t get the wrong idea. All I wanted was cash.

You need money to survive in this world after all. Especially a guy like myself, who is different from you all, you understand?

That’s why I made them a proposal.

I figured they would want a Demon on their side as well. And sure enough, my plan worked perfectly. 

I told them that my resistance group called ‘The Ravens’, consisting of myself as well as the Ghouls under my command would wipe out all Demons.

And what do you know? They handed me the money right away. They’ve been a great help to me. Fufu.

Yui: ( Wipe out all Demons...? Then... )

Kino-kun, when it comes to the Vampires, will you eventually...? 

Kino: I will kill them. I made a promise after all.

I guess in that regard, having someone like Ayato as the current King actually saves me a lot of trouble. 

That’s why, that guy...Richter, I believe? I needed to get him out of the way first and foremost.

Yui: ...!

Reiji: I see. So it was you who murdered him.

Kino: I had no other choice, did I? I wouldn’t want to lower my own chances by letting him have a mentor to teach him.

But well...With how things were going, perhaps keeping Richter alive might have not altered the situation much.

Yui: ( Kino-kun...He’s talking as if this is all fun and games... )

( I don’t want to listen to this any longer... )

ー Yui gets up from her seat

Kino: Huh? Where are you going?

Yui: ...I need a moment.

ー She leaves the room

Yui: ( Even Ruki-kun is opposed to Ayato-kun being King... )

( I can’t believe that so much trouble went down in the Demon World while we were staying in the human world... )

( However, according to what I was told earlier, in the human world there’s the people of the Church who want to target the Vampires...? )

( Everyone’s in danger... )

( On top of that, Kino-kun is one of them. At this rate, who knows when he’ll decide to strike... )

...

( Thoughts are running wild inside my head...I have no calm down... )

...I suppose I’ll go get some fresh air.

*Creaak*

Yui: ( ...The Church, huh...? )

( I wonder what Father is up to right now...? )

( I feel uneasy for some reason... )

ー The scene shifts to the inner courtyard 

Yui: ...Haah.

???: Oh! I finally found you!

Yui: ...!?

Ayato: I’ve come to pick you up, Chichinashi. Now come here!

*Rustle*

Yui: A-Ayato-kun!? Why are you here...!? 

( According to what I was told earlier, he should be at the Castle in the Demon World... )

Ayato: ...? Didn’t I just explain that I’m here to pick you up? So let’s get outta here already.

*Rustle*

Yui: O-One second...!

Ayato: Ah? What’s the problem? I actually went out of my way to come fetch you. 

The other guys are inside too, right? Guess I have no other choice but to take them along as well. 

Yui: B-But...! Earlier, Reji-san said...!

ー Yui recalls his words

Then may I ask why exactly you have your Ghouls supervise us 24/7?

Yui: Eh...?

ー The flashback ends

Yui: ( If we’re not careful, then I’m sure... )

Ayato: I mean, there’s definitely something or someone there. I can sense their presence. 

I guess for now, I’ll just take you back home with me.

They’re Vampires, so I’m sure they’ll find a way out by themselves. Anyway, off we go!

Yui: We can’t do that! Besides, Kanato-kun and Laito-kun haven’t even regained consciousness yet!

( If I make the selfish decision right here and the others get hurt as a result, then...! )

Ayato: ...Kanato and Laito...? Really? 

Yui: Yes. Also, lots of things happened and the owner of this manor is someone we shouldn’t take lightly! So...

*Flap flap flap*

Yui: ...?

Ayato: The fuck? What’s up with these birds...?

*Flap flap flap*

Yui: ( Crows...They’re steadily gathering... )

*Woosh* 

Yui: ( ...They’re turning into humanoid creatures one after the other...!? )

Male Ghoul A: Sorry to break it to you, but we cannot allow you to leave this place.

Male Ghoul B: That is Kino-sama’s order.

Ayato: Aah? Who the fuck is Kino...?

Anyway, I ain’t takin’ orders from you bastards! Chichinashi, let’s go!

*Rustle*

Yui: Kyah!

Ayato: Hang on tight!

Yui: Y-You can’t, Ayato-kun!

Ayato: Shut the fuck up!

Male Ghoul A: Wait! ...Haah!!

ー One of the Ghouls attacks Ayato

*Rustle*

*STAB*

Ayato: Guh!?

Yui: Ayato-kun!

( His hand...! )

Ayato: Che, anyway, let’s dip for now!

Male Ghoul B: You shall not get away.

ー Ayato leaps into the air

*Flap flap flap*

Monologue

While shaking off an immeasurable number of crows,

we somehow managed to flee into the Demon World. 

Our destination is Eden. 

However, this place had changed so much,

compared to how I remembered it,

it might as well have been an entirely different place.

Ruki-kun’s words repeat inside my head,

popping up before fading again.

The reason behind this decay,

is Ayato-kun’s emotional state.

When I think of it that way,

I suddenly felt overwhelmed, not knowing what to do.

ー The scene shifts to the outside of Eden

Ayato: That annoyin’ Old Fart will be there if we return to the Sakamaki Castle so let’s stay here for the time being. 

ー Ayato shudders

Ayato: Ugh...

Yui: ...Everything alright?

Ayato: Yeah...Fuck, what’s goin’ on...?

I feel as if the closer I get to Eden, the worse the pain gets...

Yui: A-Anyway, we have to treat your injury...

ー The scene shifts to the entrance hall

Kou: Welcome back, Ruki-kun~! ...Wait, huh?

Azusa: Ayato-san and...Eve...?

Yuma: What brings ya two here!?

Ayato: ...!? Why...? Actually, why are you all here!?

Doin’ whatever you damn please, huh!?

Kou: Not at all. We made sure to get Reiji-kun’s approval beforehand.

Ayato: Haah!? Fuck off! I’m the head of this household!

If you wanna ask for permission, you should come to me instead of Rei...Ugh...

Yui: Ayato-kun...!? 

Ayato: ...Kuh...Aah...!

ー He suddenly collapses

*Thud*

Yui: ...! Hang in there!

( He hasn’t been himself this whole time...What on earth happened...!? )

Azusa: Your hand...Are you injured...?

Ayato: Fuck...! Aah...Aaah...!

Yuma: ...O-Oi. I have no fuckin’ clue what’s goin’ on, but for now, let’s carry the guy to a bedroom. 

Kou: Y-Yeah...

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to one of the guest rooms

Ayato: ...

Yui: ( Ayato-kun’s asleep. Thank god...Seems like he calmed down a little... )

( Anyway...I can’t believe he seemed to be in so much pain... )

( The Crows who injured him had been asked to keep an eye on us by Kino-kun. )

( Looking at it like that, I’m worried about the others who are still left behind in the human world... )

( May they please stay safe... )

Ayato: Nn...

Yui: Ah, Ayato-kun...Are you okay? Did I wake you up? 

Ayato: Nah, I feel a whole lot better than before...

Anyway, what was up with those Crows from earlier...? The fuck is goin’ on in the human world? 

Yui: ...

Ayato-kun, will you listen to me without getting worked up?

At this rate, everyone will be at risk. 

I’m no expert when it comes to the Demon World,

but now that Karlheinz-san is gone,

I heard that there are various groups of people who would love to get rid of the Vampires. 

Ayato: Haah? Who are those bastards!? I’ll send them flyin’ with my powers right away!

*Rustle*

Yui: Wait, Ayato-kun! That won’t do!

*Rustle*

Ayato: Shut up! It’d solve all issues at once, no!? 

Yui: No it won’t! You can try and force them into submission all you want, but you’d only be postponing the problem!

Don’t you remember what happened in regards to your own family!? In the end, nothing has been resolved at all...!

Ayato: ...

Yui: ( If anything...It only left both parties more frustrated as they repeatedly make the same mistakes... )

Ayato: Then...What are you sayin’ I should do!?

Yui: Ayato-kun, please...Just calm down and listen to me....

I don’t think that you’re to blame for everything.

Besides, I’m sure that you’re suffering in a way that only those who have those powers can understand...

Ayato: ...

Yui: But you know...Do you really think that continuing to be stubborn about it, will solve the issue? 

Do you truly believe that everything will get resolved once you learn to control your powers? 

( Of course not... )

Being strong is meaningless if you don’t have the support of others to back you up. 

I don’t want you to become a selfish King like that.

After all, I know just how kind you truly are deep down...

That’s why you came for me. Right?

Ayato: Tsk...

Yui: It’s not just about me either. When it comes to your brothers...

You’re actually worried about them, aren’t you? 

Ayato: ...

Oh shut up...Say whatever you want...

ー He turns around

Ayato: ...

Yui: ( Ayato-kun...I believe in you. I’m sure you’ll come to understand... )

( If you do, then Reiji-san and Ruki-kun will also... )

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) Kino uses the term ピックアップ or ‘pikku appu’ here, which makes it sound like you’re picking up an item in a game, rather than picking up a real person (in which case you’d use the term 迎えに来る or ‘mukae ni kuru’). While ‘picked me up’ would have been just as accurate of a translation here, I wanted to preserve this little detail in his speech and go for a game-specific expression as well.

[mittenwonders]

ALL OF THIS. Stay single ladies. It’s just not worth it anymore. I’ve been content for 6 years with no one, learning about myself and figuring out who I am as a person. I deeply hold myself in high regard. I have my moments of setback and I have insecurities like anyone else that I am continuously working on. It’s not me being conceded or egotistical, it’s me knowing my value and worth. I stick to my values and integrity dearly. I live by them. I continue to be a ray of sunshine and rainbows in the world without taking shit from anyone at the same time. I won’t stop being soft but I also will not let someone take advantage of me.

But the reality of today’s world is guys are worst more than ever. All the good ones are already taken and married for a reason. In my experience, if a guy has to try to verbally try to persuade you they’re a “nice guy” then they are in fact not. Actions speak louder than words always. Are you left hanging? Do they disappear? Are you always the one putting in the effort? I’ve had my share on the dating apps and man is it a cesspool. All guys value is sex. That has not changed over the decades. And some angry messages I have gotten, wow boy is it scarier than ever. I don’t like putting all men in one generic box but it’s becoming harder and harder to separate. I am not anyone’s mother. I understand flaws & how society has taught men toxic masculinity. I don’t want to fix anyone but simply be by their side to support because that’s just what you do when you care for someone. But even that is shoved away time and time again. Then they cry that no one is there for them. Like…hello?

Be content in your own company and space. Learn about yourself and work on yourself. When someone worthy comes along, you’ll know but until then, don’t give men the time of day. You all deserve better. You are gorgeous, you’re a priority, you’re smart and you don’t need someone who brings you down. The right one will help you value yourself and adjust your crown when you misstep. You won’t question yourself or not know where you stand with them ever. There will be absolutely no room for confusion.

I would love to be married and have that family dream but I am learning to accept that will not happen at this rate. This isn’t a woe is me statement, it’s reality and acceptance. Science proves there is a time clock on women. Can people have kids later in life? Yes but it comes with risk and complications. I already have health issues, and I doubt I’ll find someone who understands that or will really be there to support someone like me through that. It’s a lot to ask and take on. Just throw away the idea of kids altogether, my health alone is a lot to ask someone to take on. I’d need a fricken selfless angel at that point. I’ve learned what works for me over the years and doesn’t. Asking someone to slightly adjust to my lifestyle and limitations is a lot. In my experience of dating, there’s no right way of bringing this up either because when you say “that’s sounds fun but literally I can’t do that,” they scoff and get tired of dealing with you.

Anyway, stay single. It’ll help your mental health because you know how to love yourself best and where you stand with yourself. You will never let yourself down.

[geniequestria]

Some time passes after Fluttershy’s talk with Rarity, she looks to see Starlight for a 1-on-1 talk with her too before genifying more of her friends. It takes some time for her to find where the self-proclaimed leader of Geniequestria is. If Starlight were out and about. She figures wherever magic is being thrown about is where she’d be, but given everything was oddly quiet. It’s more likely that somewhere Starlight is in her lamp somewhere. That makes Fluttershy’s search hard as one small lamp, even one as obvious as Starlight’s in an entire town is not going to be easy. 

However, thanks to some genie ingenuity she eventually comes to a solution. She makes clones of herself to look all over the town and look in every nook and cranny for Starlight’s lamp. 

Eventually, one of her many selves finds Starlight’s lamp in the hospital’s waiting room. Once Fluttershy pulls all of her selves back into one single body, she realizes that Starlight must have went to see Meadowbrook while she was genifying ponies here, Fluttershy also assumes Starlight might have helped Meadowbrook get every pony, not just the doctors and nurses but the many patients here. Though once they were genies, they certainly wouldn’t be patients any more. Regardless of their affliction, genification solves every problem.

Fluttershy gently rubs the lamp, the dark purple lamp immediately shakes and seems to briefly turn an angry red that makes it expand with a quick FWOOOSH out of the spout. Starlight immediately taking shape out of the lamp with no fancy entrance aside from glowing white angry eyes as her voice echoes “WHO DARES DISTURB MY SLUMBER! YOU’RE JUST ASKING TO BE BOTTLED IF YOU”RE NOT ALRE-“

“Ahem…” Fluttershy interrupts

“…Oh, it’s just you, Fluttershy” Starlight’s glowing eyes fade out back to normal as she calms down “You’re already a genie… so pardon me… for the outburst. Any pony who touches my lamp who’s not already a genie shall be genified on the spot though… but even with other genies I’m a bit averse to others touching it without my permission”

Fluttershy chuckles “Hehe, no worries. I understand. But… I wanted to urgently speak with you before I genified more ponies. I’ll at least tell you that I have gotten more than just Meadowbrook genified now, both my parents and my brother are now genies too”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “…Well, I’m happy to hear you’ve genified more ponies. But I have a feeling that’s not the only reason you came to see me… I’m still trying to figure you out, Fluttershy… you genuinely want Geniequestria to come into fruition, but you’ve also proved more resistant to my requests then most of my genifications up to this point. So pardon me, if I’m a bit... suspicious of you still, as I remember when you were supposedly 'on my side' before…”

“I guess we could start talking about why that may be together, Starlight. Let’s go through who you’ve genified so far and maybe you’ll come to an understanding why.” Fluttershy suggested

“I see… well, obviously you already know who was my first genification. You were there just as her transformation was finishing! Trixie, my lovely mare friend.” Starlight closed an eye and put a hoof over her heart

“I still have yet to meet Trixie as a genie, but I promise I believe you that you two are truly in love. I must ask however, if you’d love her less if she wasn’t so willing to help with your plan. I know obviously that wasn’t the case of all, and she happily accepted being your second-in-command for this. But say that she simply wanted to enjoy herself as a genie and didn’t want to help spread this to others. Would you really love her the same way?” Fluttershy asked

“Huh…? Wha…? O… of course I’d still love her! Are you…. insinuating that my love for her is purely based on my goals?!” Starlight reacted a bit angry at the accusation

“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. Obviously you would still love her, but my question is if in the long run you’d respect her wishes to keep out of what others may feel is a major conflict. Cause I mean... no offense to you Starlight, but the way you’re approaching this plan… is very militaristic and authoritarian. Spreading your fellow genies to take over the entire north part of the territory, invading cities. And then comes the occupation, where either the ponies are transformed into genies eventually or they go into hiding. The only exceptions of course are my friends, who are themselves part of a game you’re putting them through for your own entertainment. The way you’ve turned this into a conflict brings us into a deep divide, you wouldn’t eventually accuse Trixie of not being on your side if she didn’t want to contribute to this?” Fluttershy crosses her hooves

“A… conflict? You think I’ve started some kind of war?! This is no war! I’m spreading geniequality to Equestria! No one is dying, quite the opposite. They’re becoming immortal! Those who go into hiding or otherwise want to avoid genification just simply don’t understand yet…” Starlight huffs

“If this is no war, then remind me of what came about after you genified Trixie…” Fluttershy raised an eyebrow suspiciously

“Well… me and Trixie went to Our Town and started genifying ponies there… then we took over the Crystal Empire… so that we could have the army fo-“ Starlight then realizes that maybe Fluttershy isn’t so wrong.

“F-fine, I see your point… but even if this is a conflict. Do you see any real casualties? Is there any real damage to Equestria? What I want to spread across Equestria will make us greater than we could ever dream of!”

“Starlight, it’s not the country I’m concerned about. It’s how those who aren’t genies perceive us, your methods make us seem like an enemy. I do agree with you in a sense that genification works for every pony regardless of who they are. You are correct that this is an equalizer that actually works compared to your cutie mark stealing days. 

But I would like their moment of genification to be a more comfortable experience, even better if they’re more willing to the experience rather than just pulling them into vessels right away, while they’re still afraid of you. Do you understand me on that?” Fluttershy sternly stared

“But… Fluttershy… that all changes the moment they feel their bodies enter their vessel! Sure they’re scared before that happens, but they come to realize how great it feels and any concern they have washes away once they’re genies, and released amongst their friends and family. What difference does making ponies more comfortable or willing when they’re transformed then what I’m doing if it all ends the same? I’m not forever mentally scarring any ponies…”

“Maybe so, but wouldn’t it be better if they weren’t trying to run away? Or if we were nicer to them prior to making them into genies?”

Starlight rolled her eyes “Ugh, again why does it matter?! What use is just being all friendly with every pony if for the most part I’m improving their lives to a point where they thank me enough for that. Wait… you’re the element of Kindness. Are you doing some sort of corny thing trying to teach me kindness? Ha! Please… I’m already doing plenty of kindness for all of Equestria!”

“Starlight, just think for a moment. Perhaps from a certain point of view you are being kind by turning ponies into genies, but can you think of a time you did something for some pony that you didn’t get in return? Even in the case of Trixie, genifying someone you love, you got something out of it. A right-hand mare to assist you in your goals. Genifying every pony afterward was either to assist you on your four-pronged invasion or related to a personal revenge of yours. And now with this game you’ve started with my friends, when you get the chance to genify another of them. that’s also partly in revenge for stopping you back in Our Town, not just wanting to share the ideal of genie hood to us. You don’t see genification as just a way to help ponies, you still have selfish reasons for doing this. There’s a part of you that’s still doing this more for yourself rather then for the sake of others”

Starlight was getting frustrated “Grrr…. so what! Even if so, more ponies will be thanking me afterward. And when everypony’s a genie then we will live happily ever after!”

“…Starlight, besides Trixie. Do you have any real friends?” Fluttershy asked bluntly

Starlight looks offended “W-w-what?! OF COURSE I DO! I became friends with Sunburst, or rather Sunstone, again when I genified him/her, I gave them what even Celestia’s school couldn’t! And then there’s Tempest! I restored her horn, and showed her the Storm King’s true colors! She owes her life to me, practically! How dare you suppose I have no real friends! What about you? Your friends almost abandoned you just because you were a genie now, they tried to replace you with that flower pony mere moments after you were transformed. If I don’t have any real friends, maybe you don’t either! The only thing truly binding you with the others are those Elements of Harmony, but once they become useless... you’re as expendable as a stranger to them!”

Fluttershy shakes her head “That’s not true, and you know it…”

“Do I, really? Regardless, it’s not any more true or false than your accusations about me, I can tell you that! Hmmmph… if it weren’t for the fact we are of equal power, I’d just shut you up and/or leave. I'd rather not be lectured about how I’m doing things. I won’t risk fighting you, as that’ll only make things worse. 

But it does give me some concern about you, say you’ve finally genified every pony you wanted to genify. What are you going to do then? You’re not going to challenge me and try to use your “kinder” way of genifying ponies to rebel against my more loyal genies are you? It’d be ironic after your earlier accusation of me starting conflict if you start a civil war between us…” Starlight turns her back toward Fluttershy

Fluttershy shakes her head “No, I have no intention of beginning any kind of rebellion even when I’m done genifying. I won’t get in the way of how you want to do things, but I’m heavily suggesting you take my advice and tone down your current methods. Trust me when I say it’d pay off much better then what you’re doing now. Because what happens when every pony is genified but the only ponies you’re real close to is Trixie, and even if you add Sunburst and Tempest… it might not truly be enough.”

“Ha! Like I care… those three are all I need! Heck, I'd be fine if when all of Equestria is genified. It’s just me and Trixie together, I don’t need anypony else. When everyone’s a genie I’d leave them to do whatever they want, even if that includes never seeing me again!” Starlight insisted, though she had a nervous sweat as she stated this

“Starlight, have you forgotten that I saw Our Town when you were still its leader? If you were truly not doing your previous plan for some selfish reason. You’d have given up your cutie mark along with the others, or at least tried to. Maybe you did try, but noticed it would lead to a loss of magic you didn’t want to let go… but I have this strange feeling you never actually did. You wanted to maintain your power so that you could eventually expand your ideology past that small town. You wanted to be the leader of this so-called utopia, and that hasn’t changed despite having a much more improved way of reaching your goal. 

You want others to see you as a leader, but to be the leader you want to be. You must make friends. The way you’re doing things now only works from a dictator’s point of view, where their only friends are their inner circle, and even then… suspicions arise in such a scenario. And this wouldn’t even be a normal dictator situation, usually the dictator would indeed have the power to rule by fear. But as you genify more, you’re a self-proclaimed leader of a nation that has no reason to fear you because every pony will be able to do what you can too.

You’re only eventually leading yourself into a world where yes, they’ll thank you for bringing every pony into a world where they can do anything and be with their friends and family without the worry of death. But will they actually consider you a friend? And if you tried forcing your way into their friend circles, you’d only get pushback. And regardless of your genie power, they would have the same powers. With your aforementioned dreams of being a leader, what is a leader with few friends and a citizenry with no obligations to said leader. They’d hardly be a leader at all. You’ll have this genified world that would be all because of you, but you won’t have the spoils you want out of it. You can try and tell yourself that all you want is the genified world. But you’d only be lying to yourself”

“Tch…” Starlight stepped back, she was surprised Fluttershy had just about gotten her spot on. “Ugh… but… getting to know every pony would take way too long. I can’t just willy nilly find out what would soothe every individual pony into accepting genification… that’d take way too long… it’s frankly… just easier for me to stuff them into a bottle, get a thanks from them and I don’t have to bother too much more with them. I don’t necessarily need to be friends with every pony… but… I guess you have it right that I seek… constant praise and admiration in this genie utopia I want to rule… I suppose I got some of that from the Crystal Ponies… heck, they even built a statue in my honor… but… I get that’s not exactly friendship… is it?”

Fluttershy’s a bit surprised she’s already got Starlight genuinely responding rather than shutting her out. Perhaps it’s partly because Starlight can’t do anything about her, but she still sees it as a positive sign. “Yeah, the Crystal Ponies honoring you the way they have shouldn’t be considered friendship just yet. You just came to them as a great hero that defeated the Storm King, showing them there was nothing to fear ever again. It’s praise for who they see as a hero, but they haven’t come to know the hero personally. They’re only admiring you for what you did, not for who you are. And I get that you don’t have the time to spend with each and every pony of Equestria. I’m not saying you should spend a day with every single pony to get to know them before genifying them. I also don’t expect you to change your tactics so soon, I’m just saying at some point… I want you to take heed of what I say, and consider applying it in the future. 

I won’t stop you from using the more forceful tactics that you’re more comfortable with, but I want an opportunity to speak with you on occasion. We’re going to be genies for eternity, so I want to get to know you. We can become friends ourselves if you’re willing to work for it.” Fluttershy gives a gentle smile as she tries to welcome the idea of a friendship with her.

Starlight thinks this over, she first raises an eyebrow. “How… can I really trust you, though? If you can see right through me like this, then I might as well just say my past experiences with friendship… never lasted…”

“Trust takes time and communication, and I’m not saying that you need to spend time with me all the time”

“Heh, I was going to ask if this meant having to be there for every one of your tea parties or something… that’d be a bit silly…” Starlight chuckled

Fluttershy chuckles as well “Well, I wouldn’t be opposed if you really wanted to! But it’s not a necessity. I do however have something that may help a lot, do you remember when I pulled out the program called DisChaos. The same one I used to contact Discord?”

Starlight nodded though looked down a bit awkwardly “I do… though I mostly remember being scared of having to confront Discord more than anything… that made me so retroactively glad you were the first one of your friends genified. My plans may have already been foiled if any other result happened…”

“Hehe, probably. But all I’m doing now is offering to give you an account. I’ll let you sign up, then you can briefly close it, before testing it out inside your lamp while I remain out here. Does that like a plan?” Fluttershy smiles

“Uh… sure. I suppose… can you remind me what this is supposed to do? I admit I wasn’t paying much attention back when you first showed it since I was more focused on what I was going to do about Discord…” Starlight admitted

“Sure! It’s actually really simple…”

Fluttershy takes some time to explain much of how DisChaos works to Starlight. As soon as Starlight gets a full understanding, she is instantly intrigued and knows plenty of ways she could use this to her advantage.

Starlight smirks “This… sounds absolutely splendid, Fluttershy! I’d most certainly love an account of my own… will I have permission to give any pony who wants one an account too?”

Fluttershy nods “Of course! I actually encourage you to use this to keep in touch with as many of those you know as possible. I know with genie magic you could just teleport to where they are. But popping in on your friends like that can be rude if they’re not expecting it, the convenience of long-distance communication at least allows you to tell them beforehand that you’re coming. And I’ve already told you while explaining it you can still use it even from within your vessel

In fact, let’s just get you set up, and then you can try it out for the first time!”

Fluttershy raises a hoof with a pink glow, a screen pops out and a login screen floats.

“Ok Starlight, give the screen your magical signature as well as enter your name through the magic typewriter in front of you. And your account will be activated!”

Starlight listens to Fluttershy’s instructions “Alright, what now…”

“You don’t have to do it right this second, but you can customize your avatar to be whatever you’d like to take a photo of sorts. Whether it’s your face or something else, you can also tell it to display your genie mark, if that’d be preferable. Otherwise, I think you’re free to test things out. I could pull out my screen and just have us type to each other right here, but it might be a little weird to communicate via DisChaos when we’re literally in the same room and able to hear each other. Which is why I suggest you try going back into your lamp, and then we’ll use DisChaos to type messages to each other then.”

Starlight nods “Ok, so I guess I close DisChaos until I’m back in my lamp then?”

“Mhmm, all you need to do is click the x in the corner and the window will get sucked into your horn.”

Starlight does as told, and the entire screen warps and stretches into the point of Starlight’s horn. A rather weird sensation felt that wasn’t painful, but nonetheless a feeling Starlight feels like she’ll have to get used to. Her eyes go a bit dizzy as she recovers from the program entering her head. She soon shakes her head, and is back to normal.

“Alright, Fluttershy. I guess I’ll be headed back to the lamp then… anything else I need to do once I’m back inside?” Starlight asked

Fluttershy shakes her head “Actually, most of what will need to be done will be from my side. Once you’re slipping in, I’ll activate my own account and send you a friend request. All you’ll need to do is accept it, and we’ll be able to type messages to one another. Then we shall be able to contact each other through it at any moment at any time. That is unless for any reason you decide to block me, heh”

“Wait, blocking? What does that mean?” Starlight inquired

“If you don’t want to be contacted or find some pony too annoying, you can make sure they cannot send you messages on DisChaos. You will not be able to receive messages from them, and when public chatrooms are added, their messages will be hidden if you are in the same room as some pony who blocked you”

Starlight felt conflicted about that “Oh… I’ll admit I’m actually a little disappointed with that. I was hoping if I can get in contact with your friends on it, I’d have a long distance method of messing with them. If they can just silence me on it though, I suppose there’s no point. Oh well, I guess just seeing their faces as I do some mischief is a little more satisfying anyway.”

Fluttershy shakes her head. “No one likes to be messaged by ponies they don’t like. It’s a necessary thing, it’s why I want to help you become a little more likable. It does Geniequestria no favors if the very pony who started this movement turns more people off then it does bring them in''

Starlight grumbles “What are you talking about?! Ponies like me just fine! I had just about all the Crystal Empire standing attention, before they were even genified! You even saw some of them! They followed my orders to help surround you girls! AND I SAVED THEM FROM THE STORM KING SINGLE HANDEDLY!”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, stood her ground and just about stared in Starlight's face asserting herself “Starlight, ponies you convinced with an oratory speech and/or regard you as a hero are not necessarily a friend. This goes back to what I said about dictators: ponies can like you as a leader, but can have a different opinion about you as an individual if they actually got to know you personally. A speech to a crowd is different from talking with individuals. And I’ll also say it again, they’ll have no reason to fear you, and you can’t do anything about them. They like you because you gave them so much power, but they’re not obligated to be your friend. 

If they chose to follow your orders it’s because they believe in the Geniequestria cause, it’s not all for you. There’s a bit of irony here, you may enjoy flaunting your power in front of the ponies who aren’t genies. But the more ponies that are genies, the more the extraordinary becomes the new normal. Granted, it’s not a bad new normal, but how can you really claim to be the leader of a world where every pony can do the same things you can do. There’s hardly any reason for a government in such a world.

It could be argued your followers are seeking a world where they help give their friends and family a world they never have to worry about the inevitabilities of life. They may still thank you for genifying them, and even put you on a pedestal with art pieces dedicated to you. But you won’t have any power over them. Outside of Trixie, you may very well be more isolated from every pony else once the goal is reached. Because what is your end goal once Geniequality has been achieved? If you expect to be leader of this genie world like you were of Our Town. You may find yourself for a rude awakening. There will be no one to conquer, no one to convert to the cause, and your claim to others that every pony could be what they want to be may backfire if you attempt to lord over every pony else, not to mention make you look hypocritical. You’ll be stuck in a tight space, Starlight. And I don’t mean the spout of your lamp.”

Starlight just floated there in stunned silence (“Grrr… as more time goes by I’m not sure choosing to genify the Elements one by one was the best decision… even with the ABSOLUTE 1 out of 6 chance that was favorable to Geniequestria… they feel like a thorn in my side.”) Starlight begins to admit that Fluttershy was completely right that this is a bit of a double-edged sword. Once they’re genies, they’re not obligated to listen to her and view her as their leader. 

But if she doesn’t genify ponies, then it’s contradictory to her goals of Geniequality. Perhaps Starlight was too encouraged by the results of genifying the Crystal Empire, thinking every pony would fall in line like they did. She did and will always have Trixie. Sunstone and Tempest were also quite willing, and Celestia and Luna didn’t seem to mind listening to Starlight either. Is it that maybe that the Elements of Harmony have this annoying resistance to being inclined to listen to her that’s exclusive to them? Whatever it is, Starlight doesn’t want to cross with Fluttershy. So she might as well continue to take her offer up about DisChaos.

That said, she also can’t make it seem like Fluttershy’s won this debate, as much as internally Starlight feel like Fluttershy has a point. But Starlight fills herself up with pride as she takes a big breath, before responding.

“Hmmmph, well… thank you for your… views on the matter, Fluttershy. I’ll be sure to think about what you’ve said, but I think we both know we need a little more time as genies to understand things before we draw a conclusion here. Who knows how every pony will feel once geniequality is achieved, maybe the majority will feel I deserve credit for starting this whole movement and let me be the leader as long as I promise not to get in the way of other’s genie magic.. I can be a fair leader, everyone’s vessels is their own private area while the world at large is a public canvas to shape it in the way everyone is most comfortable with. I only wish to help give everyone a… direction. I have no intention of bossing others on how to be their genie selves.

Though I should also say that because geniequality is a double edged sword, I can’t do anything about others. But the reverse is also true, no pony can do much to me. Not like I intend on fighting any fellow genies outside of playful magic duels, as that would be foolish. But you get the idea, let’s see how things play out a little longer Fluttershy before we decide to proceed.

To Starlight’s surprise, Fluttershy actually nods and agrees. “Certainly, more time will definitely be appreciated. Let’s see how the general populace feels as more and more of them become genies, get to know you, and eventually decide if we agree to give you the leadership position you desire. Or maybe,,, you will have changed your mind on how to approach Geniequestria after you’ve gotten to know me and the others as they become genies over time, how about that?”

Starlight rolls her eyes. “Sure, sure… whatever, I wouldn’t be so sure that I’ll change just like that. But enough talk, let’s just get this DisChaos thing over with. Shall we?”

Starlight takes a deep breath, focuses, and then slips herself into the lamp. Not too fast, but also not too slow. A gentle moan comes out of her lips as she warps inside her lamp. A satisfying schoomp sounds out as Starlight completely enters, the lamp slightly rattling.

Fluttershy then proceeds to open her own screen and sends a friend request to Starlight. The lilac pony genie inside the lamp opening the program from within the living room of the mansion-esque interior of her lamp. She can see a red circle with the number 1 on it and can see Fluttershy’s avatar. She then accepts Fluttershy’s request, and could now speak to each other through the program.

<Fluttershy> Welcome to DisChaos, Starlight!

<Starlight> Nice! It seems to be working perfectly, but is there really much else you need to tell me now that we know it works

<Fluttershy> Admittedly, not a whole lot that I haven’t already told you while we talked out here. But maybe I can at least ask for your first impression?

<Starlight> It seems… straight forward enough. Maybe a little bare bones at the moment since messaging ponies personally is all it can do right now. But I know you mentioned while explaining that eventually Discord will add the ability to create “Servers” that will allow people to join and talk even with those they have not friended yet, right?

<Fluttershy> Mmhmm, also technically you can also get multiple ponies in one DM already but again that’s with friends only. I will at least tell you that Discord will soon allow me to test out a sort of live streaming capability. I plan to record and show you my very next genification. And maybe make that a regular thing as I genify the ponies I want to get!

<Starlight> Oooo yes! I would love that, Fluttershy! Can you give me any hints as to who you plan to genify next?

<Fluttershy> I have a really good friend of mine who’s a veterinarian I really want to genify. I’m sure that she will be quite… sssssssatisfied  

Fluttershy puts a symbol next to her text that looks like a cute little snake next to her words

<Starlight> Don’t know what you mean by the snake, but I’ll be looking forward to it. Whatever happens.

<Fluttershy> You’ll find out~. But for now, that’s all I have for you today. You can go back and rest now if you’d like, sorry if I interrupted your time of rest rather rudely.

<Starlight> Eeeeh, I guess it’s ok… it was a kind of important conversation to have. Thank you for coming by and showing me DisChaos, Fluttershy. I’ll always be delighted when you share the love for genie hood and willingly growing Geniequestria with me.

<Fluttershy> Of course! I will still say I thank you very much for genifying me in the first place, though please remember… I’m not done yet with asking you to tone down your more forceful methods. The faster you realize how detrimental your current methods are to your overall goal, the better.

Starlight just frowns and shakes her head. Almost not even sure how to respond, or even if she should respond.

<Starlight> …Yeah, yeah. I need kindness, and should get to know ponies. I should have known that even after genifying you, the cheesy lectures you and your friends always do were going to stay… but like I said out there. Don’t be so sure I’ll just change on a dime. You may just be surprised how much things work out for me, after all. Ta ta for now, Fluttershy. I’ll be sure to see you again, both on here... and I can’t imagine this will be our last meeting face-to-face either.

<Fluttershy> It most certainly won’t, I assure you.

Both Fluttershy and Starlight close DisChaos. Fluttershy walks out of the hospital, while Starlight goes back to the bedroom in her lamp. She does think over for some time what Fluttershy said to her. But she soon shuts her eyes, and falls asleep once more.

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