#The first four - well really three but the eyes-touching was a later attempt lol - kinda put me off my attempt

[sysig]

Things discovered: Charm is stupid amounts of fun to draw in the WOY style (Patreon)

Bonus:

Spider bites are already round and soft-shaped!

[nastybuckybarnes]

Monsters  -  Four

Pairing: Dark!Bucky X Reader

Summary: Bucky Barnes is a man who just wants to do better. But he can’t stop the monster from coming out every now and then. As a last and hopeless attempt at calming The Winter Soldier, SHIELD finds him something they figured would help. An innocent young woman with not a lot going for her. Or, The Winter Soldiers newest victim.

Warnings: Angst, Smut, Language, Fluff, Sickness, Minor Injuries, Trigger warning kinda but not as bad as the last chapter

Word Count: 2.2K

A/n: here you go! I say fuck a posting schedule lol

THIS IS A DARK FIC WITH SEXUAL AND TRIGGERING CONTENT!!!

~*~

You sleep for a long time.

Nearly three days.

Bucky grows increasingly worried with each day that goes by that you don’t open your eyes. It gets to the point where he’s tempted to call a doctor, but he has no idea how he would explain it to them.

You finally wake up, in the afternoon of the third day, and Bucky is so relieved he could cry.

“Hey,” he whispers, helping you sit up when he sees you start to struggle. You look around curiously, confused until your eyes land on the gauze wrapped around your arms.

You look up at him, bottom lip wobbling, and he shakes his head, shushing you.

“It’s okay. You’re okay. I’m not gonna hurt you.” During the days when you were unconscious, it was a struggle to keep the soldier at bay. He won the fight every night though, the guilt weighing heavier than the desire to fuck.

“Why didn't you let me die?” You whimper, sorrow in your eyes. He rests his forehead against your shoulder and sighs.

“You called me a monster, and I got mad because I didn’t want you to be right. And then I proved your point. I just... the monster is there, inside of me. I can usually keep him at bay but... I know it’s not an excuse, and I may never make it up to you, but I didn’t want to hurt you the way that I did. I... it’s like I wasn’t in control of my own hands.” You don’t reply, keeping your eyes on your arms.

“I’m gonna go make you some soup. You’ve been asleep for three days. You need to eat. And drink. Okay?” You nod glumly, still emotionally numb as your mind tries to block out everything that happened.

Bucky’s only gone for a few minutes before he returns with a steaming bowl of soup and a plastic cup full of water. He hands you the water first, and your hands shake as you grab it. You take a small sip the grimace as your stomach flips.

“I know you probably don’t want to, but you’ve gotta eat just a little bit. Okay?” You nod and let him spoon feed you the soup. It’s good. Chicken noodle, from what you can tell, but no matter how good it tastes or how warm it feels going down, your stomach doesn’t want it.

You gag, hand coming up to cover your mouth, and Bucky curses, putting the soup on the side table and grabbing you in his arms. He rushes into the bathroom but he’s not fast enough. What little you ate comes rushing back up, spewing out of your mouth and all over yourself and a little on him.

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, trying not to get too grossed out.

Your head lolls back, eyes rolling as a dizzy spell overwhelms you. He sets you down carefully on the counter, peeling the sweater off of you and tossing it into the hamper in the corner. You take shallow breaths, body aching.

He turns the shower on then rids himself of his clothes before doing the same to you. The two of you are naked in no time, and then he’s bringing you into the shower, the water a little too cool for your liking, but you don’t have it in you to complain.

He holds you upright, hands supporting your weight as the water pelts down on the two of you. You feel like everything is spinning, so you lay your head against his chest and take deep breaths in through your mouth. He presses a kiss to the top of your head and rubs your back gently.

“You’re okay.” He grabs a loofa and squirts some body wash on it, then starts gently washing your body.

His actions are innocent enough until he gets between your legs. It’s like you can sense the switch when he goes from Bucky to Soldier.

His hands grip you just a little firmer, his breathing is a little harder, his eyes dark and slightly glazed over. He pushes you against the wall gingerly, and you’re surprised by how gentle he’s being.

He hikes your legs up, one knee held over each of his arms. You lie there, half-conscious as the water rains down on you.

He slides his cock through your folds a few times before impaling you, stretching you on his thick length. He grunts softly in your ear, muttering softly in Russian as he fucks you. His thrusts aren't rough and hard, they’re long and precise, each one making your cunt instinctively clench on him.

You keep your eyes closed, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep, but he keeps fucking you until he cums, spilling inside of you with a low groan. He stays sheathed inside of you, palms splayed on the tile by your hips, and you close your eyes tightly as another dizzy spell hits you.

He sighs and you know that Bucky is back. He pulls out of you and carefully lowers you to the ground before picking you up again and taking you out of the shower. He sits you on the counter once more, turns the shower off, then dries your body with a fluffy grey towel.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. You don’t reply. You don’t think you could speak if you wanted to. Your head won’t stop spinning.

He picks you up and brings you into his room again, laying you down on the bed and tucking you in. “I’m gonna go get you a garbage can, in case you need to go again,” he whispers, smoothing your hair around your face.

Your eyes are already closed and he sighs, hating the fact that he caused this. What’s worse, is that the soldier took over while he was trying to make it up to you. He took advantage of your vulnerable state.

He sets a new cup of water on the nightstand and a garbage can on the floor, hoping that you get better soon.

~*~

You do.

It’s nearly two weeks of consuming next to no food or water and throwing up multiple times a day, but you eventually start recovering, and for that, he couldn’t be more grateful.

You’re sitting in his bed, sipping on some tea, when he comes into the room.

“How are you feeling?” He asks, hand resting on your knee through the blanket. You shrug, not meeting his gaze.

“I’m sorry. I... I don’t think I’ll ever be able to apologize enough.” You shrug again.

“I can tell.” He’s confused and you sigh, “I can tell when it’s not you. When it’s... him.” He raises his eyebrows and you look down, chewing your bottom lip for a moment before you muster up enough courage to speak.

“When... when you touch me... it’s softer. You might say mean things, but your hands don’t squeeze too hard. And when it’s him touching me... he holds me really really tight.” He raises his eyebrows, having had no idea that that was a thing.

“So I know when it’s you and when it’s him. And I know that you haven’t touched me since...” you trail off and he nods, scratching the nape of his neck. “It wasn’t all me,” he whispers again, trying to explain himself. “It was me at first, but then... it’s like he was controlling me.” You nod, not looking up.

“I don’t remember all of it, but I know your voice sounded different. Angrier.” He cups your cheek gently, cursing himself when you flinch away.

“Since then I haven’t been nearly as bad,” he whispers. “I can tell. The soldier... when he comes now he’s more gentle. He’s not nearly as rough as before.” He nods, happy that this is at least working.

You lean back against the headboard and close your eyes, exhausted beyond belief.

“It’s gonna take some time for you to heal up fully, but you’re making great progress. In a few days, you’ll be eating solid’s again. And then you’ll be up and walking around again.” You nod, eager to be healthy again.

He looks from your eyes to your lips, then back down, licking his lips.

“When I picked you... I didn't think they’d really go through with it. I thought it would’ve been another plan that never got to see the light of day. But then you were here and... I... I was in shock. You’re even more beautiful in person. And you’re so strong and resilient.” You look up, eyes finding his pretty pink lips.

“I know I haven’t been good to you, but can I please kiss you?” You nod meekly, eyes fluttering closed as he presses his lips to yours in a gentle kiss.

It’s everything a kiss with him should be, and so much more. His hands rest on your neck, thumbs gently rubbing the corner of your jaw, right below your ears.

You pull away after a moment more and rest your forehead against his, a small smile gracing your lips.

“This is how things should be,” he whispers, stroking your hair gently. You nod, hands coming up to hold onto his wrists.

“Yeah.” The word is whispered so softly from your lips, that if he didn’t have enhanced hearing, he wouldn’t have heard it.

He presses another gentle kiss to your lips then pulls away. “You should rest,” he whispers, leaning back to look at you. You hesitantly meet his eyes, and when you don’t see the darkness and anger that was there before, you nod.

“Yeah, okay.” You lay down and relax, smiling to yourself as he gently traces over your cheek, his fingers soft and feather-light, a drastic change from his touches three weeks ago.

~*~

It’s a week later when you can walk again, a week after that when he feels comfortable enough to leave you alone, with access to very few things.

He’s on the jet home, mind on you as the rest of the team celebrates a mission gone well.

“You were great out there, James,” Natasha says with a smile, patting his shoulder. He grins at her, cheeks turning pink.

“I see your new remedy is working?” Steve asks, grinning from ear to ear. Bucky scratches his neck and nods. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Nat looks between the two super-soldiers, brows furrowed.

“What kind of remedy is that?” Bucky shakes his head at the redhead. “Just something Fury recommended. Didn’t think I could do it but here we are.” She nods, looking up into his eyes with a gentle smile.

“I’m glad it’s working. It’s good to see you back to normal. I missed the normal you.” He nods, sighing softly as his mind goes to you. “Yeah, I’ve missed it too.” She rests her hand on his shoulder then sighs, letting it slide off and rest in front of her.

“You’re coming tonight, right?” He furrows his brows in confusion. “What’s tonight?”

“Stark’s throwing a little celebration. It’s just gonna be us there. But he wants to celebrate such a clean streak of missions.” He mulls it over, then eventually decides that you’ll be fine if he stays out for another night. You’ve proven that you’re not going to harm yourself anymore, and you seem like you’re starting to genuinely enjoy the arrangement.

“It’d mean a lot to me if you came,” She says, being vulnerable for a moment with him. He raises his eyebrows then nods, knowing not to take her vulnerability lightly. “Yeah. I’ll be there.”

The night consists of soft music, card games, and drinks, all courtesy of one Tony Stark. Bucky spends a fair portion of the night beside Natasha, the two of them laughing and talking together for hours as they each have drink after drink.  

Eventually, when things start winding down and Bucky’s walking her to her room, he brings up a painful topic.

“That night… when I tried to… you know... “ She looks up at him, smiling gently as he tries to express his feelings. “I’m sorry. It… it wasn’t me. And I know that that’s no excuse, but I mean it. But I’m starting to control the monster more.” She cups his cheeks, leans up on her toes, and presses a kiss to his lips.

“I know you’d never willingly hurt me. And I don’t blame you for what the soldier does. I know that the two of you aren’t the same person.” He wraps his arms around her and kisses her deeper, tongue brushing against her plump pink lips. She pulls him backwards until they’re in her room, and closes the door, panting against his mouth as his hands wander over her form.

Her curves are inviting, and he can’t help but grab her ass. She moans into his mouth and the two of them tumble to the bed, Bucky ready to apologize physically for all the things the soldier did, the things that he’s been wanting to do since he first laid eyes on her.

[betawooper]

rating every demon fight in kny bc i can

non-biased, completely objective rating (more or less) of every significant demon fight in kny based on a number of factors, including:

cleverness of fighting tactics

placement in the story’s timeline

integration of character backstories

cohesive themes between characters

etc

by non-biased and objective i mean i’m not skewing the rating if a death felt fair or whatever

everything past where the anime ended will be under a read more so anime onlys who havent watched mugen train, youre safe lol

oh and i reread the manga like 20+ times (reread the latter arcs at least 40 times, haha hyperfixations am i right?) so be rest assured im not pulling these ratings out of my ass

also ill randomly be bolding certain phrases just to improve readability

anyways let’s gooooo

VS NEZUKO

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kamado Tanjirou and Nezuko. Tanjirou is fending her off by putting the axe handle in her mouth, keeping her from eating him. End Image Description.]

10/10

i like how realistic it is, because yeah tanjirou would react the way to he did with zero fighting skills against a demon

very clear why tanjirou is fighting nezuko and shows a bit of worldbuilding on how normal people react to their family becoming demons

always nice to see worldbuilding

giyuu is the perfect example of a seasoned demon slayer who’s good at his job, and he juxtaposes tanjirou very well in that aspect

my only complaint is not directly in this fight itself but how nezuko is handled throughout the story as a whole

like bro, it is literally never explained why nezuko is different from demons

could have been easily explained if maybe her family’s ghosts like slapped her hand every time she wanted to eat a person but nope

she’s just built different lol

so yeah youll see future ratings get points docked off bc nezuko unlocks some secret power with no prior explanation other than she angy >:3

VS TEMPLE DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of a demon. The demon has a sharp-nailed hand over his neck and there are four text bubbles around him saying “But a wound like this... will heal in no time! See? The bleeding already stopped!” End Image Description.]

10/10

may be more forgettable compared to like rui but still good

tanjirou did exceptionally well in this fight and his ability to think on his feet is once again beautifully illustrated here (trapping this dude’s head against the tree trunk with the axe)

very clever

again, establishes more demon worldbuilding regarding regeneration and still being able to move without their head

and the demons burning in the sunlight thing since nezuko wasn’t able to show that

the ending where tanjirou hesitates to kill the demon also serves to show his sympathetic nature towards demons that will last throughout the entirety of the first 60-ish chapters

:)

we’ll talk about what the hell happens to tanjirou after that

or not, it could honestly be its own post

VS HAND DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of a many-handed demon. He has six hands around him, three of them covering his mouth while he chuckles, two of them grabbing his cheeks, and one holding on to the top of his head. There are two text bubbles saying “That’s how many of Urokodaki’s students I have eaten! I’ve decided to kill all of his students!” End Image Description.]

10/10

ooooh probably the first big fight against a demon in the series

oh yeah not doing the two random demons tanjirou one shot in a single blow bc eh

anyways hand demon’s pretty goddamn scary, considering the fact that this is the 5th demon or whatever tanjirou has had to face so far

very nice way to show us how much tanjirou’s innate intuition and all his other random abilities (sense of smell, hard forehead) can come together and help him decapitate this guy

i liked the mini history with urokodaki this dude had and why he had beef with our favorite mentor figure, it establishes that urokodaki was in fact a super good demon slayer and its cool to see that actually shown

i also liked that small moment of compassion tanjirou gave this demon, staying consistent with tanjirou’s established kindness

the demon’s sad tale with killing his own brother very much humanizes him when all the reader has seen up to this point is that this guy is a monster who eats people

sets up the theme of demons just being humans but being victims of circumstance that unfortunately doesn’t hold up as well in arcs past mugen train

VS SWAMP DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kamado Tanjirou fighting off three horned demons as they appear from below. There is a spiky text bubble saying “Three of them!!!” End Image Description.]

10/10

not my most favorite fight but it still portrays everything alright and im not allowed to let my personal opinions mess with the rating so

i like how tanjirou mentioned the fact that he trained in conditions similar to the bog and explains how he pulled off the whirlpool form

using past experiences to aid him in the present, nice nice

tanjirou and nezuko dont quite work together very well but its yknow the first mission so ill chalk it up to simple inexperience

also the way the muzan curse thingie was hinted at here? fantastic way of showing that little bit of demon worldbuilding

...

oh god, it mentions nezuko being stronger than normal demons

ok its not a problem here per say since i can still suspend my disbelief, but later on it just becomes a glaring problem that gets worse over time

VS SUSAMARU AND YAHABA

[Image Description: Manga panels of Susamaru and Yahaba. The first one is a joyful Susamaru about to throw a temari ball. There is floating text saying “Is she one of Kibutsuji’s minions?!” The second image is an annoyed Yahaba, holding one of his eye-hands to cover himself. There are two text bubbles around him saying “My kimono got all dusty. Tch!” End Image Description.]

9/10

why dont these bitches have a good looking panel together dammit

anyways amazing entrance, the way yahaba used his hand eyes to track down tanjirou is really neat

the synergy yahaba and susamaru have is incredible, its awesome dude, they work extremely well together and it shows

tanjirou actually mixing his water breathing forms together is a god tier move and i absolutely love how he can show off his ability to think on his feet once again

establishing how yushiro’s bda works early on is really well done

establishing tamayo as a fugitive this early on is also super well done

not to get into spoiler territory but both these things pay off

how tamayo ended up defeating susamaru is literally awesome in so many ways

shows off both how smart she is by exploiting the muzan curse

and speaking of the muzan curse, we actually get to see what happens to demons who even say his name, back when it was hinted with the swamp demon

tamayo is amazing dude, and we get some real evidence of the horrible suffering demons go through if they even accidentally attempt to betray muzan :D

...

now heres what keeps this fight from being perfect

nezuko somehow grew stronger against susamaru’s temari

with no explanation

which could have been easily explained if tamayo was like “oh yeah the drug also boosts a demon’s strength temporarily”

but nope

god, i just dont like how gotouge handles nezuko’s power boosts throughout the series bc like i said before

no explanation is given anywhere

this is a huge issue, this isnt a pokemon game, you cant just kill demons and get exp at the end of every battle, level up, get some sweet stat bonuses and move on

(actually if gotouge established that this is how nezuko grew in power, than all my complaints about this would be gone, im not even joking)

anyways i get that nezuko is supposed to be “special” but thats too vague of a descriptor

how the hell is she special? ya gotta be more specific and stick with that explanation or that suspension of disbelief is going to disappear

VS TONGUE DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of a four-eyed demon with horns and a long tongue. He is crawling in an awkward position, one foot in front of his tilted head. There are two text bubbles around him saying “Heh, heh! I’ll slurpy slurp your brains out through you ear!” End Image Description.]

10/10

not much to say, showcases zenitsu’s true abilities really well

nicely done

VS HORNED DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of a big, single-horned demon. There are three text bubbles saying “You dodged! You’re awfully lively for a human! It’ll be a treat to carve away your flesh!” End Image Description.]

10/10

would have ignored this fight if not for the fact we havent seen inosuke fight before

it definitely shows how very fast-paced and wild inosuke is

no complaints here lol

VS KYOGAI

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kyogai, a demon with tsuzumi drums attached to his shoulders. There are four text bubbles around him saying “Why?! Why does everyone keep sneaking through my house? It’s so aggravating. It’s my prey! It’s my prey! Found in my territory!” End Image Description.]

10/10

establishes marechi blood pretty early on, once again expanding the worldbuilding of kny which is always cool

interesting terrain where it’s always shifting, tanjirou once again proves his ability to adapt really quickly by altering one of his forms to work with the turning room

(man, i wish the form mixing/form modification thing carried on throughout the rest of the story, but it really didnt which is just a shame)

the injuries tanjirou had prior to this mission actually affecting him was a nice touch

oh yeah, kyogai gives us more worldbuilding (which is always nice) regarding the 12 kizuki, and the aspect of him being cast out due to being weak shows a lot about muzan’s indifference towards his own demons if they arent strong

his backstory being a failed writer once again humanizes kyogai as a former human being and not just a monster

tanjirou shows his sympathy and compassion again by not stepping on his written work and complimenting his bda

well, tbh tanjirou’s actions kinda came out of nowhere but its a very minor thing and not enough to dock a point off, like it didnt affect the outcome of the fight that much if at all

(so if you see future battles where points are docked off for things not logically making sense, its bc whatever nonsensical concepts were integrated into the fight actually turned the tide of the battle and thats a big no-no)

very good fight and if you remember how kinda bad tanjirou was at accurately slicing the swamp demon, you can see that he’s already improved leaps and bounds

im so proud of him

VS MOTHER SPIDER DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kamado Tanjirou and the Mother Spider Demon. There is a light shining down from the top right on to the demon as Tanjirou slices her head off, rain following in his wake. There is floating text saying “Water Breathing: Fifth Form - Blessed Rain After the Drought!” around them. End Image Description.]

10/10

i mean does anyone disagree?

all the demon slayers getting their necks snapped by her threads was pretty horrific, probably more horrifying than anything else we have seen in the entire series if im gonna be honest

the death scene is probably the most beautiful one in the series

it reveals a water breathing form that we havent seen before thats the 5th form

as far as i know, no other breathing style has this merciful sword stroke so it shows a lot about the original water breather and what they might have been like

but enough about them, really the focus is on tanjirou bc this is like the best example by far of how kind and sympathetic he is to demons

dunno what else to say, its perfect

VS SON SPIDER DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of Agatsuma Zenitsu performing Thunder Breathing 1st Form: Sixfold on a spider-like demon. Zenitsu is crashing through the roof of a shed, and a zig-zag path is left behind. There are sound effects all over the panel, saying “Bam!” in large font. End Image Description.]

10/10

chose a picture without a huge spider on it bc i would like to not scare myself half to death

anyways extremely amazing fight, showcases zenitsu’s immense talent and skill, adapting the 1st form of thunder breathing to be a more versatile move

theres a moment where his backstory with kuwajima and kaigaku were revealed and his hidden insecurities are out in the open which is super nice and further develops a character weve only considered as comedic relief until now

the anime made the backstory scenes and the killing scene so much cooler

while there is no thematic connection between zenitsu and the demon, it really isnt necessary to keep this fight interesting

anyways another pretty much perfect fight

VS FATHER SPIDER DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kamado Tanjirou and Inosuke slashing at the Father Spider Demon. The demon has blocked Tanjirou’s sword with his arm, and Inosuke is slamming both his blades down on the demon’s other hand. End Image Description.]

10/10

again, not my most favorite fight but it does everything right

i do have to say it was excellent how gotouge hyped up the father spider demon to be the big bad, only just so the plot twist later takes the readers by surprise

nicely done

VS DAUGHTER SPIDER DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kochou Shinobu and the Daughter Spider Demon. Shinobu’s back is seen and her haori looks like a butterfly’s wings keeping her afloat as she holds her stinger blade out to the side. The demon looks surprised as blood gushes from her side, arm, shoulder, chest, neck, and forehead. There is floating text on the panel, saying “Insect Breathing - Butterfly Dance - Caprice!” End Image Description.]

10/10

first time weve seen shinobu and her fighting style

what i love most about this is how much it shows her true character, appearing as a carefree and naive individual so she seems underwhelming

then bam, reveals exactly how dangerous and uncaring she is of demons, listing out the specific ways she would torture the daughter spider demon in grotesque detail

her using poison to take demons by surprise is also super clever and brings back the worldbuilding established way earlier about wisteria being poisonous to demons

amazing integration of that concept

anyways this fight really encapsulates who shinobu is as a character and thats why it gets a perfect score

VS RUI

[Image Description: Manga panel of Rui holding his hand out directly towards the viewer. There are two text bubbles around him, saying “Give me your sister. If you hand her over quietly, I’ll spare your life.” End Image Description.]

8/10

not only is it a super scary fight but there is a deeper conflict between rui and tanjirou, what it means to be family

they are opposites in the sense that while tanjirou believes love is what makes a family, rui’s subconscious desperation for an unbreakable bond drives him to use fear to keep his “family” together

excellent juxtaposition of their values, and this is only further emphasized when rui expresses out loud what he was going to do to nezuko

i also like the symbolism regarding rui’s bda, how he uses threads or the “familial” bonds to cut up his fake family with it if they act out of turn or annoy him

super neat detail

alright what i dont like about this fight is nezuko (again)

mostly her unlocking her bda to turn the tide of the battle bc her mom was like “yo, wake up, your brother is going to be killed”

feels... forced ig

her bda in general is confusing and not consistent

man, i wish i could make a stronger argument for this but i do believe the problem stems from the fact that we dont ever know what nezuko is thinking, and what she thinks of tanjirou specifically

if she even cares for him as a sibling or if shes only going along with what her family is saying to her, things like that which would have been fixed if gotouge actually gave her thoughts some screen time

so the action feels pretty shallow

im also conflicted over tanjirou somehow remembering how dance of the fire god works

on one hand, hes using past information and applying it in the current setting so he doesnt die, which is understandable

but on the other hand, this was a teeny bit random?

i think what could have fixed this is if there was a scene in the beginning of the series where tanjirou was performing it himself, like practicing before he actually had to do it for new years

so that when the rui fight rolls around, it would have felt less like throwing dry spaghetti at a wall

but yeah

overall super good fight, giyuu ending up having to kill rui instead of tanjirou was super good in that tanjirou didnt become a pillar this early in the series and to show how strong giyuu is

there are some odd bits regarding the ultimate “beheading” of rui using nezuko and tanjirous supposed bonds but it doesnt kill the fight entirely so it deserves its pretty high score

***under read more is manga-only fights so beware***

VS ENMU

[Image Description: Manga panel of Enmu holding his hand out directly at the viewer, with a mouth on the back of it. There is floating text to the top right of Enmu that says “Whispers of Forced Unconscious Hypnosis!” End Image Description.]

9/10

id say this fight is definitely overshadowed by the dream stuff prior to this but its pretty good in its own right

enmu fusing with the train was kinda confusing, like when was it established that demons could fuse with objects?

this worldbuilding element doesnt even appear again so yeah thats why it loses a point

how the kmbk gang end up defeating enmu is pretty sweet though, tanjirou using dance of the fire god to sever the neck bone was really nice and shows that him using the breathing style in the rui fight wasnt a one time thing

while kyojuro’s role was smaller in this part, the next part makes up for it so i cant complain

anyways ye, almost perfect score but its pretty good

VS AKAZA (MUGEN TRAIN)

[Image Description: Manga panel of Akaza holding his hand out to the viewer’s left. There is a text bubble saying “Why don’t you become a demon?” End Image Description.]

10/10

this encounter is literally amazing okay?

after the crew kills the big bad, it seems like everything is fine

but plot twist, upper moon 3 appears out of nowhere

this is the first time the reader has seen an upper moon, let alone the 3rd/4th strongest demon in existence and the way gotouge handled this twist is fucking amazing

kyojuro’s death scene really shows just how human even the strongest pillars are against demons with incredible power

its just

amazing

VS OBI DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panels of the obi-like demon. The first image shows the obi hung in the air and strung over each other like decorations, with women-shaped patterns in its folds. The second image is Hashibira Inosuke fighting the Obi demon which now has lips and eyes. There is floating text in that panel saying “Breath of the Beast: Sixth Fang - Jagged Gnaw!!” End Image Description.]

10/10

on to red light district

this fight is admittedly super forgettable and not very interesting at least compared to the main fight with daki and gyutaro

but it wraps up the sub plot of the women and uzui’s wives going missing so it gets a perfect score for not messing that up

oh and it establishes the stretchy neck thing daki has going on which is very good

VS DAKI AND GYUTARO

[Image Description: Manga panel of Daki and Gyutaro. Daki is sitting on Gyutaro’s shoulders. There is a text bubble on the top right that says “The two of us are one, after all.” as well as floating text that reads “The power of the irregular siblings...!? Next issue lead color and the fight reaches its climax!!” End Image Description.]

8/10

love how this battle challenges tanjirou’s sympathy and kindness towards demons, just simply bc daki and gyutaro are horrible people

(too bad nothing came of this, which ill explain in the hantengu portion)

daki and gyutaro are very good villains and kept this fight super interesting from start to finish

uzui acting as a foil to gyutaro is nicely integrated and properly shown with how jealous gyutaro gets over seeing uzui’s perfect form and stature

tanjirou not only mixes forms but mixes breathing styles as well, which is so fucking awesome

(too bad it was only used like once throughout the entire series, its quite unfortunate)

the super high tension right after inosuke gets stabbed and tanjirou wakes up was expertly portrayed and handled, it felt like the kmbk gang and uzui were actually going to lose

super awesome

the tanjirou and gyutaro parallels are expertly portrayed, with how gyutaro taunts tanjirou over failing to protect his little sister, and the more visual thing where tanjirou imagined his own neck underneath his blade, that was super duper nice

the ending is extremely tense and emotionally gripping, gotouge did a really good job with that artistically too

the demon mark acquisition scene was surprisingly not frustrating, considering that it wasnt really explained prior to the battle

i do think it has to do with how it was explained later just exactly how they worked so its not just some random thing gotouge pulled out of their ass

so pretty good

/

what i dont like is nezuko and her full power demon form

first of all where the fuck did that come from? she just got angry and suddenly shes as powerful as an upper moon

like

how?

that doesnt make sense???

her extremely quick regeneration makes no sense

her ability to manipulate her blood’s properties makes no sense

and it doesnt even appear again so what was the point of that existing

none of this is even explained later which annoys me

that one part where tanjirou sings a lullaby to her to calm her down was alright ig but nezuko in this fight makes me extremely irritated and frustrated

just ugh

VS HANTENGU

[Image Description: Manga panel of Hantengu opening a shoji door. He is crawling inside, his hand in a gnarled, unnatural position. There is a text bubble saying “Eeeeeeek.” End Image Description.]

1/10

swordsmith village

this fight can go fuck itself /j

no but seriously it has so many problems that it would be shorter to name its redeeming qualities (which ill do later)

first off, the nezuko full power form thing again

i hate it so much with a passion

again, where did her ability to regenerate instantly even come from???? this is never explained, ever

and why did she cut herself on tanjirou’s sword anyway

did she somehow know that it was going to turn red if she burned it?

gotouge what the fuck, there is literally no reason why nezuko would do that and we cant even read her mind to see her thought process

gotouge hates nezuko, i swear

/

remember when i said uzui is meant to be a foil to gyutaro in the rld fight? its pretty obvious that those two are opposites, it was nicely done

... what the hell does mitsuri’s insecurities about strength have to do with whatever the fuck hantengu has going on (which is basically nothing)?

so no meaningful connection between mitsuri and hantengu

theres no meaningful connection between tanjirou and hantengu other than tanjirou getting pissed off for like the second time

also tanjirou’s thing with being kind and sympathetic to demons was entirely dropped at this point

but instead of it leading up to a corruption arc of some sorts, it just doesnt

like honestly if something actually came of that anger he exhibited in this arc and from red light district from this point forward story-wise, i would have counted this as an amazing writing decision

but it literally doesnt so who cares

(god, i really start to hate what happened to his character after this )

and genya’s revealed motivation also doesnt fit at all with hantengu’s thing, he’s not a foil, not a parallel, nothing, there is nothing

/

tanjirou being the catharsis for development for mitsuri and muichirou, who he has only talked to like twice

theres definitely a better way to handle those two’s developments without his help

like gotouge, you have a big cast of characters, use them lol

/

i want to kick hantengu in the face for being boring as fuck (at least his clones have cool looking weapons)

doesnt even have a proper backstory, just a single spread of him being blamed for shit as a human

like... thats it? this is upper moon 4 what the hell

/

theres no clever form mixing here at all (regarding tanjirou) which probably would have helped with foreshadowing the 13th form for dance of the fire god/sun breathing better

also gotouge established that as tanjirou’s thing and now he doesnt do that stuff anymore which sucks

/

oh hey remember when tanjirou actually learned how to do zenitsu’s speed boost thing?

if you didnt, i dont blame you bc it literally doesnt appear again, ever

you could argue that he adapted it into his “waltz flash” technique or whatever the fuck that is but the way it was integrated into this fight was like throwing dry spaghetti at a wall

which is just a shame bc its meant to be representative of how tanjirou and zenitsu are good pals but the way it was utilized is forgettable as hell

/

i absolutely loathe the crimson blade concept as a whole and im mentioning this now bc its going to come into play why future instances where this goddamn thing comes up again causes points to be lost

its inconsistent as fuck ill tell you that

/

at least some yoriichi stuff appeared here and not shoved into the final battle with everything else

so the yoriichi stuff later didnt come out of absolute nowhere

genya and mitsuri’s unique fighting styles expand the kny worldbuilding just a little more which is always nice

tanjirou got a cool sword out of this which would have been cooler if him and yoriichi had a deeper connection that was actually explored

but we didnt get shit so whatever

other people getting demon marks being revealed here is also okay so that again, the final battle isnt filled with absolutely everyone getting their marks at once

demon marks have their own slew of problems but its not as bad as the fucking crimson sword shit

god i hate the crimson sword shit

...

dude this section needs a tldr, even i cant sit and read through my shit

TL;DR - this fight sucks and crimson swords are bullshit (more on this later)

VS GYOKKO

[Image Description: Manga panel of Tokitou Muichirou and Gyokko. Muichirou is looking to the left while Gyokko is looking to the right, both with their backs to each other. There are mist clouds billowing in the foreground and background, as well as a slash mark going across Gyokko’s neck. End Image Description.]

7/10

this fight suffers from the same lack of cohesive themes through characters like the hantengu battle bc the antagonist is given nothing

but its better

we havent actually seen mui fight before so theres no consistencies that the reader has to keep track of for now

and there arent like 10 characters in the fight so this fight gets a lot of points just for being a lot more coherent

i do like that this fight shows just how good mui is that he can defeat an upper moon by himself

mui’s backstory is neat

gyokko’s bda is very interesting too

... thats pretty much it lol

ye, anyways not the best fight but not the worst fight either

VS KAIGAKU

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kaigaku holding the hilt of his blade with one hand. There is two text bubbles around him, saying “...As usual, you’re still shabby. It’s been a while, Zenitsu.” End Image Description.]

9/10

alright on to final battle arc

theres some good fights and then some really sucky ones, but this one was pretty incredible and very emotionally charged

theres a clear reason why zenitsu and kaigaku are battling each other (kai betrayed the corps and inadvertantly caused the only parental figure in zenitsu’s life to die, and zenitsu is rightfully pissed off about that)

the visual yin-yang symbolism is awesome too

zenitsu winning due to using the 7th form he created himself (which i have reason to believe was inspired by tanjirou) was the perfect ending to the fight, really couldnt ask for anything better and is a perfect example of how much of an effect tanjirou has had on zenitsu

the 7th form is what tanjirou’s waltz flash should have been lol

/

what keeps this fight from being absolutely perfect is lack of development prior to this conflict

(since the final battle arc is basically a culmination of all the hinted developments through the series, im going to actually factor in how much and how well these conflicts were foreshadowed)

anyways if we had actually seen zenitsu, kaigaku, and kuwajima actually interacting with each other and showing how they were essentially a family (not just through flashbacks), it would have made zenitsu placing the responsibility of killing kai onto himself a lot more tragic

but like, apart from brief flashbacks where zenitsu actually met kaigaku off screen and that one thing all the way back in natagumo where both kuwajima and kai were introduced, thats pretty much it in terms of thunder family development

so yeah its underdeveloped for sure

also one random thought, i personally think zenitsu should have gotten his demon mark in this fight, it would have been cool to see

VS AKAZA (INFINITY FORTRESS)

[Image Description: Manga panel of Akaza’s face. There are two text bubbles around him, saying “Okay, let’s get started. It’s time for the feast.” There is also floating text saying “The inspection of the strong has begun...” as well as a simple box on the lower left, denoting its the end of chapter 147. End Image Description.]

6/10

oh god please dont hate me for this

ill list the good things first how about that

this conflict was foreshadowed perfectly in mugen train, you bet the readers were expecting a tanjirou vs akaza battle after the death of kyojuro and gotouge delivered

akaza’s power is shown extremely well with how many close calls tanjirou and giyuu had while fighting him

akaza eventually giving up on his own volition was really nice and fit into the context of the battle very very well, like sure tanjirou and giyuu wouldnt understand why he gave up but us readers do know

akaza is a really good character and a good villain

/

now notice how im only mentioning akaza and not giyuu or tanjirou in the good aspects

bc those two are eh

no form mixing at all from either tanjirou and giyuu

i know i said form mixing was kind of tanjirou’s thing but you’d think giyuu would have gotten more creative with his moves once akaza said that he was getting predictable

(well he said he “ran out of water breathing forms” but same thing)

so its kinda bland lol

speaking of giyuu, his whole thing with his insecurities of being weak wasnt handled well (it was sort of immediately brushed off in pillar training, and its unclear what part of his character arc he was in)

like sure him announcing that he’s going to protect tanjirou is cool but it feels like he was haphazardly dropped into the tanjirou and akaza conflict

isnt he supposed to be both their foils? that wasnt really explored that well in this fight and theres no deep meaning behind him even being here just analyzing what he did in it

he could have been handled better or even given more focus is what im saying

the anatta state came out of nowhere, im sorry okay? just bc inosuke like barely hinted at not being able to sense grandma hisa bc she had no fighting spirit and tanjurou magically taught his son how to achieve this state doesnt mean it was properly integrated into the fight

if the anatta state was actually explored prior to this battle, i would have given it a pass but it just feels like a cheap and poorly developed trick to get around akaza’s technique development (which is overpowered as fuck might i add)

gotouge should have just given akaza a plausible weakness to his technique development instead, especially since they dont use or even mention the anatta state after this

the transparent world shit makes no sense but ill elaborate on that in the koku battle analysis

oh and this thing doesnt affect the score but why wasnt there a “yoriichi visage overlapping” moment when tanjirou was fighting akaza? hes an upper moon, he should have gotten those visions but he didnt

for some reason

anyways this battle was alright and has good set up but the middle and end parts didnt hold up as well bc random concepts were thrown at us without prior explanation or development

VS DOUMA

[Image Description: Manga panel of Douma licking Shinobu’s butterfly pin. There are two text bubbles around him saying “Anyway, tonight is a good night. Such fine feasts keep showing up one after another.” End Image Description.]

9/10

damn, such an amazing fight

the build up to this was properly foreshadowed

shinobu finally showing her true anger after hiding it for so long is amazing

douma is a super interesting character and fantastic villain

shinobu showing off her true power and determination against douma was sooooo nice

shinobu’s poisonous body plan is so clever and so interesting

if i was to rate the shinobu part of the fight alone, it would have gotten a 10/10 no question

the reason why its knocked down a point is because of the kanao and inosuke part

dont get me wrong, the way kanao is able to hold her own against douma by herself is pretty cool, how shes meant to parallel douma with their similar struggles surrounding human emotions and demonstrate how she has grown as a person, how she regains the ability to cry

that shit is cool, inosuke also getting in touch with his emotions after learning what happened to his mom was super neat as well

however

bc this battle takes place in the final arc with everything else, there wasnt proper build up regarding many things, the kotoha reveal especially

so inosuke feels kinda forced into the kanao shinobu and douma conflict, similar to how giyuu felt forced into the tanjirou and akaza conflict

its quite unfortunate bc if the kotoha stuff was actually explored prior to the confrontation, this “forced” feeling would have disappeared

i know some people have suggested that the douma fight should have just been its own arc, and i very much agree, it would have certainly helped fix this problem regarding inosuke and kotoha

last random thought, i wish shinobu, kanao, and inosuke got their demon marks

VS KOKUSHIBOU

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kokushibou looking directly at the viewer, holding the hilt of his blade as if he’s going to pull it out. There are text boxes around him saying “This... is Upper Moon One... He’s so different compared to the other Upper Moons. He looks so dignified and majestic.” The text boxes are narrated by Tokitou Muichirou. End Image Description.]

5/10

this fight is... mediocre

at least theres a more tangible connection between muichirou and kokushibou

even though that was handled kinda poorly

tbh there really was no point to revealing that mui is koku’s descendant like at all, it just had no significant bearing to the plot of the fight

sanemi’s backstory being here is... okay ig?

idk the whole shinazugawa conflict has fundamental problems that i just cant think of any other place to put it without changing the entirety of canon

the marechi blood concept coming back was nice though

genya is there

him getting his bda was cool and helped turn the tide of the battle in a satisfying way (before kicking the bucket but thats not the focus here)

gyomei is a hollow husk of a character who barely got anything at all

but his fighting style is extremely cool and conveys his immense power very well

oh and him and sanemi are amazing at working together, like better than giyuu and tanjirou, and better than kanao and inosuke

theyre that good yet pretty much nobody acknowledges it which is sad

koku himself is pretty interesting and pretty tragic, very nice villain

but everyone together?

gonna be honest but this is such a random collection of characters, there was basically no foreshadowing that these four were going to go up again kokushibou, they are not that connected very well

i know there was this one post that focused on the theme of family that was common in all 5 characters in the fight but its just not enough

it would have been more cohesive if gotouge emphasized gyomei, mui, sanemi, and genya being like different aspects of yoriichi coming together to kill kokushibou hundreds of years after yoriichi failed to kill him

lmao its not like the 4 of them defeated koku with the power of family or friendship, they just smacked him over and over with a flail, shot him with magical bullets, and stabbed a crimson sword into his abdomen

wouldnt have been too hard to switch over to koku’s pov and go “damn these bitches are like my stupid brother”

...

speaking of crimson swords

i fucking hate the crimson sword concept oh my god can i complain about it now? im gonna complain about it now

unlike demon marks, the crimson blades werent even given any proper conditions, you just hold the stupid thing hard enough and it somehow imbues it with magical properties with no logic behind those properties

what part of crimson swords completely destroys a demon’s body in an instant? even muzan didnt go through that process when he was almost killed by yoriichi so where in the goddamn fuck did it come from

it could be explained bc the sword was left in the same spot for a long time but this tactic doesnt even appear again in a meaningful way (didnt kill muzan when tanjirou and giyuu held the sword together) so what the fuck was the point of having this even exist

its so underdeveloped and confusing and i hate it

the transparent world stuff is also confusing as shit and its pretty much never explained how they work aside from the vague “close your mind” advice, like why did it exist, it did nothing to help the present day demon slayers

its just so... poorly integrated

yeah anyways this is around the same rating as the akaza fight but a little worse bc there wasnt that strong set up beforehand

VS KOKUSHIBOU (SENGOKU ERA)

[Image Description: Manga panel of a bag getting ripped open, pieces of a wooden flute tumbling out. End Image Description.]

10/10

easily 10/10

this fight shows the tragedy of kokushibou giving in to his envy and hatred, when yoriichi cries over seeing his own family commit terrible attrocities against the people he wanted to protect

and yoriichi dies, now carrying the fact that he couldnt even save his own brother from the influence of muzan on his conscious forever

what a sad ending for yoriichi

and after koku angrily slashes apart yoriichi’s corpse, having him find and keep the flute he gave to him when they were kids to the present day gives him a small shred of humanity in the midst of his monstrous anger

VS NAKIME

[Image Description: Manga panels of Nakime. The first one shows a low quality version of her playing her biwa. The second one is a close up of her eye. There are spiky text bubbles saying “It’s Upper Rank... 4!” End Image Description.]

0/10

no nakime backstory

not even a goddamn fight

forgettable

useless

VS MUZAN

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kibutsuji Muzan in his white-haired, mouth-covered form. There are text bubbles around him saying “Not a single one was of use to me. I will crush the demon hunters tonight. I’ll massacre them all right now.” End Image Description.]

1/10

._.

i have many complaints but ill try my best to not make this another hantengu rant section lol

first off, obanai deserved better

im serious, this poor dude was forgotten until pretty much the end when we finally get a backstory out of him

and then he died

what a waste of a potentially amazing character

mitsuri getting taken out early was ehhh

pretty sure someone else made a post about her supposedly being extremely strong but she was nerfed in this battle which i agree with

literally none of the pillars work together very well, like remember how i praised sanemi and gyomei for being super coordinated? lmao that doesnt exist anymore

you could say this is caused by desperation though and you wouldnt be wrong, its just boring to sit through

that causes issues bc this now basically requires the crimson sword and transparent world concepts to be there to spice things up

but in this fight, they do nothing in the long run (except for tanjirou using the crimson sword at the very very end)

youve already heard me talk about why those two things are super shittily integrated and i cant be bothered repeating myself so moving on

kanao, inosuke, and zenitsu

they... exist? they didnt do much tbh, which i guess is the point but like, now its boring again

nezuko could have been used as a potential way to raise the stakes and make things interesting again (like “ah shit, muzan might actually be unkillable if he gets nezuko but its okay bc shes not here- oh fuck shes here this is not good”)

but nothing came of her running off except confirmation that she became human again so whatever

uzui and shinjuro are useless, why werent they at the fight?

like they could have followed nezuko and contributed to the battle even a little but they just didnt and now theres literally no point to them appearing in this arc at all

wasted potential

tanjirou

i wish him going absolutely apeshit had actual substance behind it, like it being a part of his character arc or something

i remember having this one theory that he had a corruption arc (due to dropping his kindness thing towards demons) and i wanted this to be true so badly

but it doesnt exist

not with how the series ended

god

the only thing that saves this fight from being complete trash is tamayo’s poison thing being amazingly executed

and the part where everyone got blasted away, losing limbs and shit, that made things a little more interesting again

but thats it

VS MUZAN (SENGOKU ERA)

[Image Description: Manga panels of Kibutsuji Muzan, Tamayo, and Tsugikuni Yoriichi. The first one has Muzan and Tamayo, while the second one has Yoriichi pulling out his sword. There are text boxes saying “And the moment I met him, I understood that I was born into this world to defeat this man.” End Image Description.]

9/10

finally something good again

while short, that’s just the nature of all of yoriichi’s battles with demons

anyways pretty nice, theres a clear reason why this battle exists (shows the scenario that made the original breather get super close to defeating muzan in detail)

adding tamayo here was a nice touch

my only complaint is that it seemed extremely coincidental that yoriichi somehow developed a breathing style specifically countering muzan’s multiple organs without even knowing prior that he had all those brains and hearts floating around freely in his body

like thats kind of ridiculous, even for yoriichi whos supposed to be “blessed by the gods”

could just be me though

VS TANJIROU

[Image Description: Manga panels of Kamado Tanjirou in his demon form. The first image has his eyes closed. The second image has his eyes opened and the tumor on his face almost completely faded. There are text boxes around him saying “You will destroy the demon hunters in my stead.” End Image Description.]

1/10

hoo boy

ok first off, demon tanjirou lasted for 2 chapters

thats it

2 chapters

so thats already a problem

i am aware its meant to parallel the beginning of the series but also its ridiculous how completely vague and rushed this entire thing was

nezuko doesnt do shit through not just this battle but this entire arc which i already explained so not gonna go into it further

kanao magically having a demon cure on her made very little sense

the scene where tanjirou leaves muzan in purgatory is pretty but if you look at it in the context of everything else, its ambiguous and confusing

(if someone could explain it and see how it connects to the original theme of “demons just being victims of circumstance,” i would love to hear it)

/

actually you know what makes me so mad about this “fight” as a whole? there was so much potential to do more with this concept

and im not talking about him escaping and nezuko becoming a demon slayer roleswap au (even though its a pretty cool concept)

him becoming a demon could have been a metaphor for his lost kindness and sympathy towards demons halfway through the series

it could have been a punishment for letting his anger towards muzan cloud his judgement

it could have symbolized literally anything about him losing his humanity as he got stronger

but those three things are just scenarios from my head, they dont exist in this series just based off of what weve seen from these two chapters

its disappointing

the only thing keeping this from getting a 0 is the one part where inosuke couldnt chop off tanjirou’s head bc he cared about him too much

that at least shows inosuke had grown as a character

everything else is just meaningless and convoluted garbage and “convoluted” is not what you should be aiming for if this is supposed to be the ending of your series

IN SUMMARY

early kny is very good, later kny is questionable and the ending is just a mess of wasted potential and disappointment

i get why gotouge had to have the transparent world ability, crimson blade ability, and the demon marks appear before they all appeared on yoriichi but theyre all just so underdeveloped and terribly handled in the battles they are used, it makes me want to kick a wall

like lmao, i could literally think of so many ways they could have been properly integrated, hell, im even writing a whole goddamn rewrite using my ideas for these three things (link to that is in my pinned)

just, god

if you want to debate over these ratings, my ask box is open ig? idk

[dreamteamfanblog]

Hey so it's been like nine months but one thing I still think is Really Cool about the election is how IMPOSSIBLE it was for good things to happen here.

Now, the baseline premise, first off, that i've gotta establish? Quackity was the only good candidate.

Wilbur was always messed up and his whole plan was to rig the election from the start. Fundy was...incompetent...to say the least, and he tried his hand at voter fraud as well. And, well, Schlatt showed up shooting at the other candidates right off the bat and we all saw how that turned out. Quackity on the other hand joined specifically to prevent corruption, didn't use any dirty tactics throughout, seemed like he wouldn't be completely incompetent, and as we saw later when he turned against Schlatt actually did have a vested interest in making sure the people were okay.

And now that i've established that premise imma make another claim.

Quackity was completely and totally fucked over during that election.

Okay going into more detail now.

I'm going to talk about what may seem like a very irrelevant detail for a bit here. L'manburg's border policies before the election and each parties stance on it. That being the policy that Americans are banned from L'manburg, the way Wilbur argued in favour of keeping it, and the way Quackity opposed it.

Quackity's objection to it is actually super fair.

At the time a lot of people used this as a way to insist Quackity was out of touch from L'manburg's history/culture and didn't care about the nation itself or at least wasn't fit to run it (oh boy is this gonna be important later). Which. Is bullshit. Because he had a damn good point. I often complain about it when characters who don't know the countries history pop in and start taking for granted their history, reasons for existing in the first place, and the reasons behind their policies/stances. However Quackity's complaints about this policy were actually very well grounded. Now, I think it's a more nuanced situation than "nobody who isn't european is allowed, fuck off" vs "open the borders to everyone, nobody's denied access, nobody's denied a place no matter what, uwu" obviously. But Wilbur's stance was the most harmful one present honestly and he literally just fullstop insisted "nobody who isn't european is allowed, fuck off". This is obviously a very dumb rule. Again, while the "oh we're all european and they're....mostly...all americans, lol" observation is funny and a neat coincidence, it's not something to base policy in. Wilbur's argument was basically;

"the americans oppressed and traumatized us!"

but.....no, if we're talking about the Dream Smp faction, three specific americans and two british man oppressed and traumatized you. If we're talking about the independence war specifically in which the Dream Smp faction asserted their ultimate leadership/control and attempted to destroy the L'manburg rebellion despite their attempts to negotiate for independence? Then we're talking Dream, Sapnap, George, Punz, and later Eret. Alyssa, Callahan, Sam, Badboyhalo, and Purpled were all americans who absolutely did not have anything to do with the attacks against l'manburg during the war. If we're talking before the war as well, then while a case can be made that implicates Purpled I guess, it also implicates another european, Ponk, not to mention that Fundy, Tubbo, and Eret were all involved in the initial conflicts on Sapnap's side and only switched over later, so i seriously warn against deciding to extend beyond the war itself to include purpled here or three other europeans end up implicated next to the one new american while there are still four other americans on the server who haven't done a thing to the people of L'manburg at this point in time.

Not to mention later editions to the server like Skeppy, Quackity, and Karl, none of whom were even really on the server at the time of the war if i remember correctly, and didn't have anything to do with what happened to l'manburg. In fact, while i'm not sure about Karl, Skeppy and Quackity were both immediately much more L'manburg aligned than Dream Smp aligned. Quackity was deeply enamoured with L'manburg and never even glanced in the general direction of a dream smp affiliation, meanwhile at this point Skeppy was rather neutral in his allegiances but had never antagonized L'manburg and was in fact openly antagonistic to Dream, holding spirit over his head and even before that scolding him, calling him a colonizer outright, and telling him he was in the wrong during the independence war, and yeah one could argue that it's a point against him that Skeppy had one of Tommy's discs, but how long have people been whining about how Tommy's discs shouldn't be a factor in L'manburg's government generally? Not to mention that Tommy didn't even know Skeppy had his disc at this point. Those are two Americans right there who L'manburg not only didn't have any reason to dislike, but who had aligned themselves with L'manburg's side much closer than Dreams at this point. I'm pretty sure the only reason Quackity didn't formally join l'manburg literally the moment he laid eyes on it is because he wouldn't have been allowed to, lmao, for real his passion for that country kinda baffles me sometimes cause I don't know where on earth it came from, lmao, and while Skeppy likely wouldn't have joined anyway, alienating and outright banning someone who defends your rights and antagonizes your enemies doesn't seem smart in the slightest. There was no reason to make laws that barred the agency of L'manburg aligned neutrals who weren't even active server members at the time of the first war.

That's just ludicrously nonsensical and honestly even just plain unfair. This also extends to people like, again, Bad, Sam, Alyssa, Callahan, most likely Purpled, and probably Karl (i honestly don't remember much about his role at this point but i don't think he was aligned against l'manburg/with the dream smp faction at any point? not taking a hard stance on that one but still.) who hadn't exactly aligned or allied themselves with l'manburg but also literally did not do anything to them. Wilbur's argument that they needed to ban americans because the Americans had oppressed and traumatized them was just..like...not true. Not all or even most of the american's on the server by the time of the election had contributed to trauma or oppression from the Dream Smp, and in fact, nearly just as many europeans were just as guilty of that as the americans.

The policy was unfair and didn't even make sense and has incredibly flimsy historical backing despite Wilbur's attempts to make it sound like every single american had personally oppressed/traumatized them and were inherently against l'manburg's ideals and coveted their downfall. Even the ones who never did anything to them. Even the ones who weren't on the server yet. Even the ones who speak out in their favour.

But what if I told you this law actually did serve a purpose?

Just not the one Wilbur argued?

What's been done there is we trojan horsed in a false equivalence. Ship of Theseus'd a problem, a non existent dynamic, into existence. If you don't know what Ship of Theseus is, it's basically the concept that, if you took a boat (say, the ship of theseus), and replace every board of wood on the ship one by one, is it really the same ship at the end of it. That's what, theoretically, one could do with the L'manburg border issue here. They started with a true statement. The Dream Smp are responsible for oppressing and traumatizing L'manburg and L'manburg needs to be free from them. Well, okay, I notice The Dream Smp are mostly american. The statement can then become as follows. A group of mostly americans are responsible for oppressing and traumatizing L'manburg and L'manburg needs to be free from them. Well if they're majority american then a point can be made that one could just say Americans for simplicities sake surely. Americans are responsible for oppressing and traumatizing L'manburg and L'manburg needs to be free from them. Well then it's easy to justify banning americans. And taking it a step further, you could plug any two names in there, one american and one L'manburg citizen, and even if on its own the sentiment looks absolutely nonsensical, when smuggled in as a Thesus' ship, it may be taken for granted as being factual. Suddenly? Alyssa is Tubbo's oppressor, Sam is Fundy's oppressor, Purpled is Tommy's oppressor, Skeppy is Niki's oppressor, etc. For the most part the specific one on one combinations aren't used often, or at least aren't specifically pointed out (though they do exist to an extent when l'manburg citizens are a lot more ready to shut any given american out of their in group because 'they're on the oppressors side', even when they're not), and is just used as a means to promote general group dependence and rejection of The Other. But it's oh so easy, when a challenge to this idea is presented, to pull out the one on one comparisons.

And I mean you may think I sound like a conspiracy theorist, but...

Wilbur used this mentality to his advantage in the election.

Because the fact that Quackity was an american and Wilbur was a legal member of L'manburg was a point against Quackity in the election.

Nevermind the fact that Quackity was in no way aligned with the Dream Smp faction, had already heavily allied himself with L'manburg, and was not a citizen because he literally legally was not allowed to be on account of unfair border laws. He's still an american, one of them, not one of us.

Now, the specific trait could've been anything, lets be real. It doesn't matter what random attribute Wilbur picked out of the lineup and decided is The Enemy. I mean, european vs american was just the easiest one, but it could've been any random categorization. I mean really, functionally, what does european vs american actually mean in relation to the Dream Smp characters anyway when you really think about it? Some of these characters were canonically born on smp land and have never lived elsewhere, and I know for damn sure none of these characters ever lived in america or europe. Like, yeah, real earth history/geography is like...referenced by characters kinda sorta, but when you get down to it from an in character perspective what does being american or european actually entail? None of these characters live in american or europe? Like, I may have missed the scene where Wilbur ran his plans to form a British Colony by the queen, or like, that time Britain, Germany, and The Netherlands made their official agreement to share this newly discovered territory and allow their citizens to settle it as L'manburg, and if I did then that's on me. But like that didn't happen because none of these characters are citizens of actual european countries. And none of the characters on the flip side are citizens of actual American countries either. Within the context of The Dream Smp characters, european vs american may as well be defined just by how some of us kinda sorta talk in similar ways and you guys also kinda sorta talk in a similar way that's kinda sorta different from us I guess. Having that law in any serious lore capacity is really Weird.

And I heavily suspect Wilbur didn't just coincidentally make a really Weird law choice and decide to die on such an arbitrary hill for no reason....and that it just happened to promote wariness of people outside of his group from those within it and set up an easy us vs them mentality that can be played between his people and All Outsiders (even if the outsiders are characters who have cc's that are european because choosing to be an outsider is said to negate the whole "one of us" aspect of any given person entirely anyway) whenever it may be needed.

Like, for example, if hypothetically a passionate young law student who's loudly calling Wilbur out for acts of corruption and chooses to run a campaign against him....just so happens to be part of the completely arbitrary group labeled The Other....well, he's not one of us (even though he's been involved as long as niki who is considered 'one of us' at this point and he's only not a citizen because the laws wilbur put in place mean he legally cannot be one), he's An Outsider, and he's trying to open us up to other Outsiders, and that in of itself is tyranny! That in of itself Wilbur won't stand for! And he gets to at least put them on even ground, then, because, well, Wilbur may have tried to rig an election, which may or may not be a taaaad bit tyrannical, but Quackity's one of Them and he wants to let Them in so that They can destroy us, and that's just as bad. No, worse, even! This puts the very foundation of our country at risk! Our very freedom and lives! It can't be stood for!

This isn't a hypothetical angle i'm making up, this is...very much an angle Wilbur pulled. It wasn't their entire angle, it wasn't the only angle, but he did bring up Quackity as one of The Other out to destroy them and spun this whole narrative about how he was the actual corrupt one here, that his behaviour was borderline tyranny, because he....wanted a more open boarder policy that doesn't randomly exclude a bunch of people because they don't spell colour with a u or whatever other very vague irrelevant differences that this categorization actually means for the characters in question.

And the reason I bring up the border policy issue at all isn't just to point out Quackity doing good, but also because it kinda goes to show how completely fucked Quackity was in this election.

Even if we give the benefit of the doubt to Wilbur and say he actually thought that policy was a good idea and believed what he was saying about it, the law itself was still ludicrous and harmful, and it still resulted in a very Us Vs Them mentality. I mentioned it earlier myself, Wilbur made a point of being outraged over Quackity's desire to open the borders. Wilbur made a point of implying that the suggestion in of itself was tyrannical, even. This very easily has the effect of making Quackity look like the bad guy. Outsiders are banned, they're banned because they're oppressors, they're tyrants, they've traumatized our people, and they'd be our downfall if we let them in. Quackity himself is actually part of the group being unfairly shut out here, part of the Other, and that was incredibly exploitable given the ideals Wilbur was pushing. Not only was Quackity himself one of these oppressive outsiders, he aimed to let more of them in! And by driving L'manburg's founders out of office no less. "For years, the Dream Smp has ostracized my group of people! L'manburg is not a place of oppression, it is a place of sanctuary for our people! What you intend to do is come into our land and open it up to them! This in of itself is tyranny!" That was Wilbur's stance. And I mean it's all there. "Us" vs "Them", the harsh righteous use of Tyranny as a buzzword he knows will resonate with the people of L'manburg (as well as taking attention away from wilbur's very recent corruption and putting it onto this tyranny that he is outraged about), and while he doesn't explicitly point out that Quackity himself isn't one of them within this speech, his use of "our land", "my people", his description of how Quackity intends to come into their land and open it up to their oppressors. It's all very sensationalist and feels a lot like propaganda via fear mongering if i'm being honest.

And there wasn't exactly much Quackity could do about that. He couldn't have conceded on the point of not allowing outsiders into L'manburg if he wanted to because he himself was technically one, and that, by default, painted him as dangerous in Wilbur's campaigning. And, well, who are you gonna listen to? Our brave heroic leader (and oh boy the donning of l'manburg uniforms throughout the election and consistent references to the war were absolutely meant to invoke feelings of patriotism in wilbur's favour as well), or.....Them™. From the word go Quackity was screwed over in the perception from L'manburg's public by Wilbur's manipulative corrupt bullshit.

And that's not the only way Quackity was pretty fucked from the start either. On top of the first point (which honestly would be a pretty impressive thing to recover from overall)

Just really quick there's the minor point that Pog2020 engaged in more light forms of shady tactics like burning Quackity's stuff or posting fake quotes from him.

But much more pressing, there's the aspect of how the parties eligibility to run was handled.

First off, none of the parties except Quackity's should have even been allowed to run. Wilbur was outed early on for voter fraud which should've been it for him and by the rules of the election neither Fundy nor Schlatt should have been allowed to run.

But beyond that, there's the fact that Schlatt2020 and Coconut2020 being allowed onto the ballot disproportionately effected Quackity's campaign.

I mean honestly while there were all sorts of reasons people had for voting for whoever they voted for....there's not really any denying that the camps were "Wilbur And Tommy" or "Not Wilbur And Tommy". Quackity is bright and passionate and all, but up until this point he's not been a politician. He entered the election to stop Wilbur's corruption, Quackity himself had never really considered assuming a position of power beforehand, and as such the votes he got were honestly primarily more A Vote Against Wilbur than a vote for Quackity in specific. That's not a diss against Quackity by any means, but he didn't actually have some big grand idea of what he'd do as president, nor did he have the sheer star power/influence/historical basis for his campaign that Revolutionary Hero/Current Leader Wilbur Soot did. Quackity's main stance was not being the other guy, the whole reason he joined the election was literally to oppose the other guy. People who voted for Wilbur were probably gonna vote for Wilbur no matter what happened. Maybe a few of them were charmed by Niki and Fundy and switched over there, but even then, the new entries almost certainly didn't put much of a dent in Wilbur's numbers. Why would they? Wilbur had a guaranteed loyal voting base right off the bat. There were absolutely quite a few people who no matter who the other candidates were, would have voted Wilbur. The fact that Wilbur so heavily references and draws upon his revolutionary past and invokes feelings of solidarity/patriotism even to the extent of fear mongering the other major party only solidified this voting base. Wilbur was kinda the de facto vote, even. Quite a few people took a Pogtopia victory for a given here, and the guy who's been running the country and who talks about His Nation as..well...being his nation every chance he gets? That guy's obviously going to feel like the default vote as the popular patriot with a long history behind him. Adding the fear mongering and other techniques used to lower morale/public opinion the other party (like the fake quotes and burning quackity's builds) to the mix and, well, many of the people who didn't vote for Wilbur were most likely doing so specifically because it wasn't Wilbur and for one reason or another they didn't want Wilbur to win rather than making the vote because they specifically liked Quackity. Which means that the addition of two other parties disproportionately hurt Quackity's campaign and not Wilbur's. The two solid sides were Wilbur or Not Wilbur. He had a very loyal base right off the bat who were going to vote for him no matter what, and since he felt like the default and went out of his way to reinforce his status so thoroughly throughout the election, that means most people who voted against Wilbur were very much opposed to Wilbur more than anything, especially since Quackity's main reason for joining and general draw was that Wilbur isn't fit to lead.

I think it's pretty obvious how that was a lot more damaging for Quackity's campaign than it was for Wilbur. Wilbur's loyal base most likely almost entirely stuck to him even with the new additions, however "Not Wilbur" as a position was suddenly split in three different voting options instead of the one it started out with. Niki/Fundy and Schlatt didn't have enough time to campaign or make their stances clear or really garner any chance of winning, mind you, but they managed to snatch quite a few votes, most of which i'm certain came from Quackity's pool. Honestly the introduction of these new parties was kinda the best thing that could've happened to Wilbur's campaign here. The people who adamantly support him or defaulted to him almost certainly mainly stuck with him wheras the people who wanted Not Wilbur to win were likely splintered much more heavily. It was never going to be enough to give the win to Fundy/Niki or Schlatt because of how late the entry was, but it damn well could be enough to seriously damage Quackity's chances. Coconut and Schlatt had a total of 25% of the vote between them. I highly suspect the large majority of these votes would have otherwise defaulted to Quackity, 18% or more of total votes I highly suspect otherwise would've been on Quackity on account of how much more likely Quackity's voter base would have been to switch than Wilbur's at this point in time. The fact that neither Schlatt nor Coconut got many votes- not nearly enough to even come close to winning really- may make their entering seem pretty harmless, but honestly this most probably cost Quackity a possible overall win.

Just for a helpful graphic:

I won't make a definitive claim on whether Quackity or Wilbur would have won without the new entrees (hence why it's 50-50 on the graph even though obviously it probably wouldn't have been exactly 50-50 lmao). But I do believe that the majority of votes that went into the two new parties came out of Quackity's pool, but that could mean anything from an overall 45-55 for Wilbur to a 50-50 to a 55-45 for Quackity. As far as Wilbur vs Not Wilbur camps I can't make an actual judgement here on what the initial projected outcome would have been because we don't actually know how many of the votes for Coconut or Schlatt came out of which original candidates pools. I highly suspect the majority of them were out of Quackity's original pool, because whether you think Wibur shouldn't be leader for the drama or because you genuinely caught onto him being corrupt, you're more likely to vote Coconut or Schlatt than Wilbur's much more loyal base. But of course I also acknowledge that some of Wilbur's voters may have been charmed by Coconut because, well, the L'manburg fundamentalists know Fundy and Niki are a big important part of L'manburg as well and they can appeal to national pride almost as well as Wilbur with that added bonus of their bright innocent energy that probably made some of Wilbur's voters coo over fluffy little Fundy and sweet shy Niki (wilbur's own view of them during the election, though he wasn't so willing to humor them) and their yummy cookies and their own L'manburg uniforms and give them some votes. So I have no doubt Wilbur also lost some points.

Of course I also have no doubt Wilbur may have paradoxically gained points because he was seen as the safest vote for a win and when the two new parties showed up i'm certain at least a few people who were in it for an actual good outcome and not just drama thought Wilbur was better than the new options (namely schlatt, backed by dream) and swapped their vote for Quackity into a Wilbur vote specifically because they were freaked out by the new candidates and swapped to the safest vote they could for a win that wasn't a new candidate because Quackity wasn't stable enough to risk anymore. But note how no matter what, I cannot see this scenario gaining Quackity any new votes despite literally all of the other parties having a chance to do so and Wilbur's voter count possibly even evening out if not increasing paradoxically with about as many or more people than were charmed by Coconut being freaked out by Schlatt and voting for the safest non-Schlatt option.

But note that, in all of that, there wasn't any chance of Quackity gaining any real voter percentage from this. His main base of "Not Wilbur" supporters were splintered. Many of the people who were in it for the drama poured their votes from Quackity to Schlatt who was more reactionary and overtly violent. Many of the people who thought Wilbur was too corrupt were still somewhat L'manburg fundamentalists at least on some level and would have voted for Wilbur's rebellious son rather than Quackity. And even many of those who wouldn't vote for either were likely freaked out enough by the broadening of the pool to flip their votes onto Wilbur (who's win, need i remind everyone, was anticipated, and possibly even taken for granted, by many) in hopes to offset the possibility of a Schlatt win, no longer seeing Quackity as a safe enough vote to risk with the new more overtly destructive wildcard in play. Wilbur was safe, Fundy was L'manburg, and Schlatt was fun. Quackity on the other hand? He still got votes. The second largest fraction, even. Likely for two reasons. First off, while a lot of people impulse flipped to Coconut or Schlatt, most people who thought it through seemed to realize that they didn't have any real chance of winning here and stuck with Pog or Swag. Secondly, many people had already resolved themselves to voting for Quackity so despite the splintering still thought "eh, i already said i'd vote for him, so..". But note that neither of these cases actually allow for new votes. Anyone who knew Schlatt and Coconut wouldn't win anyway and just stuck with one of the two main parties had already made up their mind about who they wanted to win beforehand. Anyone who just shrugged and went "well I already said i'd vote Quackity so why move now?" were much the same. There was no reason to switch your vote onto Quackity now if you hadn't already. If you wanted Wilbur to win before the new entrees then you obviously weren't going to vote for Quackity because you already decided you wouldn't vote for Quackity beforehand and he didn't suddenly become any more safe or native to L'manburg or fun after the new entrees, but if you were going to vote Quackity? Damn right there's a reason to switch. Multiple reasons to switch. To ALL other parties. Twenty five percent of combined votes went to Schlatt or Coconut, Wilbur's numbers likely stayed the same or even increased as well, and Quackity's voter base likely tanked entirely.

Which, you may be going, "Okay? Who cares? Look, who cares why the votes didn't come out in Quackity's favour, they didn't come out in his favour, he lost, the numbers don't change just because we know why they turned out the way they did, and if Quackity bled votes, that's his problem?"

Which, i'd agree with you, if any of this had actually been natural or fair or legal!

If the other two parties hadn't been an option and Quackity had just bled votes for some other reason whether a misstep on his part or because Wilbur made a really good point or because some other unrelated big event happened that shifted public opinion, that would be one thing.

Hell, if the other two parties had been in the run since the beginning- or at least since relatively early on- and everyone had a chance to campaign in a four party race, that would be one thing.

But this? The new parties weren't legal entrees, they shouldn't have been included, and it is specifically because of the illegal entrees of these two new parties that Quackity bled votes. It was artificial, it was manufactured, and i'd go as far as to suggest it was sabotage.

Because something tells me Wilbur caught on to this.

Fundy and Schlatt were both late entrees, entrees that shouldn't have been allowed in, I mean, hell, if Wilbur had succeeded in his plan to close the ballot before anyone else could sign up he was literally depending on rejecting people who tried to do exactly what Fundy and Schlatt did. His entire plan was to refuse to let anyone sign up after it closed because Dems The Rules, Sowwy, and yet he agreed to let Fundy and Schlatt enter as well the day before the election. Wilbur almost certainly knew that his voter base was loyal and had spent his entire campaign appealing to this loyalty so when the day before the election two new parties showed up he likely very much would have clocked that the solid voter base he had that took his win as the default or were specifically loyal to him weren't as likely to splinter, especially not so last minute with such little time for Fundy or Schlatt to do any campaign work, which means that allowing them in was almost certainly at least partially knowing sabotage to Quackity's campaign.

And what Wilbur did next actually makes me even more certain he understood this because what he did next was the smartest move he could have made in this situation, and Quackity's response, in turn, solidifies for me that he knew the score as well.

You see, Wilbur extended the offer of pooling votes with Quackity, however this wouldn't go into effect unless Wilbur lost, meaning Wilbur himself was accounting for the idea that, with these new entrees, there would be shifting votes. However Quackity's push to make this deal unconditional and Wilbur's subsequent insistence against doing so shows who felt they were at more risk. Wilbur felt confident enough in his voter base being in tact even with these two new options that even with the anxiety bringing them in gave him he was more than willing to sacrifice the possible coalition with Quackity if it meant not having to share a potential win wheras Quackity was significantly more frightened and also seemed to recognize that Wilbur still had a good chance of winning popular vote even with the new factor. There's a reason Wilbur felt comfortable setting the condition that the combination votes only went through if neither of them won, he was very much aware that the two new parties would be a massive hit to Quackity's votes wheras Wilbur still had very good odds on account of his more loyal base who very specifically wanted him to win. I'd venture to argue that Wilbur possibly even specifically guessed that Quackity would remain the runner-up when it comes to votes and that he specifically extended a deal to Quackity here, not for the sake of undercutting the other parties, but for the sake of undercutting Quackity. Quackity's voter pool had been shot, that means it's very likely he won't win on his own, however he could be a threat if he formed a deal with another party, which means that Wilbur's best bet would be to offer to pool on the condition that it only go into effect if they both lost, not because he's worried they'll both lose, but because he knows they won't but is counting on ensuring Quackity can't pool with anyone else, knowing that Quackity is still likely to have the biggest chunk of voters of the other three parties. This is functionally the only reason to make the deal he did, if Wilbur was really so scared of the other parties winning he'd have agreed to make the teamup unconditional, and quite frankly there was no reason to think the other parties would even pose a threat honestly to begin with so if Wilbur was worried about losing generally he would have offered to pool with either of the other parties instead.

Of course, though, Quackity also likely knew the score here. Which is why he demanded they make the coalition unconditional or don't pool at all. He knew that Wilbur had the absolute best shot of winning and that making a conditional coalition to protect against the other two parties who were bound to lose anyway would basically be throwing his votes away. He knew about Wilbur's initial attempt to commit voter fraud, he certainly knew about the more open slanderous/threatening/demoralizing behaviour that the other party engaged in to hurt his campaign, i'd be surprised if Quackity didn't catch the bullshit Wilbur was pulling with his fear mongering and appeals to history/patriotism as well as his use of both buzz words and deflection as a two in one when he named Quackity's suggestions tyrannical in of themselves, and I highly suspect Quackity knew the score when Wilbur let two new parties enter the running against the rules of the election and Wilbur's own initial plan. None of it was fair by any means, like, the entire situation wasn't a Wilbur Winning Fair And Square situation, his tactics were dirty at their best and literally flew right into illegal/fraudulent territory multiple times. If Quackity wasn't certain that Wilbur absolutely could not be allowed to lead at the beginning of all this, he certainly will have been by the end of it. But, well, he'd been so thoroughly and unfairly screwed over that he didn't exactly have many options.

This left the only options that didn't result in a solo Wilbur administration open as Quackity siding with Fundy or Quackity siding with Schlatt. If Quackity tried to pool with Wilbur anyway the numbers would likely come back as a Wilbur win and by the terms of their agreement Wilbur alone would take charge, and if Quackity doesn't pool with anyone and keeps his votes to himself then Wilbur is still given popular vote and still goes on to a solo administration. A Wilbur solo administration at this point in time is the worst case scenario given Wilbur has presented as the biggest threat to everyone thus far, meaning Quackity is absolutely forced to choose one of the other candidates to pool his votes with Either of these options weren't guaranteed to work either, and also weren't ideal even if they did.

So at that point it was just a case of running the numbers of which party was more likely to result in a success/which candidate would be least harmful to the people/easiest to mediate the damages of. Cause at this point they both presented as disasters waiting to happen but they only entered the election the day before and there really wasn't time to scope out just how bad they each were or how public opinion was leaning between them.

Right off the bat Schlatt seems like the more traditionally dangerous option. He's a feral drunk mess whos candidacy announcement consisted of literally hunting the other candidates for sport with sharp deadly weapons. And while chaotic violent shenanigans aren't exactly unheard of on the Dream Smp to the extent that one could reasonably expect to be able to rebuild a respectable reputation after a stunt like that, Schlatt hadn't done so, and Quackity's only impression of him at this point was being chased down with a sword by this creepy old drunk guy who randomly on the spot decided he'd like to be president, actually, so....not exactly inspiring a lot of faith here. But at the same time? Quackity had much bigger things to be scared of from the other candidates than some stabbing. And quite frankly Schlatt being so feral and drunk out of his mind may have even been a relief in some odd way compared to the more calculating and aware candidates. Any damage Schlatt did was likely to at least be less ambitious, more upfront, and likely easier to clean up, at the very least. He seemed simple enough. Manageable, even if more than a bit scary.

Fundy and Niki, on the other hand, were...very different. They were much more openly presentable, at least. They hadn't pulled a knife on anyone at least and apparently the bar's that low for presidential candidates around here. By all means they were relatively friendly, even, in their presentation. They were clearly very out of touch and didn't seem to really get the weight of their position, but that in of itself would be manageable. The more concerning thing, however, is that these are people who are very clearly reckless, at least a bit selfish, and had their own agenda as well. Certainly they weren't as sophisticated as Wilbur. However it was very apparent to near everyone that Fundy and Niki weren't entirely here just for the fun of it. The ever present motive of "Proving My Dad Wrong >:3" (and speaking of, the two being such close friends to wilbur doesn't ease the nerves regarding them) as well as their history of blowing conflict out of proportion (*cough* pet war *cough*) and dragging others into it would have been unnerving and quite frankly whether or not Quackity would have been able to mediate it if they got into anything stupid/reckless/selfish like it seemed at this point he'd likely be able to with Schlatt's more simple behaviours is incredibly uncertain and is a reason not to back them in of itself. Not to mention that they very much seemed the least likely winners between themselves and Schlatt from the word go.

Which means Schlatt, as the more popular of the two, is the best bet of preventing a solo Wilbur administration via vote-pooling. So Quackity chose the seeming lesser of two winners and proposed a coalition. A gambit that paid off as they win by one point and this proves to be the only option that would have prevented a solo Wilbur administration.

But no matter what, the election was...actually super fucked. Like. Almost every option was going to lead right back to Wilbur after his dirty campaigning and the choice to allow in two random new candidates the day before the election, and I actually find the whole thing REALLY interesting specifically because of how fucked it was.

[artificialqueens]

One Direction (To Your Heart), 2/6 (Methessence) - Cheetah

Summary: Jaida will share two tattoos with her soulmate: one will be her own first tattoo, whilst the other will be theirs. And if there’s anything Jaida knows about her soulmate, it’s that they love One Direction - why else would it be written out on her skin?

What Jaida doesn’t expect, though, is that she’ll meet her soulmate during the final week of preparation for her first big fashion show, or that it’ll be the bubbly, blue-haired artist she’s working with.

Maybe it’s time she learned to embrace the unexpected. And One Direction.

Chapter Summary: Jaida meets Crystal, and finally gets acquainted with One Direction.

A/N: The song in this chapter is “Kiss You” by One Direction. I will admit that writing this fic has made me appreciate them a lot more than I used to lol

Thank you so much to @dollalpaca​ for betaing!

Ao3 || my blog

~

Meeting

At first, all Jaida sees is blue.

Her gaze swims in bright necklaces and denim, in cobalt hair rippling with colour like the ocean on a summer’s day. And then she meets brown eyes as wild and untameable as the seaside cliffs, shimmering like they’ve been touched by the moon. Jaida feels her breath catch in her throat.

“I’m Crystal.” The stranger extends her hand for Jaida to shake, and the sapphire bracelets adorning her wrists glimmer in the white light of the lobby. “Crystal Methyd. I’m the assistant events coordinator - I was told we’d be working together?”

“You’d be right,” Jaida greets her with a warm smile as she shakes her hand. Crystal’s grip is soft but firm, matching the silent confidence in her umber eyes.

Today is the first of many days they’ll be working together, doing odd jobs to ensure this fashion show runs smoothly. It’s Jaida’s first show with the Del Rio brand — in fact, it’s her first big fashion show in general — and she wants nothing more than for it to go well. She started working with Bianca shortly after her graduation, when the brand was nothing more than a handful of people with sewing machines and a dream. Now, it’s expanded into so much more, and Jaida is desperate to prove that she’s really, truly meant to be here.

As she stands opposite Crystal’s sunny smile, Bianca’s words from earlier in the morning ring in her head: “Here’s your schedule, Hall. You’re working with some girl who sounds like she might be a drug addict.”

She hopes beyond hope that Bianca is wrong. Nothing is going to ruin this for her, least of all the crazy assistant of the events coordinator.

And upon first glance, Crystal is as wild as her name suggests, with her summer-sky hair and eclectic sense of style. But there is such excitement in her smile and her brilliant eyes that Jaida can’t help but be immediately endeared, the worry dissipating slightly in her chest.

“So,” Crystal says, drawing out the syllable as she bounces on the balls of her feet. “Hair and makeup artists, yeah? You ready to go?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Jaida tucks her clipboard into her purse, even though she’s perused her schedule enough times that she’s sure she’s memorised it by now, and follows Crystal to her car.

They listen to One Direction for the entire drive.

At first, Jaida doesn’t realise what she’s listening to - she’s only aware that it’s some generic pop song that she’s probably heard before and couldn’t be bothered remembering. Crystal hums along, slightly off-key and warbly, but Jaida doesn’t mind.

“You okay with this music?” Crystal asks, midway through the song, as though only just realising Jaida might not agree with her taste in music.

“Yeah, I’m chill.” Jaida doesn’t actually like it, but she isn’t about to start a debate about the validity of modern pop. Besides, Crystal seems happy - and equally at ease with their lack of small talk - and Jaida is content with that.

“So tell me, girl, if everytime we to-o-ouch, you get this kinda ru-u-ush,” Crystal sings aloud while they’re waiting at a red light. “God, I love this song.”

“It’s not bad,” Jaida admits begrudgingly, stifling a smile when Crystal shoots her a look of abject horror.

“‘Not bad?’ This is art!”

“Naw, child, this ain’t it.”

Okay, so maybe she was wrong about starting a debate.

“No one knows how to appreciate One Direction anymore,” Crystal laments, as the lights change and she returns her focus to the road.

One Direction. Jaida’s mind can’t help but wander in the direction of her mysterious soulmate. It’s been four years since the night her soul tattoo appeared, and there’s still no sign of them. It doesn’t worry her like it used to; she’s decided to let fate run its course, and in the meantime, she does what she pleases. Now, seeing the mark on her skin has become routine. She’s grown accustomed to its presence the same way she got used to seeing herself with earrings after she got her ears pierced.

Soon enough, they’re arriving at the hairstylist’s studio, its walls lined with wigs and photographs of models with perfect hair. Crystal is like a bird, bright and breezy, hopping through the room with an enthusiasm that seems to radiate from all of her features. For a moment, Jaida wonders whether or not her own posture is too stiff, too poised, and has to remind herself that she’s a professional, here on business. So is Crystal, but the word professional seems to carry a different meaning for her.

And, as it turns out, any worries Jaida had about Crystal are unfounded. She is competent - incredibly so, in fact. The Crystal she sees in the stylist’s office is one who knows what she’s doing; who uses her wacky style and charm to her advantage, who gets her point across clearly and concisely. All Jaida needs to do is make sure Bianca’s vision is followed.

In a few hours, everything is sorted out, and the meeting is over faster than Jaida could have anticipated. The drive back passes in much the same fashion as the drive over: as soon as Crystal turns the key in the ignition, the same poppy, upbeat love songs begin pounding through the car. Crystal sings along shamelessly.

And again, all they seem to be listening to is One Direction.

“Do you listen to anything other than this stuff, child?”

“Well, yes,” Crystal says, “but I’m kind of obsessively listening to my One Direction playlist right now. I can change it, if you want.” She doesn’t sound offended, and Jaida likes that about her. She’s easy to get along with, and in the few short snippets of conversation they’ve had, Crystal has taken any teasing comment with an easygoing laugh and a toss of her ocean-blue hair.

“One Direction is fine,” Jaida decides after a moment. She can’t help but think of her soulmate, and whether or not they, too, have a One Direction playlist that they listen to on repeat. She might as well take this opportunity to get acquainted with their favourite band. “I just wanted to make sure you’ve got more taste than this.”

“Haters gonna hate,” Crystal replies breezily, grinning at Jaida in the rearview mirror, and Jaida grins right back.

~

Jaida is unusually nervous.

She swirls the words on her tongue — three simple words — and wonders at her own anxiety. She isn’t usually like this, and she’d hardly expect Crystal of all people to be the reason for it.

She bites the bullet as Crystal locks her car.

“You want lunch?” Jaida asks cordially.

Crystal chews on her bottom lip, silent, and for a moment, Jaida wonders what in the world she’s done wrong. Do event coordinators have something against eating lunch with their coworkers? Maybe it’s something specific to Crystal’s team, or maybe Crystal just doesn’t like her.

“I mean, I would,” Crystal says eventually, her voice high-pitched and sheepish. “But I promised I’d hang out with Widow on my break, so… I can’t.”

Jaida has no idea who Widow is, and she doesn’t bother asking. She isn’t sure whether or not she wants to know why all the people she’s hearing about today have such strange names.

“It’s cool,” she says instead. “I’ll see you after.”

“See you then!”

They part ways in the lobby. Jaida finds Nicky in her dressing room, saying something in French to her phone, adding a slow emphasis to every syllable as though she is talking to a small child. A moment later, a voice parrots it back through the phone, and Nicky visibly winces.

“We’ll work on it,” she promises. Her gaze snaps up when Jaida snickers, and Jaida takes her glare as an invitation to sit down right beside her.

“Hey, bitches,” Jaida says, grinning when she peers at the phone and sees Jackie’s pixelated face looking back. “How’re y’all going on this fine day?”

“Damn, something’s got you in a good mood,” Nicky comments wryly, but her cold facade is broken by the slight quirk of her lips. “Did that meth girl give you a joint or something?”

“I don’t smoke at work, you dumbass,” Jaida chides her playfully as Jackie laughs. “Also, her name is Crystal, and she is so fucking good at her job.”

Nicky raises a playful eyebrow. “Oh really?”

“Don’t give me that look, bitch. Didn’t you realise I’m back half an hour early?”

“Nope.”

“You guys, I’m so confused,” Jackie cuts in. “Since when was there a meth girl?”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe I forgot to tell you!” Nicky exclaims. She’d been there when Jaida had received her schedule, and had gawked right along with her when they saw Crystal’s name. “Just this chick Jaida’s working with for the next week. What was her full name again, Jaida? Crystal Meth?”

“Crystal Methyd,” Jaida corrects, as Jackie’s hand flies to her face in a feeble attempt to maintain her composure. Jaida can’t help but wonder if she’d react the same if she met Crystal in person; now that Jaida can put a face — and a personality — to the name, it seems less outlandish and more… quirky.

“So? What’s she like? Apart from being ‘so fucking good at her job?’” Nicky asks, her eyes gleaming with a strange sort of curiosity. “Is she as crazy as you thought?”

“And then some,” Jaida laughs. “But she’s, like, a fun crazy. It’s cool. She looks like a lollipop.”

Nicky nods slowly. “Please elaborate.”

“Blue hair, a fuck ton of necklaces… the whole shebang,” Jaida says. She’s still stunned at how Crystal doesn’t get sick of the constant rattling of the beads. “Like, you know those big ass lollipops we had as kids? The swirly rainbow ones? Imagine one of those, but blue. That’s Crystal.”

Nicky nearly chokes on her lunch.

“That is the single most amazing thing I have ever heard,” she proclaims, mouth still half full. “Calling someone a ‘big ass lollipop’. Have I told you I love you, Jaida?”

“Hey!” Jackie whines, pretending to be wounded by the statement. “I thought your heart belonged to me, Miss Doll.”

“You can share,” Nicky replies haughtily, sticking her tongue out at Jackie.

“No fair.”

“Deal with it.”

Jaida laughs, already all too familiar with Nicky and Jackie’s playful banter. They might bicker like an old married couple, but Jaida always sees how Nicky rolls her sleeves up when she’s nervous, sees how she’ll immediately relax as she gazes at her lilac flowers.

Jaida has known Nicky since they were kids, and she has never seen anyone make her smile like Jackie does.

“Well,” Jaida says, “unfortunately for you, child, my heart will soon belong to an avid One Direction fan. Sorry ’bout it.”

Soon, she thinks, as soon as the words have left her lips. How soon? It’s such a loose term. Soon could be twenty years, or it could be tomorrow. Fate has left her nothing but a string of words to follow, and she has given nothing back - save for the Arabic tattoo, her skin is empty.

“Girl, if they were still a thing, I would sit through an entire concert for you to find your soulmate,” Nicky promises. “And that’s no small deal, Jaida - that’s ten years off of my life, just for you.”

“Luckily for you they’re still no longer a thing,” Jackie remarks.

Jaida chuckles. “Actually, I listened to some One Direction today, in the car. Crystal played it non-stop.”

“Maybe Crystal is your soulmate!” Nicky gasps, bolting upright in her seat.

“Bitch! She’s my coworker!” Jaida can’t help but wrinkle her nose - Crystal is nice, but soulmates is taking it a bit too far.

“That’s how all the best love stories start, you know!”

“Naw, child, I doubt it. We’re too different.”

“Since when has that stopped anyone?” Jackie grins, sharing a knowing glance with Nicky.

“I’ll believe it until proven otherwise,” Nicky insists, slamming her fist on the table emphatically. “Besides, she sounds like the type to get a One Direction tattoo in a foreign language, don’t you think?”

Jaida rolls her eyes, amused. “You haven’t even met her!”

“And also,” Nicky continues slyly, ignoring Jaida. “You have no proof that she’s not your soulmate. You won’t know for sure until she shows you her collarbone.”

“Ooh, kinky,” Jaida deadpans. “What do you want me to do, take her to, like, a strip club or something and hope she takes her clothes off? You can do that, child, I’m keeping things professional.”

Jackie laughs. “Let’s plan a double date.”

“Let’s get through this next week first, then we’ll talk,” Jaida counters, knowing the possibility of her following through will be slim. Still, she can’t help but wonder if by then, she and Crystal will actually know each other well enough for the idea to be plausible.

“Oh, wait! I have something to show you,” Nicky gasps suddenly, swiping off of FaceTime and opening photos instead. She chooses an image before swivelling her phone around for Jaida to see. “Sorry, I know this is going totally off-topic, but you must see this.”

It’s a photograph of Shea Couleé, one of Nicky’s fellow models, standing in a gauzy gown of galactic violets and a shimmering ebony. Jaida recognises the design instantly - it was one of the first things she pitched to Bianca, who, later on, begrudgingly admitted that she liked it so much she’d nearly promoted Jaida on the spot. The top half of the dress is covered in jewelled stars and surrounded by rings of planets, whilst the bottom is layers of tulle and gleaming black satin that shines like the midnight sky. Jaida remembers thinking something like this would be impossible to bring to life, yet now, she’s not only seen it on a mannequin, but also right here, in this photograph of Shea.

And she looks so beautiful, Jaida almost feels herself tearing up. Shea’s warm brown skin seems to glow amidst the glimmering jewels and star-shaped rhinestones. She holds her head high, ink-dark hair cascading down her back and over her shoulders, spilling over constellations and galaxies. She looks regal, silver specks like starlight pooling in her obsidian eyes. She’s surrounded by tiny worlds, supernovas and shining stars, and Shea wears them all like she’s the sun. Jaida can’t take her eyes off of her.

“I know, right?” Nicky gushes. “Doesn’t she look so incredible?”

“Holy fuck. Holy shit, child, I can’t. This isn’t real. Pinch me.”

“It’s real!” Nicky promises, grinning from ear to ear. “I saw her at the fitting. She looks even better in person - I can’t wait for you to see her model it.”

Jaida genuinely has no words. They lodge in her throat, sticky with unspoken emotion. This moment feels… powerful. It feels like all her dreams have come true at once. All her late nights designing, sewing, stoning fabrics and adjusting seams - every moment feels worth it. She stares at the image, trying to sear it into her mind so that she’ll never forget it, wears the thought of it like a badge of honour. Jaida feels like anything is possible; like this show might just be perfect.

~

Jaida finds Crystal sitting in her car, headbanging to music so loud Jaida can hear it from outside — it’s still One Direction — as though the world isn’t passing right outside the windows.

“Hey, bitch,” Jaida greets her cheerfully, sliding into the passenger seat. She has to choke back a laugh when Crystal practically leaps out of her skin, her back stiffening until it’s ramrod straight.

“Shit,” she gasps. “Sorry. You literally gave me a heart attack. Oh my god, don’t ever do that again.”

This time, Jaida can’t hold back an amused snort. “I could tell. You were completely in your own world just then.”

“Such is the power of One Direction,” Crystal replies sagely as she turns the music back down to a more appropriate volume. “By the way, we’ve got another stop after this next meeting - the designers just finished the flyers and stuff, so we gotta go print them off.”

“No trouble.” Jaida can’t say she’s enthusiastic about having yet another task on her itinerary, but this one is so minimal effort that she can’t complain.

“Right, cool.” Crystal shifts the gearstick as Jaida leans back in her seat, surrounded by the generic pop melodies of One Direction and her own thoughts.

She can’t help but reminisce on Nicky’s words from earlier. What if all this is the work of fate? Are these car rides — and the fact that Crystal has, so far, played absolutely nothing but One Direction — destiny?

It sends an undeniable shiver up Jaida’s spine. To think that this moment was fated to happen no matter what she does feels… strange, to say the least. But if they are fated to fall in love, why doesn’t Jaida feel it?

She chances a sidewards glance at Crystal, and realises that she must have taken her denim jacket off sometime during the lunch break. Now, the jacket is loosely tied around her waist, and the T-shirt she’s wearing above it leaves her arms bare.

Bare enough for Jaida to see her tattoos.

There’s one on her right bicep: Jaida can only see the lower half of it, but it looks intricately detailed. She notices a small cat and a pair of legs before her gaze lands on the inside of Crystal’s other arm, where two circular symbols are inked onto her skin.

A weird combination of disappointment and relief washes over Jaida. Crystal isn’t fated to be hers after all - there are her tattoos, not one but two of them, likely both tied to a mysterious, predestined love.

You haven’t seen her collarbone yet, Nicky’s voice whispers in Jaida’s mind, but Jaida shoves it away. She doesn’t care. This is confirmation enough.

It’s incredibly common for people to get their soul tattoos in obvious places, like these tattoos on Crystal’s arms, or the flowers on Nicky and Jackie’s wrists that led them to one another. Jaida still remembers how Nicky would refuse to cover up her tattoos when she went outside, because “today could be the day, Jaida!”

Jaida almost laughs at the memory. She wonders if her own soulmate has spent as much of the last four years as possible with their tattoo showing. That might make things easier.

But Jaida has decided that she doesn’t care for easy. She’s grateful that her tattoo — her fucking One Direction tattoo — is in a place that she can cover up, and that in the meantime, her freedom is still hers. She doesn’t even need to think about her soulmate if she doesn’t want to. The words on her collarbone are the only things binding them, and right now, that bond can easily be ignored.

Her thoughts drift, momentarily, to Gigi - the girl she met years ago, with the honey-gold hair and skin as smooth as flower petals. She thinks about the image of the little doll on Gigi’s ribcage: the only trace of ink on her pale skin.

They had briefly asked about each other’s marks, and that was it. They didn’t match, but it didn’t matter. It had never mattered, even as they watched the spark die out and realised that maybe it was just destiny.

They’re still friends. Jaida sees Gigi sometimes, and it still makes her smile. Even if it’s over — even if it was never meant to be — they shared something special, regardless of their mismatched tattoos.

Jaida glances over at Crystal again. She’s focused on the road ahead, but she’s still quietly murmuring along to the music. She’s undeniably beautiful, Jaida thinks, with her sandy freckles and cerulean hair. She chances one more look at Crystal’s tattoos and fires off a text to Nicky.

I was right!! She’s already tattooed, so… no chance there.

Nicky’s reply comes instantaneously.

Seen her collarbone yet? ; )

Jaida leaves her on read.

~

Jaida and Crystal are the last customers in the print store.

It’s nearly closing time, and the girl behind the counter looks rather irritated to see them there. Ordinarily, Jaida wouldn’t have been too happy to be waiting around this late either, but today, she has Crystal. Talking to Crystal is easy; conversation flows between them like bubbling spring water, and Jaida soon forgets about the time.

She picks up one of the flyers as a staff member deposits a pile of them on the counter. Beside her, Crystal looks like she’s about to vibrate right out of her skin with anticipation.

“You good there?” Jaida asks, her brows furrowing in concern.

“Oh, yeah, totally.” Crystal shoots her a self-assured grin. “Just waiting to see what you think.”

Jaida’s gaze darts back to the flyer in her hand, and she almost does a double take. Looking back at her is a gorgeous model, dark skin shining a brilliant topaz in the gold lights and falling glitter.

And she’s wearing Jaida’s galaxy dress.

The drawing of it is almost better than the real thing. It no longer looks like a garment - rather, the model has become one with the universe itself, as though she carries worlds in her palms and constellations in her eyes. She looks powerful, commanding, ethereal.

Jaida’s gaze travels down the line of the model’s body and there, in the bottom corner, is a tiny signature of swirling script and looping letters. Jaida peers closer at it, making out an elegant C and the long tail of a Y.

“…Crystal, did you draw this?”

“I did!” Crystal seems to brighten, her face alight with pleasure, at Jaida’s realisation. “Do you like it?”

“Are you kidding? Child, this is amazing!” She traces the outline of the perfect silhouette, still in awe of the work of art she’s holding. Crystal’s talent is immeasurable.

“I was given some photocopies of the designs that are gonna be in the show,” Crystal says. “And I just liked this one so much I knew I had to draw it. Do you know who designed it? The sketch didn’t look like one of Bianca’s.”

“Yeah. It’s not,” Jaida replies, almost shyly. “It’s mine.”

“No way!” Crystal gasps, slamming her palms onto the counter and wincing at the noise she makes. “How are you not, like, head designer? Hell, you could probably take Bianca’s job if you wanted to.”

This gets a laugh out of Jaida. “Bitch, I’d have to pry it from her cold, dead hands!”

“Okay, okay, true. But holy shit, Jaida. This dress is gorgeous. What are you even doing running these silly errands? You should be with all the designers. Why aren’t you with all the designers? I bet Bianca’s just scared you’re gonna outdo her.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Jaida snickers, “but it’s really just that we don’t have enough people yet. We’re still a small brand, so it’s very, like, all hands on deck. Everyone’s gotta do a bit of everything.”

“Oh. I guess that makes sense.” Crystal nods slowly. “How long have you been working with Bianca?”

“A year now,” Jaida replies. “It’s a good job. I get to do a lot of stuff - I’ve designed, sewed, and I did some of the models’ makeup one time.”

“Wow,” Crystal breathes, and Jaida warms at how impressed she looks. “You’ve gotta show me more of your dresses when we do the run-through in a couple days.”

Jaida smiles. “Sure.” There’s a pause before she adds, “what about you? What got you into event coordination?”

“I wanted to be a freelance artist for the longest time,” Crystal explains, shrugging. “But it’s just… not easy making a living like that. So I found some jobs where I could do some art here and there, and this was the first one that stuck.”

“I get that,” Jaida agrees quietly. It’s easy to have big dreams, but making them come true is another story - she feels lucky to have met Bianca when she did. “But with a talent like this,” she continues, gesturing to the flyer in her hands, “I can see you going places. Big places.”

“Aw.” Crystal’s face softens in a smile. “That’s so sweet. Thanks, Jaida.”

“That’s everything,” the girl behind the counter interrupts before Jaida can respond. “You’re with Del Rio, right?”

“Yep.”

“Right. All yours, then.” She gestures to the boxes of flyers and programs before turning away to shut off the printers.

“Welp, let’s get moving,” Crystal says, grunting as she heaves a box off the counter. Jaida follows, pretending not to notice the way Crystal’s tattoos flex as she moves. They load the boxes of flyers and event programs into the car before Crystal slams the boot shut, turning to face Jaida and smiling triumphantly.

“All in a good day’s work,” Jaida says, grinning.

“We were amazing today,” Crystal agrees, putting her hand up for a high-five. Jaida smiles and hits Crystal’s palm with her own.

Crystal tuts. “That was weak,” she tells Jaida. “Come on, you can give me more than that!” She raises her hand again, waving it in Jaida’s face. “Go! Go! Go! Show me what you’ve got!”

“What the fuck,” Jaida laughs, but she complies, whacking Crystal’s hand with as much strength as she can. “Better?”

“Oof,” Crystal groans, shaking out her hand before breaking into a smile. “See? That was much better. I knew you had it in you.”

“You are so crazy.”

“That’s old news, Jaida,” Crystal replies sagely. “Old, old news.”

Jaida snorts, almost in disbelief. Crystal is so amusing.

“I see. Thanks for catching me up,” she says, playing along.

“You’re very welcome.” Crystal grins brightly before opening the car door. “Now let’s take this stuff back so we can go home. I want a warm shower and some food.”

“That sounds amazing,” Jaida murmurs, sliding into the passenger seat beside Crystal.

“Yeah. You know what else sounds amazing?” Crystal asks, grabbing her phone as the car hums to life. “This song. This is the perfect way to end a good day at work.”

A moment later, upbeat, electronic music fills the car, and Crystal immediately begins bobbing her head to the beat.

“Let me guess,” Jaida says, pretending to think, “One Direction?”

Crystal’s brilliant grin is all the confirmation she needs.

They begin driving, and Jaida will admit that while she doesn’t like the song, Crystal’s finally-free-of-work-for-the-day excitement is infectious.

“Baby say yeah, yeah, yeah!” Crystal sings as they’re waiting at a red light.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Jaida joins in, and her chest warms when Crystal turns to her, eyes wide and shining with a pleasant surprise.

“If you don’t wanna take it slow, and you just wanna take me home, baby say yeah, yeah, yeah,” Crystal sings, her gaze flicking expectantly to Jaida.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Jaida finishes. Crystal giggles, bubbly with delight, as the light changes and she resumes driving.

Jaida leans back into the faux leather of the seat, her skin flush with a strange — but not unwelcome — warmth. It feels like Crystal’s presence has touched her in a peculiar way. Her bluebell laughter, her childlike excitement, her wild and wonderful charisma — all of it feels so comfortable to Jaida already, even though she’s only known Crystal for a single day.

She likes Crystal, she’s decided. Crystal with the strange name and the lollipop hair. Crystal who sings along to One Direction in the car. Crystal with the tattoos painting her tanned skin.

Jaida leaves work that evening feeling light on her feet, a lively melody playing on loop in her head. This day turned out better than she could have expected, and she has high hopes for the week ahead.

She hums the melody that’s stuck in her head as she boards the train on her way home. It’s cheerful, upbeat - where did she hear this again?

With a laugh, she realises it’s the One Direction song she and Crystal had sung together on the way back home. Jaida decides it might not be so bad after all.

[eltanin-malfoy]

Cliché

pairing : draco/pureblood-slytherin!y/n (gender neutral again!)

word count :  2.2k

warning(s) : mentions of petrification, (does that warrant a warning? idk. putting it here just bc) some anxiety

requested : yes, by @lespaceboi

a/n : sorry for taking so long w this one lol. school has been keeping me nice n busy. also, just so u know, it is my birthday tomorrow (29th oct), so i’ve been p busy w all sort of other stuff as well lmao. (feat. the slightest bit ooc draco and a bit of a rushed romance) also i didn’t mean to throw shade or anything, i just thought it would be funny to approach a story with this kinda commentary, lmk what you think!

taglist : @accio-taurus​  @acciodracoo ​ @drawlfoy ​ @war-sword​  @socontagiousimagines​ 

Everything between the two of you was always as if out of a predictable sitcom. The misfit and the bully, almost immediately enemies. One on the wrong side of a prejudice and the other simply resisting it. 

It started off with chiding, with unfriendly confrontation. Drama you couldn’t care less for. Eleven year old you didn’t need this kind of nonsense. You were studying, by the fireplace in the common room. Warm heat radiating onto your sweater covered frame, when cold steely eyes locked onto yours and walked over to you. “So, it’s true, is it?” “What?” “You’re a mudblood? Or at least one of your par-” “No. Are you done now?” “That can’t be.. That’s not what Daph-” “Daphne and everyone else just want to make up reasons as to why I don’t want to spend time with the rest of them.”                                                             

“You sure? You’re uh-”                                                                                      

“I’m sure. Just because I don’t believe you and all your.. cronies aren’t better than everyone else just for being pureblooded doesn’t me-” “Okay, I get it, I get it. You don’t have to act all high and mighty for thinking you’re better than us just because you sympathize with mudbloods.” “How dare you!”

And that was how it started. The mother of all cliches. You were rivals, enemies, whatever you want to call it. The animosity between the two of you only grew as time passed.

Your first year passed on in solitude. You tried your best to stay away from the preying Slytherins of your year. However, this was difficult considering each of your housemates were in pretty much all of your classes with you. The general bitterness between you and the rest of your house was clear to the rest of your year and so you managed to remain civil with everyone else. But that was the extent of any of that. Just polite smiles, nods and whispered words. Nothing more. And it was.. unpleasant. But bearable, so you didn’t complain. 

Your second year was quite a bit more terrifying. The Chamber of Secrets and the Heir of Slytherin.. Mrs. Norris.. You’d heard the mumbles and whispers about Harry Potter being the guilty party, and you couldn’t help but believe them the slightest bit. The other houses seemed to turn against you the slightest bit but you strung it out, growing wary and hoping that the true culprit would be found sooner than later. But then the petrifications began.. and well.. it was scary, to be very, very concise. Students you’d known the past year or so, perky, bright ones even, were found frozen, basically. What was even scarier was no one knew what or how these attacks were occurring. Of course, the ‘heir of Slytherin’ was behind these attacks, but who even was that? You began to suspect something yourself. 

It was too obvious. The person behind them couldn’t possibly as blatant as.. he was being. You were beginning to lose respect for him very steadily. One can only say the ‘m’ word a couple of times before you can’t help but wish to knock the living daylights out of them. Buying his place onto the Quidditch team was one thing, but acting as if it had nothing to do with his father’s money was just stupid. It annoyed you much too much. 

And then it happened.

You were making your way back to your dormitory after lunch, taking a bit of a detour to walk alone and clear your head for a while. But then.. you noticed.. them.

The ‘brightest witch of your year’ (or at least that’s what you’d overheard some adults saying.. sigh.) and that one blonde Ravenclaw prefect you’d seen around..  on the floor, frozen as if they were made of stone. A large mirror in the bushy brunette’s hand. Any prejudice you’d held against either of them disappeared in that instant and your feet began scampering off, your hands trembling the slightest bit as you found the nearest teacher (Professor.. Vector, was it?) and told them what you’d just seen. 

Of course, other members of the staff arrived in an instant, quickly taking off with the two to the Hospital Wing. You followed after them, this close to hyperventilating and just in general blowing your top off. You stood warily, being handed a bottle of Calming Draught as you took a seat nearby. 

McGonagall came in soon enough, followed by Harry Potter himself (he couldn’t possible be the guilty party now..), in his Quidditch robes, gosh, and Ron Weasley. The two walked over to her bed and stared at her, touching her hands and looking shocked. Ron gulped audibly before Madam Pomfrey muttered something to the two of them and they looked over at you, their faces still solemn. Harry looked back at Granger, but Ron mouthed a ‘Thanks’ before doing the same.

You walked over to them and spoke and then... you finally managed to make your first proper alliance at school, or.. most people would simply call it a friendship, I suppose. A few of them, at that. All at once.

Malfoy clearly recognised this. And what used to be occasional shows of aggression turned into.. well.. an everyday thing. His two ‘rivals’ had gotten close and he was very, very annoyed. Very. 

And time really did begin to fly. The long days you had turned into quick weeks and months and Harry defeated the ‘Basilisk’ and saved Ron’s sister and everything was alright. And you had good friends.

And an enemy. Ugh. Clichés are clichés for a reason, huh?

Third year began with its.. commotions. You were in the same Care for Magical Creatures class as Harry, Ron and Hermione, which was certainly great, but.. so was Draco (and all of his buddies, gross!).

There was everything with Sirius Black and Draco’s chiding and well… you’d had enough. Draco called Hermione that.. filthy word yet another time and Harry and Hermione had to hold you and Ron back before you actually just knocked his head in and broke his bones and-

Goddammit. You couldn’t take this anymore. Three years had passed and you were still struggling with Draco Malfoy and his pristine blonde hair and his blue blooded gait and his idiotic ego. Obviously, telling Snape wasn’t an option. And so you took it upon yourself. Why did you attempt to change someone so goddamn difficult? Who knows. We all do dumb things sometimes, right?

One night in September in the Slytherin commons, you grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him to a corner, much to the alarm of all his cronies. 

“You need to stop.”

“Stop what?” “Being such a goddamn prat.”

His silvery eyes shimmered in the dim light and he began glaring down at you. “Says you, the friend of slimy Gryffindors, sympathizer of mudbl-” 

“This is exactly what I’m talking about, Merlin!”

“Do all blood traitors think you’re above all of us whom are actually right or is it just the four of you?”

“Draco.. Just.. shut up.”

“What? I’m n-” “You’re just being a prick. You’re the biggest arsehole I know! I swear!”

“You are so-!” “The two of you need to calm down and clear out of here.” A third voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere. You looked up and were met with the piercing gaze of Dendron, the new merciless fifth year Prefect. Goddammit. Oh well, at least you were saved from getting a massive headache.

You walked away and your fourth year continued as it was. And all the foreigners arrived and… Harry..  well.. 

Trouble really finds him, doesn’t it?

And of course, Draco only grew more pathetic. Seeing him getting turned into a ferret was one of the highlights of your year. Your quarrelling was growing constant. You might have, on occasion, gone around looking to bump into him and get into a bit of a spat. It was a little entertaining, you had to admit, how very irritable he was. 

One December morning, when the silvers of wintry frost had made themselves known on your window, you traversed around the castle with three of your closest friends. Harry had successfully completed the first task and there was still a long way to go till the second, but of course, the four of you still had other things to worry about, or not to worry about, I guess. It wasn’t long before you took their leave and headed back to your dormitory for your Transfiguration textbook, Hermione was willing to help you revise for the next test for once, and you weren’t going to miss out on such a great opportunity. 

But alas! Someone else had a better idea. You were pulled to the side as you walked into the now empty Slytherin common room. Goddammit, this is another cliché of its own, is it not? 

“The Yule Ball. Come with me.” “What? No, I won’t, Malfoy. You can’t ju-” “I’m trying to get Pansy jealous.. She’s-” “So what? I’m no-” “Come on, please!” “No! Why can’t you ask Daphne or Millicent or one of your own other friends?” “Because they all have dates! They’re all busy! Do you really think you were my first option?” You didn’t know why but that one sentence left a bitter taste in your mouth. “So, you’re telling me I’m your last resort?” “No! Come on! You have to come with me to the Yule Ball, I can get you nice dress robes. More exquisite than-” “Oh my god, Draco! Do you really think you can buy me too?”

He glowered down at you and you frowned right back. 

“Has anyone else even asked you?” “... It’s none of your business.” “They haven’t, have they?” “It’s none of your business.” “Then why don’t you want to go with me?” “Because you’re a right arse! And I hate you!” He rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. You couldn’t hate me.”

“Oh, please. Yes, I do. I hate you. You’re vile. And I’m surprised you don’t hate me either.” “I do what I have to do for the things I want.” “So going to the ball with me is something you-” “Just.. shut it. I swear. I don’t even know why I’m asking you. You’re so goddamn difficult.” “Why are you asking me then?” “Because Pansy’d get weirdly jealous of you. She didn’t like us talking or anything of that sort.” “Why? I thought she was like that with everyone.” “No.. she was sensible with other people.. but she said we.. had.. way too much chemistry.”

“.. This is some kind of joke, right?” “No.. it’s not. And I can’t help but..” He looked at you in a way which made your knees feel like they couldn’t hold you up much longer. “But believe it.” “But there-” “If you hate me so much.. then why do you keep staring at me all the time? Even try to look for me, don’t you?”

“N-no! I don’t!” Shit. “How would you even know? Doesn’t that mean you-”

He huffed. “Can’t you read between the lines?” “What are you talking about?” “I like you. That’s why she was jealous of you. She… knew.” You weren’t even sure why your stomach felt like it was about to turn over on itself and your cheeks felt so hot you were afraid they’d light up. “What? But-” “Aren’t people mean to those they fancy? Haven’t you heard of that?” “That’s not true! That’s just an excuse for-” “Shut up.” He blinked slowly, grey orbs tracing a path over your face. He took a step forward and closed the gap between the two of you. And then, for some weird reason, he leaned over to press a kiss to your lips. And for some even more absurd reason, you didn’t push him away. It was soft. And nice. And.. it was okay. Whatever this was.

But why was it? He was.. awful. Looking at him was alright.. but.. 

Maybe he could change? 

And you didn’t realise how long the two of you just.. stared at each other. Smiled. You didn’t even register when your friends showed up and.. caught you.

“Y/N..?” Hermione called out, and you looked to the side immediately, snapping out of your gaze and seeing the three of them standing together. How long had they been there? Had they seen everything? Oh, Christ, this is another trope, is it not?

Ron’s freckled cheeks were pinking up furiously and Harry suddenly spoke up. “You were taking a while so we thought we’d check if you got stuck or something.. And I guess we were right.” Ron suddenly scampered forwards but Harry grabbed him by the shoulders again. “You’d best not do a thing to Y/N, Malfoy! I’ll knock your block right off, I swear it! Give you another black eye if that’s what you want!”

You reached down and fiddled with the tip of your tie. “Th-there’s nothing between us like that.. Not..”

“Not yet.” Draco completed for you, and you looked up at him, then back at the three of them.

“I mean.. we saw enough, Y/N.” Hermione took a deep breath. “And.. I’d say.. I was disappointed and all of that stuff.. but I can’t even say I’m surprised.”

Ron let out a sound of surprise. “What are you talking about? I knew Y/N-” “It’s all Y/N can think about doing nowadays, isn’t it? Getting on Malfoy’s nerves?” 

The three of them looked at each other in solemn agreement before simply nodding over at you. And that was that. Being caught sharing warm breaths and blushing and everything in between. It was so out of nowhere and yet it was not. 

Oh, Merlin. Enemies to lovers stories are so goddamn clichéd. 

[f-117-nighthawk]

I’m in a Playlist Mood

I was scrolling through my dark matter tag looking for something I made a while ago to reference in the next chapter of Carry Me Home and ran across my last playlist explanation post. It put me in the mood to think about this again, and I’ve added...a lot. The playlist might’ve actually doubled in length since then (Thank You Abyss) and I’ve moved some stuff around in order. So, more playlist meta under the cut (it’s LONG)

So first thing: I’ve actually created two new playlists (well, one new one and actually made the third playlist have more than two tracks) since that post jhadsfljd. Working forwards in time (kinda), we have:

Dark Matter: The Road to Ruin

The Road to Ruin is the Main Playlist, the thing I use to write to, the thing I lie in bed and listen to to think up new things, and half the thing that keeps the timeline in place (it’s actually more updated than World Anvil rn whoops). Here we have overarching plot hooks, character development, and the story of six Paladins and their friends trying to save the universe.

Turn the Lights Out I sort of explained in the last post and I can’t think of too much more to add. The TLDR is it’s about the Lions (and, well, technically [REDACTED] too....) and sort of why I refer to a fully-melded Lion-Paladin duo as Spirits.

(I was here/Will you welcome and recognize me/I'll be there/I was here/Will you dread me, will you despise me/I'll be there/For the last living thing)

Remnants of Stars is again about Galran philosophy and the actual process of the quintessence nurseries filtering quintessence back into the universe. But the bit about giving in to know the truth becomes important much, MUCH later.

(As children of space/With stardust in our veins/We will give in to know the truth/We are the remnants of stars)

Your World Will Fail, Dark Matter, and Eater of Worlds are about [REDACTED], about what happens between that instant between the first plank time and the next. They’re an overarching theme, but also the event that everything else builds from, whether that be interpreted as the beginning of the universe or the Voltron comet crashing into Daibazaal.

(Your world will fail my love/It’s far beyond repair/Your world will fail my love/It is already there)

(Bring me your soul/Bring me your hate/In my name you will create/Bring me your fear/Bring me your pain/You will destroy in my name)

(Can’t imagine the violence/The rage and the love in my madness/I am the eater of worlds and I’m looking for someone to feed me)

Apocalypse 1992 is actually the main story of Through Apocalypse Skies, although its framing story is shortly after String Theory. It happens between parts of Awakenings, detailing the rise of [REDACTED] and the final hours before the destruction of everything sentient species knew beforehand.

(Fly high through apocalypse skies/Fight for the world we must save/Like tears of a unicorn lost in the rain/Chaos will triumph this day)

You Keep What You Kill covers the slow degeneration of the Empire between The Fall and the Battle of Arus. The knowledge harshly taught by the Thuanial War is forgotten under the influence of Zarkon, Haggar, and [REDACTED]. Marzin and Galraasa quickly rise the ranks as the Empire’s left and right hands, like omens of destruction before them. The four are the ‘holy half-dead,’ the ones who shape the devouring of the universe before them.

(Defying dimensions/These ruthless creatures will steal your soul/Breaking away from the chains of mortality/They won't be taken down/Bow now to the holy half dead/The master to death mongers calls)

The Seven Sisters is about Keith, mostly, and connected to Closure via its influence on Child From the Stars (Lost in the Dark) and also to Memories of a Girl I Haven’t Met

(I cast my hope upon The Pleiades/The Seven Sisters who would come for me/They'd fall to Earth to grant a child's dream/But I'm still waiting)

Starlight is the newly added Adashi song. Here, it’s the sad part, based around the time that the SFSS Genesis launches for Kerberos. It also is sort of about Shiro’s thoughts throughout the war as he watches ‘from distant skies’ (and influences String Theory kinda)

(At night the earth will rise/And I'll think of you each time I watch from distant skies/Whenever stars go down and galaxies ignite/I'll think of you each time they wash me in their light/And I'll fall in love with you again)

Abyss is Awakenings again. It’s specifically the Red Lion waking up on Sendak’s ship to her new Paladin, but also sort of the rest of the Lions as they find new Paladins for the first time since The Fall

(Open my eyes in a daze/How long has it been? Am I so out of place?/Warmth I can no longer feel/My mountain is gone, I'm surrounded by steel/The strangest of structures arises ahead/Seems to be held up by nothing/Where have I gone, do I dream?/How can the stars be all I can see?)

Who Will Save You Now is about the Paladins in First Contact. It’s the video messages they send to their families, the warning that Something Is Out Here that they need to prepare for. It’s a declaration of protection for Earth, but a recognition that the Paladins may not be able to do what they say.

(I will not take from you and you will not owe/I will protect you from the fire below/It's not in my mind/It's here at my side/Go tell the world that I'm still alive)

The End of the Beginning and Nobody Gets Left Behind are the aftermath of the Battle of the Sarnan Nebula, the end of season two. The End of the Beginning hasn’t been posted yet, but it’s also the second of the four Closure fics. The End of the Beginning also has influence on String Theory. 

(Every night I die just a little/All this time, I'm caught in the middle/All your life, you fought with no winning/This is just the end of the beginning)

(Don't even try to pretend/That you're rough and just as tough/As when you're missing a friend/Attack and take him back/Cause when the team isn't whole/You've got a hole in your soul)

A Simple Plan is sort of part of The End of the Beginning, but really takes place after it. It’s the newly shuffled Team Voltron attempting to track down Lotor as Haggar tries to keep him under her control, and the new Black Paladin’s slow shift away from the things that he was pushed into and to the Blade. (And... guess what... it has influence on String Theory!) Fun fact I found out recently: The Spiritual Machines are by and large also the people behind Les Friction, which explains so much.

(What is this space we’re climbing/What is this place we’re stuck in/Why do we feel we’re sinking/How do we get out – get out of this) 

Memories of a Girl I Haven’t Met skips all the way over Naxzela and to the Mission to the Baaria Shipyards, the first major offensive that isn’t somehow connected to canon (even if only a very very small part of it is actually at the shipyards lol). This is also the song that solidified Keith’s very queer identity in Dark Matter.

(In this lonely place, bathed in silence and thoughts of you/I can't see your face but I'm trying to envision you/So are you really out there? Are you awake with memories/Of a boy you haven't met yet who's wished upon the Pleiades?)

TRIALS (reimagine) and String Theory are.... hoh boy. [REDACTED], [spoilers], and the turning point for a lot of things, which is why it has the honor of being the separating fic between my two main Dark Matter folders. TRIALS being on here is a fun story, because I associate that song very heavily with my main Star Wars fics, since that’s where the series title comes from, but the reimagine version of it gave me such strong Dark Matter vibes, it ended up here. It has heavy influence on the first part of String Theory, and is what I’ve been using for general pacing of the first half. String Theory itself isn’t the weirdest song on the playlist, but it’s really hard to find the connections to it without several layers of abstraction and backstory on [REDACTED]. String Theory is also weaved into a good chunk of fics before it.

(The ending won't be forgotten/It's written in the stars and the hieroglyphs/Sending the lionhearted/The stones break bones, but we're venomous)

(You don't believe in space/You don't believe in light/You don't believe that anything is well beyond your might/We walk across the sky and beneath the ocean floor/We're never going anywhere we've never been before)

House on Fire is the aftermath of String Theory, and a large vibe of We ARE Struggling Together! (Rise Against says it’s about parenting???? lol fuck that) (okay but actually, switch the parental love part to sibling love/general familial love and that’s a pretty good description....)

(So I'll just hold you like a hand grenade/You touch me like a razor blade/I wish there was some other way right now/Like a house on fire we're up in flames/I'd burn here if that's what it takes/To let you know I won't let go of you)

Belgrade is the klance song! It is a) bop b) always stuck in my head because it is That Good. The line in the chorus about ‘sweet songs of seduction’ is eternally funny to be bc a)they’re both ace and b)QPR’s don’t usually involve seduction as far as I know. Belgrade also leads almost directly into...

(We pretend in the darkness/We pretend the night won’t steal our youth/Singing me the sweet songs of seduction/Let me be the fool, fool, fool/Who will live and die for you)

Here to Save You is about Sam. Mostly. It’s also about Pidge. And Zaivorge cannons.

(A slave for humankind/I made sure I would survive/To stay alive/Now it's time to move on/When there's nothing left to prove/I'm coming to get you)

Iron is what eventually replaced Ten Thousand Against One. The plot has actually changed a lot since it was that song like. two years ago (three?) at this point. It has more of a focus on Keith knowing what’s going on due to [spoilers] and coming to accept parts of himself that are suddenly very obvious (kiiiinda the third closure fic?)

(You can't live without the fire/It's the heat that makes you strong/'Cause you're born to live/And fight it all the way/You can't hide what lies inside you/It's the only thing you know/You're embracing that, never walk away)

Birthright and Firewall are not exactly a direct result of Iron, but they wouldn’t happen how they do without it. They’re actually largely about Lotor, but then [REDACTED] swings back into the fray and things learned in String Theory/the framing story for Through Apocalypse Skies hit in full force.

(The voices in my head have all begun to sing/(The voices in your head have all begun to sing)/And they sure as hell hope I am listening/(I sure as hell hope you are listening!))

(They come to your dreams with illusion/They come to bring shape to your mind/You know how to stop the intrusion/We all have to fight for our lives)

and then, The Day the Earth Collapsed

(How much time has been elapsed/Since the day the earth collapsed?)

Here Comes the Reign doesn’t come into full effect until several months after Birthright/Firewall after Galraasa meets their fate, but starts with The Day the Earth Collapsed. It’s largely about Haggar and [REDACTED]

(You made something they can't take away/Now bring the fire of the burning sun on everyone)

Closure is placed where the fourth of its fics is. Closure in general is a lot of Keith’s character development and some of the struggles he goes through to accept his place in the universe and the fact that yes, he does have people that care about him. The last fic is me shining a brighter light on Closure’s chorus and taking a ‘last goodbye’ as never needing to say it again

(I am the child from the stars/That got lost in the dark/Between heaven and hell/I am forced to live on/I am the cause when you sin/I am the demon you skin/But there is no more tears to beautify/This is my last goodbye)

Ember and Soulbound are two closely related missions involving both Voltron and the Blade (specifically the Dark Whispers) in which [REDACTED] comes in with a vengeance, and some revelations about certain people’s fates are had. Soulbound is actually sort of from Krolia’s perspective.

(Dark matter falling from the sky/Dancing flames reflecting in your eyes as you watch them burn/Watching all your riches witches burn)

(Soulbound, endlessly forever/Locked between the darkness and the light/Don't drown in the swarming, blackened rising/Hold on to humanity and fight)

Darker Matter and Other Worlds Than These are. Well. [REDACTED] and [spoilers] and String Theory’s revelations rearing their ugly head once again, but this time with extra context and just a little bit of [spoiler]

(Dream yourself away/The pull of you shredding time and space)

(There are monsters in the sky/There are demons in the sea/I have seen them with my eyes/I've seen what you won't see/Pull the wool out from your eyes/It won't shade your frail belief/In the end we cannot hide/There are other worlds than these)

Godhunter is a fun one. The combined effects of String Theory, Soulbound, and Darker Matter/Other Worlds Than These come to a head and Team Voltron goes, well, hunting.

(She's been watching for a century/With hatred, and with scorn/If you know the hunter's coming/Then you hide or keep on running/'Cause she's slain the gods before)

My Darkest Hour is revenge for Godhunter, as well as a distraction from it, although Godhunter continues all the way to Louder than Words. 

(When the sun comes crashing down/When the world is spinning round and round/I will face what must be my darkest hour)

Faster Than Light is almost direct aftermath of My Darkest Hour, and sort of the inverse of Godhunter, where now Team Voltron are the hunted, even as they attempt to continue hunting. Oh and, Marzin and [REDACTED] are big parts

(Once more we're flying fast as light/Dark matter passing in the night/Pursued by a force we can't outrun/As we hurtle towards a dying sun/We maneuver through the remnants of a moon/On the solar winds of supernovas/There is not a place to hide, the Matriarch is close behind/It's plain to see she's coming for us all)

The Reckoning, This is a Call, World on Fire, The Wind that Shapes the Land, and Louder Than Words are the finale, what everything has been building towards. Earth’s faction, Haggar, [REDACTED], Voltron, the Empire, and the Coalition, all clash together in a final desperate bid to finish or prevent the final result of Your World Will Fail/Dark Matter/Eater of Worlds.

(I see your face, find peace of mind/Between the madness and the sadness and the fire burning/The end of war, the great divine/We'll see the day of reckoning)

(This is a call to action/This is a call to arms/All lives for one, together/There are no false alarms)

(World on fire with a smoking sun/Stops everything and everyone/Brace yourself for all will pay/Help is on the way)

(Search within/Uncover the will to win/Turn against the tide that washes o'er/Find the strength to fall and rise again/Open up the gates, unleash the force/I am the wind that shapes the land/Old as time and twice as strong/Oceans arise at my command/I alone can carry on)

(We have the force to fight/We have the blinding light/A war is more than heard/Coming in louder than words)

Dystopian Fiction

Dystopian Fiction is focused on what happens on Earth during the main playlist. I split it out because putting stuff like Cross the Line on the main playlist was getting clunky, and I figure Adam and Veronica (and the rest of the Paladins’ families, but mostly those two) deserve a chance for their story to shine on its own.

Dark Matter is on here because title track, but also it does end up with effects.

(Don't stop, don't think/Move up, don't blink now/On your knees pray for rain/Don't breathe when you take your aim)

Codebreaker is Adam’s song! I have him primarily as a cryptologist for the Garrison, teaching on the side and as a reserve pilot. Aviators says Codebreaker is actually about Cyperpunk 2077 but uhhh Fuck That it’s about Adam being The Best and dealing with...

(Codebreaker can't you find/Can you read between the lines of code?/Tell me all that you know/How far down the hole does it all go)

Cross the Line is the Éskhayklos’ image song. They’re a neo-luddite movement turned terrorist group that are upset with the way the Sol Federation is trying to fix Earth, stating that humans are the one that pushed it into this state, they should leave it to die and die along with it. Akane Shirogane was their worst nightmare. Cross the Line fits because, well, they crossed the line when [spoiler beep] and they were happy about it. (And “human cause” comes into play later when they pick up anti-alien leanings)

(Cross the line, redefine, break away unbent, unafraid/Together we stand in the dark/Seeking the light and what is right, together we cross the line/Our journey will come to an end and then our human cause will be/Justified)

Who Will Save You Now here is about Sam, and the aftermath of Here to Save You, in addition to its referenced role in the main playlist

(Alone with this vision/Alone and blind/Go tell the world I'm still alive)

The Day the Earth Collapsed is exactly what it says on the tin.

(How much time has been elapsed/Since the day the earth collapsed?)

Dystopian Fiction is the title track for this part. With the events of The Day the Earth Collapsed, the Garrison and our heroes on Earth are at their lowest point. It really is a piece of dystopian fiction, between [spoiler] and [spoiler]. And also: “Nobody can shoot me down, not just yet” is about Adam bc Fuck Canon

(I'm a dead man/In the wasteland/I'm a soldier fighting for superstition/Under search lights/In the long nights/We've been written like dystopian fiction)

The Reckoning is the only one of its little subset that made it over here, because it’s the only one that references events from before its eponymous fic (both verses are Very Earth)

(We're all alone, walking in twilight/The night has been long and so many have fallen/Feel no remorse, light will be breaking/Our freedom is worth it all)

Filaments

Filaments is the least complete, mostly because it’s the ‘sequel series’ of sorts. I have ideas for it, but I still haven’t posted most of the major story beats from the main portion of Dark Matter, so I’ve been purposefully putting it on the backburner. I do have enough to write Carry Me Home and put some foreshadowing in other fics.

Dark Matter is here because, well. A) Title track, B) yes, it still has effects. It’s the overarching theme, after all. Filaments sort of has a subtitle itself, which is ‘The Undoing,’ after the other part of the lyric that the subtitle of the main playlist comes from. It’s about undoing a past mistake (that wasn’t obviously a mistake until much later) and reconciling the events of Your World Will Fail.

(I am the keeper/I am the secret/I am the answer/I am the end)

Filaments is the title track of this part. It’s... a little hard to explain why without giving away the entire plot (what little I have planned lol) but it’s about the connections between different parts of the universe, and some fall-out of Darker Matter/Other Worlds Than These.

(These glowing filaments/Conducting this enchanting/Sarcophagus that's holding us)

Starlight is, again, Adashi song, and this time the happy part

(Don't leave me lost here forever/I need your starlight and pull me through/Bring me back to you)

Carry Me Home is what I’m in the process of writing right now, and it’s about the aftermath of the Quintessence War, specifically about how Shiro decides to settle down on Earth and what he does to build himself a home.

(Carry me home to the morning light/carry me home before you wave me goodbye/Oh, carry me home...)

[leggomylino]

au ceo / trope unrequited love / prompt 8 or 10 / like joshua from svt or yoongi from bts !! 💓💓

au trope + prompt requests! Send me a trope, prompt, etc. and I’ll write a short story or drabble!!

AU Type: ceo!au

Trope: Unrequited Love (I think I did okay- I’ve never written this type of romance so I’m sorry if I failed :c)

Prompt: #8: “Wait, wait. Say that again, please.”

K-pop Boy: Joshua, Seventeen (+ Yoongi, BTS)

~

Genre: ceo!au, angst, comedy, nostalgic

Pairing: ceo!joshua x fem!reader (x ceo!yoongi?)

Word count: ~2.4k

Warning(s): angst, I kinda rushed this one so sorry if I left out any important details…also it’s a bit cheesy and unrealistic lol ^^”

A/N: requests are open~ | Masterlist in BIO! | aaaaaaaaaand as always, yeehaw

~

“Excuse me, Mr. Hong. If you would just sign here, please…”

“Mr. Hong, there’s a call waiting for you on Line Four.”

“Mr. Hong! Mr. Hong, do you have a moment?”

Being swarmed with papers and phone calls and never ending crowds was the life of a CEO. But it was never the life that Joshua Hong wanted.

In his mind he was living a small, peaceful life by the sea within his means, the love of his life at his side and within an absence of the means of time. And he would achieve that, one day.

For now he just had to wait, and continue to play the game. 

As the crowd grew thicker and less transparent, completely blocking his way down the golden-railed hallway ‘til he could no longer move, Joshua halted his pace, took a quick breath, and graced everyone with the usual-plastered smile they’d all been waiting for, addressing his underlings one by one.

“Yes, sign here? Okay…and Janice, you said there’s a call on Line Four? I’ll take it momentarily, tell them I’ll be with them shortly? And Shawn, why don’t we talk during lunch? I’ll have Seungkwan make a reservation–”

One by one he went through them, each and every employee and sales’ person and random fan or citizen that had managed to make their way to the 48th floor of GameOn! Headquarters, handling each concern and care with kindness and as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

The entire act was draining. Thirty minutes later, he needed a nap.

But the moment the mahogany doors opened, the gold-plated doorknob flinching back as he released it to reveal the initials “J.H.” on the cover, yet another face was waiting for him. Sort of.

Hay and wood chips covered the entire room– the delicate swirl-colored carpet in shades of deep blues and cascading velvet, the beach-toned walls that really didn’t match but reminded him of the dream he was pursuing, the crystalline chandelier where a telephone hung among the masses.

“Just so we’re clear,” Seungkwa said, visibly sweating at the seams, “Dokyeom–”

Joshua wasn’t listening. He was too busy scouring the room for whatever had happened to his pet rabbit Mina, who just…jumped…onto the balcony.

Screaming in unison both boys rushed beyond the double french doors, Seungkwa nervously gathering the speckled ball of fluff before shyly passing it to his superior.

“Ha…hahaha…” He bowed. “Sorry?”

“……” His boss looked back inside at the chaotic mess before letting out a sigh, his gentle strokes against Mina’s backside attempting to soothe the terrified creature…and calm his own nerves. “…It’s fine…just call someone to clean this up. Do I wanna know what…?”

His assistant shook his head. “Probably not. I’m blaming Dokyeom. The snake was his idea.”

“Snake?!”

“What? Snake? I don’t know a snake. Unless his name is DK? Haha…ha?”

“…” Another sigh. He stepped back into the office, the brunette boy at his heels. “…I need you to make a reservation for lunch in an hour. I was thinking maybe–”

“Oh! Reservation!”

Seeing as Seungkwan had stopped and cried out with such sudden tenacity, Joshua blinked behind him. “Yes…?”

“Um…” Seungkwan smiled sheepishly. “There’s someone waiting for you in the lobby. After Seokmin dropped by and Mina got loose I sorta forgot about it. She said her name was…y/n?”

Joshua’s face paled. Every motion in his body froze, save his beating heart and racing thoughts.

He gulped. The last time he’d spoken to anyone by that name was…you. Three years ago. “………”

“…Joshua? Are you okay?”

The snapping and abrupt clapping in his face pulled him out of a one-way ticket to Memory Lane. He quickly smiled shyly to avoid any confrontation.

“Yes. I’m fine. Has she been waiting long?” He lifted the fallen plush pin from the ground, resetting it with one hand and placing Mina back into her luxury Barbie Dream home. “What’s her last name?”

Seungkwan thought a moment, picking random wood chips off the floor as he simultaneously flipped through a phonebook for room service. “I don’t think so…and her name was, uh, y/n…l/n?”

Another gulp. Crap. It was you.

He knew what this was going to be about. The same thing, every two to three years. You show up on his doorstep and tell him how you feel without actually saying anything. And everytime, he has to push you away.

Because he knows you. And he can’t have you getting mixed up in this “extravagant” lifestyle. It wasn’t just luxury cars and homes and country clubs and maxing out however many credit cards you wanted. It was busy, and messy, and chaotic. The opposite of you. Often times it got downright evil, shady, and sinful…blackmailings, mindgames, having to uphold an image and reputation. It definitely wasn’t the life he wanted, and he refused to drag you down into it as well.

At least not until after he’d done enough. After he could fall back on an early retirement that would please his family and make everyone happy.

He’d spaced out again. When he came to, Seungwkan was glaring up at him with curiously round brown eyes.

“So should I tell her to come in or…?”

After flinching back and shaking his head (once to recover from shock and once to clear the despondent memory of you), he took a look around and gestured with his hand.

“What do you think?”

Seungkwan looked over his shoulder, up at the ceiling, down at the floor. “Hmmm…probably not. I can–”

The door suddenly opened. “Mr. Hong? Animation Studio’s is still on Line Four and I don’t think they’ll hold much longer…”

Joshua clenched his jaw, closing his eyes a moment. “Tell them I’ll be there as soon as I can.” His eyes shifted to his accomplice. “Keep them busy,” he said.

Seungkwan shook his head. “You want me to handle an important business call?! But–”

The door had already shut, the echo muffled by scattered woodchip and torn featherdown from a certain rabbit-tailored Barbie Dreamhouse. 

A groan overtook the following silence.

~

“Wait, wait. Say that again, please…”

It was no use. This year’s visit was going terribly wrong. Just like all the other visits.

But it wasn’t for the same reason as before. 

“I came to get your blessing. If that’s okay…? Oh, and I wanted to drop off this thank you gift. For my birthday? I know it’s a little late, but I’ve been so preoccupied with the wedding invitations and the planning and…sheesh, you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get Yoongi to go anywhere on his days off.” Y/n shook her head, hands clutching a rosary-gold picture frame with her latest masterpiece scribbled within its contents. “He’s always so tired so we usually just end up staying in and watching Netflix all day. But sometimes I’m able to convince him to do a little shopping with me. If I ask nicely and lure him out with cookies…er, that doesn’t always work, though…”

He couldn’t believe it. Here he was thinking he was going to have to let you down easy again, thinking up a basic speech plan to go over so things wouldn’t get messy or sidetracked, and your feelings would be spared, and he could go back to tackling another day in the life of Joshua Hong while trying to make the best of things and stay as cheerful and bright as possible, but…

It was his feelings that were on the line now. And dangerously close to the fire.

Things were not cheerful and bright. They were a desolate wasteland.

“You’re…getting married?”

Those words had cast a curse over every last straw of bliss he had left to grasp onto, and yet they’d brought the brightest smile Joshua had ever seen to cross your face, brighter than the sun and the moon and all the stars he was suddenly wishing he’d paid more attention to, stars he would chase to the ends of the earth for you…

But they were too far now. They were no longer a part of his universe. They were a part of yours…and someone else.

He found it adorable the way you bounced lightly in place at his question, nodding ecstatically. “Yes! I met someone…about a year ago, Yoongi. And he’s recently asked me to marry him.” 

Your eyes dipped down to the cerulean rug lining the large office table Joshua currently had to lean against for support, and a film of sadness fell over the atmosphere like a veil of mist or fog.

“So…I wanted to ask for your blessing. You know, since we grew up together and all…and well, I know we’ve kind of had a..history…but I also wanted to know, you won’t have to worry about me bothering you anymore. Haha,” You scratched the back of your head, turning away sheepishly to enlong the avoidance of eye contact. “I know you’ve always seen my yearly or semi-biyearly…tri-yearly?…visits as sort of an…inconvenience. And I told myself if you really felt that way, I should just get over it all and stop coming around anymore. But…” You smiled. “I know how hard this world of yours is. And that it’s not something you ever wanted. So I promised myself I’d just check in every now and then and make sure you were okay, because I really care about you, Josh.” 

This was it. His world was crumbling.

“But you know, now that I’m getting hitched and all, I probably won’t be able to come around anymore as often.”

Why? Why was his world falling apart?

“I’d be really nice if we could still keep in touch though? That is, if you want to…”

Why did any of this matter to him? He’d wanted you to move on. He’d wanted you to stop coming around, and he was finally getting his wish. So why…?

His grip tightened on the chair beside him. On the corner of the table he was propping himself against.

“…Anyway, that’s enough about me and Memory Lane. Here,” you held out the portrait in your gloved hands, the one’s he’d always see you show up in during the Holiday Season from years past. They’d been sewn and patched over a few times, a stark contrast to the Tiffany diamond and quartz watch around your right wrist. 

You glanced down at it as he took the painting from you, eyebrows raising with a smirk. “Ah, I’m going to be late for lunch. We’re almost finished watching (insert favorite series here). I promised I’d try making dinner tonight, too…”

The two of you shared a look. A look that only lasted mere seconds, but to him felt like twenty more years had gone by.

You gripped his wrists, giving him a tearful smile. “I don’t want to say this is goodbye, so…I hope to see you at the wedding? Or at least hear from you soon.” A content giggle chimed from your lips, the means of an afterthought following. “Oh, and…thanks for putting up with me all these years. You know I’ve meant well, right?”

“……” He felt lost. The only thing he could do was nod.

You beamed. “I’m glad. Again, I always knew I kind of annoyed you or that maybe you got the wrong idea but…you know, I just, wanted to make sure you were doing okay. Anyway,” you let go, and he wished you hadn’t so. Every step back was one he wanted to take forward. “I should get going. Don’t worry if you can’t make it, or if…you know, you’re just, too busy, I understand. I honestly should have stopped coming around so much, but I just…couldn’t help myself.” 

And for a moment, just one moment, Joshua could have sworn he saw a flick of regret. A wavering longing of nostalgia, of something so deeply internalized he didn’t have the time to reach down and discover its true nature, for it was gone just as soon as it had come.

And then so were you. As if you’d never existed at all. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt like he’d lost something; or that maybe you were never real to begin with. Which was blasphemy, absolutely ridiculous, he had known you since you were six.

He observed the painting you’d left for him, lips parting just slightly.

It was a portrait of a long forgotten photograph, one your parents had taken of the two of you when you were twelve, fishing for frogs and bugs and rainbow-colored rocks down by the riverbed of your hometown. The sky was the clearest blue it had ever been that day, the fluffiest of clouds providing the perfect shade along with thick blankets of willow trees, and Joshua was smiling while displaying a handful of crystallized rocks he’d found buried in a pile of mud (which he’d detested having to get dirty for but did so anyway), you proudly swinging a silver-colored fish that gleamed in a spectrum of colors beneath the soft peaks of sunlight.

The portrait was signed at the bottom: “To my best friend Joshua, with love - y/n ❤”

And then everything just…clicked. It was strange, but all those unscheduled yearly visits, the bi-yearly and tri-yearly, and all the time the two of you had spent together before that…everything came crashing down like a whirlwind that suddenly ceased, dropping everything it had been lugging and spinning around. It fell like a sudden ton of bricks.

He studied the painting for hours, locking himself away and politely going through the motions of the day on autopilot. Even when he was away from it, it was fresh in his mind, and the moment he had finished one task he would come back to it, even if it was just for a few minutes. At the end of the day, when everyone else had gone home for the night, he found himself staring at it, preferably you, and your smile. The gleam in your eyes.

He’d always thought you’d been squinting at the camera with the sun in your eyes. But really, you’d been squinting gleefully at him.

And he’d always known, deep down. This was all a carefully hazardous game he’d orchestrated to keep you at bay, telling himself he was protecting you and doing the right thing, but now…

Now, the game was over. He’d won.

But he’d truly lost you.

[lamptracker]

FIC: Golden Dreams (Tom Holland/Reader; Olympic!AU)

So this came out of my failed attempt at an Olympics AU night, lol. A lovely anon suggested this. I kinda love it. I also kinda changed the original idea slightly, from figure skating to ice dancing (honestly I blame Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir for this)

FIC: Golden Dreams

Pairing: Tom Holland/Reader

Summary: You and your ice dancing partner, Tom Holland, are training for the Olympics. You’d never seen him as more than a teammate...until recently.

Ever since you could remember, you wanted to go to the Olympics.

Your favorite event was always the figure skating, especially ice dancing. You always thought they looked so pretty, gliding effortlessly across the ice in beautiful, sparkly costumes.

So when you were four, your mom signed you up for lessons.

When you were five, you entered your first competition. At that competition, you met a little boy named Tom Holland. He was the cutest thing you’d ever seen - big brown eyes, curly mop of auburn hair.

He was also super sweet and the most energetic boy you’d ever met. But he was crazy talented, as were you. You’d placed first in the girls’ junior division; he’d placed first in the boys. You didn’t really keep in touch with him after that, but you did see him at competitions.

Eight years later, your coach suggested ice dancing - you’d always been a little weak on your axels. He knew the perfect partner for you: Tom Holland.

And he was the perfect partner. He was always polite and sweet, always in tune with what you wanted or needed. He was always super careful not to touch you in any inappropriate way during your lifts. You had amazing chemistry on the ice, and it showed in your routines.

You had become really good friends off the ice, too. It wasn’t unusual for you to be at his house after practices; you were basically the fifth Holland child.

Despite what your performances on the ice showed, you were in no way interested in falling in love with him.

Until the Olympic qualifying competition.

About a week before the competition, you were hanging out at the Holland house (as you were wont to do). Tom was out getting food for everyone so you were embroiled in a fierce Mario Kart competition with Harry and Sam.

“I gotta ask you, (Y/n),” Harry said. “Have you and Tom ever thought about dating?”

You scoffed as you drove your character (Yoshi, you were always Yoshi) around the track. “Not even a little bit. We’re good friends, and we’re teammates. Nothing more.”

“Sounds like you’ve gotten that question before,” Sam teased.

“I only get it in every post-meet interview. He always gets the questions about training and all the work we put in and I always get, ‘Ooh, are you dating?!’ It gets a little old.”

“I can see that.” Harry cursed silently to himself as he slipped off the track. “It’s just, you guys have such amazing chemistry on the ice. And you have this really cool relationship off the ice.”

“Yeah,” Sam added, “and I’ve noticed that neither one of you has had a relationship that lasted longer than a few months. Why’d your last boyfriend break up with you?”

“My last three dumped me because they were jealous of my relationship with Tom. The last one especially was like, ‘You two are too flirty on the ice.’ Well, yes. It’s part of my job, okay? We’re telling a story and we have to sell it.” You let out a little whoop. “First place, boys, that’s how it’s done.”

“Race isn’t over yet, stop gloating,” Harry said. “But have you ever thought about it?”

“I told you, Harry, I haven’t. Unless… wait, is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Nope. Just curious is all.”

“Well, i’ve told you. Tom is my friend, and he’s my teammate, and that’s all there is to.. .oh, son of a bitch! Who threw that blue shell? I will cut you.”

“Told you not to gloat.” Harry grinned cheekily at you.

“You cocky bastard, I was winning, you know! I will not hesitate to end you.”

“Harry!” Tom exclaimed, walking in with bags of food. “She’s all riled up now. What’d you do, throw a blue shell?”

Harry just laughed as you threw a pillow at him.

“Help!” he cried. “I’m being attacked!”

“No, you’re being an ass,” you retorted, as Sam and Tom cracked up laughing.

The two of you skated flawlessly at the Olympic qualifying meet. Your short program was perfect - earning you the highest marks all season - but you bobbled a twizzle in the free skate. You were sure it was going to cost you your shot at the Olympics.

“Oh, darling. You were amazing out there,” Tom reassured you as you waited for your scores in the Kiss and Cry area.

“No, I wasn’t!” you argued. “Did you see my feet? I totally bobbled the footwork on that first twizzle pass! I looked like I was out there for the first time! We’re going to get docked so badly for this, I just know it.” You rested your head in your hands, sighing deeply. “And now we’re not going to make it to PyeongChang, and it’ll be all my fault, and…”

“Easy, now.” Tom wrapped an arm around your shoulders. “We’re going to make it, you know. Our short program was the best it’s been all year. You really shouldn’t be so hard on yourself, you’re a better skater than you give yourself credit for. And I...oh, they’re going to announce the scores now.”

You peeked at the scoreboard through your fingers. Despite the fact that you totally messed up the first pass, you were only deducted a tenth of a point. Your free skate put you at the top of the country’s leaderboard.

“We did...we did it!” you shouted. “We’re going to the Olympics!”

“I told you, darling!” Tom excitedly pulled you into an embrace as your coaches celebrated around you.

This hug was not like your normal hugs - quick, gentle squeezes. This was different.

Tom had a tight grip on you, as if he were afraid that you’d blow away if he let you go. His nose was buried in your hair. You could smell his cologne, and you could feel his rapidly beating heart.

Probably just excited, you thought to yourself. But then you thought back to the conversation you’d had with Harry a week prior.

Could...could Tom really be in love with you?

What’s more...could you really be in love with him?

Damn you, Harry, you thought to yourself.

But you didn’t really have time to ponder it; you were officially an Olympic athlete.

You were in Korea, and you were living your best life.

The Olympics were, so far, a lot of fun. You were having a great time getting to know the athletes from the other countries. (Adam Rippon was your favorite, but then again he was everyone’s favorite. But he was sweet, and funny, and immediately started following you on Instagram and leaving vaguely inappropriate comments on your pictures. And asked you if you had a brother.) It was fun trying local Korean cuisine. Going to see some of the other sports was interesting. (Tom pulled some strings to get you into the curling mixed doubles final; you had no clue what was going on but you were having a good time anyway.)

So far, the highlight was the Opening Ceremony. As you walked in behind the flag bearer, you started to feel a little nervous. Sure, you’d skated in front of big crowds before. But this crowd was nothing like you’d ever seen. What felt like a million people were in the stadium, and every single one of their eyes were on you.

Sensing your anxiety, Tom reached over and gently grasped your hand. “Feeling alright?” he asked.

“Just a little nervous. There are so many people here.”

“They’re not all here to see you, y’know.”

You scoffed loudly. “Gee, thanks for the pep talk there, Dr. Phil.”

“Hey, gotta bring you back down to Earth somehow.” Tom laughed as the two of you walked into the stadium with the rest of your teammates. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, you know. So just relax and enjoy it, eh?”

“Yeah. You’re right.”

“Always am, darling.”

You just giggled as you smiled and waved to the crowd. Tom held your hand the entire ceremony.

Practices were going well, so far. This was the first year that music with words was allowed in Olympic competition, so for your free dance you had chosen “All of the Stars” by Ed Sheeran. You had to play the part of long-distance lovers.

And boy, was Tom ever good at it.

The way he stared after you longingly when you were apart on the ice, as though he truly wanted to be with you. The way his hand lingered on your hip a touch longer than it was supposed to, as if he didn’t want to let you go. How he held you close to him during lifts, how he gripped you protectively before he had to throw you. And how he beamed at you when you nailed the landing.

“Girl,” Adam Rippon (who’d crashed practice to heckle the Shibutani siblings) said to you. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s really in love with you.”

“Whatever, Adam.” You rolled your eyes. “And I know what your next question is, and no, you cannot meet my brother. Not that I wouldn’t love it, but you’re bugging me today so it’s not happening.”

“Ooh. You cold,” Adam pouted, as you laughed.

But, you thought as you skated off to the sidelines. Was he? Could that explain the lingering touches, the longing looks?

You shook your head. It’s all part of the act.

And what’s more, why did you care so much? Why were you noticing the way he looked at you? The way you didn’t want his hand to leave your hip? Why didn’t you want his hand to leave your hip?

You groaned as you slipped the blade covers over your skates.

“I have got to lay off the hotteok,” you mumbled to yourself.

Finally, it was the night of the free skate finals. You and Tom were in first place after the short program. You were in the last group of skaters; of the 24 total couples skating, you were 23rd.

“How’re you feeling, darling?” Tom asked. “Nervous?”

“A little,” you admitted. “Remember I fucked up the opening twizzle sequence at qualifying. I’m just scared I’ll do it again.”

Tom reached over and grasped your hand. “Nah. You’ll get it. You’ve been getting it in practice, so you’ll get it in competition for sure.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Practice makes perfect, I hope. I just have to nail this hot move is all.”

Tom snorted. “That’s what she said.”

You smacked his shoulder. “Shut up, you div. We’re about to go on.” You took a deep breath.

“Ready?”

“Pep talk first.”

“Okay.” Tom leaned his forehead against yours. “Go out there.”

“Skate until the ice melts.”

“Kick ass.”

“Then kick more ass, because we ain’t got time to take names.”

Tom smiled brightly at you. “That’s my girl. Now, let’s go do this.”

Whatever worries you had before the free skate, you needn’t have entertained. You performed your routine flawlessly. That twizzle sequence you were so worried about? Went perfectly.

As the routine ended, the crowd roared and burst into applause. You bowed for the judges, then Tom threw his arms around you.

“Darling, that was brilliant!” he exclaimed, picking you up and twirling you.

You giggled as he spun you. “We’re going to medal for sure now!” You both waved to the crowd as you skated to the rink exit, hand-in-hand. You made your way to the Kiss and Cry area, hugging your coaches. You both slipped on your blade covers and you slid on your team jacket as Tom sat down with the coaches to receive your scores.

“Here you go, darling,” he said. “Made a spot for you.”

You sat down next to him and nervously grasped his hand as you awaited your marks.

The crowd erupted again as the scores were revealed. You’d earned a career best for your free skate, and were currently in first place.

“Oh my God, Tom,” you said breathlessly. “We’re in first place!”

“Yeah!” Tom punched the air excitedly. “There’s still one more couple to go, though.”

“I hope they fall,” you muttered to yourself; Tom cracked up laughing.

“Darling, you don’t mean that!” he wheezed between giggles. “But I kinda do too.”

Well, they didn’t fall. They also skated well. Tom and your coach were pointing out all of their technical inconsistencies, but you were just too nervous to think of anything other than how you were going to end up placing.

You and Tom stood, frozen in place, as you waited for their marks.

“I can’t look, Tom,” you said nervously as you buried your head into his shoulder and a hush fell over the crowd. “I’m scared.”

“Don’t be, darling. They didn’t skate nearly as well as we did. Now look up, they’re about to post.”

The scores flashed on the screen…

...and the last couple? Ended up in fourth place overall.

“WE DID IT!” You shouted excitedly. “We won! We won the gold medal! This is the greatest day of my life!” You threw your arms around Tom; he returned the embrace, gripping you tighter than you thought was humanly possible.

“I can’t believe it!” he said. “We’ve done it!”

Tears of joy rolled down your cheeks as you held onto Tom for dear life. “I just… all that hard work we put in, and it’s paid off.”

Tom pulled away to look at you, his own face wet with tears.

And then, before you could fully process what was happening, his lips were on yours.

You know how, when people have their first kiss, it usually starts out slow and tentative, while the two parties involved get to know each others’ mouths?

This was not that kind of kiss.

This was also not a kiss that said, “You just helped me win a gold medal and I’m so excited right now.”

This kiss said, “You just helped me win a gold medal and I’m so excited right now. Also, I’m madly in love with you and I’m desperately hoping you feel the same way.”

It was deep, passionate, like nothing you’d ever experienced before. His hands gripped the back of your head as yours made their way to his auburn curls, tangling in the strands. It had the potential to knock the wind completely out of you.

When the two of you finally parted, you looked at each other, mouths slightly agape, chests heaving as you struggled to catch your breath.

Tom broke the silence.

“Oh, God. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that, I…”

You reached out and grabbed his wrist. “Tom, are you in love with me? Please be honest.”

He nodded wordlessly, looking absolutely terrified.

You smiled softly at him. “I’m in love with you too,” you admitted. “Fairly recent development; I blame Harry, honestly. But… yeah. I am.”

His face softened into a wide smile. “Oh, thank God,” he muttered as he leaned in to kiss you once again. This one was more gentle than your first; this one said, “I love you so much. I’m so glad you love me too.”

“See? I knew it!” Adam Rippon shouted as he ran by you to congratulate the Shibutanis on their bronze medal. “Oh, and congratulations!”

You just laughed as Tom wrapped an arm around your waist. “They’re going to start the medals ceremony soon. We should get down there.”

“Yeah.”

And so, you received your gold medal, with the man you loved at your side. This truly was the greatest day of your life.

[adotblog]

Brave Part 12

Pairing: LMM x Reader

Requested: If you’ve got to Part 12, you’ll have realised this is straight-up self-indulgence!

Summary: In which saying “I love you” is still very novel. 

Warnings: Smut. 18+ readers only. Cursing. So fluffy you may puke. I warned you.

Words: 3911 (what the hell?)

—————————————————————————————————

@lin_manuel

Take the bull by the horns!

Carpe diem!

Other metaphors!

Tell them you love them, what’s the worst that could happen?

G’night

—————————————————————————————————

@ytwitterhandle @lin_manuel

*ticks item off list*

@lin_manuel @ytwitterhandle

*says it again*

@ytwitterhandle @lin_manuel

Dork.

—————————————————————————————————

Friday

Lin: I am a whole room away and all I hear is your phone pinging, have you gone viral with something lol?

You: Uhh no…that’s Jas…I told her that I’m in love with you.

You: I’ll turn it to silent lol

Lin pushes the door open, walks over to your chair and kisses you long and hard. “You’re in love with me?”, he asks, exaggeratedly cocking his head to the side. You roll your eyes. “Lin, stop while it’s still vaguely cute. Yes I’m in love with you”. He grins. “I’m so in love with you”, he says. “Get back to writing, lover boy”, you say as your phone pings incessantly. You click it to silent as Lin goes back to his study.

Jasmine: He said he loves you?!

You: Yup. Kinda slipped out.

Jasmine: like…in the sack? Because, girl…

You: HA! No, when I told him I made him a mixtape.

Jasmine: Good LORD you two are such nerds.

Jasmine: You love him too?

You: I do, I’m madly in love with him. I tried not to be, but I am.

Jasmine: I’m just gonna skip by the ‘tried not to be’ part, that’s a whole n’other conversation. Boo, I’m happy for you…honestly, I thought y’all were just doin it!!

You: Ha, well that too, but…yeah.

Jasmine: I gotta go to costumes, see you later?

You: At 6 xx

—————————————————————————————————

Friday and Saturday feel like they’re on fast forward-Lin has lots of tv and radio stuff, you are super-busy with work. You see Jasmine for lunch and you actually sleep alone in your own bed. For one night. Sunday, day of rest, is a blissful reprieve.

“Lin?”, you murmur into your pillow. “Yeah?”, he responds lazily, honey-sweet voice drawing out the word. “When is that writing retreat thing? With Quiara?”, you ask. “Umm, this Friday through Sunday, why?”, he asks. “Hmm, Jas wanted to go to a show on Sunday. Might skip it if it’s your first night back”, you say teasingly. “Ha, well much as I’d like a welcome party…”, he pulls you closer, arm tight to your waist, “You should go.”. “Mmhmm”, you sigh contentedly. “Is it possible to get bored of just endlessly lying here?”, you wonder out loud. “Not so far”, he responds, his fingers grazing your thigh.

—————————————————————————————————

“FOOD!”, you holler as you come through the door. Three people instantly appear in the green room. “Jeez, did you teleport?”, you joke. “It’s Wednesday, two shows today-you always bring snacks on two-show days.”, says an intern. You laugh as you wrap a pastry in a napkin. “And then you always take one and go straight to Lin’s dressing room”, teases Clare, who has seemingly materialised behind you. “Am i so predictable?”, you laugh. Clare looks at the napkin in your hand, then back up to your face. “Yeah, alright.”, you concur.

Lin is still in his #yayhamlet tshirt and jeans when you arrive. “Hey!”, he greets you with a kiss. “Rugelach!”, you say, indicating the napkin you’ve placed on his vanity. “Gesundheit!”, he responds. “Dad Joke.”, you groan. Lin shrugs, he’s grinning-unreasonably happy for a busy day. “What’s up?”, you question as you curl up on his couch. “So I’m supposed to be doing the writing retreat with Quiara tomorrow…”, he says as he comes to sit next to you. “Supposed to be?”, you ask. “Yeah, she’s sick.”, he answers. “Oh no, so you have to cancel?”.

“Well here’s the thing. It’s paid for-the house, it’s non-refundable.”, he says with a twinkle in his eye. “Okay…”, you say, not quite sure what he’s getting at. “So, do you want to come? Pretend to be a writer and have lots of sex at the beach?”, he asks with a grin. “Oh! Wow, umm, yes?”, you say warily. “Sorry, my mind is racing-am I working? No, only Saturday. I’ll need to pack. How cold will it be? Where are all my hats?!”

Lin’s eyes are wide as he laughs “Woah, chill, chill!”. You sock him in the arm. “Shut up! Love me, love my crazy brain!”, you laugh. “I suppose”, he mock-sighs, before kissing you lightly. “For real, do you wanna take a trip?”. “So long as I can swap days with Clare or Anika, sure!”, you say excitedly. “Go check!”, he insists, practically pushing you out of the door.

—————————————————————————————————

Lin squishes your suitcase into the trunk and slams the lid down. “So that went well…”, he says as he climbs into the drivers seat beside you. “Oh, you mean the ‘impromptu’ meeting of your parents just then? That was, I assume, not at all planned?”, you cross your arms and throw major side-eye his way. “We are borrowing my Dad’s car, it was only polite to stop and say hello…”, he says with a wicked smile. “Ugh. Sneaky. But yes I think it went well”, you admit. “It did, Pa whispers to me on the way out ‘She’s a keeper!’”, he giggles. “No, really?! Yay!”, you do a little victory dance in your seat.

”Alright, ready to go?”, Lin asks. “Yup, I got snacks, water and a kick-ass playlist”, you confirm. He gives you a withering look. “As if you’re the DJ”, he scoffs. “But you need to concentrate on the road”, you say innocently. Lin rolls his eyes “It’s gonna be a long drive, isn’t it?”, he moans.

—————————————————————————————————

“We need to do more roadtripping”, you say, twisting in your seat to curl up a little, facing Lin and close enough to reach out and tuck a stray hair behind his ear. He smiles at your touch. “Really, I have loved listening to your stories”, you say, leaning your head against the seat. Lin cringes “I haven’t really let you get a word in edgeways have I?”, he asks. “Nah, but it’s okay. I like learning stuff about you.”, you say contentedly. “Well then I should be learning stuff about you too.”, he decides. “Okay I’m gonna choose a topic…umm…why do you work in theatre?”, he asks.

“Honestly, it was an accident.”, you admit. “I was here for college, I needed a job when I graduated. My friend recommended me to a stage manager off-broadway and I accidentally fell into something I’m good at”. Lin just nods so you continue. “It wasn’t planned but honestly, I’ve never known what I wanted to do-I wish I were like you, with a calling in life, a god-honest talent and vocation. But it just never happened.”.

“Maybe that’s not what your life is meant to be about.”, he says. His eyes are fixed on the road but he reaches out a hand to rest on your knee. “Your thing is people, I think. The thing you’re gonna leave behind is how you make people feel about themselves”. You feel a prickle behind your eyes “Lin! That is such a sweet thing to say”. “It’s true, it’s what? 8 months since you walked into the theatre? I’ve seen you mentoring the interns, bonding with the ladies, picking on Groff”, he laughs. “You always find a way to build them up. I hear you say things that the rest of us neglect-you thank people for things that people don’t thank people for. You ease nerves, you give outstanding hugs. When you compliment people, you have a special tone to your voice, even and restrained-it oozes sincerity, it makes people feel valued. People are going to remember how you made them feel.”.

He takes his eyes off the road for just a second to give you a soft, sincere smile. “Well, fuck, that was lovely.”, you say, a little misty. “Just being honest”, he shrugs “Also, case in point, *you* would make sure to tell someone that about themselves-so you deserve to hear it too”. He gives your knee a squeeze and you drive in silence for a bit.

“I’ve never met anyone like you.”, you say. “You’re so…open. You give so much of yourself away freely…isn’t it exhausting?”. He snickers and shrugs “I don’t know another way to be.”, he says simply. “Doesn’t it open you up to getting hurt?”, you ask. “I guess, but doesn’t it also let amazing things in? Like you?”, he answers. “I’m only sorry that I was so cautious for the first few months I knew you-all that wasted time!”.

“Nah, we needed that-to build a friendship, and to get past the ‘Oh I’m sure it’s a fleeting crush’ assumption”, you say. “It is what it is, I couldn’t be happier with how things have turned out.”, you smile. “Me too. Alright look, enough sappy fawning over one another, get your allegedly awesome playlist on”, Lin jokes. “Allegedly? How rude. You’re going to love it”, you threaten as you hit shuffle.

—————————————————————————————————

You glare at the GPS, willing it to make more sense, as Lin slows to a crawl to read the weather-beaten wooden signs which each point the way to one of the houses scattered along the beach. “Here!”, he announces after a minute or so. He pulls down the sandy track that leads to a covered parking space at the back of the house.

“Are you kidding me, this place is GORGEOUS!”, you squeal as he parks. “How did you even manage to get this place?”, you ask. “Winter-no one wants to be at the beach when it’s cold I guess”, Lin says. “Forget the cases, let’s explore!”, you say as he goes to open the trunk. You run to the door and wait for Lin to join you with the code for the key lock. He gets it on the second attempt and you rush through the door.

“Holy shit.”, you are stopped in your tracks by the view. The whole of the front wall of the living room you’ve entered is glass, giving a stunning panorama of the deserted beach. “LIN.”

“I know.”, he smiles. “Wait til you see the bathroom…”. You screw up your nose. “The bathroom? Why?”, you ask. “You’ll see.”, he says mysteriously. “Go explore, I’ll get the cases.”. You don’t hesitate, running down the long hall and picking a door to open. It’s the master bedroom, cosy but with a four poster bed in the middle of the room. There are double doors that lead outside and give another stunning beach view. There’s another door which you assume leads to the bathroom Lin thinks you’re going to be hyped about. You push it open and immediately see what he meant-there’s a huge corner tub. HUGE. Wait…

Lin appears in the doorway. “Pretty cool huh?”, he says. “Lin. Is that. A hot tub?”, you say. He walks up to you and wraps his arms around you. “Yup. I was looking forward to having it to myself, but I guess you could maybe join me…”, he jokes as he kisses the side of your neck. “Holy shit. I’m gonna need a minute, my brain is thinking all of the sexy thoughts concurrently”, you say jokingly. Lin says nothing. His mouth moves against your neck, his lips brushing against your skin just gently enough to send prickling shivers through you. “Lin…come on”, you protest half-heartedly.

“What?”, his tone is innocent, even as his hands wander down your body. “Shouldn’t we unpack or start on…Ohhhhhh”, your thought is unfinished as Lin’s hand slides inside the front of your jeans as he pushes his groin into your ass. He removes his hand and, placing it on your hip, turns you to face him. Your arms are at his waist as he lowers his face to yours. He stops millimetres from your lips and whispers “You’re right, lets unpack”, turning on his heel and returning to the bedroom-leaving you a mess of sexual tension. “Lin!!”

You head after him and see him walking calmly, leisurely back to the living area, taking a seat at the kitchen table. You walk over to stand beside him, hands on your hips. “Lin-Manuel, I’ve said it before-you are a fucking tease.”. He grins up at you ‘Yup.”, he acknowledges with a cheeky cock of his head. “But I mean just look at you, all flustered and worked up now…”, he says, his voice now husky. “Lin, you’re an idiot.”, you say, laughing. You pull him up to standing and press your chest against his. “You don’t have to tease to get me worked up, I already want you like…ALL the time.”, you explain. He chuckles. “ALL the time?!”. “I mean, I have to clear space for eating and working but yeah, I’m pretty much thinking about fucking you for a large portion of my day.”, you say as you go to kiss him. He raises his eyebrows. “Oh please, like you don’t know how hot you are”, you respond. He pretends to think for a second, “Yeah, you’re right”, he says. “UGH. Would you shut up and fuck me now please?”, you say as you pull his hips against yours. “Yes Ma’am”, he whispers as he brings his mouth to yours.

He kisses you hungrily and you reciprocate, unable to get enough of him. Overwhelmed with need, you pull him closer by the collar of his shirt, butterflies in your stomach as he bites gently at your neck. You gasp as he roughly grabs your breasts.

He lifts your shirt up and you pull it over your head, dropping it behind you. His lips are on your stomach immediately, frenzied kisses laid all across you. He unbuttons your jeans and yanks them down. You step out of them and kick them aside.

Lin already has his hands on your ass cheeks, pulling you back to him. He strokes you roughly over your underwear, hears you gasp and quickly starts to remove his own clothing. You unclasp your bra as he discards his jeans, comes back to you and pulls down your panties. His hands slide up your back as he kisses your neck and mumbles “I need you now, all of you…now”.

You pull his face back to yours, your tongue is in his mouth, your hands in his hair. You break away to hop up on the table, perching right on the edge. Lin comes to stand between your legs and as he kisses you, you take his length in your hand and stroke him. He moans against your mouth as you guide him into you, and you gasp as he buries himself inside you.

You keep kissing him as he lays his palm flat against your back to hold you in place as he starts to thrust up into you. You throw your arms around his neck and find yourself gripping his hair as he drives into you, each movement filling you completely. This is it, like a drug that you crave, that feeling of him stretching you, of your bodies joining. You bring one hand down to his ass, holding him closer still as he enters you over and over.

The pace is fast, not too hard. He’s not hitting that particular spot that drives you crazy but you don’t care-all you could think about was having him inside you, the need so strong. He moves to bury his face into your neck, his cursing indicating that he’s closing in on his orgasm. He tightens his grip on your back as he pounds his last few thrusts home and pants exclamations into your shoulder as he cums.

You wrap your arms around him as he comes down, dotting the occasional kiss on his neck. When his breathing has returned to normal he slowly untangles himself from you. He places a kiss on your forehead. “I feel bad that I didn’t make you cum, I just couldn’t hold back”, he says apologetically. “Don’t ever hold back.”, you scold. You kiss him softly, then bite his lip gently. “I’m perfectly satisfied.”, you say. “Besides, you can repay your debt later”, you wink. “Count on it”, he says in your ear as he wraps his arms around you and lifts you down from the table.

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You’re almost done unpacking when there’s a knock at the door. You open it to see an older lady, clutching a bottle. She offers a warm smile as you say hello. “Good afternoon dear, I’m the housekeeper-don’t worry, I won’t be interrupting your vacation-the owners just asked me to drop this champagne off and tell you a couple of things.”. Lin appears beside you as you say “Please, come in-coffee? Or champagne?”, you offer as you accept the bottle from her. “Bless you, coffee would be lovely.”, she answers as you take a seat in the living room while Lin finds pods for the coffee maker.

She tells you which restaurants are still open and explains that most amenities have closed for the season but the village store a mile away has all the basics. All the other houses are empty for now, so she leaves you emergency phone numbers for herself and the owners since you’ll be pretty isolated. She tells you to cut the last of the roses from the small garden to the side of the house “Nothing worse than wasting beautiful flowers!”, she insists. She’s thoroughly charming and you both pass a comfortable hour chatting to her before she says she needs to get back to her family. Lin offers to drive her home but she insists that the ocean air will do her good and trots off into the distance with determination.

“Jesus, she made me feel positively whimsical!”, you grin as you watch her disappear over the sands. “Man, there is someone who knows what they want from life and just lives it simply.”, Lin shakes his head as you both return to the table “Imagine being that together”, you laugh ruefully. “Aaaaanyway, most important thing is…she told us we’re alone. Like, we could dance around naked on the beach if we want to”, he raises an eyebrow. “Cálmate, Miranda. 1-It’s COLD. 2-If I dance naked on the beach, nearby whales and porpoises will think it’s a mating ritual performed by one of their own and we’ll need a Greenpeace team to deal with the sheer numbers beached”, you laugh as Lin nearly spits his coffee.

“Ok that was hilarious but I dislike the premise that you dancing naked would be anything other than delightful.”, he says-still giggling, but also running an appraising gaze over your form. “Neeeeeever gonna happen.”, you say. “Psssh, Alright.”, he relents “But I think there’s one winter beach activity we can agree on”. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”, you ask. “Fire, marshmallows”, he says. “That’s more like it!!”, you agree. “Alright, soon as it’s dark, man make fire!”, Lin growls as he puffs out his chest. “Dork.”, you say as you lean in to kiss him. “You love me”, he shrugs as he tilts your head back, his lips meeting yours.

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“Tea at Buckingham Palace with the actual queen?”, Lin asks “Nope”, you answer. “AND Tom Hiddleston is there.”, he adds. “Damn, that does sweeten the deal…but no. This is still better.”, you say. The fire is roaring, the three blankets you are sitting on and wrapped in are soft. As the sun paints the sky in hues of crimson and gold, Lin wraps an arm around you and kisses your temple. “Honestly, this setting is the most ridiculously romantic thing that has ever occurred in the history of ever.” you say. “It’s so perfect I could almost feel nauseous. If I weren’t ABSOLUTELY MOTHERFUCKING FREEZING!!”

Lin laughs before he grimaces and tries to pull his blanket up over his nose. His voice is muffled by wool but you make out “freeze my god damn balls off” somewhere in there. “Alright, let’s toast these marshmallows as quickly as humanly possible.”, you say with grim determination. Lin pulls his blanket down, steels himself and makes a run for the porch, retrieving the bag of marshmallows and skewers before running back and standing as close as humanly possible to the fire.

You get up to join him and curse at the chill in the air. The fire is wonderful but it has that unfortunate effect that fires do-leaving you with a reddened, scorching hot face, while your feet remain ice-cold. Still it is nice to just twirl your marshmallows over the heat, standing shoulder to shoulder and watching the sun dip under the horizon. As you peel of layers of toasty marshmallow and lick them from your fingers, you close your eyes and listen to the ocean.

Suddenly your eyes snap open. “Wait, are we allowed to light a fire here? If it’s dry won’t we cause wildfire?”, you say panicked. “Y/N, don’t be ridiculous-we’re putting it out. Do you ever just enjoy the moment without overthinking?” Lin asks, slightly exasperated. “Sometimes.”, you answer honestly. “I’m anxious-love me, love my crazy brain, remember?”, you almost plead, the fear that he’ll get tired of it all is still never far away. Lin sighs. “I do love you, Crazy Brain”, he says. He throws a bucket of water on the fire. “Let’s get in the warm and make you RELAX”, he says. You make a run for the porch.

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“Are you naked yet?” Lin shouts from the bathroom. You laugh and shout back “That’s about as romantic as the sunset-in-Antartica situation we had out there!”. His head appears around the door. “You are so dramatic.”, he chides. You raise an eyebrow. “Miranda…”, you warn. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. You’re not naked.”. “It’s too cold!”, you complain as you take his outstretched hand. He pulls you to his side and walks you into the bathroom, which kinda smells like…Christmas?

Lin sees your nose wrinkle. “Shut up, I found some kinda candle, I lit it…”, he shrugs. He points to indicate the huge robe you took from the wardrobe and tied around you. “Naked.”, he says.

The hot tub is throwing up plumes of steam and looks invitingly warm. You pull the robe off, rush past Lin and quickly get in. “Ohhhhhhhhh my god”, you groan, blissfully warm for the first time in hours. He strips off his clothing and practically leaps in beside you, causing a mini-tidal wave. You squeal as he pulls you into his lap. You wrap your arms around his neck as his espresso-dark eyes meet yours and he sighs contentedly. “I love you.”, you say. “Love you too”, he responds and presses his lips to yours.

“Feeling relaxed?”, he asks as he lazily moves his kisses to your neck. “Mmhmm. Very.”. “”Good.”, he whispers between kisses. You slide off his lap to sink into the warm water, low enough that it covers your shoulders. The faint flame from the candle reflects in the window, the beach lit only by moonlight. The waves lap at the sand and though you can’t hear it, you imagine the sound of the gentle crashes and swells.

Lin turns his head to look at you. Beneath the surface of the water, he takes your hand. You both lay there, lulled by the hypnotic motion of the sea. The only sound is the two of you, just breathing.

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[jongieslegs]

[Fan Account - Kim Sungkyu Mini Fanmeet and Live]

Sungkyu’s mini live event! Namba Hatch, Osaka, Japan,  4 Oct 2017 disclaimer: all comments here are as I understood with my lower level japanese and korean, so apologies for any mistranslations!!

Ticket and Fanclub event info Inspirit Japan members got priority ticket sales and a small discount, plus the chance to enter two events: 1. you could submit a video question, which was used in the show (more on this below) 2. ten people could win a meet and greet with Gyu before the show! Event tickets were all assigned seats, no standing. My seat was 1st floor, row G, but other fanclub members I know got row O and even 2nd floor, so it really was a lottery for seats.

Intro After the lights dimmed,  There was no video intro or speaker intro, Gyu just simply walked on stage and began to sing the opening song (Kontrol) Loved hearing and seeing him like this, with no dancers or distractions, just Gyu and a mic. He concentrates so wholly on his songs, he's half hugging the mic with his arm and it really looks if he has his eyes closed for most of them. He only looks up as if to realise we are there much later in the song. wow. How I love that voice. I think other ppl have listed and videoed all the mini-live songs, so I’ll give more detail on all the non-song moments!

After 3 songs the lights go up, and he says hello in Japanese, and the mc and interpreter come on stage and beckon him to sit down on a chair. He sits, and immediately chugs water from a bottle with a straw, and says how happy he is to come to Osaka, even though he feels nervous. The (female) interpreter sits behind him and translates what the mc says into korean, as well as what Gyu says into Japanese. great idea as Gyu doesnt have to worry about trying to speak Japanese and we can just hear his natural Korean. He’s a bit more nervous than I expected, and hesitates a lot at first when he talks, he’s a little shy - used to the other members bumbling around him I guess! But he’s super cute, especially when he laughs, which is a lot tonight. Fan questions The first stage event is 'Sunggyu please teach/tell me’, where four fans (via the fanclub) recorded a video message to ask Gyu. At first we didn’t shout loud enough when this segment was announced, so the mc made us do it again, and Gyu looked very amused by us being told off by the mc. The first q is a girl who wants to know if theres any food he doesn’t eat much, or can't eat. He’s really REALLY hesitant in answering, like saying 'um... I...' and pausing, then 'um...' like he really can’t think of an answer. Then finally he and the mc talk about beef and beef dishes a lot. I think he said he did not eat beef as a child, and these days it is expensive - but I got lost on other details. The second girl records herself playing 'back' on the piano and asks what song he’d like to sing to a girl? (on a date? to woo her? not sure) she’s on the 2nd floor so he strains forward off his chair to wave at her! Firstly he praises her piano playing, then he ends up singing the chorus of 'be mine' acapella to the mc (who is pretending to be the girl) he laughs midway his song, but even does the hand gesture on 'oh!' (YES!) The third fan is a nurse and recorded her video at the hospital- she wasn’t in the audience tonight. she said she’s learning korean and wants to know his favourite word or phrase. again he was really slow and hesitant to answer, but eventually talked about a word that means friendship/you use with close friends (??) and he mentioned using it with the infinite members in his answer. If I see a J-inspirit tweet about this one I’ll RT - the details were a bit hard for me to catch. The 4th girl asks, 'you are a superstar, but what do you do to relax on your days off?' His reaction was so funny, he began: 'because I'm a superstar...' and sat up and crossed his legs really flamboyantly haha I think he really liked that question. When relaxing at home, he says he watches game of thrones season 7, and also plays games. Then the mc suggested, doesn’t he think of Inspirit? and he quickly said 'oh yes, of course, number one is thinking of inspirit, then game of thrones, then ... '(but he was laughing, such a cute liar) Hoopla. He just can’t.  Sunggyu had to play hoopla (land a hoop on a stick with a number) to play a random game. oh boy. he was so bad at this game! first of all, the front row fans told him off for being too close to the number board, and he was like 'What!!' the MC too was really shocked they were so strict, lol. then he stepped back and threw, and literally missed every single time, so then he stepped really close and threw all of hoops in the box until finally he got one. his reward- 2x speed dance! at first he looked aghast, but then just laughed and put his ear mic in and was like 'ok. come on!!' he didn’t know which song it would be. it was be mine, and he did a great job-- and looked so cutely pleased with himself when he stopped, a satisfied grin of like ‘nailed it!’. back to the hoops. oh dear. he threw them all at close range and still, still!!!! couldn’t get one! he crouched down briefly in mental breakdown mode, but the mc just blatently slid one on for him lol. his reward-- the mystery box! the mystery box was a cute brown toy dog that walks and barks- you know the kind. omg he was so funny, he looked terrified as he put one hand in then yelled 'what!!!' 'what is it??' 'its moving!!' after a few attempts to touch it he couldn’t guess, so they let him do it again, this time with both hands. he jumped again as he touched it, and even sniffed his hand (???) but then seemed to hear it barking, moved his ear closer to the box. so then he guessed correctly, and laughed like crazy when the box was turned to face him. he said 'no way-- it felt different!' and then held it, said 'cute' petted it, then suddenly pretended to go to slap it, lol. a girl in the audience won the toy after he drew her seat number from a box.

the mc assisted him (basically put the hoop on the numbers as he was hopeless) to get another two rewards. The first was a group photo with us all. He turned away from us to face the camera, but remained standing, which would obviously block a huge part of the audience, lol. So the cameraman was like ‘hey! sit down!’ and he laughed, kinda embarrassed, and did so. 

The second reward was he could draw signed posters for 2 people, but he drew 3 winners instead, so 3 won, hehe. He read the winner’s numbers out in Japanese, and tried speaking a little Japanese to the winners, just the odd word, but he does try! Kyu is so funny to give gifts. (I've noticed this before, he keeps a real physical distance when he gives a prize, unlike L or Jjong who hug or pet fans' heads easily) as he handed people their prizes today, he really looks like the professor formally giving the graduation certificate, like very low bowing and holding out the poster then shaking their hand formally then bowing again. when people won from the 2nd floor, they took a bit longer to get there, so he extended a hand very gentleman-like and helped them up onto the stage - to ‘aaah!’ from inspirits, lol.

Photo time We were given three minutes to take pics, and like the Tokyo shows, he spent each minute at a different part of the stage, and smiled and posed and crouched down a few times for people’s cameras. The stage lights were sooo bright that even though my eyes could see him well, my ipad couldn’t - but other friends got some nice shots, I’m sure plenty will be going around!

A Gyu survey The last prize lottery of the day was for a survey we had to answer and put in a box before the show. the survey has questions all about Gyu. The mc told him noone got all the answers correct, and he was like 'ah, I’m a difficult guy--'

q1- is there a food you haven’t eaten this time in japan? a-ramen q2- on long flights what do you do? a- sleep. he uses an eye mask. (one of the options was talk to the infinite members- heh yeah right) q3-which animal do you think you are like? a-cat. everyone seemed surprised and Gyu was like 'what! why are you surprised? Am I not?' the mc made him do a Japanese cat noise and paw-like gesture (Cats in Japan say 'nyan’) he did it quickly and reluctantly lol. q4- what do you do first thing on a morning? a- drink water. he says he loves to drink water, and his throat always feels dry after sleep. the mc pointed out how nice/interesting his throat looks when he swallows so we got a closeup of him doing that, and he just laughed, like ‘doesn’t everyone look that way?’ q5- immediately after the first tokyo mini live, what did gyu do? a - thanked the staff. 

He drew three winners again for signed posters. one winner  from 2nd floor had put her name on the survey form as 'sunggyu-chan'. this really amused him and the mc. when she cane to the stage he said in formal japanese 'nice to meet you... sunggyu-chan?' lol. When the games were over, he talked a little about what he’s working on now - just everything he already said at the tokyo meets, a solo concert and album, musical, plus infinite comeback and album. He said he wants to be known as infinite’s leader but also the singer kim sung kyu. He’ll work hard for both things and wants to come to osaka again. To finish up, he sang the last two songs, including ‘Because’, (whoop love that older tune) then he waved to everyone, like very cute crazy big grin two-handed waves, before leaving the stage. Hi-touch time! We had to leave our seat with our stuff and line up to high five him on the way out of the venue. Staff were strict about having absolutely nothing in your right hand so you could hi-five him easily. A small screen hid him from view. When I got around it, he was standing behind a table, with staff close by either side. He had a cute small smile, looked kinda tired but also happy. The way Japanese hi-touches work there’s really no time to talk (or think-), so i just grinned and said 'Sunggyu fighting!' as i touched his right hand. Resisted the huge urge to grab it lol! 

No candy for us, unlike Myungsoo’s fanmeet, but that’s cool - hearing Sunggyu’s vocals and seeing his cute yet surprisingly shy self on stage was reward enough!

That’s all for this time-- thanks for reading as always!

[theolddarkmachine]

Kingdom- Chapter Three

Gajeel has had the dream about dying for the blue haired girl for as long as he can remember. Which is weird, since he’s never met anyone with blue hair in his life.

Levy has always loved myths and legends. So much so, in fact, that she was currently getting her master’s in mythological studies.

What neither of them realized was that they were living a legend all their own.

AKA the one with a knight, a princess, and a curse that keeps bringing them together just to pull them apart.

When I started this chapter, I kinda hated it. Like a lot. But then I decided to sit on it for a couple days and rework it later, and now I actually quite like it. So I hope you guys like it too! I’m also really trying to push myself to just do more with my writing. Don’t really know how to explain what I’m trying to do with my style other than MORE but hoping you won’t mind all too much if I try to push things. You may have also noticed that I posted a different fic on here the other day. As I said in my About Me when I made this blog, this may not necessarily always be a strictly Gajevy fic blog, and it was the time lol While I will be splitting my time between two fics now, know this one still has priority, because 1) That’s what y’all deserve and 2) A lot of research has to be done for the other one that needs more time and thus it cannot be updated as often. if any of yall know more about yakuza than google hit a girl up lmao ANYWAY, thanks for reading, as always <3

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Unfortunately, it wasn’t the first time Gajeel had found himself in front of a speeding vehicle. It was the first time he wasn’t the speeding vehicle’s target though, which he was going to chalk up as a win. At least, as much of a win as it could be given it would also most likely end with him splattered across the pavement. Time seemed to stand still as he felt himself wonder how in the hell he had ended up there, throwing himself in front of a vehicle to save a stranger.

He’d awakened that morning with the usual groan and the familiar dread that spread through his chest from his dream. The amount of time it felt he was in the darkness of death was growing each day, and along with it the sense of despair. If he didn’t quite know better, he’d wonder if at some point he’d stop waking from it at all. A strong hand rubbed across his face in an attempt to brush the sleep-- and melodramatic thoughts for that matter-- from his eyes. It was fruitless to try and stay in bed, a fact he knew all too well, and loathed with every fiber of his being, so he pushed himself out of the nest of blankets and pillows and headed to the bathroom. The light flickered to life and illuminated the small space of the cramped room, reflecting off the mirror.

His reflection stared back at him, only it wasn’t him.

In his place stood a faceless shadow of a man, with burning red eyes that struck a spike of fear through his heart. Adorned in black armor, Gajeel felt a sense a familiarity as he took in the intricately carved dragon that curved across the breast plate and fixed him with a matching, angry gaze. It’s scales were outlined with flecks of gold, giving it a near regal look. Scratches ran all along the armor, each telling a story that he was certain he knew, and yet couldn’t quite remember. He was paralyzed under the glare of the red eyes as the darkness that was cast across the specter's face started to twist and fade.

As it dissipated it first revealed a mouth that was twisted into an unimpressed scowl, wild black hair, and then a glint of metal studs that stood out against the tanned skin. It felt as an icy hand gripped his heart, knocking the wind out of his lungs when he realized that standing before him, was a different version of himself. The crimson glare softened in his other self’s eyes as they sized each other up. Something about the way his mirror self was looking at him made Gajeel’s blood run cold. What was this? Everything felt so foreign and yet, just on the outreaches of his subconscious it felt as if the answer was there plain as day. He hadn’t realized he’d reached his hand out to touch the specter until his fingertips brushed the cold, smooth metal of the armor.

A heavy weight settled in the silence of the bathroom as the walls started to fall away from around them, leaving them standing in inky darkness. Shadowy tendrils licked across their skin as if they were trying to find a way to latch onto them. Slowly, holding Gajeel’s attention, his copy looked down towards his chest. A bright light started to spill from one of the scars on the breastplate located just over his other self’s heart, pushing back the shadows that had started to descend on the armor. Gajeel’s stomach turned at the sharp stab of despair that filled his gut causing the acrid taste of bile to rise in his throat. It felt almost like the feeling of the dream, only magnified tenfold, and suddenly he felt as if he was suffocating. His arms started to burn where the shadows started to stain his skin ebony with their touch. Everything hurt so much, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to look away from his mirror self.

A small, sorrow filled smile tugged at the corners of the reflection’s mouth as he looked up at Gajeel.

“Save her.”

The hollow voice carried the words through the darkness and as quickly as it had appeared, the vision was gone. Air burst into his lungs as he choked on the bitter despair. Gajeel had never thought he’d be so happy to find himself on the floor of his bathroom before as he breathed heavily, hungry gasps pulling in as much air into his lungs as they could.

“Who is she?” He tried to scream out to the vision, only succeeding in a breathless gasp that reached no one. Angrily, he punched his hand into the old tile of the bathroom floor, enjoying the sharp tang of pain that buzzed across the skin of his knuckles. Gajeel stared down at the skin of the fist, almost certain he would see the stain from the black shadows scrawled across his skin. Nothing but his usual tan clung to his complexion and relief blossomed in his chest. His mind raced in an attempt to piece together what had just happened. The obvious explanation was that he had still been half asleep when he’d made his way to the bathroom and found himself in a waking dream. Yet, as he grabbed the edge of the counter and pulled himself off the ground and eyed the mirror, he couldn’t help but feel like it had been a little too real.

Gajeel stared into his reflection as if trying to pull any evidence of the vision into being. A pang of heat seared across the left side of his chest. Over his heart, stood a slightly darker strip of flesh that was about four inches long. He’d had the strange birthmark all his life, and had never paid it any mind, and it had never given him any cause to. Rubbing it gently, he tried to shake the vision of the light that poured from the copy’s armor from his mind. After a few moments, he let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and let his hand drop from the mark. A dream. That’s all it was.

The lie tasted bitter on his tongue.

Save her. Those two words kept swirling around in his head as if to taunt him. He didn’t know who she was, and yet he couldn’t help but feel who ever she was, she was connected to the blue haired princess from the dream. If only his damn dreams weren’t so cryptic, maybe he could actually fulfill their wish of saving her. His head was throbbing by the time he was able to uproot himself from where he stood in front of his bathroom mirror. A quick glance at his phone showed that he’d somehow lost about three hours to the vision and the subsequent mental freakout that followed. The thought that he could lose so much time without realizing it set him on edge.

Save her.

In an attempt at restoring normalcy and easing the pain that pulsed through his skull, Gajeel got into the shower, turning the heat of the water as high as it would go so the burning sting of the water would replace the confused thoughts swirling through his mind. After the spray ran cold, he wrapped his fluffy grey towel around his waist and padded back into the living area of his apartment. The cool air from the air conditioning raised the hair on his arms, but it was a welcome distraction as he made his way to the kitchen in search of food. The disappointing sight of the butt ends of some bread, three ketchup packets and a questionable bottle of what was once a cherry coke greeted him and his growling stomach.

“Great,” he snarled at the remnants of food before he slammed the door shut. This was shaping up to be a fantastic morning. The lack of food and his ever rising irritation was how he found himself outside, black leather jacket clinging to his frame as he thrust his hands deep into the pockets of his ripped blue jeans. Cool air burnt his lungs that still ached from the earlier deprivation of oxygen. Outside of his apartment and in the hustle and bustle of the city, the vision seemed more like a distant memory than something that had happened just earlier that morning. It wasn’t distant enough to let him relax, but at least he no longer felt like he was being haunted by phantom crimson eyes and shadows. It hadn’t been until he’d turned toward the street to cross that the incident entirely slipped his mind, because there just on the other side of where he stood was a shock a all too familiar blue hair.

Save her.

The words were a bit louder as his gaze settled upon her. She was the blue haired princess. He hadn’t ever actually seen her face in his dreams, but he knew that shade of blue, and every part of his body screamed with recognition. His breath caught in his throat as she looked up, her honey colored gaze meeting his crimson one. A pink blush brushed across her cheeks as she tightened her grip on the book that she’d had in her arms pressed against her chest.

Save her. The copy’s echoed through his mind as he continued to stare, unable to tear his gaze from her. She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. It almost looked as if light radiated from her as she stood there on the street corner, hair held back with a bright yellow scarf and in a knee length green peacoat. He watched her as the light changed, signaling pedestrians to cross. His eyes followed her as she looked down at the street as she stepped down from the ledge. A loud blare of a horn finally broke him of his trance, and made time stop. Her head snapped up to look in the direction of the blare coming from the delivery truck that was barreling down the street, straight towards her and the intersection. He watched as she froze, mouth falling open as she stared straight into the grill of the truck that would inevitably hit her if she didn’t move.

Save her.

The words were a booming cry as they ordered him into action. Gajeel hadn’t ever moved so quickly in his life. What had started as a grocery run was now ending with him chasing death in the form of a nondescript white delivery truck. Willing his feet to move him as fast as they could to close the distance between them, he felt her solid form hit his chest as he closed his arms around her and used the momentum to throw them both out of the way. The last thing he heard was a scream, and the blare of the truck horn.

***

All things considered, Levy thought being hit by a car would hurt more than it did. She’d noticed the vehicle racing towards her after it had already been too late, giving her just enough time to think about how Mirajane was going to kill her for getting one of her books destroyed. The blare of the horn deafened her and she screwed her eyes shut to the sound, the sight of the delivery truck’s grill burned into the back of her eyelids as the last thing she’d ever see. As she was hit, she felt a warmth encircle her as what felt like two arms wrapped around her waist. What should have felt like a violent and brutal twisting of bone and metal felt almost like the embrace of a lover. Her mind raced as it tried to catch up with what was happening. Maybe it’s shock, she thought to herself as she felt her back hit the ground. The breath in her lungs was pushed out violently with the force of the impact. At least that seemed about right for what was happening. A high pitched ringing filled her ears, almost drowning out the sound of the ragged breathing that was stirring the hair just at the shell of her right ear. Almost. Suddenly she was all too aware of the warm solid weight that was pressed against her chest, shoving the corners of the book she still clutched to her chest into her body. Her eyes shot open as she thrust her knee reflexively into the gut of the body that laid on top of her, capturing her between his body and the pavement. The motion was met with a loud and short grunt of pain as the man rolled off of her and onto the ground beside her.

“So that’s the thanks a guy gets, huh?” The stranger wheezed, staring up at the sky as his arms wrapped protectively around his middle. She felt her eyes widen as they traced his face, realizing that he was the man that had been across the street. Trying to stop from staring too long, she turned her attention to the scene around them. They were both laying safely on the sidewalk as curious bystanders started to gather around them to check on their wellbeing. Levy made note of the fact that the delivery truck seemed nowhere to be found.

“You alright?” His voice was still a bit breathless, but the stranger from across the street was now fixing his gaze on her once again. This close she could see that his eyes were endless pools of crimson. The metal in his eyebrow quirked in concern as she stared. Heat colored her cheeks as she hurriedly pushed herself up and set the book on her lap.

“I- I’m fine. Are you?” Levy’s voice sounded painfully squeaky, even to her own ears. Her heart was beating harder in her chest now than it had when she’d seen the vehicle baring down on her. Wait. “Did you- did you seriously just jump in front of a delivery truck?” Gleeful light danced in his eyes as the man also sat up, shooing away one particularly curious looking bystander that had gone to help him up.

“I think you technically jumped in front of it first,” he chuckled as he rubbed his ribcage. “I was fine until ya attacked me.” The smile that accompanied the statement made her mind run blank. Levy was certain she’d never seen this man before and yet something about the way he smiled at her felt like the most natural and familiar thing in the world. Something deep in her chest told her that she’d do anything to see him smile again.

“Why would you do that?” She heard herself ask, almost as shocked about the question as he seemed to be. A moment passed as he looked away from her.

“I don’t know.” It was almost a whisper, as if the answer wasn’t meant for her as the man questioned himself as to why he’d literally throw himself into traffic to save someone he didn’t know. As quickly as the confusion had crossed his face, it was gone as he looked back up at her as if he could pull the answer from her. The voices of the people surrounding them started to grow distant as they began to disperse after seeing that the couple was okay. The man started to standing, brushing the dirt from his jeans and making a low, disgruntled noise when he saw the scratches in the leather of his jacket from where his arms had dragged against the concrete. Levy watched as he shook his head and then held a hand out to her to help her stand. There was a beat before she took it, allowing herself to be pulled up from the ground. An electric shock shot up her arm from the touch, eliciting a gasp as goosebumps raced across her skin. His wide eyes said that the stranger had felt it as well. As soon as she was standing, he took his hand back, staring at it as he flexed his fingers and rubbed at the skin with his other hand.

This was the point where she would thank him for saving her, and he would say something lame like “You’re welcome” and then they would go their separate ways and never see each other again. That’s how it should go anyway, but her stomach flipped at the idea of letting him walk away. Something was so familiar about him. Being near him had felt like she’d found something she hadn’t even realized she’d lost, and the very idea of losing it again had her stomach in knots.

“What’s your name?” Levy’s voice wavered slightly as she fixed her honey gaze on him. He returned the gaze and the strange electrically charged air filled the space between them.

“Gajeel,” he answered simply after a moment of contemplation. Another piece seemed to fall into place in her mind, as her brain registered the name she’d never heard and yet made the blood in her veins sing. Levy pulled the book back up to her chest and hugged it to her chest again, using it as a shield as if to stop him from seeing the way her heart was hammering against her chest.

“Well, Gajeel, can I thank you with a cup of coffee?” The smile returned to his face at the question. It was another kickstart to her heart that rammed against her ribcage as she waited for his answer.

“Coffee sounds great.”

[kello-unknown]

NEVER THOUGHT IT’D BE HER

Summary:  Max lives an… entertaining life.  She just got out of a relationship she thought would last forever.  Meeting one person leads to more people in her life, and before she knows it, she’s falling in love with someone she never expected to fall in love with.

Words:  2,174

Warnings:  alcohol consumption, drunkenness, little bit of angst, Max being a cocky ass (so her being her)

Author’s Note:  this is the longest chapter yet.. so i guess i kinda apologize but im really not sorry.  i didnt think there was a good place for me to make it another chapter.  oh well.  

dont forget if u wanna catch up on what happened in the last chapter, you can click down below and re-read and remember what happened lol :D

CHAPTER 1, CHAPTER 2, CHAPTER 3, CHAPTER 4, CHAPTER 5, CHAPTER 6, CHAPTER 7, CHAPTER 8

MASTERLIST

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CHAPTER 9

“CAN I get you ladies anything else?” the waiter asks after bringing over the drinks to Alex and Casey.  The two look at each other, silently agreeing to each other that they were good, at least for now.

              “I think we’re good, thank you,” Casey says.  The waiter nods, then returns to the bar top to attend to the rest of the patrons.  They toast to having a good night, then they each take a sip of their respective drinks, savoring the first taste.  Alex takes a longer sip than her friend does, which allows Casey to start the first conversation of the night.  “So what’s been going on with you, huh?  It’s been like almost two weeks since you last spoke to me.  I need details.  My life has been so dry lately,” she pouts.

              Alex swallows what drink she has left in her mouth, and Casey starts to take a mouthful of hers.  “Well, for starters,” she pauses, taking a deep breath in and out, “I found out Devin cheated on me during his work trip.”  Casey spits out her drink, luckily not onto Alex, after hearing what she said.

              “He what?!  How am I just finding out about this now?!  It’s been literally, what, two weeks since he came home and you’re just now telling me this?” Casey exclaims.  After a moment, she, too, takes a breath after her outburst.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t be mad at you for not telling me right away.  But… Alex… are you okay?  What happened?”

              Alex takes a swig of her drink before explaining.  “It was, like, four days after he got home from his trip.  He went into the bathroom without his phone and he got a text from someone that wasn’t me.” She laughs, saying, “He didn’t even try to be subtle about it, he fucking put a heart emoji as her contact name.” At this point in Alex’s story, Casey looked like she could kill a man.  More specifically, Devin.

              “Anyways.  I opened the message and scrolled back a little bit and he had said shit like, ‘Oh I had fun last night,’ with a winky face, ‘My hotel room is pretty empty right now… wanna join?’ with another winky face, and after I read that one I guess I kinda put two and two together.  He came back out and thought something was wrong.  He asked me why I looked all sad.  I told him to open his phone and explain what he had actually done during his ‘trip.’  I didn’t need his explanation at that point since I basically got the gist of what happened.”  She sighed. “I think I just needed to hear it out of his stupid mouth.  I grabbed my bag, phone, keys, and threw on a coat and drove to one of my friends’ house.” Casey wonders who this friend is, but she lets Alex continue.

              “I explained to her what happened and she let me stay the night.  I’m still staying at her place until I figure out what I’m gonna do next.”  A moment of silence ensues.  “But other than that, nothing much has happened.  What about you?  Anything interesting in your life?” she jokes.  They both laugh a bit.  Casey rubs her head, trying to take everything in.

              “That son of a bitch.  What the fuck… I’m sorry Alex.  Really.  I don’t even know what to say,” Casey replies.

              “Well, for one, you could say ‘I was right.’”  Casey, confused, asks what she means.  Alex laughs.  “You always said, in the beginning of my relationship with him, that you didn’t like him.  You never figured out why, but you said your gut didn’t feel right around him.  And your-”

              “-Gut is never wrong,” they say simultaneously.  

              Casey smiles.  “So, I guess I was right then.  That’s a first,” she states.  They both take a long pause, both drinking.  “Have you spoken to him since that night?”

              “No, and honestly I’m not sure I want to.  I know eventually I’ll have to about, like, financial stuff, but even thinking about him makes me angry, Case.  It’s that bad.”

              “It’s not bad.  If anything, being angry thinking about your ex-spouse that cheated on you is probably normal, I would think.  Not that I would know, but you get my point.”  She sighs.  “I’m sorry, babes.  Really. I don’t even know what to say.” Alex smiles at her friends attempt to fix this shitty situation.  

              “How about instead of talking,” Alex says, as she signals for the waiter, “we drink?”  The waiter comes over, and Alex asks for two refills.  He comes back not more than three minutes later with two cold drinks.

              “I like this idea a lot better,” Casey replies, downing almost half of her drink in one go.  “So, and you might’ve said this already so forgive me if you did, but who’s house are you staying at?”

              “Oh, my friend Max.”  She chuckles, saying, “She’s actually Natalie’s ex-girlfriend.  That cute one I was always telling you about?” Casey’s eyes widen.  Max, as in the Max she’s been seeing for a few weeks?

              How did she not put this together?  

              Max dated a girl named Nat.  Nat’s the whole reason they know each other.  Max even showed Casey a picture of her ex in one of her many drunken stupors.  

              Alex, Casey’s best friend, has a sister named Natalie. Alex didn’t need to show Casey any pictures of Natalie since the three of them practically grew up together.

              Casey didn’t realize Max dated Alex’s sister all this time.

              I’m a fucking idiot.  

              Does she tell Alex that she knows her or does she talk to Max about this first?

              “Oh, yeah, I remember you talking about her.”  Maybe telling Alex she’s been fucking her current roommate for the past three and a half months isn’t a conversation Casey wants to have right now.  

              Or ever.  

              “How did that happen?  Are you guys, like, friends or something?”

              “Yeah, actually.  We started talking after I went over to her place a couple weeks ago to move Natalie’s stuff out.  Funny story, she actually had a girl over that morning.”  If possible, Casey’s eyes widen even more.  Does Alex know about the two of them?  

              Did Max tell her already?  

              “I felt so bad.  She said it was fine though.  The two of them were still asleep, I guess.”  Casey breathes a sigh of relief.  “Yeah, ever since that day, we kinda just stayed in touch.  And when everything happened with Devin, she was the first face I thought of that would help me.”

              “Ouch.”  Casey feigns hurt.  “Best friends for how long and you go to your sister’s ex?  Okay.  I see how it is,” she jokes.

              “Oh stop.  Next time I get my heart broke, I’ll make sure I’ll drive to your place instead. Happy?”

              “Very.”

              The two continue bantering back and forth, before getting up to go dance a little.  By the time they’re both tired out, it’s a quarter to one in the morning.  Drunk, Alex whips her phone out to call her personal Uber.

              “Hey, what’s up?”  A tired sounding Max answers the phone.  “Do you need the bedroom ready for use?”

              “Hiiiii.  Can you come pick us up?  We’re at the bar and… and it’s dark out,” Alex slurs out.  She can hear, even while drunk, Max’s distinct chuckle.  It’s slowly becoming one of her most favorite sounds in the world.

              “I’ll be there in, like, five minutes.  Make sure you guys stay near the front of the bar so I can see you.  Got it?” Max hears a soft, “Mhm,” and replies, just as softly, “Okay.  I’ll see you guys soon.”  She hangs up and runs to grab a shirt and her car keys.

              Meanwhile, Alex turns to Casey to tell her that they have a ride now.  Casey, slightly less drunk than her best friend, hums while gathering her stuff to head outside.  The two, hand in hand, walk outside the bar, and by the time they stand against the front wall of the bar, Alex can see Max’s car just a little down the road. Casey stops her from running towards the car, pointing out the fact that she can barely stand up straight as it is. Alex huffs, but stays in her spot, nonetheless.  

              Max pulls up, jumps out of her car, and walks up to the two. As she starts to greet Alex and her friend, Max realizes that its Casey.  Alex walks up to Max to give her a big drunken hug.  Max returns the hug all while staring at Casey with a confused look on her face.  Casey, silently, tells Max to not bring their relationship up.  At least, not yet.

              Alex unsteadily pulls herself off of Max to introduce Casey to her.  “I want you to meet my best f-friend!  Max, this is Casey.. Case, this is Max.”  The two shake hands as if they’ve never met before and smile.  Alex interjects, saying, “You two are so cute.  You look cute t-together,” all while giggling.

              “Is that right?” Max asks.  She throws Casey a wink where Alex can’t see.  Casey rolls her eyes at Max’s antics and smiles.  She walks towards Max’s car to open the door for Alex, who is currently latched onto Max’s arm.  Casey and Max get Alex inside the car, and Casey shuts the door, and opens the – nope, scratch that – Max opens the passenger side door for her, and Casey slips into the car, but not before sending Max a smirk.  Max, still slightly confused with the situation, shuts the door, and walks to her side of the car to hop in herself.  

              The drive back to her place isn’t bad.  If anything, it’s probably one of the more entertaining car rides, what with Alex’s drunken monologue happening in the back of the car. Every so often, Max and Casey will look at each other, laughing at whatever it is Alex is saying.

              Max pulls into her spot in the driveway, shuts the car off, and runs to grab Alex before she winds up falling out of the car.

              As the three walk up to the front of the house, Max passes Alex to Casey so she can unlock the front door.  The three walk in and Casey walks to the couch to put Alex down. Casey turns to Max, who is coming out of the bedroom, presumedly putting Alex’s things away.  Max smiles looking at Alex, who is already half asleep.  

              Casey excuses herself to run to the bathroom, and Max goes to tell her where it is, but she then realizes Casey could probably walk around her house blind folded and know where everything/anything is.  Max grabs a blanket to drape over Alex, then goes to get a glass of water and something for Alex to take to relieve her inevitable headache for when she wakes up.

              When Casey comes back out, Alex is passed out on the couch and Max is sitting on top of the counter.  They smile at each other, almost awkwardly, debating what to do next.

              Silence.

              “You didn’t tell Alex about us, right?  What we’ve done in the past?” Casey asks.  Max shakes her head no, telling her that she had no reason to bring it up in the first place.  She asks the same question to Casey, receiving the same response she gave just moments ago.

              Silence.

              “If you want, I can drive you back to your place,” Max offers, breaking the silence.  Alex stays quiet while walking over to where Max is sitting.  They look at each other.  “Or you can stay here and try and sneak out before she wakes up,” she whispers, suggesting that they do what they haven’t done in a while.  What they’ve done in the past.

              Casey turns her back to Max, and the latter jumps off the counter and walks up behind her.  She wraps her arms around her waist.  She lays her head on Casey’s shoulder, looking at the side of her face. Casey turns around to look at Max. Her hands find Max’s face.  Max leans into her touch and kisses her palm.  They both lean in, but before anything can happen, Casey rests her head onto Max’s chest.  Max, shocked, just lays her head on Casey’s.  

              “I think I’ll just call an actual Uber,” Casey murmurs.

              Silence.

              “Okay.”

              Max watches Casey be pulled off in the Uber from her front door.  Once the car is out of sight, she heads back inside.  She stands against the door after she shuts it with her head hanging in the air.  Her head shoots up when she hears Alex rustling on the couch, groaning softly.  Max smiles.

              She walks over to the chair that lies to the left of the couch and sits down on it.  She turns the tv on, with the volume low, and falls asleep near Alex in case she needs anything.  

              At least, that’s what Max tells herself.

NEXT

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tags: @maggie-elise13, @elizabethfictionwriting, @lesbian-deadpool, @the-very-tired-gay,  @timelords-13, @tangled-up-in-bad-decisions, @natashaswhitesuit, @its-a-me-mario-hihi, @marvelfansince08love