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stariikis · 8 months

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𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐤 | 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 | 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 01

synopsis ; when riki's having a hard time with his school work, you decide to buy him strawberry milk. not knowing that it's the milk flavour (and the colour) he despises most. if you're wondering, yes, this is in the same world as my chaptered fic, 'you in the rain', and is one of the bonus chapters i have planned. you can check out the fic here.

Perhaps your presence, a constant voice peeping up from across the library table, disturbs Riki more than he would dare to admit.

Because the way he briefly glances up at you before groaning and pinching his nose-bridge… it’s probably not a good sign, is it? He frowns in concentration, starting to do his anxious tick you’ve recently noticed is a bad habit of his, clicking and unclicking his 0.5 ballpoint pen. Loudly. And then he twirls the pen over all four of his fingers, confusion evident over all his features.

“I don’t get it,” he huffs, looking mildly annoyed with himself. Opposite of him, you watch as his stare on the Math worksheet threatens to combust it into flames. You should be used to this, after accompanying him here so many times just to watch him get frustrated over the questions he can’t do.

Okay, maybe it’s only been a few days, but it feels like a lifetime of awkwardly sitting around, unable to help him because you can’t be asked to solve for x even if your life depends on it. Perhaps you’re just not cut out to be Nishimura Riki’s study companion. Your eyes trail back up from the worksheet (that looks like utter gibberish to you), and analyse your friend’s face instead.

And then a wave of sadness washes over you. He’s in the advanced Maths class, filling out an advanced Maths worksheet. The fact that he’s able to understand at least half of the foreign language of algebra is already stunning to you. Anything above a C would please you, in fact. But you understand. You understand him with all the hours you spent revising the new vocabulary in English class. You understand with the blood, sweat and tears you poured out over a difficult type of sentence structure you just could not grasp.

It always hurts to be practically terrible at things you’re supposed to be the best at.

“I wish I could help,” you say uneasily, taking another glance at the problem Riki’s stuck at, and wishing you didn’t. It’s a humbling experience, to say the least. “But, um, I can’t even understand what the question is asking for.”

The cogs in Riki’s brain seem to churn for a while, before the fire goes out once more and the light leaves his eyes. “Nope. I really don’t get it.”

You tilt your head at him, trying to exude as much comforting empathy as you can. Apparently the kind look in your eyes must be either terrifying or out-of-character, and Riki just lets his eyes travel around your face in judgement. You’d like to believe it’s the friendly type of judgement and not the, you actually look really stupid kind of judgement.

But it’s Riki, so who knows? He could very well still be lost in his own world of complicated formulas and mental equations, numbers of different universes coming together into his mind like they’re meant to be. That’s at least how it sounds like when Riki talks about Maths.

Wanting to leave him alone to his own thoughts, you pack up your things and head out to the nearby convenience store. Riki doesn’t bat an eyelid, he’s pretty used to you quitting halfway through a study session as well, and he probably needs you out of the way anyway. To solve the biggest mystery of the universe on that piece of paper.

Once you step foot into the store, you make an instant beeline for the chilled drinks section, gracing your eyes with the marvellous selection of flavoured packet drinks and plastic milk bottles. Perhaps Riki would like one of those to drink on while he studies. You always seem to focus better with a sweet drink in one hand and a pen twirling around in the other.

The array of choices stuns you for a moment, though, and with a pang you realise you don’t know Riki’s favourite milk flavour. He’s never mentioned it before. In fact he doesn’t talk much about himself to you. Or, according to Jungwon, to anyone. You’re not sure if he’s closed off on purpose, or he’s just quiet in nature. To you, they’re two very, very different things.

Well, it wouldn’t hurt to buy Riki your favourite flavour, would it? Anyway, it would give you a chance to find out what he really likes, and conversation could possibly start to flow from there. It’s like a mastermind plan, the way you grin mischievously to yourself and snag the cheapest bottle of strawberry milk you see. Because, unfortunately for you, you’re a student. Fashionably broke.

When you get back to the library, Riki stares at you in bewilderment as you walk back to his study corner and proceed to dump a singular plastic bag with two bottles of strawberry milk sitting inside it. Lips pursed together in curiosity (another one of his cute little habits that you can’t help but to notice because they’re literally right in front of your face), Riki leans over and peers into the bag.

He raises his eyebrows, sits back down, and pulls one of his legs over the other.

“How did you know I like pink things?” he whispers, eyes the widest you’ve ever seen them. “And that strawberry milk’s my favourite milk flavour?”

“Really?” You cannot believe, by lucky chance, you’ve actually guessed it right. And you’re matching with him, and you guys can go buy more strawberry milk together in the future… and…

”What’s strawberry milk in Chinese?”

You snap out of your thoughts and watch intently as he unwraps one of the plastic straws and pokes it carefully into his drink.

“草莓牛奶”

“你喜欢，是吗?” (you like it, right?) Riki smiles slightly and takes a sip. For some reason his facial features stiffen for a second and he looks like he’s trying not to make a face.

You chuckle softly at his expression. “是. 哇，你的中文真棒!” (Yes. Wow, your Chinese is so good!)

“因为我在喝…” (because I’m drinking…) He pauses for a while, trying to recall the words. “你最喜欢的草莓牛奶.” (your favourite strawberry milk).

Your cheeks heat up almost immediately and the hot feeling doesn’t fade for a good long while, even as the librarian scolds the both of you for bringing food and drink into the library and as you walk back home alone after Riki claims with an urgent look that he has somewhere to be, dumping his half-full strawberry milk in the trash.

It’s not until a week later you find out from an astonished and very bemused Jungwon that Riki absolutely hates strawberry milk and the colour pink, even though the boy has been gifting you the pinkest of milks every day since that day, claiming he loves it; claiming it’s the most refreshing drink he’s ever tasted.

That afternoon, when you walk back into class after lunch, you see a bottle of banana milk sitting atop your desk, and you can’t help but to laugh to yourself.

if you're not here from 'you in the rain', pleasee go give it a read if you're a taylor fan or when i fly towards you lover! tysm for reading - stariikis ☆

synopsis ; based on the Chinese Drama, 'When I Fly Towards You', in which you, a going-on-high-school English genius named Huang Yuting meets the Mathematics genius of the 10th grade, Nishimura Riki, underneath the rain.

taglist (open)

@laylasmother @seunnimg @natalunae @enwonz @tomomorin

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wish-incorrect-quotes · 4 months

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I’ve seen a few people mention how much Simon looks like he could be the son of these two, and while I don’t know if the timelines work enough for it to be possible, it’s a fun concept just to think about. So here’s some ideas I had about how it might play out:

Basically, Lady Tremaine spends awhile hoping that Anastasia’s whole “falling in love with a commoner” thing is just a temporary inconvenience, and eventually she’ll be able to push her daughter into a more respectable marriage with a proper nobleman. But as soon as she finds out the baker proposed and Anastasia accepted, Tremaine pretty much immediately disowns her, and Anastasia loses her access to the family title and money.

By this point, Cinderella and Anastasia have a much better relationship, so Cinderella offers to use her newfound royal status and try to undo Lady Tremaine’s decision, but Anastasia ends up telling her not to bother. The more time she spends with the baker, the more she finds herself enjoying the simple life. Even if she now has to worry about earning a living, it’s amazing how much easier life feels when she doesn’t have to face her mother’s pressure and expectations, or go through royal balls where she's expected to be better than everyone else but always seems to fall short. Just peaceful days, helping her husband bake bread in the little village where people are always kind and friendly. And before they know it, the two of them are welcoming a baby boy into the world, who’s nearly the spitting image of his father, but with his mother’s red hair and his grandmother’s green eyes. Not that Lady Tremaine has any interest in meeting the boy, if Anastasia would even allow it.

As Simon grows up, he eventually gets curious about how his parents met. Anastasia can be a bit overprotective, and she tries to leave out the most unpleasant parts, but she’s happy to tell him all about how she loves her new home and family so much that she’s never regretted leaving behind a life of luxury for them. Simon, however, can’t help but think that the story sounds unfair. It’s not that he really cares about having a title or attending fancy balls, but it doesn’t seem right to him that his mother had to lose everything because of who she loved.

Eventually, this leads to Simon getting his heart set on becoming a knight, because it’s about the only way someone can work their way into a more “noble” rank. And if his mother has a knight for a son, it could get them all a lot closer to the life she had before. He doesn’t mention why he’s so keen on knighthood, since he doesn’t want his parents to feel guilty and tell him not to go through so much trouble for their sakes, so they figure it’s his own dream and do what they can to support him. But the problem is, he’s not any good at it. He has plenty of strength, but he’s very much a gentle soul, and when his heart isn’t in it, he just can’t seem to develop any talent with a sword and shield.

He’s discouraged for awhile, until he starts hearing rumors of a foreign kingdom with a sorcerer king that can instantly give people what they wish for. And since he isn’t getting anywhere on his own, he starts to become more and more convinced that this is his only chance. He knows how much his parents love their bakery, so he tells them he wants to try striking out on his own for awhile now that he’s getting older. Anastasia and the baker are both more than a little worried about the thought of their son going off to find work somewhere far away from them, but Anastasia remembers what it was like having a controlling mother who didn’t care about her own dreams, so she decides they should let him go if this is what he wants.

So Simon sails to Rosas and soon finds work in the castle, hoping that maybe working close to the king will help his wish get granted faster once he’s old enough to give it away. Thought he finds out before long that things might not go quite as smoothly as he expected based on the stories he heard. There’s a lot more people who have been waiting a long time than he expected. But everyone’s always praising the king, so if he's enough of a good and loyal citizen, surely he'll get his wish granted, right? Plus, he’s been making some great friends in the castle, and he enjoys being able to put in a good day’s work with them, so he can’t complain.

Then he reaches his eighteenth birthday, eagerly gives the king his long-awaited wish, and… is he supposed to feel this tired all the time? Everyone always talks about how wonderful it is, how it’s a real weight off. But he doesn’t feel lighter, he feels like his eyes are always heavy, and he's too exhausted to even feel like himself most of the time.

And then that’s how we get to the events of the movie. I guess Magnifico’s lucky that Simon wouldn’t want to worry his parents and would keep sending letters making it sound like everything was fine. Because Anastasia might have softened over the years, but she definitely still has a temper, not to mention a royal stepsister to turn to, and I’m sure she wouldn’t just take it quietly if she learned some distant king had caused her beloved son to lose all his energy and joy for life.

#disney wish #wish 2023 #wish simon

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skylarmoon71 · 3 months

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Matt Murdock (Daredevil) - Chapter 6

“Who thought it was a good idea to put numbers and letters together?”

Matt gives your arm an encouraging pat as you drop your head on the desk dramatically.

“We’re almost done, three more questions.” He encourages.

You sulk, lifting your head as you get back to work. You were really happy that Matt was practically a genius. Thankfully you wouldn’t have to worry about any math specific courses after this semester. Reading out the question, Matt listens and then gives instructions on how to solve it.

He has a really patient way of teaching, especially since everything in your book looks like a foreign language. Whenever he breaks it down, it just makes more sense. For the next twenty minutes you keep at it. When you’re done you pack up your books. The vibration of your phone catches your attention.

It’s a message from Foggy.

“Can’t make it tonight, I have a date.”

You shake your head.

“Foggy has a date, so I guess movie night is canceled.”

“That’s okay, we can just watch the movie.”

You stiffen.

“J-Just the two of us?”

In his room, alone, with no one else…

“Yeah, why not.”

You finally get yourself to nod.

“S-Sure sounds like fun.”

You wish you could stop yourself from acting so awkward around him now but you can’t help it. With your bag packed, he takes your hand, much like every other time before. At this moment you’re sort of fortunate that he’s blind. You rather him not see how obvious your blush is.

“Something on your mind?”

“N-Not really.”

You swear sometimes the guy is psychic. The whole falling for your best friend trope is just so predictable, you know that. But it’s not like you could help it. You’ve known Matt for about two years now. It’s not like you never thought he was attractive.

You just spent the first semester thinking he would steal Foggy, then the next, the three of you just became such a close trio that romantic love always seemed just out of the picture. You never even considered it. But since he’s started tutoring you, you’ve begun to notice the little things.

Like the way his cheeks raise when he smiles, or how there’s always a subtle hint of concern when you leave his dorm a little later than usual. Maybe it was the way he smelled so great all the time. Being close to him like this made you more conscious of all the reasons you’d gained a crush.

Whenever you think about it, all you can see is that you’ll ruin the friendship if he ever finds out. With those thoughts now running through your head, you don’t really have the heart to sit through a movie.

“Actually Matt, I think I’ll pass on the movie night. I just remembered I have an assignment I need to take care of.”

“Anything I can help with?”

You shake your head.

“No, I’ve got it. Thank you.”

“No problem, if you need help just ask.”

“I will.”

You feel horrible lying to him like that, but you couldn’t think of a better excuse that would be as believable. You’re so distracted for the remainder of that night, you barely process it when your friendly neighborhood vigilante comes in.

“I take it you have a lot on your mind.”

You lift your head a bit lazily, then blink. Once you process that he’s there, you just send a halfhearted wave.

“Hey Mr. Daredevil.”

He takes a seat and patiently waits for you to say what’s on your mind.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

From the delay in his response, you can tell he doesn’t see the question coming.

“I don’t.”

You just let out another sigh and he laughs. When he places his hand on your shoulder, you look up.

“You know you can tell me anything, I won’t judge. I’m not exactly a saint.”

That earns him a smile. With a soft giggle, you pull the pillow closer to your chest.

“It’s just that recently I’ve realized that I have feelings for a friend of mine. He’s a great guy, so sweet. The sweetest. He’s kind, and patient and he always listens whenever I rant to him, kind of like you. I know I can depend on him for anything. I really want to tell him how I feel but I don’t exactly have any experience with guys or relationships and I’d be so sad if things got awkward because he doesn’t feel the same. “

You puff your cheeks, burying your face in the pillows.

“I’ve never even kissed a guy before!” You complain.

He seems unsure how to proceed. He’s the one that insisted that you could confide in him, but this seems more like a situation for a girl because he’s not sure if he’ll say the right thing.

More than anything, he’s curious. As far as he knew, he was the closest male friend you have besides Foggy. It’s not like you didn’t speak to any other guys, it’s just that he’s never seen you spend as much time with anyone outside of your trio group.

The thought of you harboring feelings for some guy makes him a bit jealous. He should just give you some encouraging words and leave it alone, but he has to know, he needs to.

“This guy, is he one of the friends you mentioned before?”

You nod, pulling your face away from the pillow.

“It’s Matt.” You confess softly.

“It’s me...”

His head moves back over in your direction. You’re still holding unto the pillow for dear life, and despite himself, he smiles. He should be comforting you, but the fact that he knows now, he can’t help but smile.

“Why don’t you tell him?”

You shook your head vigorously.

“I can’t! You’ve never met him but I’m telling you, Matt is gorgeous. He’s like a model. Just the thought of saying that to him it..” You bury your face back into the pillow and he laughs.

“If you don’t say anything you’ll never know how it’ll go.”

“It’s probably better that way.” Your muffled voice replies.

More than anything he wants to reach out and tell you that there’s no need to worry. He’d very much like to hold you, touch you, kiss you, but like this, he doesn’t have that right. Here he’s a friend to you. It can’t go any further than that.

To you, he is Daredevil and you want Matt Murdock.

“I can’t say for sure how he feels, but I know that if there was someone like you that held those feelings for me, I’d be ecstatic.”

This time you raise your head slowly. His words are more than touching, and you find yourself comforted by the sincerity behind his smile.

“You really mean that?”

“I do.”

You blush, holding your cheeks.

“You player you, okay, I’ll tell him.”

You seem to have shifted into a giddy mess and he laughs.

“Was it really that easy?”

“Yep, thanks again!”

#matt murdock #daredevil #humor #care #friends #foggy nelson #fluff #cute #mattxreader #trust #feelings #love

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tadpolebrains · 5 months

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Heyy it's me again! Can I ask for another headcanon? I love your writing SOOO MUCH

So, in my Astarion romance play through the possible answer "maybe you need a friend rather than a lover" hit me and I was wondering, what about Astarion with a Tav who slowly becomes his best friend, making him realize that friendship exists? I dunno how to explain it better, just Astarion and Tav being BFF!

Thank you in advance, hope you're doing ok and drinking enough water <3

Hello again! :D

TYSM dhdhdh <33. And this did just make me go grab water so yup drinking well. That line you’re talking about- I really wish there was some way to choose it in game and then maybe after defeating Cazador get together once he’s in a more stable mindset. But welp, we take what we can get

Anywho, let’s do this

Tav & Astarion Besties

• Tav starts doing little things on the road for him, and it drives Astarion crazy at first as he tries to repay each and every little deed so he never falls in their debt

• They make sure he has some dead animal to feed on at night if they aren’t comfortable with offering their neck themself. They offer to fix his hair since he can’t see himself in the mirror. They just… want to hang out with him. And that confuses him to no end, because surely they’re expecting something in return

• So he tries flirting. Seducing. But they just chuckle at his advances or jokingly flirt back in a way that makes him question if they’re being serious or not

• Suffice to say, he’s baffled in the beginning

• After a bit of his advances clearly falling short, Astarion is at a loss. Because he doesn’t know what he can offer them if not for his body. Doesn’t understand what they want from him

• Then the Araj encounter happens, and they back him up. Support his autonomy. And… Astarion starts to realize that maybe they don’t want something from him

• Maybe, after all these years, he’s found someone good. And he can’t tell if he hates that or is relieved

• Still, he clarifies with them, and when they say that he truly just needs a friend, and they want to be that friend… he needs time to adjust

• He still reverts to teasing or lightly flirting, but over time chuckles with them at a corny line or bad pun he’s made. He finds it liberating, to joke about something he’d relied on for so long. To be allowed to find it cheesy

• They help him get used it saying ‘no.’ Start by just asking absurd things of him to get him to scoff and incredulously turn them down. The word feels less foreign on his tongue after a while

• Astarion would get in the habit of saying ‘no’ before doing something anyway. He likes how the words sounds. Tav asks him to pick up something they dropped? “No, darling, get it yourself” as he proceeds to grab it for them regardless.

• Friendly insults and banter. Astarion would enjoy having someone to fire back and forth insults with without it meaning anything.

• Gossip. You just know that once they’re close enough, Astarion would enjoy leaning over to whisper little gossipy comments into someone’s ear. “Oh, gods. The man two seats to our right has the hair of a straw broom. We best stay away, lest he shed on us.”

• Inside jokes. Astarion has always relished in causing a bit of havoc and confusion, so making Tav randomly burst out laughing by making a comment in the middle of camp that no one else understands is highly entertaining for him. Especially if they couldn’t possibly explain why it’s so damn funny

• Just… having a person to sit in silence with sometimes. Especially at night, if he’s had a nightmare. He doesn’t want pity. He just needs to lay eyes on another living being for a while. Tav has woken up multiple times to him watching them sleep.

• Eventually, getting used to small points of physical contact. High fives. Fist bumps. Astarion doesn’t understand the point of such gestures, but still has to stifle a smile whenever Tav bugs him into giving them a high five.

• Talking him out of ascension. Tav being living proof that there’s more to people than wanting to use him for his body or affections. Proof that he can have a life surrounded by close friends, and that he can be a good friend

• They’d still visit his grave together. It’s something he needs another person there for, since he doesn’t even know how he’ll react to seeing it after so long.

• Astarion sewing up patches in Tav’s clothing. Or fussing over their hair. Using the excuse of “we’ll be seen in public together, and I cannot be seen with someone who looks like they’ve crawled out of a sewer. Your appearance is part of my public image.”

• Tav running after him when the sun begins to burn him again. Sitting with him until the sun goes down, knowing him well enough not to mutter any reassurances that may be taken as pitying. Sitting there in silent solidarity and offering a hand for him to hold should he want it.

• If they don’t end up near each other, writing letters and visiting often. Always bringing random little trinkets that he’d complain about taking up space or being a pain to carry around, but keeps protectively

• Joining him to search for a cure to his vampirism later down the line.

#astarion #tav #bg3 hcs #baldur’s gate 3 headcanon #baldur’s gate 3 #rambling #this was a bunch of disconnected bullet points #but hey #thats what my brain wanted #astarion needs a bestie

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papirouge · 2 months

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How can you stand going into nazi discussions and reading all the crap they're writing? I hate them so much lol

I don't understand women who entertain those kind of men, I know some of them are men pretending to be women but some of them are the real deal... like they'll never respect and accept them as one of them except to be a white babies factory, yet these womens racism is bigger than their self respect and self esteem.

But what I understand even less is non-whites entertaining neo nazi ideology. I'm aware that just like with women some are just white people pretending to be PoCs, but I've known actual poc thta agree with nazism and some even post pics of themselves. It's so ugly lol but I've noticed that they always seem to be non-black PoC or if black they're light skin, they just seem to have the mentality of "at least i'm not a n*gger 🤪" thus why they think they can mingle with the whiteys and be accepted by them. Like many of them are usually pale-skinned latinos or east asians from what I've noticed. And neo nazis sometimes entertain them because they realize they're good for creating division between non-whites but they never really accept them as one of them - they're just their fighting dogs. These idiots need to realize many nazis and white supremacists barely accept white people with black hair and brown eyes as their own (sometimes they'll accept them but consider them less pure and beautiful than their blue/green eyes blond haired counterparts). That's why you'll see blond, blue-eyed neo nazi men constantly dunk on white women and brown-eyed dark haired people - even though they could be his allies he still needs to feel superior to them because he probably has nothing going for him except for his race and sex (which he has convinced himself makes him superior). He doesn't have to work for it or earn it he simply is born superior and everyone else should understand that too and treat him as such. When you think about it, it's really pathetic and stupid.

Last thing is I'll always laugh at neo nazis talking about black or brown people marrying white to "bleach/lighten their genes". Not because it's not true; many brown and black people do wish they could have light skin or white kids, hopefully with light eyes and hair too (mentol illness), but because dark skin, dark hair and brown eyes are DOMINANT genes!!! So are "black features". This is why they'll never make me feel bad about my features, God made them dominant and theirs recessive lol perhaps for a reason (this is why christians white supremacists are even more stupid to me).

I think women drawn to Nazi/misogynist see in it a form a "strong masculinity" they don't find in more liberal men. They're too dumb to realize those moids only talk smack from their socials but will shit themselves if confronted IRL with any of the demographics they shit on the regular. I mean, for so called strong men they, White nationalists are actually pretty meek when it come to display outward sign of their opinion in the real world. That's why they only do so in rallies. Standing alone they are scaredy cats that will play victim #antiwhitegenocide. You can bet that the person who made the tweet saying she went out of her way to say she was racist to that foreign bus driver whose only crime was being friendly, that if the bus driver would've reacted aggressively she would act like she was the victim. Because nazi & racists love playing the victim card whenever they initiate antagonization.¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

And yeah you're totally right about racist/Nazi non White rallying around the "at least I'm not Black" thing. It's very true for Hispanics (like Stonetoss) or Indians. No one tells them white Nazi will always consider them like inferior pawns they'll toss away the moment they're not useful. Same goes for women they'll shit on they do a step aside. Lauren Southern and Candace Owens are case study. I think dunking on other race help them cope with their otherwise shitty life : they're unemployed, broke, lonely...but at least they're not Black 🤪

And what's so funny with the so called superior aryan race is how hellbent they are to show they're superior. When you're truly secure in your superiority, you don't waste time trying to prove it. Lions don't run with dogs. I mean, I always found crazy they so much into the bio essentialist bs about IQ but yet oblivious to the fact that their own gene are recessive. Shouldn't nature favor high IQ Aryan gene instead? 🤔 Like- it never clicked to me how they flip flop around biological essentialism lol

#answered

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leggerefiore · 2 years

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Birthday Traditions

cw: PLA Ingo, birthday fluff for reader

pairing: Ingo/Reader

It was stressful for the Warden as he desperately tried to recall how birthdays were celebrated in the world that he failed to remember. Local traditions did not include anything too extreme, rather it seemed more that ageing for everyone fell around the new year. He sighed as he pet the Sneasel that had curled up in his lap.

It felt like only you and he were the outsiders of these lands and perhaps a bit foreign to their traditions. He had managed to adapt more easily due to his memory loss, but you had not. It was clear you wished to celebrate the day in a manner more like you did in the time and place you were from. A frigid wind blew through the mountains as he sat under a tree.

The day was beautiful. He felt the urge to do something. Simply asking you felt wrong and cruel, so instead he took to remaining outside and meditating until something entered his mind. It had been around an hour at this point, and the only changes in him were brought on by the poison of the Sneasel when she tried to knead him.

His current concentration was interrupted by footsteps approaching him carefully. His eyes opened to spy the professor approaching him with a curious look. Ingo suddenly felt stricken. While he had convinced himself that he and you were the only outsiders of this land, he had completely forgotten about Galarian professor himself.

“Ah, sorry! I did not mean to startle you,” he gave a polite smile and spoke in the language the three of you all seemed to understand, “I just wished to observe how the Sneasel interacts with you… I'm quite terrified to get so close with one myself.” Ingo understood. They could be quite dangerous if they were not ones used to human interaction. The kit in his lap was quite used to being handled by humans, so she was not of any threat outside of accidental releases of her venom.

“She's a friendly one,” he told him and held her out for a pet. The professor reached a hesitant hand out to the pokemon, who sniffed his hand and let out a purr. A soft scratch to her ear showed her social nature. Eventually, the kit crawled into Laventon's lap and began her nap again on him. Ingo pondered if he knew any good traditions that would stir his memories. “You wouldn't happen to know any birthday traditions, would you?” he asked him suddenly.

Laventon tilted his head at the question and let out a hum. “Why, yes, naturally,” he gave a grin to the Warden, “Back home we often exchanged cards or served cake. Those traditions aren't common around these parts. Cyllene asked me what I was doing when I was preparing a cake for myself on my own, actually…”

Cake… Sounded familiar. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the feelings the words brought up. A distant memory of a boy who looked just like him with a heavy covering of black and white icing on his face entered his mind. Was… Was that him? If it was, he felt quite embarrassed by the state of himself. He still tried to focus on that memory. The sight of an undamaged cake with writing on it was in his mine. It had two names on it? He felt more confused but shook his head. He saw his own so that confirmed it.

“How… How do you make a cake?” he asked nervously, “I wish to surprise my partner.” Laventon's smile grew wider as he gave a chuckle.

“Sure thing, lad. I was thinking about doing it myself.”

A sigh came as you entered the village. You had decided to keep yourself busy on the day as expected nothing was going to happen. It was not a commonly accepted celebration here in Hisui, and you were hard-pressed to find anyone to even partially indulge it. Laventon had promised a small celebration, along with the poor kid who had taken you up as mentor after your unfortunate landing. Your boyfriend, Ingo, would always do something extremely sweet and domestic back in Unova. Now, he could barely recall his name, much less birthday celebrations.

Still, those days back home where he would admit with a deep crimson across his cheeks that he spent so long trying to make a perfect cake for you always lingered in your mind. He would surprise you with Emmet, Elesa, and your friends waiting inside. Your favourite meal was served, too. His cooking was always so lovely and reflective of his love. When the party came to end, it would be just you and him cuddled together, enjoying the evening sweetly. His soft whispers of affectionate words and promises of his love made everything feel complete.

Those were just memories now. Memories that could easily be lost if you were not careful. You slid open the door to your home in Jubilife quietly, getting ready to remove your shoes.

Then…

A light flicked on and revealed Ingo sitting at the pot with a delicious stew simmering in it. Beside him was a sweetly decorated cake with black and white icing. You gasped at the scene with an odd warmth in your heart.

“... Ah, I hope that's out of surprise and not horror,” he spoke with the loud tone he usually did, “Happy Birthday! That is what you say, right? Professor Laventon told me it was.” You gave a giggle at his genuine confusion. Nodding, you rushed over to tackle him into a hug. Ingo quickly returned the embrace while you covered him in kisses. Slowly the emotion died down and you rested your head against his chest. His hand slowly drifted through your hair.

“Thank you,” you said while gazing up at him. His eyes may have permanent bags and his hair line seemingly grew worse, but he still was the same man. “... I need to thank the professor, too,” you sighed and buried your face into the rough texture of his tunic. It was silent for a moment.

“I do believe… a certain birthday activity of ours came into my mind,” his tone was weak and nervous, “Ah, can we do that one back at my home? I would prefer the people of Jubilife not hear that…”

You let out a snicker, knowing exactly what he remembered, and pressed another peck to his lips.

“... Sad, we don't have all the items like we did back home,” you lamented, “Well, let's eat. I missed your cooking a bunch.”

He swallowed as he recalled the memory more and more.

Modern birthdays must have different traditions than those of the past.

#ingo x reader #ingo/reader #pokemon ingo x reader

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kumeko · 8 months

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A/N: Me, taking advantage of FeH to take the angst route for these two. I wish they could have talked more before everything went down. I would kill for supports between the 3 heads (just C + Bs even, with A is destroyed by the war).

…

Edelgard was avoiding him. This wasn’t new. Dimitri knew Edelgard’s back more intimately than he knew her face, could count the number of times she didn’t dodge his questions with a single hand. Every time he almost grasped her, she slipped between his fingers. Did she remember the dance? Did she care? Or had she forgotten it all, having been so insignificant to her?

Dimitri didn’t know which answer he’d prefer. Perhaps it was better that she kept avoiding him. He had enough ghosts on his shoulders, what was the ghost of what-could-have-been on top of all that?

Still, Dimitri couldn’t deny he had hoped that something would have changed now. It had been one thing when she’d avoided him at the academy, using teachers and classes as an excuse to walk away. It was yet another thing for her to do it here—in another world—away from everything and everyone they called home.

“She really doesn’t like you.” Claude whistled softly, his arms crossed behind his head.

Well, maybe not everything. Byleth and Claude were here as well and Dimitri turned around to look at his classmate. “Is it that obvious?” he asked, chuckling self-depreciatively.

“If it makes you feel better, she doesn’t like talking to me either.” Claude glanced at her back, smiling wryly. Despite how relaxed he appeared, Dimitri recognized his slightly bent knees and tense shoulders for what they were: a man always prepared to spring into action. There were times when he wasn’t sure why Claude was the future leader of the alliance, or even a house head for that matter, but things like this reminded him that Claude knew more than he let on.

“I am not sure if it is simply a matter of ‘like’ anymore,” Dimitri sighed, rubbing his neck as he idly looked around the great hall of this foreign castle. It was a massive place, far too massive for him to take it all in, and crowded to the brim with strangers. He couldn’t walk without bumping into one. There were heroes, villains, villains-turned-heroes, the dead, and oddly-dressed versions from alternate realities. He did not understand half of those terms, but it was enough to know that they weren’t the only ones pulled away from their world, dragged into a war that wasn’t their own. “I had hoped…”

Claude looked at him inquisitively. “Hoped?”

“That things would be different here.” Even amongst all of these heroes, her stiff back stood out. Edelgard disappeared into one of the side wings and he wondered what she could possibly be planning here, without any guarantee that they’d make it home in one piece, if at all. “That we could talk.”

“It’s not like she’s changed,” Claude pointed out. “It’s not like any of us have really changed—Teach is still hilariously expressionless, you are too easy to goad, and Edelgard likes her alone time.”

“And you are as hard to read as ever,” Dimitri replied, exasperated.

“Or you’re just bad at reading.” Claude chuckled. “My point is, Edelgard’s alone right now. There’s no creepy Hubert lurking over her shoulder, or Ferdinand challenging her.” When Dimitri stared at him blankly, Claude rolled his eyes. “What I’m saying is that if you want to talk to her alone, now’s the perfect time.”

Dimitri blinked. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” Claude shook his head, disgruntled. “You know, if it weren’t for your ridiculous strength, I’m not sure how you’d survive the battlefield.”

Dimitri gave him a friendly tap on the shoulder. Ignoring Claude’s immediate painful groan, he hurried after Edelgard. Claude was right—they hadn’t changed at all, but their surroundings had. Edelgard couldn’t hide behind her old excuses anymore, and all of her shields were gone.

If there was a time to ask her about everything, it was now. His footsteps echoed through the arching hallways as he followed her previous path. Fortunately, she wasn’t too far ahead, her red cape swishing behind her as she marched through the hallway. It was strange. Dimitri couldn’t remember her ever walking at a relaxed pace. Even here, she looked prepared to go right into battle.

“Edelgard,” he called out as he got closer.

She didn’t stop. That was fine, he was used to that too. This time, though, he wasn’t going to just watch.

“Edelgard!”

Jerking to a halt, she pivoted on her heel to face him. “What?” she asked shortly, crossing her arms.

He hadn’t expected it to work and for a moment, he was caught off guard. “We… we have to talk.”

“Do we?” Edelgard looked away, though she didn’t move. When he didn’t say anything, she sighed. “Fine. I suppose we had to do this at some point. What is it? Why do you keep following me around like a lost child?”

“A child?” Taken aback, he stared. Had he really come across like that? As someone so needy? “I…Is that why you avoid me?”

“I do not avoid you,” Edelgard replied curtly, giving him a look. “I avoid everyone.”

“Oh.” It was funny, but that was oddly encouraging. It wasn’t personal. It wasn’t even hate. Squaring his shoulders, he steeled himself and forged on. “Do you remember when we first met?”

She shot him a bemused look. “The first day of the academy?”

Now he felt confused. Rubbing his neck, he corrected, “No, years before that. When…when we were children.”

“Children?” There were very few times he had seen Edelgard caught off guard. Like right now, she looked utterly flabbergasted and it was enough to make him wonder if he’d imagined their shared past. “What are you talking about?”

“I…we were…” Dimitri fumbled with a response. Family didn’t sound right, they’d been denied that opportunity. First loves didn’t work either. Their relationship had barely formed before it had been torn away. At this point he wasn’t sure if they even had one. “We were close.”

“Were we now?” Edelgard snorted elegantly, a perfectly formed eyebrow arching. “I do not remember any of this.”

“I suppose you are right. We could have been close.” Dimitri paused. Walking around the subject wasn’t going to help anything. Bluntly, he stated, “We were friends.”

She stared. “Friends?”

“We spent a summer together as children.” Dimitri lowered his eyes. A last happiness before everything had crashed down. Too many things had been ripped away from him. “You taught me how to dance and I had given you a dagger.”

“Dagger…I…” Edelgard winced, rubbing her forehead. Her face paled. “I do not know what you are talking about.”

Dimitri had expected a rejection, not an utter denial of the whole thing. “I know it has been years, so perhaps your memories of the matter are not—”

“It does not matter,” she interrupted firmly. Her skin still had an unhealthy sheen to it. He wanted to reach out, to check her temperature, but if she balked from even this level of connection, he was certain she’d outright run if he tried anything more.

“Are you okay?” he asked, voicing his concerns instead.

“I am fine.” Edelgard’s expression hardened and she took a deep breath. She winced and rubbed her forehead once more. “I hope this is the last we speak of the matter—it does not matter what our past was. It is the past. It does not change my ambitions; it has no bearing to me now.”

It didn’t? He couldn’t believe that. His past weighed him down even now, endless ghosts whispering in his ears until he sometimes couldn’t get out of bed. Despite her words, he could see the same feverish obsession in her eyes. For all her talk of forgetting history, the past dogged her every step.

“It matters to me,” he murmured.

Edelgard flinched. She opened her mouth for a second before snapping it shut, her hand clenched into a fist. “It does not to me.”

Without waiting for his response, she whirled around and walked away. Dimitri didn’t know what was worse—how he’d spent days wondering if she remembered, if she’d hated him, or getting confirmation that she didn’t care about it one way or the other. That he was the only one who held onto those memories fondly.

Claude was right. Coming here hadn’t changed anything—about themselves or their relationship. He was used to seeing her back, and it seemed as though that wasn’t about to change anytime soon.

#fire emblem three houses #fe3h #dimigard #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #edelgard von hresvelg #claude von riegan #fanfic

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drippingheart · 2 months

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I cherish you, went without saying, but she knew it, didn't she? Solace did not arrive by holding a one sided conversation while pretending it was an actual back-and-forth. He could not fathom why people willingly spoke to the dead; speaking with a person in coma seemed ridiculous enough. Hospitals, no matter how nice, were filled with noise and off-putting lighting. Even though he doubted a comatose person was aware of their surroundings, he still felt the pangs of unease that his sister was surrounded by frigid situations.

So, while he did not talk, he did play music on his phone to dispel the loneliness. Fushiguro Megumi was straight forward. He was not a dreamer nor did he waste his time hopping and wishing, even as a toddler. Simply, there was no conclusive scientific evidence that comatose patients could perceive the world around them, yet while he did not speak to his sister, he did always bring her presents. Fushiguro Megumi realized it made no sense, and he was not prepared to justify his actions. It was guilt — plain and simple, and guilt took on many ridiculous forms.

Potted plants, crane and star origami, and plushies occupied the window sill and the bedside table; Tsumiki's favourite pusheen keychain plush remained on the hospital bed beside her hand, always. With the conclusion of Brahm's Serenade 1, Megumi, too, concluded his train of thought; somehow talking to himself in his mind seem less foolish than speaking aloud . . Megumi shut the music player on his mobile device, shoved the device into his pocket, and offered his slumbering sister one last somber look for the day. We'll figure it out, Megumi. His benefactor's words only seemed to mock him and fray already very rough sides . .

Veils never ceased to amaze Megumi even if he never displayed it outwardly, save for the first time Gōjō Satoru had created one for educational purposes. It truly was amazing the things sorcerers were capable of doing — creating veils to keep the civilians in their ignorance, veils which excluded sorcerers, and wards to alert of undesirable energies. Jujutsu was something else, but more importantly, how did non-human animals perceive curses and sorcerers? Looming stairs leading to Tokyo's Jujutsu Technical school called to his curiosity, but he did not dare step foot nor hand forward. Whatever immature feelings of being an outsider were dispelled with an upright and fuzzy tail appearing in his peripheral vision.

A glance downward revealed an orange cat emerging from one of the perfectly maintained bushes inside the school property. What could that cat feel and see? Upright tails is a step below a cat hug. Solemn nature of Megumi's normal appearance was shattered like sun after a monsoon, and the teenager dropped to his knee to pet the friendly feline. Megumi still carried several pale, lingering scars from his childhood when he used to be too greedy for feline attention. His desire was still present, of course, but the child learned his lesson many years ago. The cat emitted a friendly crossover between a meow and a chirp as it proceeded to bounce upwards to meet Megumi's hovering hand.

From henceforth, he did not hesitate to offer the stray ( he assumed ) much deserved and gentle physical affirmations. Only thirty seconds in and the cat's senses kicked in quicker than that of Megumi's. With ears perked and eyes slightly widening, the feline peered past the onyx haired teenager to the new presence, and it forced Megumi to turn his head while dropping his smile. Stone faced, the teenager was greeted by foreign energy and an equally unfamiliar face @aeternic. If Megumi was . . well, normal, he would have flushed being caught in such a vulnerable position. He remained crouched on one knee. Although the cat continued nuzzling its face against his hand, Megumi's malachite eyes remained fixated on the bothersome sorcerer.

── ❛ Am I in your way, or is this cat yours? ❜

#𝟬𝟖 chimera shadow garden .#aeternic

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loominggaia · 1 month

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I wonder how Cerulea's kids would get along with Oberon's kids? Or Marghan?

Good question! I doubt Cerulea allows her kids to interact with foreign nobles in their leisure time, but I'm sure they do interact sometimes at international royal galas. These galas can take place anywhere on Gaia, most often at castles or convention centers. They're opportunities for nobles to network with eachother, find spouses for their heirs, and show off their wealth.

Lazuline: Would probably get along well with Winnie because they're both quiet, nerdy, and bookish. Marghan would annoy her and Hestal would absolutely disgust her.

Saphirra: Would totally go clubbing with Blomi and Marghan. Thinks Jaq is hot and tries to slob his knob every time she sees him, but he's not having it. One, because he's not really attracted to women. Two, because she's creepy in an uncanny "Stepford Wives" kind of way. Three, because he heard what happened to her eight ex-husbands and is smart enough to realize this ho is straight up radioactive lol.

Teal: Refuses to get chummy with any of these dirty barbaric foreigners because Mommy Dearest(tm) wouldn't like it. Makes a show of acting really rude to them at galas, but only when Cerulea is watching. It's only a matter of time before she triggers Hestal's bad temper and he upends a whole feast table on top of her. Not "if", but "when".

Cyana: She's intrigued by Marghan because he has the wild, free, adolescence she wishes she had. I could see her naively following him around and getting into trouble because of it. She'd also get along with OJ because they're both misunderstood and have a ton of parental pressure on them. Also, a couple different people have said they think OJ is nonbinary (he must have a vibe or something lol), and if that's the case then Cyana might relate to him on that level, as Oberon would not accept OJ's gender identity just like Cerulea wouldn't accept Cyana's homosexuality.

Marine: She and Trista would be BFFs. Trista has a dominant, manipulative personality and Marine is more of a naïve follower, so I imagine they have a "Rocky and Mugsy" dynamic going on. They're destructive enough alone, but together they become an unstoppable storm of chaos. They cause a scene at every royal gala they attend, and their antics destroyed an entire convention center at least once. Trista would try to convince Marine to help her kill her little brother Nate, and Marine is so desperate for friendship that she'd probably agree to it. (But of course Marine fucks up everything she does, so she sabotages Trista's plans and Natey Potatey lives to see another day!)

Skylie: Skylie is a friendly and polite girl who gets along with just about everyone she meets (or at least tries to). She finds foreign people fascinating because she's always sheltered in her little palace life. She would be particularly interested in Winnie because they both love reading. Skylie would want to help Blomi solve the Mystery of the Wailing Halls in Folkvar Castle, and together they might just free Sygbarne from her tower. One person Skylie doesn't get along with is the little brat Trista, and she would try to protect Nate from her. She would like to know the other royal offspring too, but since she's just a little girl, most of them aren't interested in talking to her...except Goryx, that evil fuck. He's a huge book nerd and so is Skylie, so I could imagine him preying on that to lure her into joining the Crescent Cult. Promising her unlimited knowledge and power, and she gets to wear a pretty mask! Skylie's read too many fantasy books about evil wizards to fall for his bullshit though. She probably kicks him in the nuts, tells security, and gets him booted from the function lol.

Cobalt: Nate and Trista are the only ones remotely close to Cobalt's age, but I don't think he'd get along with them because they actually act like kids, and he acts like...well, a highly neurotic adult. This kid's anxiety is so bad and his childhood is so strict. Especially since his mother and grandmother scare him with Lindist scripture, telling him how evil non-commoners and foreigners are, so he'd be terrified of everyone he encountered.

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askliterature #askpolitics #askcerulea #askindiga

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skyechild · 1 year

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Panic Room

𖤐 pairing: Seonghwa x chubby!fem reader 𖤐 genre: angst(?) college au, unrequited feelings. 𖤐 warnings: lots of insecurities 𖤐 wc: 1k 𖤐 summary: Why do you keep ignoring him? He just wants to be friends... 𖤐 notes: lots of insecurity on readers side. idk how to explain it more...this is very indulgent and you dont need to like it, read it or reblog it,.i wrote while listening to Youtiful by Stray Kids (aka i cried tons) and Panic Room by Au/Ra. im not tagging my net for this fic.

Why are you so shy? Why are you avoiding me? No, wait dont go.

Seonghwa watches as you turn around the corner once catching sight of him, A frown spreads on his lips. Its not fair. He thinks. Its not fair that you avoid everyone but mostly him, never letting him or his friends get too close. Never letting him getting a close look at you unless you were in a shared class. Even then, your hood was up and your hair was covering your face. You never drew attention to yourself, no matter the reason.

You only spent lunch with your favorite teachers, spent the free periods you had either in a corner of the field or inside an empty classroom that a teacher would let you use. You never had friends that hung around long. Seonghwa’s only seen you smile once, maybe twice. Hes heard you cry more then your laugh. The times he would pass by the girls bathroom, only to hear your cries ending and the sniffling as you left. Only catching a glimpse of your red eyes and runny nose.

You started actively avoiding him when he started asking around about you. So he stopped, stopped talking to others to try to learn more about you. You had no social media that he could find. How did you not have any social media? Didnt everyone?

It was different the next day. He caught you smiling at your phone, just a small upturn of your lips and he caught a glimpse of a video playing on your phone. His own smile tugged at his lips. How were you so adorable? Did you not believe it? His smile dropped into a frown. That wasnt right. You were beautiful, how did you...how did you not see yourself like he saw you?

He looked back at his notebook. He would make you believe. He noticed you would flinch back from anything touching your stomach and hips. Grind your teeth if you saw a flash of your own skin if it wasnt your hands. He rubbed his forehead how would he even go about it?

He started trying after a few months of planning. By then you had gathered two friends. You three were basically connected at the hip. He learned their names were Gahyeon and Yubin. Gahyeon was a grade beneath you, same grade as the rest of Seonghwas friends. Yubin was in the same year as him, Hongjoong and you. Therefore, when Gahyeon wasnt there, Yubin always was there at your side, never leaving you alone.

Seonghwa had noticed that You were friendly with a girl named Yoohyeon who was a grade above you. But you strayed from her a lot. She was a social butterfly and was close friends with Bora who was loud and loved attention, basked in the warmth and attention of others. She was a few years ahead with Siyeon and Minji, then a foreign exchange student named Handong had joined.

He was happy you werent alone anymore. Hes heard your giggles more since they had arrived. You had started spending more time outside with them, smiling more and having fun. Bora seemed to quiet down when she was around you, but the fond smiles from everyone in the group when you would say something or do something made Seonghwa’s heart warm. ‘Finally....finally shes not alone, she has friends...’

Yet you avoided him and everyone else like the plague. You spent a lot of time in the library and helping Yoohyeon with her English. He wished you wouldnt still run from him whenever he tried to say hello or talk with you. He would get the sad, soft smiles from Yubin whenever you would dodge him. He rubs his face and aggressively messes with his hair.

“Dont corner her you dumbass.” He glared at Wooyoung, hand twitching. “Im gonna beat your ass one day.” Wooyoung grinned, sticking his tongue out. “And im not cornering her.” He huffs, leaning back against the wall as he let his head hit the door of the locker he was against.

He knows you avoid him entirely if Wooyoung was anywhere near him. He doesnt blame you, sometimes he wanted to avoid the loud and energetic boy too. Movement on his left at the door caught his eye. It was you walking with Yunho, more half hidden behind him and nodding to whatever he was saying, a soft smile on your lips.

He knew Yunho would probably be the first one you ended up approaching. Seonghwa watched as you split from each other, you bee lining over to Gahyeon once you caught sight of her. She had an eyebrow raised and Seonghwa frowned. You pressed into her side and he caught how your body was shaking slightly before she hugged you tightly.

Yunho had walked up to him by then and his gaze locked on his form. “What were you talking about?” Seonghwa spoke, eyes straying from Yunhos form to yours, watching as you curled into yourself and leaned more towards Gahyeon who had a teasing smile on her lips, hushed words whispered between you two, a soft pink on your cheeks. Seonghwas fists clench. Why wouldnt you let him talk to you? But you happily talked to Yunho?

“We were talking about our classes, we actually share one, Chem, we were talking about the homework we were given.” Seonghwa frowned. He didnt even know what your major was, or if you were a double major. God he couldnt imagine being a double major. He gives kudos to Yunho, Wooyoung and Hongjoong for being so brave. Wooyoung majoring in dance and culinary, Hongjoong in production and broadcasting and Yunho in dance and vet care.

“We actually share a lot of classes, we share a major.” Seonghwas gaze snaps back to Yunho. “Which one?” Yunho’s brows furrow. “Vet care? Shes doing more zoology.” Seonghwa frowned. He knew nothing about you yet he still wanted to be your friend. He looked down before closing his eyes as he leaned back against his locker, tilting his head back. Yunho smiled slightly. “I dont think she wants to be friends with anyone except her current friends...im sorry Hwa...” He sighed, hitting his head against the locker a few times.

“She did mention that your fanclub has been bullying her because they know youre trying to learn more about her. Hwa i think its time you give up.” He sighed. He didnt want to, but if it would make you happier...he would.

#skyechilds work #park seonghwa imagine #ateez imagine

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alcohol1maid · 1 year

Text

Sooo...yall remember when I said I'll make a sweetened chaos fic which I kinda forgot a out? Wellll.....

A friendly encounter

The green haired girl giggled to herself as she played the girls hair.

The much younger girl who was minding her own business, had yet another encounter with the familiar green haired girl while waiting for a train...

The girl sighed, trying to ignore her, but secretly, she did like her company, just a little bit though. Better than being alone, which she's slowly becoming foreign to.

"Your hairs so pretty, miss umi!"

"Oh...t-thanks"

being called 'miss umi' did fill her up with a little bit of excitement, but she hid it easily.

"I wonder though...how are you allowed to have this kind of hair in school, don't they not allow it?"

"I...its just, it just has..smaller policy's...I think"

"Oh woow!! That must be amazing! There must be so many things you can get away with!"

"Y-yeah" kema umi blushed a little, deep inside, she kinda hoped that the 'trickster girl' would stay for a little longer, even if she was front face in denial about it.

Trickster giggled after this, she loved playing with people's feelings, kema was no different.

This made her smile, she didn't see kema any different then the other people she teased through out her years, all though she did find more enjoyment in doing this since...in a while. Stuff happened.

"But i must say miss kema, about that...friend of yours, what's his name? North...sky?"

Kema umi paused, she almost forgot that trickster knew about him, especially since its been a while since their first encounter.

"O-oh y-yeah...what about him?" She turned towards trickster, which had a grin on face, which kema felt off-put by.

"You see...that nerd friend? What do you...see in him, like are you to like, a thing or something?"

Kema almost gasped, she's never been told a question like this before.

"H-hes just...a sweet guy, that's all..."

kema umi got embarrassed by this question, did she think they were dating? She hid her face with her hair after that, she was hot as a pepper.

"Hmm...m'kay"

Trickster knew that wasn't just it, but she didn't want to keep going on with the question, since she knew if she did kema would leave early.

She simply just left it at that, however, she wanted to know about the boy.

"Ya know, miss kema?"

Kema umi was still hiding her face, overthinking every word she just said.

Trickster laughed at this

"Dawwhh, is my little strawberry embarrassed? Hehehe, it's fine kema! I was just goofing with ya!"

Kema let go off her hair, giving trickster a

'Really...?' Looking on her face, which trickster had to admit did look a little cute.

"Hahah!" Trickster laughed "oh kema, you always know how to make me laugh!"

Kema umi wanted to blow up, but simply but looked away, pounting.

"Y-yeah I was just...feeling ill...that's all"

Trickster obviously knew this wasn't true, but still played along for her entertainment.

"Oh miss umi! Your just the cutest, you know that?" She giggled " oh, I just wanna squeeze so tight!" Suddenly, trickster put both of her arms around kemas neck.

Kema umi was surprised by this, not really knowing how to react. But she found confront in this, which honestly surprised her a little. She felt...safe, and honestly wished it lasted longer.

But then suddenly, a phone started ringing.

It was tricksters.

Trickster let go of kema, and answered her phone.

"H-hello?"

It was none other than casimir, who rung the house phone.

"How's my master doing? Can you come back please...little miss penelope is misbehaving, master..."

Trickster was a little annoyed, but simply replied

"Oh, yeah sure, I'll be there inn..." trickster looked up at the trains clock. "10 minutes..?"

"Just hurry master! She's making a mess!"

"Okay! Okay! Jeez..." trickster hung up the phone and looked down at kema

" I would love to stay and chat but, my family needs me dear! I promise when we meet again, I'll bring you all the sweets you want!"

Trickster winked at her, before walking off to the train station exit.

Kema umi heard her entire conversation with him, master? Penelope? Kema umi had so many questions, was she a mom? Did she have a boyfriend?

So many thoughts were racing through her head, why would anyone call their family member 'master' ?

Not too long later, her train arrived. Kema umi got up from her seat, and walked towards it, mind still running.

Kema umi sat down on one of the seats, looking out at the window.

"Well...that's gonna be a story to tell tommrow" she told herself, just as the train was about to leave.

THE END

Hope yall enjoyed this! Sorry for not making it till now! I kinda forgot about it till today lol. I hope you sweetened chaos fans liked your meal! <3

And also, trickster belongs to my dearest friend @boiling-potato ! Thanks for giving me permission to make this a while back, apologies for the extremely long wait! <3

#original character #ocs #trickster #not my oc!#kema umi #sweetend chaos #trickster x kema #kema x trickster #💚🩷

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loosesodamarble · 1 year

Text

A Double Enchanted Tale

Here's my contribution to the Disney crossover event from @vs-redemption.

This is Disney’s Enchanted (with some plot changes) featuring Nacht x Josele (my oc) and Finral x Mallory (@sailor-muno's oc). Cameo from the ZorAcy ship (from @faewraithsworld). And not to worry I'm using my friends' ocs with permission~!

Cast -Josele as Giselle -Nacht as Robert -Finral as Prince Edward -Mallory as Nancy -Sterling as Morgan (Robert’s daughter) -Yuno as Pip the Chipmunk (but a more character appropriate bird here) -Liliane Vaude as Queen Narissa -Alecdora as Nathaniel (the queen’s lackey) -Zora and Acylla as Phoebe and Ethan (the couple that almost gets divorced but doesn't)

Putting this under a cut because it got loooooooooooooong. Lots of little headcanon notes as well as some drabbles for scenes in narrative format (not my best prose writing but I think I would've gone insane trying to do it all in headcanon format).

..........

As with the original film, this story begins with Josele waxing poetic and singing about True Love’s Kiss. She imagines her True Love™ with pitch black hair and sparkling blue eyes.

Yuno, Josele’s little songbird friend, helps put together the statue of Josele’s True Love™.

Josele’s song attracts the attention of a troll. When it tries to take her away, she fights back.

Elsewhere in the forest, Prince Finral is returning from a diplomacy mission in another kingdom, attended by Alecdora, Queen Liliane’s henchman.

Liliane keeps sending Finral away as a foreign ambassador to keep him distracted from romance. So long as he doesn’t find a bride, she can remain on the throne.

Finral isn’t a fighter but he’s always concerned about people who might need help so he rides into the woods, following Josele’s (kinda wretched) screams.

Alecdora attempts to follow but is left behind as he’s without a horse. He can only grumble that Liliane should try to have Finral killed and not just distracted. He’s fed up with the guy too.

Finral is chasing after Josele’s voice. Josele is fighting for her life.

Josele is up in the trees, trying to smack away the troll with tree branches. Yuno is desperately pecking at the troll.

.....

Finral followed the shouts of a woman’s voice through the forest until he happened upon a troll the size of a house, reaching into the trees.

“Leave me alone already!” Finral looked up to where the voice emanated from and saw a lady with brown hair. “There’s no way I’m going anywhere with you!” She had a tree branch held in both hands and used it to smack at the troll’s fingers when it got too close to reaching her. Finral also barely made out the flittering movements of a bird flying at the troll’s hands one in a while.

“Ahem!” Finral forcibly cleared his throat then projected his voice. “Sir Troll! I know I just arrived but it’s clear to me that you’re bothering that lady. She has no interest in you so I suggest you be on your way.”

The troll didn’t look at Finral and instead just grunted and continued to reach up.

Finral groaned but went on, “If you seek the attention of a fair lady, you must do better than this. Attempt a more gentlemanly approach. Give your name and offer a small gift in greeting, like flowers or even a particularly lovely stone.”

Granted, Finral had no clue if those strategies worked. He had always wanted to attend balls and other events in search of his True Love™. But he was so busy helping his mother establish friendly relations with other lands that he never had the time for romantic socialization.

“Love isn’t something you can force. It’s something you build through mutual efforts.”

“Would you be quiet?!” the troll snapped at Finral, finally giving the prince attention.

“Ah… Well…” Finral uttered.

“Or how about you leave?!”

The lady in the trees jumped down and swung her branch down on the spot between the troll’s eyes, the weak spot of those creatures. With a pained roar, the troll held its face and ran off into the woods. Finral wished he’d been able to do more. But he couldn’t not feel glad that the monster was driven away and that the lady in the trees was safe.

Speaking of…

Finral watched the woman land on a lower branch of a tree and lean against the trunk, probably letting out a sigh of relief. He got a better look at her. Brown hair that shined like varnished wood, a fair complexion, and arms that showed more muscle than Finral had ever seen on a woman.

“Excuse me, miss! You’re alright, yes?” Finral called up to the woman.

She turned her face to Finral and his breath was taken away by the beautiful depth of her brown eyes.

“Me?” She gestured to herself. “Yes, I’m oka—”

All of a sudden, her foot slipped and she was falling to the ground. Finral spurred his horse forward. And not a moment too soon as Finral caught the woman in his arms.

For a moment, the two of them stared into each other’s eyes.

“Hello…” the lady whispered, her face now colored a rosy hue. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Prince Finral,” he managed to say despite the tenseness of his throat and the heat in his face. “And you are?”

“Josele.”

“A name that’s as lovely as you are brave.” Finral’s heart thumped in his chest. He’d never had such a reaction to a woman. Did that mean that Josele was… his True Love™? “Would you… marry me?”

“Y-yes! Yes of course!” Josele blurted out, giggles bubbling in her voice.

“Then it’s settled, we’ll be married in the morning!” Finral exclaimed with glee.

As Finral and Josele rode into the sunset, singing refrains that came to them as naturally as breathing, the little bird that had been around earlier watched them leave. The bird was Yuno, Josele’s faithful companion.

“But he doesn’t even look like the True Love™ from your dreams, Josele!” Yuno yelled while flying after them.

.....

In New York City, Nacht and his daughter Sterling are on their way home in a taxi.

Nacht brings up to Sterling that he’s going to propose to his girlfriend, Mallory Demiscura.

Sterling: Her name sounds like an evil stepmother's name. Nacht: That’s not nice to say, Sterling. Mallory is a fine woman. And what’s more, she looks like she could actually be your mother. Sterling: Is that why you’re thinking of marrying her? Nacht: … Maybe.

Sterling frowns at the lame reasoning. It’s so unromantic. She wants her dad to marry someone he loves, not someone to be her mom.

As Sterling pouts and stares out the window, she spots a lady in an elaborate wedding dress climbing up a telephone pole.

Sterling hurries out of the car to investigate and Nacht of course follows.

Sterling: Aren’t you afraid of falling from there, miss? Josele: Not to worry! I’m used to being in high places! Nacht: So she’s a drug addict… Sterling: Or she climbs stuff often. Jeez dad, no need to be judgy. Nacht: Lady, I think you should get down from there! It’s not safe! Josele: Nah, I’ll be fi— (slips and falls) WAH!

Nacht instinctively goes to catch Josele because of course. Nacht is hurt more by the collision than Josele is. Sterling’s jaw drops at how durable and muscular Josele is.

Sterling: How did you get like that, miss? Josele: Get like what? So disheveled and dirty? Heh, well I’ve been wandering around, completely lost, all day. But I’ll be fine, I just need— (wobbles and collapses on top of Nacht again) To rest. Nacht: Uh, well, uh… We can take you in for the night? Sterling: (pumps her fists in victory) We’re bringing a princess home!

.....

Nacht pinched the bridge of his nose after pushing all of the rats, pigeons, and roaches out of the apartment. First a lady climbing in a wedding dress and now a vermin-led housecleaning job. Maybe he was hallucinating. He was pulled from his thoughts by Sterling tugging on his shirt.

“Do we have to wash the dishes again? Because the rats touched them?”

“Use the disposable ones for now. Please,” Nacht groaned.

“Okay.”

After Sterling left his side, Nacht noticed a sing-song voice coming from the bathroom. It had to be Josele. Nacht approached slowly, taking in the sound of Josele’s voice. Admittedly, she had a lovely voice. There was then a pang in Nacht’s heart as he remembered how Morgen used to sing.

Morgen probably would’ve loved a weirdo like her, Nacht thought with a scoff. He couldn’t help but smile though. Nacht stopped in front of the door but before he even knocked, Josele opened the door.

“Good morning,” Josele said with a grin. Such a blithe and innocent look. Like she hadn’t nearly fallen to her death—or at least a broken bone—last night. “You’re looking well, Nacht.”

“Uh…” Nacht glanced down before hurriedly locking eyes with Josele. Holy hell, she is ripped! “Morning. So uh… you…”

“The shower is absolutely lovely,” remarked Josele, glancing back into the room. “I’m used to bathing in rivers but that was a whole new experience!”

“In rivers?” Nacht repeated. Did she grow up in the wilderness or something? “Right. So look, the thing is—”

“Nacht? Who’s that?”

Nacht’s head whipped in the direction of another woman’s voice. Mallory stood a few feet away, jaw dropped and eyes wide in a look of confusion and hurt.

Mallory was there. Seeing Nacht talk with Josele. While Josele was only in a towel.

“Oh hello there! I’m Josele!” She strode up to Mallory without a second thought and began to shake the redhead’s hand. “It’s so nice to meet you! What’s your name?”

“Mallory…”

“Oh that’s a gorgeous name!”

“Thanks?” Mallory pulled back a bit. Her face twisted, looking more horrified by the millisecond. “Uh, what are you doing here?”

“I was on my way to the castle to be married—”

Nacht hurried to the women and stepped between them.

“Mallory, please listen,” Nacht started while holding Mallory’s shoulders and moving her away from Josele. “She and I, we’re not— You have to understand.”

“Understand what, Nacht? That you’ve finally decided that I’m not good enough for you?” Mallory choked out. Tears had already formed in her eyes. “I thought we were just taking it slow because of Sterling and…” Mallory quickly rubbed her eyes. “And we have our careers to worry about too! But I guess the real reason was—!”

“That’s not it at all!”

Mallory pulled away from Nacht and stormed towards the exit. “I’ll go! If she makes you happy, I won’t get in your way!”

“Are you leaving already?” Josele asked, stepping in the way of Mallory’s exit. “But you just arrived.”

The question made Mallory pause. “You don’t want me to leave?”

Josele and Mallory stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. Both seemed confused. And Nacht had to step in.

“Ladies, please, I can explain everything,” Nacht said as he got between them.

“Okay then…” Mallory nodded for a moment then looked Nacht dead in the eyes. “Explain.”

.....

Nacht explains to Mallory the situation with Josele. And she listens.

Mallory is baffled to say the least but considering Josele’s behavior, it seems to be the most believable explanation.

Nacht asks Mallory if Josele could stay with her only for Mallory to say her apartment is getting renovated and she’s already sharing a space with her three sisters.

But Mallory promises to help look for leads about how to get Josele home.

The situation still puts a strain on the relationship since Nacht will be focusing his attention on Josele until she returns to Andalasia.

Mallory is jealous of Josele’s hopeless romanticism and optimism. She was once a romantic herself but lost her spark. She ended up with Nacht because of proximity and convenience.

Nacht takes Josele to his workplace. He hands Josele over to his coworker, Secre, hoping she can help locate Josele’s home.

Meanwhile, Nacht tries to help move along the divorce proceedings for Acylla and Zora. In Nacht’s opinion, they had to split sooner rather than later.

.....

Josele approached Acylla with a wide-eyed, almost awestruck smile.

“Your eyes…” she whispered sweetly. “They’re gorgeous with that little sparkle in them. And your presence is so calm and graceful.”

“I, well…” Acylla flushed at the forward compliments being given to her. “Thank you, miss.”

“The person who holds your heart is a very lucky individual,” Josele commented as she took Acylla’s hands.

And those words made Acylla’s shy grin drop into a deep frown instantly. “He may have held it before but he dropped it like a hot potato.” The words made Josele reel back. Acylla only continued, “And believe me, I doubt he feels lucky to know me at this moment.”

“I don’t understand…” Josele whispered as she shook her head. She glanced at Zora who scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you two in love?”

“Read the room, lady,” snapped Zora. “We’re sick of each other.”

Nacht buried his face in his hands and groaned. First his personal life. And now his professional life was being torn asunder by a woman who made a dress out of his curtains before skipping away, without shame or guilt.

When he raised his head, Nacht had every intention of snapping at Josele to keep her nose out of Zora and Acylla’s business. But then he saw them, the tears in her eyes. Soft and real, truly broken up by something most people would brush off as an unfortunate but unextraordinary event. So Nacht ended up pulling Josele aside and quietly letting her know that she didn’t have to worry since the divorce was what the former couple wanted.

“But they’re losing the love of their lives, Nacht,” Josele whimpered as her tears fell. “I can’t imagine loving someone one day and then… not loving them the next…”

“That’s just how the world works,” Nacht said. He almost included an “I’m sorry.” But what did he have to be sorry for?

When Nacht glanced past Josele’s shoulder, he saw Zora staring at Acylla. Not with annoyance as he had been earlier. But rather, he looked curious, as though examining Acylla for the first time. As for Acylla, she was red-faced and avoiding Zora’s eyes.

The air between the two had changed. Nacht didn’t know how but it had…

.....

Mallory is still on her own commute to work. On the way, she spies a man in an elaborate medieval style tunic standing in front of a bus.

Finral: Be still you beast of steel! Those poor civilians in your belly don’t deserve to be eaten! Bus Driver: (honks aggressively) GET OUTTA THE STREET! Mallory: Oh no. That man’s gonna get himself run over. (runs over and grabs Finral out of the street) Finral: Hey hey! Wait wait wait! I was helping those people! Mallory: You were causing a traffic jam! (brushes Finral down because he looks like a mess) You good, man? Finral: I am a good man, yes. Or I’d like to think so. Mallory: Um… Yeah I don’t think you’re doing so hot, sir. (thinking) He does look hot though…

Mallory and Finral get to talking once they get some distance between themselves and the street.

Finral goes on and on about finding his “precious doe” and “other half.” But he doesn’t mention Josele by name.

Still, Mallory gets a weird feeling that Finral’s fairy tale dreamy attitude is familiar…

Alecdora runs up from out of nowhere and grabs Finral away, saying he knows where to find Finral’s love.

“Lead the way, Alecdora!” Finral exclaims as he and Alecdora run off.

“Alec-darrel? What kind of name is that?!” Mallory asks. She tries to chase them for a moment but she’s not fit to keep up.

And then, a little songbird (Yuno), lands on her shoulder and seems to glare at Alecdora.

“What’s your story, little guy?” Mallory asks sarcastically. “I’m actually thinking of chasing after Prince Charming there.”

Yuno chirps aggressively at Mallory and directs her to follow Finral. So she does!

At some point, Alecdora makes his first attempt to kill Josele with a poison apple provided by Liliane. Only to fail.

.....

“That’s how you know~!”

Josele’s melodious voice rang through the air.

“That’s how you know~!”

Came the harmonious echo of what felt like half of New York City, somehow knowing the song that Josele had begun.

Nacht had thought he was dreaming. Honestly, he’d thought that since he first met Josele. Yet sitting in an open carriage as everyone from street musicians to newlyweds performed in Central Park felt strangely real. Every smile on the people’s faces was wide and genuine. The clouds from the morning had parted and the afternoon sun made the colors around Nacht brighter.

And the brightest person there was Josele.

The song and dance had concluded. But people were lingering, mingling amongst themselves or approaching Josele as she stood within the carriage with Nacht.

Nacht blinked a few more times. But he couldn’t take his eyes off of Josele as she spoke with the people who complimented her song or thanked her for the experience. And she replied with a “no, thank you for joining” and such.

How did she manage to be so kind and genuine? Okay, Nacht knew why: fairy tale princess turned real. The question still lingered in his mind. He wondered if the kind of magic Josele exuded was something everyone had a little of, and that’s what made everything happen.

.....

With Mallory, she’s caught up with Finral who is separated from Alecdora thankfully. As they’re walking, she tries to get across that she knows where Finral’s “other half” is.

As she tries to explain, she gets a text from one of her sisters.

[Is he cheating?] The question is accompanied by a picture of Nacht and Josele, sitting in a carriage and surrounded by… a lot. [Check social media. They’re there.]

Mallory looks up what’s trending and finds pictures and videos of some chaotic flash mob. With Josele and Nacht seeming to lead it.

The doubt in Mallory’s heart starts to come back. She and Nacht had never done anything like dance or sing together, especially not in public. And yet with Josele…

.....

“Is something the matter, Miss Mallory?” Finral asked gently, breaking Mallory out of her gloom.

“Oh! Uh…” Mallory slid her phone into her purse, making her chest tight with guilt at hiding Josele’s location from Finral. But perhaps their reunion could wait an hour or two? “I’m… fine?” She shook her head. “It’s just that the man I love…” The words felt so heavy in her mouth that she trailed off and had to take a breath. “He’s not all that good at being loving.”

Finral blinked then stared wide-eyed at Mallory. “But how can that be? A fine woman such as yourself is surely easy to love. Why, I can already name several things that make you splendid!”

“L-like what?”

“Well for one, your hair! It’s the loveliest shade of red I’ve ever laid my eyes on!” Finral exclaimed with a wide grin. “I bet if you were to give a twirl, it’d fan out so beautifully that the crowd would stop and stare.”

“I don’t think I could do something like that!” Mallory squeaked, feeling herself warm up as people were already eyeing her and Finral because of his loud voice. “But, um, thanks for the compliment.”

“And I have more to give, still!” Finral quickly followed up. “Your smile. It shines as bright as the sun. Surely, that smile alone has made the day of your sweetheart.”

Mallory shrugged, not wanting to admit that she’d never seen Nacht smile. Not truly. Only ever the empty, cordial smile he used at work.

“There’s also your heart, so full of kindness. We only passed by each other this morning and yet you’ve returned to aid me.” Finral went on waxing poetic. It was incredible how genuine he sounded. Not a hint of irony to him. “Your lover, whoever he may be, should be ashamed for not treasuring you the way you should be!”

Mallory pursed her lips and nodded a little. She did want for a love that was… more. But she was never brave enough to ask that of Nacht.

Raising her head, Mallory locked eyes with Finral. His warm grin and the way his eyes looked at her with gentleness. The deepest parts of her heart wanted that.

Mallory wanted the bold and free love that Finral was offering.

It’s just that he wasn’t offering it to her…

.....

Finral breaks out into song. Let’s call it “With All Your Heart.”

I’m not writing the whole thing out (not a lyricist here), but the gist of the song is Finral explaining his belief that love should be expressed boldly and being proud of one’s love will make them happier. It’s why he’s so forward.

Finral’s song number gets the crowd going as much as “That’s How You Know” did. Mallory is in absolute awe of the literal magic in front of her eyes and excitedly runs alongside Finral as he encourages other couples to loudly proclaim their love for each other.

Yuno is following along the whole time and is picking up on the vibes with this pair.

When the song ends, a pair of doves fly up to Mallory. They give her a wreath of flowers and tickets to a ball happening later that week, addressed from Nacht.

And now she’s thinking of Nacht again and her heart hurts realizing that she’s already smitten with another man, a taken man.

Finral hears of the ball and excitedly thinks of taking Josele there before returning home.

Mallory agrees to help him get tickets. She wasn’t just going to give up the tickets for her and Nacht, but she’d at least help Josele and Finral’s love.

Alecdora finds Mallory and Finral and takes away the prince saying he has a lead on where Josele is. Mallory tries to argue that she knows but Alecdora ignores her.

Yuno comforts Mallory for a moment then chirps, as if to reassure her that he’ll get Finral back.

.....

Nacht blinked a few times, not quite believing what he was hearing.

“Can you say that again?”

“We don’t see any reason to divorce,” Zora repeated with a smile. He looked at Acylla who grinned back. “That lady from yesterday, she was so right. Acylla’s eyes have a beautiful sparkle to them. It was the first thing I noticed. I really am lucky to have fallen for her.”

“But just the other day you two were having problems,” Nacht pointed out, to which the couple snickered.

“Everyone has problems, Mr. Faust.” Acylla’s hold on Zora’s hand tightened. “But should we really allow the bad things in life to outweigh the good ones?”

Nacht raised a brow. “You’re really going to try again after a chance encounter with—”

“Have you considered that it wasn’t merely chance?” Acylla posed. “Maybe we were meant to meet that lady and she would remind us of what really mattered.”

“Like how sweet you are when I’m not bothering you,” Zora joked. The couple laughed again before sharing a brief kiss. “Yeah, I could get used to this all over again.”

Nacht fell silent. His mouth snapped shut as he had nothing to say.

There it was again. That strange magic that Josele’s presence exuded. At work again in Nacht’s life.

Nacht guided Acylla and Zora out of the office while reassuring them that Josele would hear of their gratitude towards her. There was no doubt in his mind that Josele would be overjoyed to know that the couple’s marriage had been saved.

“What a peculiar woman,” Nacht muttered, feeling a smile come to his face just thinking of everything Josele had done in only two days. “What else could possibly happen now?”

.....

The timeline of events does get extended. There’s an extra two or three days of shenanigans.

Mallory keeps on putting off telling Nacht that she’s met Finral because 1) Alecdora keeps dragging Finral off and Mallory would rather not say “I’ve seen him but I’m currently not with him” due to the inconvenience, and 2) she just wants more time with Finral herself.

So Nacht and Josele have their misadventures while Finral and Mallory have theirs.

Josele and Nacht’s misadventures include: 1) taking Sterling to an archery range since the kid is interested and when Josele tries her hand at the bow, she cuts her fingers on the fletching, 2) Josele helping some kids find their lost pets with her little animal summoning ability, and 3) Josele decorating a statue with flower wreaths and teaching Nacht and Sterling how to weave flowers together during that time.

Mallory and Finral’s misadventures include 1) getting caught up in a dance off on the streets which Finral absolutely flops since its break dancing and not ballroom, 2) coming across a runaway teen and talking things out with them (Mallory gives more grounded advice like finding a shelter while Finral’s advice is optimistic but helpful in keeping the teen’s spirits up), and 3) meeting Mallory’s sister Athena and her boyfriend, during which Finral convinces the boyfriend to go ahead with proposing.

Meanwhile, Yuno is fighting for his life against Alecdora, trying to separate him from Finral so Finral can meet up with Mallory again. Alecdora has tried clipping his wings, selling him to a pet store, and even threw him into a bird of prey exhibit at the zoo. It’s crazy.

Nacht eventually takes Josele and Sterling out for dinner, during which Nacht reveals the story behind Sterling’s lack of mother.

Sterling is Nacht’s adopted kid, but she wasn’t meant to be. She was supposed to be adopted by Morgen, Nacht’s brother.

Years ago, Morgen’s apartment building caught fire. Something about a stove being left on.

Instead of escaping immediately, Morgen went to every room he could to help others get to safety.

He eventually found a woman with one of her legs pinned under debris and a baby in her arms. The woman insisted that Morgen take her baby and leave her to die. If her baby lived, that’s what mattered.

Morgen carried the baby girl out, using his own body to protect her from the smoke and flames.

Morgen and the baby escaped, but he sustained some bad injuries.

While in the hospital, Morgen said he wanted to adopt the baby girl, named Sterling, once he was recovered. However, he wasn’t getting better, only worse.

With his dying breath, Morgen asked Nacht to take care of Sterling. “I know you have no attachment to her, brother. But please, watch over her. Don’t let the hope that lives in that child die.”

And so Sterling became Nacht’s child.

Alecdora makes a second attempt with a poison apple and Yuno saves Josele from this one.

Alecdora and Yuno face off. It ends with Alecdora “killing” Yuno.

After they return to the Faust apartment and Josele comforts Sterling, Nacht talks to Josele about staying in New York.

.....

“It’s been nearly a week since you’ve arrived, Josele. And if he hasn’t come by now, I just don’t think your so-called prince is coming at all,” Nacht whispered, trying to be gentle with the woman’s feelings.

“But he is,” Josele insisted once more. “I believe in him.”

“And maybe that belief is misplaced. You can’t hope for the impossible.”

At Nacht’s words, Josele’s expression twisted into a frown. A look which Nacht hadn’t seen since Josele had cried over Acylla and Zora’s situation days earlier. But the current frown she wore was markedly different.

“What’s with you, Nacht? Why can’t you have a little hope?” Josele asked as she leaned forward, closer to Nacht, more aggressive than she’d ever been before. “Why is it always ‘let’s stop now’ or ‘it won’t work’ or ‘it’s a waste of time’? Why are you always so gloomy?”

“I’m not gloomy, I’m realistic.” Nacht felt his chest grow tight as Josele’s eyes narrowed and she let out a sharp exhale. “You can’t always get your hopes up. Otherwise, you’ll get disappointed a lot.”

“So I should be like you and never get my hopes up?” Josele shot to her feet as she yelled.

“That’s not what I said!” Nacht rose to his feet too. “I’m just saying that hoping for the impossible will never work out!”

All Nacht has wanted to do was to spare Josele from the heartbreak of someone giving up on her. He didn’t intend to get Josele fired up, to cause her to come to the defense of her own hopes and desires.

“Well at least I have hope! Unlike you!” Josele jabbed Nacht in the shoulder, as if to emphasize. “You’re so afraid to try new things! You’re afraid to open your heart! Sometimes you’re so kind and sometimes you’re like this!” So caught up in her emotions, Josele started to pace back and forth. “And it just—! I don’t know—! All of it makes me so—! You make me so—!”

“I make you what?” Nacht pressed, leaning in close without really thinking.

“You make me so angry!” Josele snapped. “I’m angry with you, Nacht Faust!” The fierce scowl on Josele’s face was blinked away, and then she grinned. “I’m angry! Oh my gosh, I’m angry!” Her laugh, like a chime, echoed for a moment. And then, “Wait, I’m angry.”

Josele frowned again and then punched Nacht square in the stomach. The impact sent Nacht to the floor—it still shocked him how surprisingly muscular she was. Nacht groaned and held his aching torso.

“I’m sorry! Oh I’m so sorry!” Josele yelped while kneeling on the floor beside Nacht. “I didn’t think—!”

“You’re good, Josele. It’s fi—” Nacht paused when he felt Josele pick up his head and then rest it on her lap. “Josele?”

“I’m still angry, you know,” she whispered. Her fingers stroked through Nacht’s hair. “Just because not everything is as good as I want it to be, doesn’t mean I should resign myself to the bad, right?”

Nacht held his tongue for a moment. As refreshing as it had been to see Josele upset, he wasn’t going to risk a second bruise to the stomach.

“I still don’t know if your prince is coming. But… I guess we can give it a few more days.”

“Thank you, Nacht.”

It was then that Nacht dared to look up at Josele. The look on her face was… She wasn’t beaming the way she normally did. But she wasn’t scowling either. She looked… impassive. Yet peaceful. As if she was lost in thought. Something about Josele in that moment was… beautiful.

“Josele?” Nacht reached up and touched her cheek with the back of his hand.

“Hm?” Her eyes drifted down to meet Nacht’s gaze.

“We should get to sleep now. So we’re not exhausted in the morning.”

“Y-yeah…”

The silence that followed was heavy. Not even a “goodnight” was shared, only quick and quiet nods of acknowledgement.

When Josele sat back down on the couch, she noticed how fast her heart was racing. And she knew that the thought of Nacht, of standing so close to him, was the reason. But that couldn’t be right. Her True Love™ was Finral. Right?

When Nacht sat on his bed, he buried his face in his hands, feeling how warm he’d become. Seeing Josele and the new sides of her brought on by conflict, however small, had him wanting more. But she was not his to love.

Rest wouldn’t come easy to either of them that night.

.....

The morning before the ball, Mallory finally is able to get Finral away from Alecdora for good (taking Finral to her sisters’ place ensured that the man wouldn’t come knocking).

And Mallory is finally able to explain to Finral that she knows where Josele is.

Nacht receives a call from Mallory and she explains everything to him.

Mallory brings Finral over to Nacht’s apartment for the reunion.

Finral tries to prompt Josele into song but it’s Mallory who picks up on it and tries to feed Josele the words.

Still, everyone (except Sterling) agrees that Finral and Josele should return to Andalasia together. But not before a date in New York and some time at the ball that evening.

While Josele and Finral head out for their date, Nacht and Mallory sit down and chat.

Mallory: Sorry I couldn’t bring Finral by sooner. Nacht: Mallory, it’s fine. You were probably busy with work so it makes sense that— Mallory: No no, I wasn’t putting it off. I literally couldn’t bring him because some other guy kept dragging him off! He was super weird and really rude too. Even his name is weird: Alec-darrel. Nacht: That can’t be his real name. Mallory: That’s what it sounded like to me. Also, this bird kept on finding its way to me and it acted a lot smarter than the birds I usually meet. I haven’t seen him in a couple days though. Nacht: That must be the Yuno bird Josele told me about. Mallory: The bird’s name is Yuno? Not something like “Cheep” or “Chirpy”?

When Josele comes back from the date, she’s very worried about going to the ball. Mallory and Sterling immediately volunteer to help.

.....

The time came for the ladies to pick out dresses to wear to the ball.

“If you really want to get… to get Nacht’s attention, try wearing complementary colors,” Josele remarked while eyeing the rows of dresses.

Her chest ached as she thought about how lucky Mallory was to have Nacht’s attention on her. To be the one to make him stop and stare in awe. But why? Josele had Finral so why did she want Nacht to see her, to admire her?

“S-since your hair is such a lovely shade of red, you would look good in green.”

“Yeah! Daddy says green makes my hair look extra pretty too!” Sterling piped up. “I’ll go find something for Mallory! Just you wait and see!”

“Hmm.” Mallory pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side. “But isn’t Finral’s tunic green? It’d look weird if he and I… matched.”

The suggestion of which actually made Mallory’s heart flutter. She knew how silly her thoughts were but she couldn’t help it. The days spent beside Finral repeated in her mind and she wanted to remain beside him, even knowing they were both promising themselves to others.

Josele gave a weak laugh and shook her head before saying, “Oh no, it’s fine if you two matched.” She shrugged. “You two already do a fine job of matching energies so matching appearances isn’t out of the question.” She blinked and caught herself. “N-not that you and Nacht don’t also get along well! You’re both intelligent and understanding of me and Finral’s… peculiarities. A-and you, uh…”

“Sele, it’s okay.” Mallory took Josele’s hands in her own then patted the back of them. “I know Nacht and I aren’t two peas in a pod, but we’ve managed.” With a reassuring smile, she stepped back. “Now, let’s think about what you’ll wear. You ought to look like a princess for… for Finral, huh?”

A sickening jealousy twisted Mallory’s stomach. There had to be something wrong with her for wanting to be with Finral despite Josele being his True Love™. So she pushed down the wish for Finral to serenade her as his love.

“Let’s think about what you’ll wear now.” Mallory approached the dress rack. “Black goes with everything. And I know you’re more for blue but I personally think purple works better with black.”

“Yes, they make quite a pair…” Josele muttered, immediately imagining Nacht in the black suit and purple dress shirt she’d seen him wear the night they met. It was a dark and elegant look. Nacht looked…

“Oh right! Nacht!” Mallory yelped. “Maybe you shouldn’t wear black or purple because then you’d kinda be wearing Nacht’s colors! Not that it’d be bad if you did. It’d actually be good. More than good! Great even!” Mallory paced the boutique floor and gesticulated wildly as she spoke. It was quite cute, how animated and lively she was.

Smiling as she watched, Josele recalled when she first met Mallory. The red-haired woman seemed like she had been trying to restrain her feelings that fateful morning. But now, her fluster was on full display. It was cute. And she seemed more like herself.

“Because you two honestly look great together in my opinion. NOT THAT YOU’RE TOGETHER! WE CLEARED UP THAT CONFUSION ALREADY!” Mallory laughed in a way that sounded painfully forced. She then turned to Josele. “What I’m trying to say is that you’ve done each other good! I mean, you’ve brought Nacht out of his shell and he’s really gotten you adapted to New York!”

Josele blinked. “Finral hasn’t gotten used to New York?”

“Not really?” Mallory replied while giving a shrug. “He’s not talking to buses anymore but… It’s just not the place for him.”

“Well I quite like it,” Josele admitted. “It’s not as pretty as the forest I grew up in, but there’s so many people and so much to do. Each new day is an adventure.”

“There sure is a lot. Though I personally would want adventures like fighting a troll,” Mallory joked and earned a giggle from Josele as well.

The laughter between Josele and Mallory died down however. Though neither said it out loud and neither recognized how the other felt, there was a sad tension shared between them. The lives that they initially saw for themselves were no longer what they wanted.

“Mallory!” Sterling piped up, finally returning from her search. “I found the perfect dress for you!” She looked between the women. “Did I come back at a bad time?”

“No no no, Sterling!” Josele quickly knelt down by the girl. “Thank you for coming back.”

“You said you had a dress for me?” Mallory asked, hoping to dissipate the earlier atmosphere.

Sterling glanced between them again. She may have only been six, but even she knew that something was wrong.

.....

The ball scene! AAAAAHHHHH!

Finral would try to profess his love for Josele but he’d fumble it, so unlike his usual eloquent self. He’s got Mal on the mind.

Josele does her best to compliment Mallory and Nacht as a couple but Mallory points out that she looks sickly when trying to speak.

Mallory and Nacht can barely look each other in the eyes because they know they love Finral and Josele. But they stubbornly think they should stick with how things are.

Finral dances with Mallory. Nacht dances with Josele. Both men hold the women as close as they can in the dance because no one wants to let goooooo!

Still, Finral guides Josele away so they can return to Anadalasia. And when he goes to get Josele’s cloak, Liliane (disguised as a hag) comes and offers Josele the poison apple.

Finral only tries True Love’s Kiss with Josele once. After one try, he knows it’s not gonna work.

When Nacht tries to deny that his kiss might save her, Mallory snaps at him, “Don’t you dare give up. Josele needs you!”

Josele’s fight against Liliane is much bloodier, actually drawing blood from the evil queen.

But it’s Yuno pecking Liliane directly in the eyes which makes her fall to her doom.

Once the dust settles, the four adults finally speak honestly.

Mallory and Nacht officially break up and wish each other the best with their new loves.

Finral and Josele bid each other goodbye and hope for one another’s happily ever afters.

Mallory takes to the fairy tale world well, evening singing her own song on her first day.

After a year of dating, Mallory and Finral have their full fairy tale wedding.

Josele gets herself established in the real world, working some odd jobs before being able to establish her own boutique.

While Nacht does propose early on, they still take a couple of years to date and plan.

.....

“And they all lived happily ever after. The End,” Sterling stated with finality. “So? What do you think?”

Sterling’s younger siblings—Dawn, Dusk, Sirius, Merel, and Vivian—stared in awe.

“It explains why Mommy’s so good with animals,” commented Dusk.

“Mommy was gonna be a princess?!” Dawn gasped.

“But she married a lame lawyer instead…” Merel grumbled.

“Daddy’s job isn’t lame!” Sirius retorted.

“Daddy’s kinda lame for being kidnapped by a dragon though,” Vivian muttered.

“Kids, it’s time for bed!” Josele said before poking her head into the living room.

Nacht leaned his head into the door frame too. “And what was that about me being lame?”

“Sorry Daddy,” Vivian whispered.

Together, Nacht and Josele tucked in the kids before going to their own bed.

“Are we living happily ever after, Josele?” Nacht whispered as he stroked her hair.

“I’d like to think so…” she whispered back, smiling.

#disneycindy #black clover #black clover au #nacht faust #finral roulacase #black clover oc #josele canty #mallory demiscura #soda's ocs #bel's oc #nacsele #finmal #WAAAAAHHHHH THE FINMAL AND NACSELE!#zoracy #it's in the background but it's there!

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