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garrothromeave · 4 years ago

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mcd garroth + laurance headcanons for the sake of me posting something while working on my long-ass post, also happy birthday blaze ily,

garroth - total momma’s boy. seems obvious, but it’s true -- back in o’khasis, he was practically glued to the side of zianna. whenever she had to leave for a few days when he was younger, he’d cry if he couldn’t go with her. when he left for the guard academy, he wrote to zianna on a daily basis. to put it simply, he had separation anxiety. the hardest thing about faking his death was not being able to see or talk to his mother. - incredible piano player. his father made him take lessons when he was younger for quite a few years, but he was naturally very good at it. he never mentions this skill to anyone. while they were at malachi’s castle and were looking for materials before they left, garroth stumbled upon an old piano and played something. he got really into it, and laurance ended up stumbling on him playing. he made laurance swear to never tell anyone about it. - when garroth was around eight or nine, his stutter was so bad that garte didn’t let him speak in public or around any people other than the family out of shame. vylad and zianna used to help garroth with his stutter.

- garroth is very sensitive to the saying “oh my irene.” growing up in the ro’meave house, it was taboo to use irene’s name in vein. or anywhere in o’khasis, really. nowadays he’s still very caustious whenever he says it, because he thinks that someone is going to yell at him. - horrified of getting hurt. back during the days of training in the guard academy, while he was very good with technique and fighting itself, he had a very bad flinching problem. overall, for the longest time, wounds and pain made garroth very uncomfortable. because of this fear of getting hurt, he has a bit of a stubble because of the one time he hurt himself while shaving. - 6′4, because 6′11 is unbelievably tall and i honestly don’t even think that it’s canon? s’yeah. he seems 6′4 to me.

- garroth often sees new things and (internally) has this very child-like wonder response. he was sheltered for the entirety of his childhood and teenagehood. and after the guard academy, he stayed put in the same village for 5 years -- so he hasn’t experienced very much. he often wants to ask dozens of questions, but because of his shyness, he tends to just observe anything new very closely. which leads me to my next headcanon,

- because of o’khasis’ intolerance to many things, he was not very commonly exposed to magick’s users. the first magicks user that he directly met would be zoey, and he was very nervous when talking to her the first time he met her. when garroth gets to know her more, she catches on that he’s curious about a lot of things, and offers to tell him about things. he declines, and he regrets that decision to this day.

- as stated before, o’khasis isn’t very tolerable of things, which caused garroth to develop incredibly bad internalized homophobia. when aphmau comes along, he gets a very strong desire to protect her (little do we know, this strong desire comes from his connection with esmund) and confuses it for/tries to convince himself that it’s romantic love. it is in fact love, just platonic. so basically, this man’s gay as hell.

- garroth has more freckles than any other ro’meave family member. he’s mildly insecure about his freckles, seeing them as a ‘childish’ trait, which is why he wasn’t very bothered with the idea of hiding his face with his helmet.

- his hair is super curly. it used to be more tame, but as he got older, it got more curly. it’s usually a mess because he doesn’t know how to take care of it, but it somehow looks hot as hell. (no homo ofc.)

- garroth is allergic to blueberries.

- raven was garroth’s first genuine connection since he left o’khasis. zenix was his second. he loves raven a lot, and hates that he can’t see him as often as he’d like to.

- garroth is a total cat person. don’t get me wrong, he loves dogs, but if he were to choose between having one or the other, he’d choose to have a cat. he had a pet cat when he was little that he still thinks about a lot. (probably named sprinkles, just for the hell of it.)

- because of how he grew up, garroth’s actually a very picky eater. while he’d never admit it to himself or anyone else, he misses the more “rich-people” food he was spoiled with.

- garroth isn’t actually that stupid, when he first arrived at pheonix drop, he had a name in mind that he wanted to go by (to better hide his identity). however, when his name was asked by someone, he panicked and “garroth” accidently slipped. he beat himself up for the longest time after that. the only reason he finally let go is because no one had ever pointed out how/seemed suspicious he had the same name as the deceased first-born son of o’khasis.

laurance - his hair grows decently quick, so even after cadenza cut it for him, it only took about 4 months for it to grow back just past his shoulders. he prefers it having some length to it anyways, and usually ties is back into a ponytail. after the irene dimension, he would let nekoette braid his hair. - has a very lanky body type. naturally has long limbs, and would often get called a ‘stick’ when he was younger. he’s about 5′11. but don’t confuse his thinner stature for weakness, he matches garroth’s strength easily.

- bi icon. fuck that “you were my first kiss” bullshit he gives aphmau, the list exists and while it’s stupid and weird, according to it, garroth was his first kiss. which is fuckin funny as hell if you think about it.

- laurance is very good with animals. more so rodents and smaller creatures, like squirrels, birds, rabbits, etc. cadenza was convinced that laurance could talk to animals for the longest time. he even had this little mouse that would pop in his house. however, on the contrary, larger animals -- not so much. he’s shit with horses and cows, especially.

- incredible singer. has serenaded aphmau on multiple occasions, and has even gotten her to sing along with him from time to time. he sang for malachi to help him fall asleep every night since the day they met him. this caused him to start singing for levin at night as well. when laurance saw malachi again after the 15 year jump, within the first few days of his return, malachi asked for laurance to sing for him again just like he used to. which brings me to my next headacanon,

- laurance saw malachi as his own child, and treated him as such. they were very close, and malachi was the most heartbroken over laurance’s disappearance since he saw him very much as a father. it wasn’t that laurance favored malachi over levin that created this bond, it was the fact that laurance first-hand saw a child in need of a home and someone to love him, and it reminded him of when he was small.

- he’s a sucker for bets. gambles, wages, anything like that. while he’s not directly a gambler, if someone offers he’s sure to accept. he’s a risk-taker, and ends up getting really into it. this also branches into his competitive behavior. he’ll be really upset and possibly a bit petty if he loses. why else do you think he still hadn’t given castor the 5 dollars he owes him?

- slingshot master. you give this motherfucker a slingshot he can kill someone with his impeccable aim. he’s also very good with a bow and arrow or any sort of projectile, but he’s the best with a slingshot. when he was younger, he hand-made slingshots from materials that he’d find around the forest.

- speaking of the forest, laurance is a very nature-loving soul. when he moved to meteli when he was adopted, he’d often go and explore the forests nearby. he and cadenza would use their imaginations and play all sorts of games. laurance and her especially loved to climb trees, and would jump from branch to branch. this helped laurance become very flexible. this is also how he met sasha, she was sitting in his favorite tree one day and they just hit it off from there.

- after he was rescued from the nether, laurance frequently had nightmares that would lead into sleep paralysis episodes. the first time it happened garroth had been looking over him (since this was around the time when laurance first got back and garroth had allowed aphmau to go do her lord tasks while he watched over him) and when he had the ability to move and speak again, he started freaking out. garroth had to calm him down and assure laurance that he’d talk to zoey about what happened. garroth and zoey are the only ones that know of laurance’s sleep paralysis, mainly because he didn’t want to worry aphmau or anyone else. zoey often gave him ways to cope with it. it didn’t happen every night, but it did occur at least 5-6 times a month. his sleep paralysis stopped the moment he entered the nether for the second time.

- the first time laurance heard he’d made the list for the jury of nine, he felt honoured. when he was oblivious to how corrupt it was, he saw it as a huge opportunity. after learning about it’s true nature, he was still glad that he’d made the list -- because him being on the list prevented another person from risking being on the list and being chosen to be apart of the jury.

- yes, laurance can cook very will in this universe as well. it’s not that he was taught, it’s more that he can look at ingredients and just throw them together to make great combinations. zoey also taught him a few things.

- laurance does not know his real birthday. malachi does not remember his. since cadenza had “given” laurance a birthday, he offered to let malachi share his unofficial birthday with him. malachi accepted.

garroth + laurance

- laurance began referring to garroth as “pretty boy” after seeing his face. he continued to call him that for the first month of their friendship. garroth hated it, and that’s the only reason laurance eventually stopped.

- laurance and garroth are both very good story tellers, but after one incident where garroth was telling levin and malachi a story, he started stumbling a bit over his words and couldn’t articulate correctly, so laurance picked it up and continued it. from there, they took turns with the story and occasionally interrupted one another to add a detail or plot point, and after that, malachi refused to listen to garroth or laurance separately when telling stories, because their collective minds came up with the most fascinating shit.

- garroth isn’t the best at coming up with insults because he’s simply too nice, but laurance loves to make fun of garroth (in good fun, of course). however, there is one thing that garroth could hold over laurance; and that was their height difference. whenever laurance would mess with him, garroth would just bring up height to piss laurance off.

- when laurance regained his sight, him and garroth sparred very often. that’s when garroth realized how much strength laurance actually had, since he’d originally underestimated him. laurance, in all honesty, was equally surprised. their spars were pretty evenly matched.

- while these two are best friends, the amount of arguments they’ve had is insane. most of them were light-hearted and were more so disagreements, but sometimes things escalated and would result in yelling. that’s because laurance always took it a step too far. that, or garroth would try to disregard what they were talking about, which only made laurance more heated. but they’re both incredibly quick to forgive each other. once they had a really bad argument and didn’t talk for an entire hour afterwards, but once they saw each other again it was like they’d never fought.

- since garroth grew up with everything and laurance often had to hunt and shit, garroth wasn’t amazing at it. laurance found out, originally teased garroth, but gave him tips and took him out and taught him how to hunt. garroth’s still shit at it when he does it alone, but when he does it with laurance he’s pretty decent.

- garroth doesn’t drink. laurance does. laurance once tried to convince garroth to drink, but he refused -- which laurance respected, but garroth had to deal with drunk laurance for the rest of the night at the guard station. he learned things that he really wish he hadn’t that night.

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i had more for garroth and laurance’s relationship, but uh, i don’t really have time to write them down, so take these for now! i hope y’all enjoy them as much as i did writing them :]

#minecraft diaries #garroth ro'meave #laurance zvhal #aphmau

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amazonswin · 4 years ago

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Saudade: Chapter 3

Pairing: Duncan/Courtney (Total drama)

Word count: 1.3k

———

18:37 - Courtney, please call me back.

11:26 - I know, just call so we can talk about it

19:43 - I’m not mad. Can we please meet up to talk?

13:21 - Court..

Courtney looked down at the seemingly countless missed calls and messages. How could she even respond? Sorry I didn’t tell you I had your baby, I was a stupid sixteen year old? No. That wouldn’t fix anything. Duncan seemed to have his life together, maybe that should count for something. And Maelie. Maelie deserved a chance to know her dad. But would that do more harm than good? He wasn’t a good person before, and how could she possibly know if he had truly changed. Courtney couldn’t risk it. She needed to protect her daughter, and herself.

She had barely realized it was time to take lunch. The usually busy office was silent as she walked out. The last thing she expected to see behind the door was him.

“What are you doing here?” Courtney looked around, making sure no one would witness their conversation.

“You wouldn’t answer my calls and we have to talk about this.”

“You cannot be here and you definitely cannot make a scene. Imagine what they’ll say about me…”

“I’m not here to make a scene, I just want to talk.”

“Fine, but not here.” Courtney walked off, with Duncan not far behind.

The park was within walking distance, but far enough away that she was sure no one would overhear. Aside from a few parents with their children, it was rather empty anyway. Courtney used to be sure that she knew everything, but she had no idea how to have this conversation.

“So why did you hide it?” Duncan was sick of beating around the bush. He wanted, he needed, answers.

“I was sixteen and pissed off” She sighed, “I was perfect, I made sure my life was perfect and worked very hard to keep it that way. And then came you. You were my complete opposite and I hated you. But I also was in love and I was crazy. Extremely crazy. But, hey, I had you.”

She took a deep breath and looked up before continuing.

��Until I didn’t… you cheated and left. To make it worse it was with someone who I had the audacity to consider a friend. I had no one. Then I lost the stupid show and had nothing. I went home a loser and a failure. I had to face my parents that way, face the world that way. Once settled I noticed something was different, I was… off. With the stress and the depression, I didn’t think much of it. By the time I found out it was too late. Not that I wouldn’t have kept her… I honestly don’t know what I would have done. I’m grateful I didn’t have to make that choice. The right thing was to tell you, I knew that. But I couldn’t, after all you did to me? I wanted you to hurt, to suffer like I did.”

Duncan couldn’t look at her. He knew he hurt her, but he never really considered how much.

“A few months in, I knew I had to tell you. But by then no one knew where you were. I gave up even trying. I was selfish and horrible, and I know that now… I really do wish I could change it. But I can't…”

“I know I hurt you, and god I wish I could change that. But it doesn’t matter. We had a baby and you didn’t tell me. I deserved to know. And I deserve to know her.” Duncan tried to control his temper, but who could blame him for being mad? It was his kid. And he didn’t even get to know.

“Duncan, I’m sorry…”

“I want to meet her. I want to be involved.”

“I can’t let her get hurt.”

“The only one hurting her is you. She deserves a dad, and you kept that away.”

“Duncan…” Courtney felt helpless, she knew he was right. But was she really willing to risk it? No. There had to be conditions, she had to protect Maelie. “Fine. An introduction. But there needs to be terms.”

“Are we really going to negotiate this? I have the right to meet my child.” Duncan had enough, he wasn’t going to let this stay hidden any longer. He couldn’t.

“It’s the only way we both get what we want. You meet her, I keep her safe. You agree or I can’t let it happen.”

“Fine.” He reluctantly agreed. He had to and he knew it. “So what are these terms?”

“You can meet, but only as my friend. No mention of you being her dad, not yet.”

***

Courtney’s house was exactly as Duncan expected. Clean cut neighborhood, white picket fence. His motorcycle turned more than a few heads as he rode in. She opened the door before he even had the chance to knock.

“Quite the place you got here.”

“It’s nothing much… Here come in” Courtney moved aside to let him in.

You could hardly tell someone in their twenties lived here. It was too formal, not a single thing seemed out of place. Even for Courtney, this seemed a little too adult. He questioned if it was her taste at all.

“This is a really nice place. How much did it cost ya?” He joked.

“Ha. Well as absent as they were, my parents do at least financially provide.” One of the few things the pair had in common was crappy parents. Though he really couldn’t compare his constant fighting to hers never being there. The two bonded over it early in their relationship, but Duncan figured as Courtney got older it may have got better. Looks like it didn’t.

“So they bought this?”

“Yep. Along with most everything in it.” Courtney had of course protested their decisions, but at least they were somewhat involved. They hardly came over anyway, just the occasional holiday. “Except Maelie’s room, that’s all her” She smiled. Courtney hardly changed much around the house, but once she turned six Maelie demanded a room full of pink. There was no talking her out of it.

“Where is she anyway? It’s awfully quiet for a kid.”

“Oh, she had some lessons after school. Her friend’s mom offered to drop her off, so should be here any minute now.” Courtney hated how awkward this was. Maybe she could talk about Maelie’s violin lessons? That was a skill she was more than happy to pass on. But bragging didn’t seem like the best option. So waiting was the only thing to do.

Finally a knock caught her attention. Courtney quickly answered and made some polite small talk with the mom. Given the age difference and her constant work schedule, she never found much in common with the other mothers. She tried her best for her daughter’s sake, but despised every moment of it.

Duncan was shocked at the sight of Maelie. She looked just like Courtney, the same light brown skin and scattered freckles. The only difference was her big, striking blue eyes. There was no denying that she was his daughter, and he loved her already.

She set her bag down before slightly hiding behind her mom, “Mommy, who is that?”

Courtney squatted beside her to be more eye level, “This is Mommy’s friend, Duncan. He’s going to join us for dinner, okay?”

“Okay..” She responded as she moved a bit closer to him, “It’s nice to meet you Mr. Duncan.” Maelie reached her hand out, giving Duncan’s hand a rather firm shake. “My mom says that a good handshake creates a good first impression. Otherwise they’ll walk on you” She shrugged.

He laughed, “Well with that shake, no one will walk on you.” With that it was clear she was the perfect mix of the both of them. Of what they could have been.

#total drama #td #td courtney #total drama island #total drama world tour #td duncan #td duncney #duncney #duncan x courtney #fic #duncney fic

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thephantomessoftheopera · 4 years ago

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Notes on Gaston Leroux’ “The Phantom of the Opera” - Chapter 6: “The Enchanted Violin”

<< Previous Chapter

Artwork by @coatntails on deviantart

“The Enchanted Violin” introduces us to the childhood friendship of Raoul and Christine - but first, we learn that Christine did not continue to triumph at the Opera, but only sang once more in society at the invitation of the Duchess of Zurich and, after that, cancelled everything including a charity concert. She was apparently terrified by her triumph during the gala night, and didn’t “recognize herself” anymore when she sings. Before, she was emotionally distant and indifferent because she had shut everything out so she could cope with the grief of her father’s death. The amount of passion and feeling that Erik’s lessons had to rekindle in her must have felt terrifying and perhaps even painful to her. Plus, baring your heart and soul on stage like she did is, by itself, something that can indeed feel terrifying! In this chapter, we learn that Raoul has indeed been watching her performances at the Opera for some time, but also felt that she seemed indifferent to everything and everyone - until her soul finally came alive again with her gala night performance.

Philippe de Chagny has even tried to further her career with the managers to please his little brother, but Christine does not wish for him to do so. Raoul tries to seek her out, but without success. One morning though, Raoul receives a letter from Christine, assuring him that she has not forgotten the “little boy who fetched her scarf from the sea”, and informing him that she will be going to Perros-Guirec to visit her father’s grave on the anniversary of his death. Perros-Guirec is a seaside village in Brittany, quite far from Paris.

Raoul doesn’t lose time and rushes to the Montparnasse station to follow her, but fails to catch the morning train and has to wait all day for the night train (Raoul tends to have a bit of bad luck following him around).

This chapter also gives us a short biography of Christine Daaé. In the novel - contrary to the musical - she is described as blonde and blue-eyed, slender and somewhat short-sighted, which would presumably give her a bit of a dreamy, unfocused expression if nobody hands her a pair of glasses (I guess Erik wouldn’t mind her short-sightedness either!). She was born in the village of Skotelof near Uppsala in Sweden. Her father (who does not have a name in the novel) sang in the church choir and taught Christine to read music before she could read books. He also had a well-known reputation as the best violinist in Scandinavia, and was often requested to play at social gatherings. Christine’s mother died when she was 6 years old, and her father became a travelling musician and took Christine around the country. They were discovered by Professor Valerius and taken to Götheburg, where Christine received her training. His wife, Mama Valerius, treated Christine like a daughter. When the Valerius family moved to France, Christine and her father accompanied them. Papa Daaé did not adjust well to life in Paris though, and often found solace in his music only, locking himself in his room for hours at a time. The only time of the year he enjoyed was their yearly trip to the seaside town of Perros-Guirec, because the ocean reminded him of his native Sweden. Missing his nomadic lifestyle, he decided to once again to spend some time every year as a travelling musician with Christine - which is how Christine came to meet Raoul, who was then staying with his aunt - the one that kindled his love for the sea. Raoul heard Christine sing and was so utterly captivated by her angel’s voice that he started following her around with his governess. One day, at the bay of Trestraou, the wind was so strong that it blew Christine’s scarf into the sea, and Raoul ran after it fully clothed and rescued it. They became friends that summer and played together often, and Christine’s father also gave him some violin lessons.

Bay of Trestraou, where Raoul rescued Christine’s scarf from the sea (image from france-voyage.com)

Both Raoul and Christine loved listening to ancient tales and legends, especially the ones that Papa Daaé told them. Among those stories is the famous “Little Lotte”, who loved listening to the Angel of Music while she fell asleep. It’s a little funny that while they listen to the story, all Raoul does is look at Christine’s golden hair and blue eyes, imagining her as “Little Lotte”, and Christine’s thoughts are focused on how lucky Little Lotte was to hear the Angel of Music. So Raoul dreams about Christine while Christine dreams about the Angel of Music, which kind of foreshadows the setup of the love triangle in the novel.

To be honest, I can’t really blame Christine for thinking she was indeed hearing the Angel of Music in her dressing-room, since the description given fits Erik perfectly:

“No one ever saw him, but he made himself heard to those predestined to hear him. It often happened when they least expected it, when they were sad and disheartened. Then they suddenly heard heavenly harmonies and a divine voice, and they would remember it all their lives. People visited by the angel were left with a kind of flame burning inside them.”

I guess her father couldn’t really find the Angel of Music in heaven, so he sent her the next best thing that was available… Erik might not have been a heavenly angel, but the effect he had on her amounted to the same that is attributed to the Angel of Music in her father’s stories.

After their parting following the first summer that they spent together, Christine and Raoul saw each other again three years later, when they were “no longer children” - perhaps 13 to 14 years old, which would put their first meeting at about age 10 to 11. Professor Valerius has died in the meantime, and Christine’s father has started suffering from a cough. Raoul and Christine’s meeting is a little awkward this time - both seem to be developing tender feelings for each other, but are also very reserved. Their current relationship has now outgrown the sweet and carefree friendship of childhood. Raoul is quite infatuated with her, but he is also badly affected by his jealousy plus the unresolved issue of a peasant girl like Christine not being a suitable choice as a wife for a Viscount - and Christine being acutely aware of that. So yes - it’s complicated between those two. Afterwards, she tries to forget him and dedicate herself to her career instead. But when her father finally dies, her soul and her voice die with him, and even though her talent is still enough to gain entry into the Paris Conservatory, she cannot not bring any more enthusiasm to her studies, and just goes through the motions to please Mama Valerius.

Christine apparently travelled to Perros by herself, staying at the “Auberge du Soleil Couchant”. Raoul is looking forward to speaking to her alone without interference. Despite having sailed around the world, Leroux describes Raoul as “pure as a virgin” and overwhelmed by his love for Christine, who occupies his every thought - in fact, Raoul seems to obsess over things a lot in the novel, not just about Christine. When he finally meets her as she returns from mass, he jumps straight to the point and tells her that he loves her and cannot live without her - which is unfortunately not “what she wanted to hear”. Their conversation goes totally wrong and as his jealous temper gets the better of him, he behaves terribly and they get into a fight (over Erik, of course) to the point where she runs off and locks herself in her room.

Raoul, saddened by the way his meeting with Christine turned out, wanders off towards the graveyard to pray for Christine’s father, and finally sits down, looking out over the moor where he and Christine used to look for goblins when they were children. He never saw any, while Christine always saw lots despite her lack of proper eyesight - which shows that despite both of them being described as “dreamy”, Christine’s imagination is a lot more lively than Raoul’s. She finally comes out to make another try of confiding the secret of the Angel of Music who speaks to her to Raoul, but when she feels he doesn’t take her seriously and questions her virtue, she storms off again, truly angry this time and refusing to come down for dinner.

At night, about 11:30 pm, she finally sneaks out to visit her father’s grave at the Perros graveyard and meet the “Angel of Music” (aka Erik) there. This is obviously the scene which inspired “Wishing you were somehow here again”, though the original context is a little bit different. Raoul climbs out the window and follows her to the graveyard. Raoul’s account of the graveyard scene is given via a transcript of Raoul’s testimony to Commissary Mifroid a few weeks later, after Christine’s abduction. The use of this “source” is one of the things that have given rise to the theory that this is a “detective novel”, however Leroux uses it more like a historian would use a source - it’s just one of different documents that he uses (or claims to use) to prove that his story is indeed true.

Christine doesn’t notice Raoul following her. Her rendez-vous with the Angel of Music is supposedly taking place at exactly midnight at her father’s grave, so Christine is in a bit of a hurry to get there in time. It is still winter, so the graves are covered in snow and lit by the clear moonlight. Christine, who apparently has nerves of steel since she has no qualms about going to graveyards at midnight and then sitting down calmly next to a pile of actual skulls and bones, kneels down to pray when divinely beautiful violin music is suddenly heard, but no player is seen anywhere. The sounds of the piece, the “Resurrection of Lazarus” are so enthralling that Raoul himself is reminded of the legend of the Angel of Music.

When the music finally ceases, Raoul hears a sound from the pile of bones, and assumes that the invisible musician might be hiding there. Christine leaves, and suddenly the skulls start rolling towards Raoul, and he sees a shadow enter the church. He chases after him and manages to grab his cloak, and when the shadow turns around, he sees a terrifying death’s-head with burning eyes which shocks him so much that he faints. I assume that Erik was not wearing a mask here, and that his unmasked face was weapon enough to take Raoul out without any further need for fireballs or swordfights.

The next morning, Raoul is found half-frozen in the little church, and Christine and the landlady of the Inn both take care to revive him.

Historic images of Perros-Guirec from phantomstheater.weebly.com

Artwork by CoatNTails on deviantart

Next Chapter >>

#lerouxreadingguide #phantom of the opera #poto #leroux phantom #gaston leroux #erik the phantom #the phantom of the opera #erik x christine #christine daae #raoul de chagny #leroux

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depressedhatakekakashi · 4 years ago

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The u know whos have been harassing me all day can i please request some more HC for both your knight and skill reversal AUs regarding how kakagai reationship grows to forget about them? Thank you mun 🤍

Why are they harrassing you? Who do I have to fight? i will fight them all omg. LEAVE THIS POOR PERSON ALONE YOU JERKS.

Royalty Au

Kakashi and Gai have known each other since childhood. It’s an outcome of Kakashi’s father, Sakumo, being the royal guard to King Dai. That plus Sakumo being an only father since his wife's death, and he finds himself having to have Kakashi by his side a lot growing up. He could get someone to take care of his son, but Kakashi keeps running them into the ground and scaring them off.

Thankfully, the king is very understanding and loves that his son has someone else to play with. Most people who interact with Gai treat him like a porceline. Like they have to be super careful around him or he might shatter. Kakashi doesn’t do that. He respects Gai of course. Calls him ‘your highness’ and always bows when they greet each other or say goodbye, but otherwise, he considers Gai his friend. They run around the garden together, learn together, play together. Everything that Gai does, Kakashi does with him. Sometimes Kakashi will even be able to help Gai with his learning, being a quick learner himself who can explain things better for Gai than his tutor.

As they grow up, they continue to hang out. Even when Kakashi starts to train under Lady Kushina as a page at the age of 7, Kakashi will often use his time off from training to spend with Gai.

Gai is the first person Kakashi ever tells of his dream to become a great knight. Not just like his father, but even better. He wants to prove that he’s talented and smart and that he can protect the Kingdom and the Prince from anything and anyone. Gai feels a little sad that day, even though he loves the excitement in Kakashi’s voice when he hears about his dream. But knowing that Kakashi is going to put himself into a job that could get him killed young, all to try to prove himself. that hurts Gai’s heart.

When Kakashi is promoted to Squire at the age of 11, it’s a huge celebration. People are amazed by this kid's progress. the standard age for becoming a squire is 15, and Kakashi’s already well on his way to becoming the youngest knight in history. Even with his extra duties though, he makes sure to always visit Gai in the garden at least twice a week. They still have race’s around the place, and sometimes Kakashi will show Gai how to sword fight. Gai does get lessons from a tutor of course, but he finds that he learns easier from Kakashi. Kakashi just has a way of talking to him that helps him understand quicker. Plus Kakashi always lets him make things into a competition, which helps a lot with getting him pumped and ready to learn.

When Kakashi is knighted at the age of 16, Gai’s not sure how to feel. He’s excited for his old friend of course. This was part of Kakashi’s dream. He’s already making a name for himself separate from his father. But at the same time, Gai’s terrified that this means he won’t have any time with Kakashi anymore. Kakashi will be too busy to visit him, and he’ll be alone with no one to hang out with but the people who treat him like porcelain.

Of course, Dai won’t have that. Kakashi is immediately made Gai’s royal guard. Partially to keep him out of the field where he might find nothing but a young death, and partially to keep Kakashi and Gai close. He knows how important the two are to each other already, and he refuses to be the one to tear them away from each other.

When it comes to marriage at the age of 20, Gai is not excited. He can’t think of anyone he wants to marry, and he always finds problems with the people that he is presented with. Genma is too pessemistic, Obito is too... well, Obito. Him and Kisame just want to rip each others throats out most of the time, and while he gets along fine with Rin the two of them both agree they’d prefer to be friends.

It’s not until someone mentions to Kakashi that he should also be looking to settle down that Gai realizes why he can’t choose a marriage partner.

He doesn’t want anyone else. He wants to be with Kakashi. To have Kakashi by his side, not just as his knight, but as his partner.

He knows it’s not conventional. Most people marry royalty from other lands to strengthen treaties or secure partnerships. But his father never married. He found other ways to do those things, so surely Gai can too. Right?

He’s afraid to bring it up to his father. Terrified that he’ll be rejected. But when he finally does, Dai just laughs and tells his son that it’s about time. That he just needed to tell him what it was he wanted, and he would make it happen for him.

Gai and Kakashi don’t get married right away. Neither of them is in a rush.

But when they do it’s a big event, and Kakashi is not pleased about this fact.

Both of their fathers are standing by their side, proud that their sons have found each other and can be together. That they know who’s side they belong at. Kakashi can’t imagine Anyone else protecting Gai, and Gai wouldn’t have anyone else standing beside him as his husband or as his royal guard.

Kakashi’s position does not change at all. There are people of course who are adamant that the King's husband cannot be his royal guard. that the position is too dangerous.

But Dai knows that neither of the boys are going to let anyone else take Kakashi’s position, and he’s alright with that. Kakashi has always been the one to protect Gai, and he always will be.

Skill Swap Au

Kakashi and Gai still meet outside of the academy, but it’s Kakashi who has been turned away. Denied entry because of his lack of skill in Ninjitsu or Genjutsu. Gai feels bad for the other boy. He looks so sad standing there by his father's side, the White fangs side, knowing that he can’t get into the academy because he has been deemed ‘not good enough

Seeing something in Kakashi that no one else did, Gai decides to challenge him to a spar. It takes a few attempts, and Kakashi gets annoyed really easily at his challenges and tries to remind him that he’s just going to lose to ‘the genius’, but finally Kakashi caves.

And Kakashi loses, badly. But when he crawls to his feet and stuffs his hands into his pockets determined to leave, Gai stops him and tells him that they should spare again.

And he doesn’t stop challenging Kakashi. No matter how many times Kakashi wants to give up. No matter how often the two of them hear that Gai’s ‘wasting his time with a failure’. Gai never gives up on Kakashi.

He knows what Kakashi could be capable of. He has seen his own father train her to be strong, and he has seen Kakashi training on his own. Kakashi is not a quitter. He works his butt off and always comes home bruised and tired from his efforts. Gai knows if they just keep at it, that Kakashi can become strong.

Ultimately, with Gai’s help and a lot of perseverance, Kakashi finally makes it into the academy. It’s a moment of celebration for them both and Gai can’t stop congratulating Kakashi.

Halfway through the year, Sakumo’s mission goes terribly wrong, and suddenly ‘the white fang’ is a name no longer spoken with pride. It’s a name that people spit venom at. And that loss in pride hits Kakashi hard. After Sakumo’s death, Kakashi disappears from the academy.

Gai’s terrified that Kakashi has given up. That he’s just going to let those hateful people’s words win and stop trying to become a great shinobi.

He’s wrong. Oh so wrong. Kakashi’s more determined than ever to prove himself. to show the village that he can be a great Ninja no matter what they say. Every day from dawn to dusk Kakashi trains endlessly. Pushing himself to near collapse just to get stronger.

It’s at this point, after finding Kakashi unconscious in a field after a long day of training, that Dai decides to show him the eight gates.

Having Kakashi around the house a lot more is pretty weird, but Gai also really enjoys it. Kakashi’s not always the friendliest person, but he’s always helping out around the house with chores.

Gai graduated from the academy at the age of five, setting the record for the youngest shinobi to become a genin ever. Choza Sensei decides when he’s six to have him compete in the chunin exams, and he is promoted before any of his classmates even make genin.

Kakashi graduated at the age of seven, which is still really impressive given the fact that people have always said he would never amount to anything.

Gai gets placed on team choza with Ebisu and Genma, while Kakashi gets placed on Team Minato with Obito and Rin. Kakashi’s still very ‘by the rules’ because of his father, but rather than fighting with Obito over who’s stronger, Kakashi and Obito get along a bit better.

By the time they’re 11, Kakashi has actually managed to beat Gai in a fight. It’s no surprise to Gai when he becomes a chunin along with the others, even as Gai is promoted to Jonin ahead of them.

Team Minato still gets the Kannabi bridge mission, but they’re given another Jonin to lead the mission while Minato takes care of his part of it. When Rin is kidnapped, Obito convinces Kakashi to go with him to get her even though they’re going directly against Jonin’s orders.

Kakashi still loses his eye protecting Obito, Obito still awakens his sharing, and then Obito ‘dies’ saving Kakashi from being crushed by a bolder.

Kakashi is blamed for the mission going wrong when they get back to Konoha, but instead of allowing it to eat at him, he decides to keep training. To become stronger and show the village that he’s not the failure they think he is.

Gai is determined to help him in this mission and starts making their competitions into training sessions together.

Whenever someone gets rude with Kakashi or blames him for Obito’s death, they usually find themselves meeting the end of Gai’s foot. Kakashi may not be willing to stand up to them, but Gai is more than happy to do it for them.

Rin doesn’t die in this au because of Kakashi. Instead, recognizing that she has no other way out, she uses Kakashi’s distraction while fighting the enemy shinobi to take her own life.

Obito’s still mad at Kakashi for not being able to save her, and Kakashi still see’s her blood on his hands in his nightmares. But that’s because he actually held her body while she bled out.

Recognizing his student’s strength and hurt, Minato decides to shove Kakashi into Anbu. Something that’s frowned upon by many until Kakashi starts going out onto missions. They’re surprised by his sheer strength and ability in the field.

When Minato dies against the Kyuubi, Kakashi sinks deeper into depression and tries to push everyone away, including Gai.

Of course, Gai doesn’t allow this. He refuses to let Kakashi suffer alone and always tries to keep up with their competition and spars.

When he realizes just how bad Anbu is affecting Kakashi’s mental health, Gai decides to try and join so that he can be with him. But he’s turned away because of his personality (just like in Canon)

So instead, he decides to get Kakashi out.

Kakashi’s not too happy to be made a join sensei after being shoved out of Anbu, but he takes it as punishment for not being able to help Itachi avoid the massacre route that he chose to take (in Kakashi’s eye since he doesn’t know the truth at this point)

Over the years, Kakashi has grown a lot as a shinobi. Even Itachi was surprised to see just how strong Kakashi was with just Taijutsu and did a lot of training with him to improve his own Taijutsu.

Come the Chunin exams with Team seven and Team Gai, Neji, Lee, and Tenten are unsurprised to find that Team Seven is extremely skilled in Taijutsu. Kakashi has taught them well, and these three are ready to take names and kick butt.

Sasuke still loses in his fight against Lee, but Lee’s proud to say that he was taught Taijutsu from their sensei (taught first by Gai, and then improved upon by Kakashi) and that they’re surely going to get stronger with more time under him.

The month that Kakashi spends training up Sasuke’s taijutsu is possibly the worst month of Sasuke’s life. He’s introduced to Kakashi’s personal training methods and it is not fun. Not one bit.

And after the chunin exams, while the village is trying to repair itself from the Konoha crush and settle into some sense of nromality, Itachi and Kisame show up. This time, it’s Gai who faces down Itachi and ends up in a 72 hour genjutsu. Itachi knows better than to allow the genius time to come up with a plan. But then just as Kisame is about to swoop in and finish Gai, Kakashi shows up and kicks him away. A genius and the best taijutsu master of Konoha? Itachi is out. This is not worth the hassle.

Sasuke finds out about Itachi's appearance in the village while Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma are watching over Gai while he's resting from Itachi's attack. Kakashi of course goes after his student

Kakashi also gets to the the 'dynamic entry' against Jiraiya, kicking him in the face and away from his students. He recognizes Jiraiya of course, but damn he'd be lying if he said that didn't feel good.

#Royalty au #Skill Swap Au #Kakagai #Anonymous #Long POst #Omg this got so long i'm sorry XD

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nadisabug · 5 years ago

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Zuko’s Story

Summary: Y/n is a fan of tea, but she's an even bigger fan of the cute boy who sells it at the Jasmine Dragon. Prompts: 1. “I think I’m falling in love with you, and it scares me.” 4. “I’ve always been in love with you, since the beginning.” 11. “You look beautiful.” 23. "I really like having you around." Fandom: ATLA Pairing: Zuko x reader Warnings: none A/N: This is for @fromthewatertribe‘s 1k event! This was an idea I had before but saw your prompts and knew it would fit perfectly!

I slowly sipped on my tea, eyeing the cute server. I had been gawking at him for who knows how long, but I knew he wouldn't notice. He never noticed.

I knew his name was Lee by hearing it around the shop. I had been coming every single day for the past three weeks during my little brother Cam's bending lessons. I wasn't a bender, but he was, and I was determined for him to learn. Ever since our father had been taken away for bending when the fire nation raided our village, I knew he had to learn. I ran away with him the day I learned he could bend, refusing to let them take him too. As a result, we ended up as refugees in the last safe place there was, Ba Sing Se. And, even though money was so unbearably tight, I insisted that he go to regular lessons to learn how to bend. I was not going to let his talent be wasted.

"Would you like more tea?" I was startled out of my thoughts my a low voice beside me. I looked up quickly and had to fight back a blush. Of course it was Lee.

"No thanks, handsome," I blatantly flirted with him like usual and pressed a coin into his palm. He blinked a couple times before closing his hand around the coin. I got up and left him at the table, exiting the shop. It was about time I picked up Cam anyways.

I began to walk in the general direction of Cam's lessons. I didn't make it far, though. After a few minutes of walking, I was roughly pulled into an alley. I tried to scream, but a hand muffled my attempts. I twisted and thrashed, but my assailant had caught me well off guard so there was not much I could do to free myself. So, I stopped trying to free myself. I decided to wait until I saw an opening and take it. I had a whole plan in motion but it was shattered when I saw who had grabbed me.

"Lee?" I mumbled through his hand. I scrunched my eyebrows together and relaxed in his hold. It was only then that I processed how close we were. He had my wrists clasped behind my back, the rest of his arm pressing his body to mine. He was half a head taller then me, so he was looming over me.

"How to you know my name?" He rasped angrily. He lowered his hand from my mouth, which I appreciated, but when he brought it back he was holding a knife. I guess I preferred being muffled. He held the blade to my throat as a threat.

Well, I guess he finally noticed my staring.

"I heard it around the shop," I answered truthfully. To be honest, I was scared out of my mind. But, I was also a little bit turned on. This guy was really hot and the tough guy act sure wasn't helping my heartbeat. He was a lot cuter up close, I thought, then cursed at myself. That's what I was thinking about when I had a knife to my throat? However, for some reason, I didn't feel like he would hurt me. Be it the result of my crush or intuition, I just couldn't bring myself to be scared.

"Why do you stare at me all the time? What do you know? Do you know who I am?" He paused for a millisecond. "Answer me!" He shouted.

I opened and closed my mouth, I was sure I looked like a koi. "I, uh, don't know how to answer that," I replied carefully. "But I have no idea who you are or anything else pertaining to you for that matter."

"Then why are you always in the shop? And why do you always stare at me?" He asked the same question again and I knew I would have to give him a response. He wasn't going to let this one go.

"I like tea?" I said meekly. He gave me a hard stare in response. I sighed in defeat and slumped a little bit. I broke eye contact and looked off to the side to make sure no one was coming. It would be hard for Lee to explain his way out of that one. "Can you let me go at least?" I finally sighed. "I am not going to hurt you, you are the one with the knife."

Lee frowned but nodded and let me go. I shook out my arms, slightly numb from the awkward angle, and sighed in relief.

"Now tell me," Lee began, raising his knife to my throat again. "What business do you have with me?"

I rolled my eyes and pushed the knife away, no longer really scared. If Lee was a bad guy, he never would have let me go. "None? Listen if you want the truth, here it is. I think you're cute so I like going to the shop and watching you work. Nothing malicious."

"Oh," he said softly, lowering his knife.

"I am really sorry for staring at you all the time, I'll stop coming if that's what you want-well of course it's what you want of course you don't want some freak staring-"

"No." Thankfully, Lee cut off my rambling. "I, uh, well... I don't mind, well it's not that I don't mind but I really like having you around the shop."

"Oh," I breathed, a flush rising to my cheeks.

"Yeah," he muttered quietly and looked away. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and quickly added, "You bring the tea shop a lot of business!"

"Oh," I said again, this time less excited. "Yeah I guess so," I muttered dejectedly.

"Well that's not it," Lee quickly followed up. "I mean I like your presence in the tea shop, you're really nice and tip well and ugh that's not what I mean I am just going to stop talking."

"I think that would be for the best," I chuckled. Then I looked at him again. He was so unbearably cute and I was sure I would never get another opportunity like this again, so I decided to go for it. "Look, I think you're really cute. Want to go out sometime?"

"Uh, I just held a knife to your throat," he responded dumbly. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, now. Date?"

"He would love to!" A voice shouted from the opening of the alley. The old man who ran the tea shop, Iroh, walked towards us.

"Uncle!" Lee called indignantly. "Why are you here?"

"I was worried when you left so abruptly and good thing I came because you almost would have messed up this date with this lovely girl," Iroh shot me a wink.

"How long were you there?" Lee asked, a flush of embarrassment rising to his cheeks.

"Long enough," he quickly responded. "How about tonight at sundown in front of the shop," Iroh asked me.

"Sure," I nodded. "He's gotta make up for this whole endeavor somehow," I smirked and shot Lee a look. With that, I waved goodbye to the two guys and headed off to pick up Cam. This wasn't such a bad day afterall.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Okay Cam, I want you right in bed at sundown, you hear me? No waiting up for me."

"Why, you planning to be out late with your boyfriend?" Cam shot back all too happily.

"No, because you have your lesson at sunrise," I said quickly, making sure I had everything I needed. Would Lee pay? I wasn't sure but I brought my purse just in case. "I worked hard to get us to the middle ring so that you could have a proper teacher and I will not have you being late!"

I felt Cam roll his eyes and sigh at me. "Yes, mom," he groaned. "At least tell me his name."

I turned to Cam, pursing my lips. I had tried to keep this whole date a secret from him, but having a nosy 12 year old in the house wasn't conducive to secrets. He had found out shortly after I picked him up, asking why I was late and accusing me of being out with a boy. When I flushed and stammered in response, he jumped on the opportunity. That was his go to accusation, it just so happened that this time he was right. Not in the way he thought, of course, but partially I suppose. I mean I did ask Lee out on a date.

I thought for a moment, then figured Cam would find out at some point who it was, especially if we went on more dates. I tried not to get my hopes up at the thought.

"It's Lee."

Cam gasped dramatically. "From the tea shop?"

"Yes from the tea shop," I huffed and spun on my heel. I walked over to a mirror hanging on the wall and checked my makeup one more time. I needed to leave soon if I was going to make it on time.

"To imagine, a love blooming from malicious stalkering-"

"I keep thinking you cannot get more stupid and then you prove me wrong every single time," I sighed.

Cam gasped dramatically again. "Wounded, by my own sister!" He cried. "Besides, am I wrong that you stalk him? I bet what happened was he confronted you about your stalker-ering and you were all like 'I've always been in love with you, since the beginning of time-'"

"Oh hush." I turned towards the door so that he couldn't see my blush. I mean, he wasn't that wrong. Lee did confront me about the stalk- watching of him, and I did confess in a way. "I am leaving now. When will you be in bed?"

"By sundown," Cam responded in a high pitched voice, obviously mocking me.

"Okay, bye. Be good," I said as a final goodbye and left.

My walk to the Jasmine Dragon was uneventful at best. Once I got there, I saw Lee outside. He was wearing a nice suit, his hair parted in the middle and slicked to each side. I whistled as I approached.

"Nice 'do, hot stuff," I grinned. He turned to face me, and unless I was mistaken, a blush rose to his cheeks.

"You look beautiful," he blurted, then flushed a bright red that I knew I wasn't imagining.

I was caught off guard by his blatant confession, and I felt a heat creep up my neck. "Uh, thank you. You don't look to bad yourself, though I do think I like your hair all messy better."

"Oh." Zuko reached up and ruffled it, messing it all up. "Like that," he smiled.

"Like that."

"It took my uncle ten minutes to do my hair," he commented.

"Well it took you a few seconds to mess it up, now come on, let's go. I know a great restaurant that's super cheap but super good," I said and grabbed his hand, tugging him after me.

Eating was awkward if anything. Lee wasn't the biggest conversationalist, not wanting to talk about anything about himself, and the food was mediocre at best. It was cheap, though.

"Let's split the bill," I said when we were done eating. Lee opened his mouth to argue, but I stopped him. "I picked the place so it is partially my fault the food was so bad."

"I didn't know you were in the kitchen," Lee smirked.

"You don't know a lot of things about me," I grinned cheekily. At that, Lee's face darkened. He was hiding something big, I knew it. It was probably something about his past, seeing as he was so guarded about it.

"Come on," I said, breaking the tense silence. "Let's get out of here."

The waiter arrived and we paid our check. Luckily, they gave us two cups of tea to go. I took mine and Lee took his and we were on our way.

"Ugh," I groaned, sipping my tea. "This is disgusting, its so cold."

"Here," Lee reached out and took it from me. He held onto it for a second then handed it back. Miraculously, it was hot when he handed it back.

"What the..." Then it hit me. The only way he could have done that was if he was a firebender. I looked up at him in surprise, ready to make a run for it, but then I took another look at him. It wasn't like a Earth bender gave him that scar, and he was here for a reason, probably to start over. That's why he was so defensive about who he was when he questioned me earlier today. So I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. He hadn't hurt me yet, and he didn't hurt me when we thought we were alone in that alley, so I doubted that he'd hurt me now.

"Thanks," I finally decided on with a smile. I let him walk me back to my place, knowing Cam was probably still awake. When we reached my door, I turned to him. "Thank you for taking me out."

"Thank you for uh, not getting mad I held a knife to your throat," he replied, shyly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, I don't know if I'm still over that," I said with a small smirk. "I might need another date to see if I forgive you."

Lee's eyes darkened. "I don't know if I can do this-"

"Oh come on," I sighed. "I liked spending time with you, I hope you liked spending time with me. It's not like we're going to get married, just hang out a bit more. Come on, one more date and that's it."

Lee sighed. "One more date. And that's it."

"And that's it." I agreed with finality.

After that, we started going out on dates every few days. We went to festivals together, tried out new restaurants, and even went out on picnics. It was on one of those picnics that I finally decided to confess to him. We were up on a hill under the shade of a great tree, looking out over the sprawling city. We had lapsed into silence.

"I need to tell you something-" We both said at the same time. We both flushed and turned away.

"You first," I said.

"No you." I stayed silent, staring at Lee expectantly until he sighed and caved. "Fine. I think... Well look. There's still so much you don't know about me. I've done some pretty horrible things in my past."

"I think people can change," I asserted.

Lee shook his head. "Terrible, horrible things. Things no one should ever dream of doing. But I did them. I thought that I had lost my honor and that somehow my father could restore it to me... but now... now I am not so sure." He turned to me and grabbed my hands. "Ever since I met you I've felt like I was an impostor, a fake pretending to be someone I wasn't. Now I think this is me." He sighed and closed his eyes. "What I'm trying to say it that I think I'm falling in love with you and it scares me."

I leaned up and moved to kiss him, but he pulled away. "Why?" I said, hurt in my voice.

Lee grasped both of my cheeks and pulled our foreheads together. "Listen, I have to do something before we can be together. I need to make up for my mistakes. I got a message last night inviting my uncle and I to serve tea to the King. I think it's a trap. The Avatar is in the city which means my sister is not far behind."

"Your sister... Who are you?" My voice was barely over a whisper, I was surprised it didn't get lost in the wind.

"I am Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation."

I paused, my head reeling. I knew he was a firebender but the prince? The prince of the Fire Nation? It was a lot to take in. Luckily he gave me my time and waited patiently for my next question. "And you think its a trap but you're still going to go?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Yes. I need to stop running away from my destiny. You helped me realize that I'm not bad, I can be good."

"What is your destiny?" I asked breathlessly.

"To teach the Avatar firebending."

I pulled my head away from his so that I could get a good look at him. "Then go. And don't you dare not think about coming back for me."

"I will." Lee- no, Zuko looked like he was hesitating, then he pulled me into ferocious kiss, stealing my breath away from me. When we separated, we placed our foreheads together, gasping for air, our breaths intermingling.

"You have no idea how long I have been waiting to do that," I gasped, but smiled.

"I feel the same," Zuko smiled too. "Now come on, let's go."

With that, he walked me home and then walked right out of my life, leaving me to wonder if I would ever see him again.

#Ahhh sorry this was getting so long #i might make a reunion part if you guys like it #but anyways #I loved writing this and thank you to nina for hosting this event!#and congrats on 1k!#ninas 1k event #fromthewatertribe #zuko x reader #atla x reader #zuko imagine #prince zuko #atla imagine #atla #avatar: tla #ps i may be writing another shhhh dont tell nina lol

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didsomeonesaydaddydraco · 5 years ago

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Secrets | d.m imagine

Hermione and I are on our way to the Great Hall to have breakfast with Ron and Harry. We accidentally overslept this morning because we were up late last night studying for our upcoming DADA test. She tries to hide her yawing, but I can tell by the dark circles under her eyes, that she is as tired as I am.

- You know what I don’t understand? – She looks at me confused – How on Merlin were you sorted into Gryffindor with that attitude of yours? Don’t get me wrong, you know I love you, you’re my best friend, but the amount of sass you have and how determined you can get, you’d be better off at Slytherin, but you still ended up at Gryffindor.

I freeze for a second, memories flashing right before my eyes from a couple of years ago.

*4 years ago*

I’m aimlessly wandering around the caste with my fellow schoolmates around me. A bunch of 11 years old, who are very much eager to start their school year at the famous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The endless corridors amaze us, and the living pictures scare most of us as they welcome the new students with a few nice words. We’re waiting by a huge old wooden door for Professor McGonogall to let us in so we can be sorted into our Houses. I know a lot about this School. My brother was a student here, along with my parents, their parents and basically my whole family.

- Follow me, please – an elder student comes up to us to lead the way. We’re called to a chair and the Sorting Hat is placed on our heads. For some student he doesn’t have to think much which House he should put them, but for a boy, named Harry Potter, he thinks a lot. It looks like he cannot make a decision, but suddenly he yells out Gryffindor.

- Next is, Miss Y/F/N – as Professor McGonogall calls my name, my knees start to shake, and my palms get sweaty. Without any shown emotion, I sit on the stall, my legs not being long enough to reach the ground. My breathing is getting heavier second by second as the Hat is getting put on me.

Please, not Slytherin. Please, do NOT put me in Slytherin.

- Hmm, what do we have here – the loud voice of the Hat starts and I feel like I’m going to faint soon – Oh, wow… - he hums – Very interesting mind. A huge knowledge, and bravery – for a second I feel a slight relief as he’s listing the Gryffindor characteristics – But I see creativity, with a very strong determination and ability to be a great leader…just like a true Slytherin.

Please, I’m begging. Do NOT put me in the Slytherin House…

- Exciting thoughts you have here, young Y/Fam/N – the Hat chuckles but yells out my house finally – Gryffindor!

*Present*

- Hey, are you OK? – Hermione asks me. I zoned out after the flashback. All these years, nobody asked be why it was so hard for the Sorting Hat to choose my House. They still think I’m just a rather complicated person with quite a twisted personality.

- Yeah, sure – I smile weakly at her – I’m just tired, hungry and nervous about our DADA test, that’s all – I shrug and fasten my walking to the Great Hall. Never in my years at Hogwarts have I thought that maybe my secrets will be exposed one day. And that day was closer than I imagined.

Two weeks have passed since Hermione’s question, and ever since than I’ve tried everything to avoid that specific topic, but she doesn’t seem to want to. Every chance she has, she would ask about my family and why in Merlin’s love I’m not talking about them or about my life outside of Hogwarts. Last night we even had a fight about it in front of half of the School, when she pushed her questions on me during dinner. I got enough of her obsession with my family tree and rushed out of the Hall. But on my way out, I saw Draco Malfoy looking at me with a knowing smirk and some foreign flame in his eyes. Something, that looked very close to sympathy.

- Hermione, I think you should drop it – I hear Harry trying to convince her – I bet those are just rumours. You know how bad they can be.

I walk up to them but before I can sit down on my usual spot next to Hermione, she jumps up and looks at me fumingly. I immediately know that she knows. Of course she does.

- Could you tell me when you wanted to tell us everything? – Her voice is louder than usual and it attracts the attentions of the students at Great Hall. They loved a great drama during dinner time, so they could talk about something after it at their Common Rooms.

- Hermione – I warn her that neither the place, nor time is right for this conversation. But when I try to ask her to talk about this somewhere more private, she cuts me off.

- Do not Hermione me, Y/N – she screams at me with pain in her eyes – A couple of weeks ago I asked you how you were sorted into Gryffindor, when you clearly have the characteristics of a Slytherin. You zoned out and didn’t give me an answer – she starts her story – Silly me thought, it must be a misunderstanding, or you were just going through this weird faze when you act like a total jackass. I tried to talk with you about this, but you changed the subject every single time – she is playing with her wand like she was some kind of teacher, trying to teach us the lesson – So you gave me no other choice than to do some research…

- Hermione, I think we should – Harry stands beside her, tugging on her robe to pull her away from me. Ron stands up too and looks worried. At least he is worried. People are gathering around us, eager to find out what this whole drama is really about. I spot a platinum blond head in the crowd, Draco’s eyes burning my face as he is trying to read in my mind.

- We should do what, Harry? Hmm? – Hermione pushes off his hand from her shoulder and looks back at me – We should just live with the fact that one of our oh so called best friend is actually supposed to be a Slytherin, being the descendent of one of the most ancient pureblood wizard families? Or you just want to avoid the fact that her father was sentenced to death by a Dementor’s kiss, and her brother is probably die in one of the most guarded cells of Azkaban because they were loyal to Who He Shall Not Be Named and served him? Almost everyone in her family was, or still a Death Eater.

Everyone around us gasps. Silence fills the Great Hall as Hermione yells out the last words. Everyone is surprised, except Malfoy. He looks like he knew about this the whole time, and he probably did. His parents being Death Eaters as well, they might had known my father.

- Your mother changed your name, used her middle name as your last name so it might confuse the Sorting Hat – she takes a step closer to me, her wand still in her hand as she was afraid I might hex her. And in this moment, I really want to do that, but I won’t – That’s why the Hat was confused. That’s why the Professors acted like they had no idea who you were, but they all knew.

- You couldn’t keep your nose out of my business, right? – I scoff and look at her. The girl, who I thought was a friend. Whom I thought would never judge me – Are you happy now? You know this too. Does it make you a better person? Do you think you can use this against me?

- I… - she opens her mouth, but this time I’m the one who cuts her off.

- I hope you are finally satisfied. But for your information, private life is called private for a reason. And if you don’t want to cause any trouble for yourself in the future, I suggest you to stay out of other people’s business. Not everyone is as nice as I am – I say to her with ice cold voice and leave the room in a rush.

I’m literally running all the way up to the Astronomy Tower. My tears blur my vision, and I almost fall a couple of times, but all I want is to be as far from Hermione as I can. My knees give up, and they can no longer hold me on my feet. I collapse to the ground and let myself cry. My father was indeed a Death Eater, but he was a good man. He never meant to hurt anyone, he just made all the wrong choices, along with my brother. They loved their family endlessly, and would have done everything to protect Mom and me. And they did. That’s why they were both locked up at Azkaban for years. Than the Ministry made their decision about Dad, who refused to give names to the judges. So he got a Dementor Kiss. Elvin, my brother, was only sentenced to spend the rest of his life at Azkaban.

I hear footsteps from behind me, but I refuse to turn around. I don’t want to face anyone now, I just want to be alone with my shame, grief and thoughts.

- I don’t care who you are, but I don’t want to speak, nor I want company – my voice is filled with sorrow, and the cold November weather makes me shiver. I just started to feel cold. I must have been too angry to feel anything but the fire burning inside of me which wanted to hex Hermione for being so nosy.

- The Towers tends to be quite cold around this time of the year – I’m shocked by the voice. I thought Hermione ran after me to finish her story about my own damn life, or if it wasn’t her, I thought it was going to be Harry or Ron coming after me, to make sure I’m okay, and to ask me if she was right about all those things she had said in the Great Hall. But for my surprise, it was no other, than the Prince of Slytherin, who had been watching me for the last couple of weeks, and who couldn’t look away from my face during Hermione’s “attack”.

- Here you go – he says softly as he wraps his Slytherin robe on my shoulders. I look up at him, just to see his facial expressions. All I can see is sympathy and kindness on his every cold and emotionless face. His pale skin looks like it’s glowing in the moonlight, and his eyes are sparkling just like the stars on the jet black night sky – I come here often. When I want to be alone and need to think or just let out everything that I’ve been hiding in my mind.

I follow his movements, as he sits down beside me. So close our arms are brushing to each other, a sudden warm feeling going through my whole body. Draco was a jerk. He was full of himself, and lived for terrorizing everyone who wasn’t a Slytherin or a pureblood witch or wizard. Somehow, he never had anything bad to say to me; he never called me Gryffindork, or any other insulting names. But at the same time, he never really talked to me – only when we were paired to work together for essays or at Potions class a couple of times.

- You knew, didn’t you? – I ask him after a rather long silence – That’s why you left me alone, not calling me names and picking on me. You knew who I was, and who my parents were…and that’s why you were around me these couple of days. You knew she was going to figure out, right?

He only answers with a small nod. He doesn’t look at me. I turn my gaze away from his side profile, and stare at the sky. We sit there is silence, the only noise our slow breathing, and the sound of the wind dancing through the columns of the Tower. Out of nowhere, Draco grabs my hand, and holds it in his. His thumb is drawing little circles on my wrist and my quite sobs start to calm down and fade.

- I’m not them – I sigh – I’m not my parents or my brother. I would never be a Death Eater. I wouldn’t be able to kill someone, even if they deserved to die. My father and Elvin never killed anyone. They were only…

- Shhh – Draco pulls me closer and lets me to rest my head on his shoulder – You don’t have to explain anything to me. I know how hard your life must have been. And it still is. To be honest, it’s never gonna change. You can only learn to live with this, keep it as a secret and pretend it won’t affect your future – he plays with my fingers, and I know, this time, he’s not referring to me only, but to himself and his future as well – But the truth, it will. We just have to be strong and smart enough, to bare it.

- I don’t know if I can do this alone – I whisper, a single tear rolling down my cheek, dropping on Draco’s hand. He turns to me, and places his free hand on my cheek. I watch his light pink lip running along his bottom lip, his lips curving into a small, but genuine smile.

- Who said you have to do it alone? – he asks me – I’m pretty good at keeping dirty little secrets.

- I bet you have tones of those – I finally laugh a bit. At the sound of my laughter, his smile grows wider, and a cheeky little fame appears in his almost grey eyes.

- Oh, trust me darling, I do – he laughs as well – One of them being having a crush on you…

From that night, Draco did everything in his power to protect me, and I did the same with him. It took me a while, to be comfortable again inside the walls of Hogwarts. I lost a few friends, but at the same time, I gained a few more. People, who were on my side, no matter what. After summer break, Hermione and I apologised to each other. She finally accepting that fact that she might be way too nosy, and wanted to grow as a person, and learn to stay out of other people’s business for her own good. And I told her everything about my family, friends, childhood, fears and dreams. Of course we had a fight about me dating Draco, but when I explained her, that he would never ever hurt me, she finally accepted him at our and in the Gryffindor’s common room as well. As for Draco, it took me a couple of months to get used to the idea, that that arrogant asshole really had a soft side and he loved to show it to me. We never told the whole school that we were, in fact, a couple. Some people knew, some had no clue. We loved the idea of being each other’s dirty little secret.

#draco x reader #draco imagine #draco malfoy #draco x you #draco x gryffindor!reader #imaginestory #harry potter imagines #death eater parents #ron weasly imagine #hermione granger

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biwenqing · 4 years ago

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So this is for the day three prompt: Social Media AU for Spring Sleuthing over at @tsomdevents! I wrote this fic a while ago, and it fits perfectly for this. But I realized it was going to be more than one chapter. I will continue it once the prompt week is over!

WZ @theroommatedilema

i made this secret account to live tweet my two oblivious roommates having a quarantine romance. or not. they are idiots. follow to find out will they/won’t they.

he/him | Joined March 2020

WZ @theroommatedilema . March 27 we are starting week 2 of quarantine and i realized i needed to document this. my two roommates who have been dancing around each other since before shit hit the fan are driving me crazy and if i have to watch this the world has to as well.

WZ @theroommatedilema . March 27 we need to give them code names because, while i don't think either of them will find this account, best not to tempt fate. so we have 'hot chef' and 'smart aleck'.

WZ @theroommatedilema . March 27 all that out of the way, we can now get to the live tweet. hot chef was doing his laundry so he was walking around the apartment shirtless. smart aleck walked into a wall, not once, not twice, but three times. hot chef didn't help this when he put on an apron

WZ @theroommatedilema . March 28 smart aleck started the day by almost burning down our kitchen trying to make breakfast to impress hot chef. luckily i was awake and stopped things before there was a grease fire, before making breakfast myself. they both seemed to like it.

WZ @theroommatedilema . March 29 hot chef thinks we should try and exercise, but i think it is cold and slippery out, so if he expects me to join him on his morning runs, he is wrong. smart aleck did make an attempt and i got to watch him wipe out from the window. lucky for him hot chef caught him. yea i know

WZ @theroommatedilema . March 29 follow up to wipe out: hot chef helped smart aleck back into the house and then took care of him, before then still going on his run. smart aleck pouted next to me on the couch, watching out the window for when he came back like a puppy.

WZ @theroommatedilema . March 30 smart aleck has decided he needs to clean and organize the whole apartment. i think he just doesn't want to do his real job. this has led to an argument with hot chef because smart aleck has taken everything out of the kitchen cabinets and messed with his books.

WZ @theroommatedilema . March 30 as a household, we have a pretty solid 'don't touch my stuff' understanding, but that apparently goes all out the window during a pandemic. hot chef keeps all his cooking tools and supplies in a special order that makes sense only to him and i leave it be

WZ @theroommatedilema . March 30 but smart aleck wants to "help" and didnt ask if anyone wanted help so here we are. don't worry, this account isn't in vain, i can confirm that their argument is more bickering and that bickering is the stereotype of an "old married couple"

WZ @theroommatedilema . March 30 SA: but you do so much, i wanted to help! HC: if i need help, i'd ask for it SA: *arms crossed* would you? give an example of when you have asked for help. HC: ....i haven't needed help SA: bullshit! remember when you got the flu last year and didn't tell us?

WZ @theroommatedilema . March 30 SA: you practically passed out before you let WZ and i take you to see a doctor! and then you still argued about us making sure you got the food and fluids and everything you needed so you didn't die! HC: ...i didn't want either of you to get sick

WZ @theroommatedilema . March 30 SA: oh yes so ignoring the issue really helped? it’s better that you almost died? in case you didn’t already notice, smart aleck is always dramatic.

WZ @theroommatedilema . March 30 for those wondering, smart aleck is not wrong here. this is exactly how events occurred. it was only a few months after I moved in with them. for the fight i think smart aleck somehow won this round. tune in tomorrow for what happens next!

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 4 no updates because they have been pretending to ignore each other and focused on work. hot chef in particular. smart aleck claims it is because hot chef isn’t used to being cared about. he told me this in a deliberate stage whisper.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 4 i think it is important to note that hot chef did still make dinner each night to share... he just went back to his room after.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 5 i got a question asking what we all do for work. that’s classified. and mostly unrelated. though it is how we met in a very odd course of events.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 5 that was not an invitation to send me more questions. i know you are all nosy, or else why would you be following this account. but we have established this account must go unnoticed.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 5 fine. general ages = smart aleck is in his 20s. hot chef is in his 30s. and because you for some reason all want to know: i am also in my 20s.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 5 pets = yes one. smart aleck has a pet cat named goat he inherited from a past roommate. goat the cat tries to eat anything and everything, thus the name. she particularly likes to eat house plants. she likes smart aleck the least, hot chef the most. i hold a pretty solid 2nd place.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 6 update: they made up. a package arrived today and it was apparently a pan to replace one smart aleck had destroyed. hot chef made smart aleck’s favorite dinner. SA talked the whole way through to meal, and HC looked smitten. so we’re back to normal.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 10 where do we rank the level of domestic where one person brushes their teeth/gets ready for the day while the other is in the shower? bonus points for some mild discussion and/or bickering.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 11 smart aleck has a new scheme. he is trying to persuade hot chef to teach him to cook. so far HC has held firm. we mark day one of this new standoff.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 12 i’ve been asked a few times why i don’t just use initials of smart aleck and hot chef’s names. it’s all part of keeping this hidden. i have also chosen nicknames that i don’t think they would think i’d use for them.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 12 smart aleck is the type to figure this out if i’m not careful. he’s both too clever and too dumb for his own good. which is part of the reason i must document all of this, so i can shove it in his face later.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 12 we are also on day two of cooking teaching standoff. i think some of you rightly assume SA is imagining hot chef standing behind him and idk helping him cut vegetables

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 13 standoff continues. i made dinner to see if that would throw the balance off. no change yet

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 14 resolution! hot chef did give in, on the condition that he teaches both of us. i didn’t manage to escape because smart aleck seemed to decide this was the only way. don’t know how this fits into whatever romantic daydreams he had.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 14 i see those comments that this might give me a chance to put them together. but i think it is more fun to not help them at all. they need to do this on their own

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 15 to do such teaching, a grocery shopping mission is needed. because the world is... well. i suggested just they go together so fine. maybe i will try and assist.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 15 level of domestic of sneaking things you know your “just friends roommate” loves but won’t buy for themselves in the cart without them knowing?

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 15 you ask how i know that and it is of course because smart aleck, so proud of himself, announced it as soon as he reentered the apartment. goat the cat tried to get into the bags to eat raw fish while this occurred.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 16 first cooking lesson, some simple stir fry. i already can cook this so i get to just perch at the counter and watch. vote on the poll below how you think this will turn out

[hands brushing softly] [sparks, and not the sexy kind] [food hopefully?]

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 16 everyone who voted for fire won. the neighbors are quite upset. and not even goat the cat will eat the final product. i ordered take out and a fresh fire extinguisher while they dealt with the mild fire and smoke detector.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 17 smart aleck is pouting so there will be no cooking lessons today. the good news (for his employer) is he seems to actually be focusing on doing his job.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 20 hot chef actually asked smart aleck if he wanted to try cooking again. very interesting. this has mostly been coming from SA’s side, so i would call this positive movement.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 20 SA has completely perked up and agreed.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 20 oh apparently the plan is SA will watch and i get the place as the student in the kitchen. this is probably safer for everyone

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 21 for those asking what happen: dinner was made with no issue. I was in charge of the main dish and that left HC to work on side dishes. SA even helped wash and chop some vegetables. goat took some chicken right off SA’s plate and ran away with it growling.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 21 i take that to mean the cat approves of my cooking. but she also tried to steal things from the trash, so that isn’t much of an endorsement.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 22 SA is avoiding work and trying to clean again. he actually asked if he could move stuff around. growth.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 25 hot chef spotted leaving smart aleck’s room this morning?

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 25 false alarm, he was just looking for the cat.

WZ @theroommatedilema . April 30 final report for this month: progress made in communication. new together activity established. the apartment has not burned down. a baby step closer, yet still so far away from them figuring this out...

#the sleuth of ming dynasty #tsomd #wang zhi #tang fan #sui zhou #springsleuthing #my fic #we'll pretend any grammar or spelling issues are on purpose idk amshauwhroaw #it is very late and i am Tired #sleuth trio #idk how dong'er fits into this i'm thinking on it #since this is only the start

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sweeethinny · 5 years ago

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Helloooo, if u still write prompts can u please write something about hinny dropping off James Sirius for his first year at hogwarts?

helloo, I love to write about those moments, and I hope it was good, I left it more sentimental than I expected btw, now we have a PROMPT LIST, feel free to send :)

''He'll be fine'' Harry repeated for the tenth time that morning, stirring the eggs in the pot and sighing as he used his other hand to ruffle his hair ''What if he doesn't?''

''Harry, he'll be fine'' Ginny replied, even though her husband knew she was also worried ‘'Everything will be fine'' She spoke, more to herself than to Harry, climbing up the stairs to wake the three children, certain that the the older kid was already awake, probably barely sleeping at night - just like she and Harry.

After waking everyone who was not awake, going through the suitcase and examining clothes and materials for the fifth time, Ginny took everyone down, trying to exude the best confidence that goes beyond.

She didn't want to be all sentimental in front of the children, but her heart was on fire at the thought of being without James in the house. As much as he and Albus had been fighting lately, just thinking that her baby would stay for almost a year, as tears prickled her eyes.

''Good morning my loves'' Harry greeted, serving the children's dishes and also seeming to hide his mood, since last night after he talked to James about behaving, not breaking rules (or at least trying), studying ... and everything else a father should say to his son before he goes to Hogwarts, Harry was much more sentimental, hugging Ginny tighter than usual and remaining silent while she also thinks about the things that were in her husband's head;

Their first little bird was leaving the nest.

As soon as they finished breakfast, and Teddy arrived, they started putting things in the car, and just from Harry's face, Ginny knew they were both frighteningly anxious and sad. Inside the car, Ginny scolded them for looking so discouraged, so they started talking and talking about everything James could expect from Hogwarts, and more than once, Ginny had to bite her tongue to keep from stupid tears away.

They had done this to Teddy already, it wasn’t supposed to remain so sentimental, but it seemed almost impossible. It looked like it was yesterday that James climbed into their bed in the morning, only to sleep hugging his mother like he was still a baby. Wasn't it also yesterday that James put on her uniform and said he was a professional player like mommy? Even if he could barely balance himself on the broom?

''What if I can't fly?'' He whispered to her, looking anxious for the first time, as they walked across the platform full of wizards and children ready for their new school year.

Ginny felt her chest tighten, wondering how much it had cost James, who always tried to look as strong as an 11-year-old could do ... They would be in big trouble when he grew up a little and managed to be better at hiding it .

''I'm sure you can do it, but if you need help, we'll train at Christmas, ok?'' She calmed him down, almost hugging him again and embarrassing him in front of his new colleagues.

When Harry reminded him of being a good boy, not breaking the rules, and everything he was going to repeat to everyone until the last day he had to do that, everyone hugged James, who, to his credit, looked as anxious as his parents for having to leave them behind. The maximum amount of time they had spent apart was on vacation, when Ginny and Harry traveled for a week to celebrate their wedding anniversary in Greece. A year seemed too long.

The son boarded the train, waved at everyone until he was far enough away to be a blur, and finally disappeared on his way to Hogwarts. Ginny could barely hide that she was about to cry.

Of course, it was a cry of happiness, her son was growing up, and he would test all the lessons she and Harry had taught him during the 11 years, and that's okay, in a few months he would be back and tell, and until that happens, they would send letters to maintain communication ... but it still squeezed their heart.

And when all the kids left for school? She could barely imagine an entire day without Lily following her, or Albus being a chatterbox and talking about anything that went through his head.

''We'll be fine'' Harry whispered, hugging his wife's waist and pulling her closer as they walked back to the car. Albus was suddenly quite quiet. ''How long until he does something wrong and we have to send a howler?'' He asked, laughing weakly and thinking about the boy's conflicting temperament and how he had an ability to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time

''Let's hope it takes at least a month'' Ginny replied, laughing and thinking about what was still waiting for them. "If we are lucky, McGonagall will not notice his name until a semester from now"

''If we're lucky, two years from now she'll still accept Albus, and not just give up on the Potter ... Teddy really gave her a headache'' Harry said

''Oh no, Teddy spoke to James yesterday and said he was going to 'give him tips' '' She said, running a hand through her hair and looking at the godson who was saying something to the two quiet kids, trying to cheer them up at all costs.

''I think we'll hear from James sooner than expected'' Harry replied, laughing and squeezing her waist, kissing the top of her head ''We'll be fine''

''I know'' And Ginny really knew that.

#hinny #harry x ginny #harry!dad #ginny!mom #hp next gen #harry potter next generation #next gen harry potter #next gen hp prompt #James Sirius Potter #Albus Severus Potter #lily luna potter #Harry Potter #harry potter being dad #ginnyPOTTER

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missholland · 5 years ago

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Lan Wangji (mostly, his love)

LAN ZHAN! I read somewhere that this was said 102 times by Wei Wuxian in The Untamed. It feels like an understatement, cause I’ve watched the show so many times now I could hear ‘Lan Zhan’ being called in my sleep...

My first time watching the drama, I was full on Team Xianxian. I mean, who would not be? He’s the central character of the story, he’s the first thing you see within the first few seconds of episode 1, and who could resist his sunflower aura? I was not into Lan Wangji at all. I remember this clearly because I just found an old Instagram story in my Archive on the day I first watched this show: a screenshot of Wangji’s face in episode 3 and my caption was: ‘OMG how could Wei sunshine fall in love with this dry and boring man?’. And just like how Wangji eventually swallowed all of the statements he had made about the young Wei Wuxian (’I don’t touch other people’, ‘We’re not close’, etc.), I am not the same person on that fateful day tuning in the first episode on Netflix. I am now Team Hanguang-Jun through and through!

What I’ve been enjoying so much these days is watching random earlier/later episodes just to compare how Wangji’s attitude changed toward Wei Wuxian over 16 years-ish. It’s probably so obvious for everyone that he definitely falls in love first, even when the drama purposely made their early relationship a lot more intense comparing to the novel i.e. showing Wei Wuxian somewhat feeling the same way about Wangji in his first life, with the constant flirting and mutual pining (don’t even get me started...). Now that I kinda understand what the character is like, it makes a lot of sense the way he processed his feelings for Wuxian in his youth. I wonder how different he would have reacted without the push from the best brother/wingman in the cultivation world - Lan Xichen. Sure, Jiang Cheng had a lot to say about this too, but mostly out of a slight envy (I reckon) over Wuxian’s new subject of desire. But Lan Xichen sees through his brother, and has been pretty much WangXian fanclub admin since day 1. I don’t have a brother, but man, I wish Lan Xichen could be mine.

In my humble opinion, the fact that we were given 3 versions of Wei Wuxian throughout the series kinda gifts us 3 versions of Lan Wangji too in a way - the straight face, the confused heart, and the national boyfriend/husband. Considering the number of times I rewatched the latter half of the series i.e. episode 33 onward, I just want to write down all of my thoughts about the national boyfriend/husband Lan Wangji, and not just because that version seems to have the most lines comparing to the other two.

There are several details that were not explained much in the series (although shown on screen) so I have to read from the novel later on. But oh my god, the stuff I found... I never realized that the scene before Lan Wangji went to Mo’s manor where his guqin was playing behind him standing on the balcony referred to how he used Inquiry to find Wuxian. What Jiang Cheng said to him about having gone to a lot of places for 16 years and searching for someone completely went over my head in the first watch, and imagine how I scratched my brain revisiting that part. That plus ‘oh I’ve never seen you at a cultivation conference before’ in episode 41 - my goodness, because he was spending ALL of his time LOOKING FOR Wei Wuxian.

Another thing I hope would have been addressed in the series was the hot iron mark on his chest. I thought the story of him drinking wine and giving himself a mark identical to Wuxian’s was the prime work of a broken heart. He must have thought about their conversation in Xuanwu cave, about the mark staying on his skin forever and how Wuxian was convinced Mianmian would never forget him. Was that how Wangji was making a point of never forgetting Wei Wuxian? If that scene made into the drama, I would have thought Wangji’s character song Buwang to be play in the background. The lyrics fit the situation so much.

Personally, everything from episode 33 onward was perfection for me, finally getting to see Wangji embrace his feelings and ACT ON THEM toward the romance-blind idiot Wei Wuxian (yes, he totally is). All the caring touches and details played out so astonishingly. One of my favourite (which doesn’t seem to be a popular one since I have not seen many gifs of it on Tumblr) was when, after interrogating Huaisang, Wangji comfortably moved over the other side of the table and picked up Wuxian’s left leg to CLEAN THE EVIL SPELL - think of the level of intimacy this act is! Although that came after the romantic piggyback under the moonlight, I thought that speaks volume for someone who doesn’t even physically interact with his family members, and serves as a great follow-up right after he, again comfortably, pulled up Wuxian’s trousers to check his leg.

What I thought was always presented so beautifully is every time Wangji serves Wuxian liquor. The way he carefully picks up his sleeve, prepares the cup (I know they’re probably not called ‘cups’ but I can’t find another word), pours the liquor and slides it over to his partner is so well demonstrated and shows how much he wants to properly take care of Wuxian. Would you put so much effort in such a tiny mundane act if you’re not doing it for the most important person in your life?

In a way, I feel like everything he does is making up for what he could not do the past 16 years, including remembering so many tiny details and keeping all sort of Wuxian-related things. My favourite Wangji keepsake moment, despite being a very short one, is the butterfly talisman at Yunping City which he gave to Wuxian to rescue Wen Ning. I don’t know why that moment makes me really really happy, probably because that was one of the earliest items Wangji could have kept hold of from Wuxian’s. That tells us how way long before he was developing feelings toward this little rebel. Not to mention, we did see Wangji even use this very talisman in episode 11 when he encountered Wen Chao on his way back to Cloud Recesses.

Yes, the ‘I knew he was Wei Ying all along’ while having all the swords pointed at you is highly pivotal as it’s basically the censored version of ‘I love you’. BUT, the moment all leading cultivators of all major and minor clans ran to Burial Mounds just to witness Lan Wangji standing proudly without flinch on the other side with Wei Wuxian makes me appreciate that whole arc a lot more than the big revelation in the last 3 episodes. Wangji ignoring his own Grand Master, Wuxian once again standing against every single person in the cultivation world but with so much confidence this time around - to me, is beyond satisfying. I love this arc so much so I wrote a separate piece about episode 44-45 - if you’re interested in more of my random thoughts, feel free to have a read here.

Thinking about all this, I’m absolutely in awe of how protective national boyfriend Wangji is to Wei Wuxian even before knowing he lost his golden core. They either have insanely accurate GPS, or just really good telepathy. Wangji’s constant attention to his partner (without having to verbally find out where he is) blows my mind every time. Remember how proud Wei Wuxian was having Lan Wangji come out just in time to fight Xue Yang at Coffin Town? That’s how much Wangji’s love and trust empowers Wuxian and makes him so so so secured, even when everyone was walking around in the fog hiding from the most notorious killer and his puppets.

The one detail that pushed me over the edge completely (thanks a lot Lan Xichen) was the story of Wangji’s mom. Oh my god, baby Wangji sitting in the snow really messes with my head. I cannot believe it took 40 something episodes for us to learn about Wangji’s emotionally damaged upbringing and what shapes him into a stubborn lovebird as we know today. It adds A LOT more context and sadness to his famous phrase ‘bring a man back to Cloud Recesses and hide him’, as well as Lan Qiren’s statement ‘have you not learned from your father’s lesson’. I revisit the ‘bring back and hide him’ scene with a completely new perspective and can sense Wangji’s pain and confusion that Xichen described. The desperation in that statement of Wangji was a lot heavier in my eyes now that I understand the back story. If I were Wei Wuxian listening to all of that from Lan Xichen, I would probably have a meltdown right there at the doorsteps of the Silence Room.

Now we all know the source of inspiration of the infamous ‘I want to bring a man to Cloud Recesses. Bring him back and hide him’ in episode 25:

So after all of Xichen’s effort in telling Wuxian how Wangji actually feels about him through the tear-jerker story about their parents, Wei Wuxian STILL asked Lan Wangji WHY he was willing to seal Bichen and his own spiritual power so that Jin Guangyao would not hurt him. This dense man, of course, brought up the guilt card i.e. ‘Oh you don’t owe me anything’. I mean COME ON NOW YILING PATRIARCH! CAN YOU ACTUALLY BE THAT OBLIVIOUS WHEN IT COMES TO THE MAN THAT TOOK 300 LASHES ON HIS BACK FOR PROTECTING YOUR LEGACY?

I know it went the other way in the novel, where the big confession happened. Maybe a bite from Fairy could do you some good, or just talk to Lan Xichen some more and then you can start appreciating your soulmate the way he deserves.

The silver lining after being deprived of an epic love confession is everything that happened in episode 50. It might have not been spelling-it-out clear as in ‘I love you’ ‘I love you too’ because of the government censorship, but it’s easily the most obvious yet emotional type of ending the production team has worked to hard to deliver. If you are still having trouble processing the allegedly ‘ambiguous’ finale, I can help with that - here. Just a heads up: it’s a happy ending.

Good to know Wei Wuxian has the rest of his life making up to Lan Wangji. Everyday means everyday, because Wangji deserves THAT much!

#wei wuxian #wei ying #lan zhan #lan wangji #hanguang jun #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #chen qing ling #gusu lan #character analysis #thoughts #yiling patriarch #yiling laozu #xiao zhan #wang yibo #lan xichen

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verobatto · 5 years ago

Text

Destiel Chronicles

Vol. LXVIII

It was a love story from the very beginning.

I Want You Back (Part I)

(11x15/11x16a)

Hello my friends! How are you? I decided to divide this topic into two parts and taking the first half of episode 16.

Thanks to my dear editor @destielle for take her time and betaed this mess! 😘💕

Here I will talk about how Dean's priorities change from the moment he discovers Cas is possessed by Lucifer.

Something like… 'Amara who?'

Let's check it out…

He wants so be saved

The first scene in the bunker in episode 15x15 shows us Dean trying to force the idea about Cas wanting to be saved to be true, just like the way when he came back from Purgatory without the angel and lied to himself to the point he altered his memories about what really happened.

Sam can sense his brother's feelings and concerns… pay attention to this dialogue…

Sam: Uh... don’t you think our plates are a little full? I mean it’s bad out there, Dean.

Dean: Yeah, Sam. You think I don’t know that? We’ve done nothing but mainline lore for a week, okay? We’ve got jack on another hand of God and Amara, and we’ve got even less jack on how to save Cas.

Sam: If he wants to be saved.

Dean: He does... even if he doesn’t know it yet.

Sam: Dean...

Dean: I’m burnt, man. Okay? And I need... WE need to get out of here. Let’s go stretch our legs.

Sam looks wearily at Dean.

Sam knows Castiel decided to do this because he wanted to be useful to the fight. Again, Sam and Cas share the same train of thought, opting for war decisions. It’s easy for Sam to understand Cas. But for Dean, the one in love with the angel, it’s really hard to believe. He can't wrap his head around the possibility of Cas saying yes to Lucifer on purpose or that he doesn’t want to be saved. He can't and he doesn't want to believe it. And the guilt inside of him because he didn't see these events coming is playing an important role in his despair. All he wants is his angel back...

Gunnar: Castiel mirror

They were set blatantly: Dean and his crush on Gunnar and Sam and his crush on Rio.

Playing with these two parallels at the same time in the same episode, we, as the audience searching for subtext, can see and talk about Bi!Dean easily.

Gif credit @roseredfingers

That's why we have Gunnar winking at Dean and Rio seductively greeting Sam when they came out from the wrestling ring in two different scenes.

Gif set credit @subcas 👇

But that wasn't the only thing the writers wanted to show us by introducing Gunnar.

Gunnar was dressed in the color blue, so, when Dean faces him, we can interpret that as him facing Cas… watch this…

Gunnar: Sorry, kid. I don’t want to do this.

Dean: Oh, then don’t.

Gunnar: You say that like I got a choice. That guy out there, he’s a...

Dean: He’s a demon. I know. And I know about Hell and deals... all of it. What’s he got over you? You sold your soul, didn’t you?

Gunnar: Ten years ago, I wanted another shot at the belt; 50,000 people screaming my name. I was desperate and dumb.

Dean: But you only had the title for like a week.

Gunnar: Desperate and dumb.

Dean: Okay. Okay. Look, you screwed up, all right? Trust me. I’ve been there. But it is never too late to do the right thing.

Gunnar: You really believe that?

Dean: I have to.

Gunnar wanted to be the winner, the hero, just like Cas. Castiel wanted to be that hero on which Sam and Dean could rely on. And his despair led him to Lucifer. So Dean, emphatically, tries to give him hope because he totally understands, because he has ‘been there.'

This is a piece of Dean Winchester's struggle. Dean has been there. He totally knows what it’s like to be desperate, and we can easily imagine him to be asking himself why Cas didn't come to him and talk about everything first. But also why he couldn’t see the signs of the bad shape Castiel was in. Why did Sam notice but not him? Not even when he saw him in the bunker and Casifer lightly suggested using Dean as bait? All of this is seething inside Dean. So when he finds Gunnar and hears his story of WHY HE HAD MADE A DEAL WITH A DEMON (just like Cas) it was as if he was seeing Cas in that story.

Learning a Lesson

The last scene in the episode is Sam and Dean talking about Gunnar and the conversation turning into a Cas-centric chat…

Sam: Are you okay?

Dean: Not even a little bit. Lawless was a good guy. He didn’t deserve to go out like that, you know?

Sam: Dean, you know what? He made a bad decision. We’ve been there.

Dean: Yeah, you, me, now Cas.

This is the confirmation of the assumption that Gunnar's behavior was a recall of Castiel's bad decision and that Dean was aware of it the whole time. So it’s confirmed: When he was talking to Gunnar it was a mirror for talking to Cas.

Sam: Dean, we’ll get him back. We will. We just got to…

Sam recognizes the symptomatology over there… everything is about Cas.

Dean: Keep grinding. No matter how much it hurts, no matter how hard it gets, you got to keep grinding.

Sam: Right.

Dean is talking, finally, with the pain carved into his heart, and Sam is there for him, listening to his brother confessing he's devastated because Cas made that bad decision and that he wants him back, and that he will keep fighting for it.

Gif credit @sunlitcas

Dean: And that’s how we’re gonna win. And we’re gonna win. We’re gonna save Cas, we’re gonna ice the Devil and we’re gonna shank the Darkness. And anyone that gets in our way, well, God help them.

Sam: Damn right.

Dean: Damn right.

Dean learning his lesson, painfully, but he's okay, he can do this, Sam is there, and both of them will get Cas back.

Cas comes first

In the beginning of episode 11x16 'Safe House', Dean is worried about not having any clue about Cas and Amara, but Sam finds a case to make his brother focus on another topic. A distraction.

But the case ended up being one of Bobby's and Rufus’s old cases.

In the same way we have Dean focused on Cas and Sam focused on relocating that on another case, we have Bobby focused on the Apocalypse and Rufus focused on the house and the case.

The whole episode is like a war between what is more important: the Apocalypse (Cas) or the case.

There are handprints on the victims, mirroring the Destiel handprint. And we have a broken seal, mirroring Cain's mark.

BOBBY: The apocalypse is on the horizon, and you wanna hunt a damn ghost!

And this one here too…

BOBBY: Been burning the midnight oil. Last couple of weeks. Up for days. Lookin' for ways to stop the apocalypse. Lookin' for - anything. Sam and Dean are right in the middle of this thing. I'm worried about my boys, Rufus.

Bobby isn't sleeping, just like Dean. Because both of them are worried. One because of his familial love for his boys and the other one because of romantic love, as the writers will make that difference apparent in episode 11x17 'Red Meat', which I’ll be talking about in the next meta.

Finally, I want to talk about this dialogue before ending this analysis…

RUFUS: Hey, hey. Alright, okay. Papa bear. But you know more than anyone, Bobby. Even if we find a way to keep the world spinning, not everyone's going to be on that bus ride home. Sacrifice, greater good. All that jazz.

BOBBY: Yeah, I know.

The greater good, the war decision is making its appearance again. The Sacrifice, the path Castiel has chosen.

RUFUS: Oldest rule of hunting, Bobby. You can't save everyone.

So, Rufus (Sam mirror) talks about war decisions, and Bobby (Dean mirror) talks about his emotions (heart decision).

To conclude:

Episode 11x15 brought us subtext for Bi!Dean, making a blatant parallel between Gunnar/Dean and Rio/Sam, their youth crushes.

Gunnar was mirroring Cas by making a deal with a demon to become a hero again.

Dean immediately related Gunnar's story to Castiel. So the words he said to him were the ones he wanted to say to Cas, if he had just seen the weight of Cas' despair.

Episode 11x16 was another parallel between Sam and Dean with Bobby and Rufus with the topic being ‘What comes first?’. To Dean, the answer is obvious: Castiel comes first, always.

I hope you liked this meta, see you in the next one!

Tagging @metafest @magnificent-winged-beast @emblue-sparks @weirddorkylittlediana @michyribeiro @whyjm @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @dea-stiel @poorreputation @bre95611 @thewolfathedoor @charlottemanchmal @neii3n @deathswaywardson @followyourenergy @dean-is-bi-till-i-die @hekatelilith-blog @avidbkwrm @anarchiana @dickpuncher365 @vampyrosa @foxyroxe-art @authorsararayne @anonymoustitans @mybonsai1976 @love-neve-dies @wildligia @dustythewind @wayward-winchester67 @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @deeutdutdutdoh @destiel-is--endgame @destiel-shipper-11 @larrem88 @charmedbycastiel @ran-savant @little-crazy-misha-minion @samoosetheshipper

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @nerditoutwithbooks @mikennacac73 @justmeand-myinsight @idontwantpeopletoknowmyname @tenshilover20 @teddybeardoctor @pepevons @helevetica @isthisdestiel @dizzypinwheel @jawnlockwinchester @horsez2 @qanelyytha

@imjustkipping @destielle @agusvedder @spnsmile @shippsblog @robot-feels @superlock-in-the-tardis

If you want to be added or removed from this list, just let me know.

If you want to read the previous metas From s11, here you have the links...

Vol. LXII, LXIII, LXIV, LXV, LXVI, LXVIII.

Buenos Aires, June 30th 2020 5:06 PM

#destiel #destiel chronicles #destiel meta #supernatural meta #season 11 meta #vol XLVIII

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duhragonball · 5 years ago

Note

For the Ask Game: Son Goku

Give me a character and I will answer:

Why I like them: Goku is the main character in Dragon Ball Z, an anime that I have enjoyed tremendously for over 20 years. He kicks aliens really fast and hard, and he eats wolves and bugs and clouds, and he’s very cool and good.

That may sound kind of basic, maybe even borderline sarcastic, but I’m not sure how else to put it. I’ve gotten so used to liking Goku that it’s hard to articulate why.

Like, okay, you know that one episode during the Cell Games, where he’s gonna pick apples from his favorite apple tree? And he does the special karate punch that makes the apples all fall out of the branches without really hurting the tree? In the dub, he says to the tree “Ready for one more round, old timer?” Or something like that, and then after he hits it, he’s like “See? That didn’t hurt a bit.” I’m not getting the lines right, but you get the idea. That’s some choice Goku right there. He’s friends with that tree!

Why I don’t: hE gAvE mOrO a SeNzU bEaN-- ha ha just kidding, but can you imagine not liking Goku? Because of something he did in some horseshit fancomic that doesn’t even count?

Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of guff from people about Goku showing mercy to his enemies. This is humorous to me, because I’d bet you dollars to donuts that they’re fans of Vegeta and/or Piccolo, and that only happened because Goku decided to have mercy on their stank asses. “Well I like Vegeta because he kills people.” He only gets to do that because Goku allowed him to live. Best Green Dad doesn’t happen without Goku, period, end of sentence, new paragraph.

I’m not a lore expert like that guy on Twitter who only watched DBZ Abridged, but here’s some cool trivia for you: Cell could have self-destructed and destroyed the Earth at any time. It literally does not matter that Goku gave Cell a senzu bean before Gohan fought him, because Cell would have done the same thing no matter who beat him or how. If Gohan had wiped him out quickly, that nucleus would have survived and regenerated, and he would come back even stronger. The senzu bean just delayed the inevitable outcome, and not even by that much, because Cell wasn’t that worn out in the first place. The whole thing with the senzu bean was Goku playing headgames with Cell and no one seems to understand that but me.

But what about Moro, you ask? Hey, come here.

Closer. No, closer.

Listen to me. I love you, okay? But the Dragon Ball Super manga isn’t canon. Hating Goku over something he did in Super is like hating Superman for something he did in a Mad Magazine bit.

“Blargle blargle he doesn’t kiss his wife bad father, tournament of power--” I super mega don’t care about any of these ice cold takes. Every day I go on YouTube and it recommends me the dirt worst Star Wars commentary videos. “Maybe the SITH were actually the GOOD GUYS and the JEDI were the BAD GUYS! Huh? Did I just BLOW your MIND? Be sure to like and subscribe!” Every dope with a keyboard seems to think they can flip the script and pretend they’re some kind of genius. “Thanos was right!” “Magneto was right!” “Dr. Doom was right!” “Antifa are the real fascists when you stop and think about it!” “Masks and vaccines are bullshit, COVID-19 is a hoax, but if it were real, maybe it’s the good guy in this situation!”

I didn’t mean to go off on a rant here, but the whole point of Goku is that he’s a pretty cool guy, and the hero of his particular adventure, and you see all these people trying to outsmart that somehow, like it’s not the premise of the character. It’s like all those fan theories about how every show is really one character having a coma dream in the hospital. It’s fake-deep, like when Will Smith’s kid goes on the internet and says something like “Water isn’t wet when you stop and think about it.”

I’m not saying everyone has to like Goku, but I don’t get the hate-boner people have for him. I don’t like cole slaw, it’s soggy and insipid and I don’t understand it, but I don’t go around trying to convince people it’s not made out of cabbage.

Anyway, Goku’s awesome.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): It’s hard to choose, but DBZ #248 always fucks me up. I looked it up in my liveblog archive to get the episode number right, and the first line of that post: This one always fucks me up.

Moving on.

Favorite season/movie: In Dragon Ball terms, I guess this refers to the sagas, so I’ll go with Cell Games. Goku goes into the battle with this flawed, touch-and-go plan, and it works. He defeats perfection with imperfection, and it’s glorious.

Favorite line: “What I represent can never be destroyed,” is one of the most metal lines ever uttered, anywhere. It’s a threat and a moral lesson all in one.

Favorite outfit: Two answers for this one.

Shu’s outfit in the Fortuneteller Baba Saga was awesome. I used to wear yellow T-shirts to work, so when I put on my blue labcoat I would see myself in the restroom mirror and think: yeaaaaahhhhhh.

I’m also big into Goku’s look during the Cell Games, classic orange outfit, blue shirt, with the Super Saiyan form ready to go. That may sound obvious, since this is kind of Goku’s default look, but it takes a while to get all of this together. For me, it was a big deal to see Goku in action as a Super Saiyan in his standard fighting gear, because the whole time he was SSJ on Namek his shirt was ruined. Against Gero and 19 he was sick, but starting with the Cell Games, we get him fresh as a daisy, and it’s worth the wait. Harder to stealth cosplay, though.

OTP: Gochi. Come on. I don’t even care that much about ships, but they’re adorable on the show, and the internet backlash against Gochi only intensifies my defiance.

Brotp: I wrote a fanfic with Goku and Yamcha just joyriding in the desert, and that seemed pretty awesome, so maybe we need more of that.

I dunno, maybe I’m giving this to Bulma. They don’t get a ton of screen time together after a certain point in the show, but the bond between them is this really sublime thing. In the same fanfic, I wrote Bulma and Goku interacting, and that was just a pleasure to write.

Head Canon: I think Goku being an alien orphan matters more to him than he lets on. Early on, he knew he had parents but he didn’t know why they left him in the woods. Pretty much every interaction he has with the outside world is about him being different. Then he finds out he’s a Saiyan and all the Saiyans hate him for being weak and sentimental and so on. He can kick all their asses, but that doesn’t make him any less of an outcast.

I think becoming a Super Saiyan is a bigger deal to him than he lets on. That moment kind of serves as this unspoken proof that there’s more to being a “true” Saiyan than Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz ever knew. That maybe, if his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great granny could see him, she might approve.

Unpopular opinion:

Yukio Ebisawa is underrated.

A wish: I always wanted to see Goku style on Broly ‘93. It seemed unfair to me that they kept bringing Broly back, and even teased a rematch with Goku in Movie 11, only to not deliver on it. I wanted Goku to turn Super Saiyan 2 and Broly’d be all “oh noes!” and Goku would look at him and be all “Yeah. What now, bitch? That green shit won’t cut it anymore.”

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I think my darkest fear about the Dragon Ball franchise is that it’ll get bastardized like Superman, where some giant multimedia corporation owns it, has no idea how to tell new stories with it, and refuses to let it lapse into the public domain. I have no idea how public domain works in Japan, but “Disney Toei’s Dragon Ball KH” doesn’t sit well with me. Hopefully I’ll be dead by the time that happens.

Like, Rise of Skywalker wasn’t that bad. But it did lead me to worry that they really have no idea how to make Star Wars work. They got it right enough, but the part where Rose is going to stay and guard the base or whatever, it just made me realize they’re only guessing, and they just happen to guess right often enough to succeed. And it’s not like you can jump over to some other studio and see how they handle a Star Wars movie.

5 words to best describe them: Ain’t nothin’ to fuck with.

My nickname for them: Geeko. Ha ha, just kidding.

#dragon ball #ask duhragonball #goku #son goku #jcogginsa

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ifliamsmile · 5 years ago

Photo

Blue Bird has a Broken Wing

Summary: Dick answer a call from bruce Wayne, his dad, who called needing his help in Gotham. It was Justice League thing,normally not that easy, after all, they called Nightwing. But when he comes home, y/n who was waiting anxiously for his back, notices he’s not fine, dick is hurt and needs her. Will they assume their relationship who had Always existed but kept in secret in Exchange for being together in this rough time?

pairing: Dick Grayson x Reader

warnings: mention of smut, blood, fluff.

Notes: I wrote this imagine with @boyy-wonder-grayson. She never let me stop, or think that i’m not capable. She writes amazing imagines, you should check it out on her tumblr.

- [2 p.m, TitansTower]

The team was having lunch. Today Dick decided he would cook his “special food” that he used to do in Sundays, maybe Bruce Wayne not only taught fighting lesson but also cooking ones. You and Dick stared at each other during lunch, looks that would usually go unnoticed by some of titans. The truth is,the both of you had this “love at first sight” thing since the beginning, but for many reasons you hid it. Maybe it was the fact that you both had been raised together, -you were 17 when you met and he was just turning 21- or maybe it was the fact that the more people knowing about you two, the more chances it gave your enemies a chance to attack you, because you’re each other’s weakness. Dick wouldn’t bare seeing you hurt, just like you’d do everything to protect him. You two have spent many nights together; many secret kisses were shared in the rooftops of Gotham, in batmobile, in Titans tower, in each other’s bedroom’s. He was your first, your one and only.

Bruce could notice how much Dick would complain about sending you in dangerous missions. Dawn and Hank had also noticed the times Dick would prepare coffee for you. They realized how careful and caring Dick was with you. “Maybe it’s a bat family thing” they thought, but it definitely wasn’t. You were talking about Bruce, while having lunch, the conversation was interrupted when Dick’s cell phone rang; he immediately looked at Y/N. “Bruce” the screen showed.

Dick left the table so he could talk with a little more privacy, after all Bruce’s calls were never to see how were you doing, it was more a “i need your help right now” type of call.

“Hey, Bruce, what’s up?” Dick said when he got to the balcony.

“Hey son, it’s a Justice League thing. We need your help, don’t bring Y/N or Jason, or any of the Titans. Only Nightwing is needed.” Bruce said in his particular dark tone. Dick understood that he needed to talk to you about this mission in private. He knew that if it were you in this situation, he would like to know.

After lunch, once everyone went on their way, Dick looked at you nodding his head towards the bedrooms, he muttered a “need to talk to you”. You went first, throwing the excuse that you needed to clean up your suit. A little later, Dick followed saying that he needed to train.

[3:40 p.m, Titans Tower, Dick’s bedroom]

“Hey love, what’s up? Was it Bruce in the phone?” You asked him and kissed himt, enjoying this little time alone.

“Yeah, it was him. I needed to talk to you now because the League need me to go on a mission. Apparently it’s the Riddler again. According to Bruce’s words he's wreaking havoc in Gotham..” Dick took a deep breath “He asked me to go alone, I can’t take you or any of us, unfortunately” He looked down.

“Go D, they really need you. But please, be careful. It kills me to think about you getting hurt. Riddler is crazy. He can be pretty dangerous.” You told him with fear because you knew he needed to go, he could never ignore a call from Bruce.

Dick gives you a hug and you can feel him breathing next to your hair. He loved the smell of your shampoo.

“Nightwing will be back in one piece baby.” He touched your forehead with his and kissed you, deeply. You couldn’t say you were okay with this, but you would pray for him to come back home safe.

“I love you.” Dick said

“I love you, D, come back to me fast. I’ll wait for you awake”, you answered looking into his eyes, those bright brown eyes, they shined for you,and only you.

. You were interrupted when Jason opened the door. To say the boy was crushing on you was an understatement. Ever since Bruce adopted him, he had acted as your shadow practically. following you around and complimenting you after every mission. Teenage love you and Dick would say. Sadly for jason you couldn't return the feelings. you'd been in love with Dick since day one, since you two were kids and you felt like that could never change.

You two had already separated from the hug. Dick hands were on his jeans pockets while you crossed them. Jason was confused as to why you were here.

“What are you both doing here? We are all in the living room” he inquired.

You wait for Dick to answer but he couldn't think of anything to say, so you answered instead.

“I was telling Dick that Bruce send him some files, about the mission he’s supposed to go to”, you answered because nothing more convincing came into your mind.

“Yeah, bro, i will be leaving for Gotham in 20 minutes.” Dick said with a half smile.

“Good luck in your mission Dickie”. You left the bedroom and head into the living room.

When all of you were there, Dick appeared with his suitcase, jacket and phone.

You had left him a message:

“Call me when you get there, D, i’ll be waiting for you. Kick Riddler’s ass. Love ya, Blue Bird”

He smiled to the screen and winked at you. Everyone wished Dick a good mission.You could only wait now, that and participate in the game that Hank had just started. But then you felt someone holding your arm.

“Hey Y/N, since Dick’s not here, do you want to train with me ?” Jason asked you

“Hey Jay, i’m having cramps today, i just want to ret maybe later, but thank you for the invitation” ,you said and left to your room.

[6 p.m, TitansTower]

Your phone rang and your screen lit up with the photo you took of Dick and yourself a few years ago. He was calling you.

“I’m sorry guys, I have to take this ” you said to the titans who were still playing in living room and head for the balcony. Hank and Dawn look to each other suspiciously.

“Hey, love, how’s it going?” You asked Dick .

“I just arrived in Gotham, baby, i’m heading to the Wayne manor right now, we still have to discuss the plan before jumping into action. Everything is okay, the city is dark as ever but don't worry. I’ll be calling you when we’re done with him.”

Dick said. You say goodbye to each other and you wait. Now the only thing you could do is wait

[11 p.m, Titans Tower]

When the game ended, you all stayed in the living room. Today San Francisco was quiet, so the titans didn’t have to go out. After all, even heroes needed to rest, right?

Rachel was laying in the couch while Gar and Connor played their Xbox game. You and the old titans were sitting in the table and having some beers. But your head wasn’t here in the tower, it was in Gotham City, with Dick. He hadn’t call after your first talk earlier and you hoped everything was fine.

“Earth to Y/N , hello” Donna plays with you, and you all laughed.

“I’m sorry, Donn, I got lost in my thoughts, what were we talking about?” You asked, ashamed to be honest because you didn’t have idea about what they were talking. Hank was about to talk when you were interrupted by the main door opening and revealing a bloodied Nightwing, you got up hurriedly, instantly following to his side . All eyes were on Dick now. after all, he didn’t looked good.

“Dick, are you okay?” You asked

“Yeah, i’m good” He told you with a half smile, walking towards the room. You knew he wasn’t okay, he was quiet and his hands were on his stomach.

“You’re sure, bro?” Hank asked

“Totally, I’ll be in my bedroom, i’ll be back here in a minute.”

Dick said and left, right to his room. You knew he was lying, but maybe he was just tired. You would give him some space. He would come back in a minute, just like he said. At least that’s what you thought, thirty minutes and still nothing about Dick . Your face couldn’t lie even though you tried. Jason stopped the conversation to ask you:

“Why the long face, Y/N?”

“Dick hasn’t come back yet.” You answered.

“Why are you worrying so much? It’s not like he never got hurt before.” Jason complained with a huff, he couldn’t hide how jealous he was about Dick. He Always seemed to have your attention and to him? Only hugs of brotherhood.

“Fuck off, Jason, you know nothing.” You stormed out of the living room going right into Dick’s bedroom.

“Baby?” You asked , but the answer never came, so you looked to the floor to see drops of blood. “What the hell?” you ask yourself. You entered the bathroom and there was Dick, seating in the floor leaning on the wall. His hands were covered in blood because he was stopping the bloodstream that was coming from his stomach. He wasn’t awake anymore, It made you panic. “Baby, wake up” you shake his face. No answer

“HANK! HANK, IT’S DICK, PLEASE HELP ME” you yelled, you were crying now, Dick wasn’t fine, it wasn’t a simple bruise, it was deeper.

Hank appeared in the bath in like 5 seconds.

“Fuck. This dumbass loves a dramatic entrance, doesn’t he?” he said annoyed.

“Help me to take him to infirmary, Hank, please, fast.” you begged.

Donna came in after hearing all the commotion “What’s happening? Dick told us he was fine” She asked, and all the titans were in the door. Gar helped Hank and told him that it’s okay, they will take him to the infirmary room.

When you got there, they laid Dick in the hospital bed and administered morphine in his veins. He should be going through a lot of pain.

Kory entered the room- “What’s going on with him?” She was out with some tamaranean friend, you everyone thought they had something. Who knows.

“He was in Gotham, in a mission and he came back like this, we’re giving pain medication and antibiotics, Y/N already cleaned the cut and sutured it. Hank said.

Dick was sleeping now, medicated, he should be awake in a few hours, but you wouldn’t leave him.

“I’ll be staying here with him.” you said firmly.

“You should sleep, we have a mission tomorrow, Y/N” Jason said.

“I’m sure the people of san Francisco will be fine with just us Jason, don’t be such a pain in the ass” Donna said and winked at you. Donna has always known, deep in her heart, about you two, but choose not to tell anythig. They left and you sat in the chair close to the bed and waited, you just couldn’t leave his side.

“Look at us, we are such good actors because i don’t understand how can i hide from everyone that you’re mine, that you’ve been mine since ever and that i love you. I just don’t know how we spent all this time sleeping apart.”

He caressed the skin of your legs and kissed your neck from behind while you two were laid down in your bed in the Wayne Manor. You and him were in Gotham to help Bruce. He had escaped his room to be with you. And now you were there, naked, covered by a tiny blanket, talking about this”

“I don’t wanna put you in danger, D, but at the same time i want to hold your hand and kiss you without hiding.”

You remembered. Then you feel him touching your hand. He was finally awake.

“Hey baby, it looks like i’m not that good, i’m sorry” Dick said with a weak voice.

“D, i was so worried. Why didn’t you tell us you were really hurt? You almost killed me, there was a lot a blood and i thought..” you cried.

He interrupted you by taking your face into his hands and kissed you deeply, he was fine and with you, this is all that mattered now.

“Sleep here with me, please.” He asked you, you thought about your secret relationship, and how no one knew, but seeing Dick so weak and bruised you just thought “screw it” it was time for them to know.

Days passed by and Dick was much better, the first days were hard because the wound was big, but he is the strongest person you know. You were by his side at all times, Jason didn't like it one bit,he was jealous 100% of the time but he would understand why you took care of Dick. You’ve done it many times in the past. You and Dick had decided to tell them during lunch.

“Guys, I need to talk to you .” You said, looking at each one of them. You were sitting on Dick’s side and he grabbed your hand. Jason’s face turned dark. He didn't like where this was going.

“Dick and I are together.” You take a deep breath “It was hard to keep it a secret but we needed, for many reasons, but what happened to him these days made me realize that i almost lost him, and i just couldn’t keep you guys in the dark” you said, “i guess you noticed how crazy i got when i saw him in the bathroom covered in blood” you added.

“I knew it, I always knew it, since Y/N came in Wayne Manor i noticed Dick had changed, for good. But you guys never really said it out loud so i ignored, but the day you were wounded, Dick, she was panicking, keep her, bro, she loves you” Donna said smiling at both of you.

“Jaybird, I’m sorry, bro, we didn’t force it, it just happen” Dick smiled talking to Jason.

“If you love each other i’m good with this, really. I wish you all the happiness in the world. But you’re still the prettiest one, Y/N” Jason said and laugh

“Hey, careful” Dick says and you all laugh. You were happy because after all, the day ended up in a good way.

#dick grayson #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson x y/n #dick grayson imagines #bruce wayne #dick grayson x you #dc nightwing #nightwing #nightwing x reader #nightwingimagines #batfamily #batboys #dc titans #titans #batman #robin #jason todd #redhood

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axwalker · 5 years ago

Text

The Trade 11

Synopsis: Liam is running for Cordonia’s presidency. To assure his victory, Constantine makes an arraignment behind his back for him to marry the rich ambassador’s daughter: Alexis O’Brien. Due to her father’s threats, she has no other option than to seduce Liam Rhys. But what happens when she falls in love with his best friend? (AU)

Pairings: DrakexMC

Warnings: I love drama and chaos so this will probably get a bit dark. In this chapter there is mention of rape, if you get triggered by this issue, don’t hesitate to send me a message and I’ll be glad to explain what happens without reading it. A lot of angst and heartbreak

Please note that this is my first series and English is not my first language. I really love ALL kinds of feedback. Don’t hesitate to comment!

Disclaimer: Some of the dialogues and settings as well as most of the characters belong to Pixelberry (except for Alexis O’Brien and her evil father George O’Brien JR).

To catch up: MASTERLIST

@pedudley thanks for being my incredible beta reader, your comments always make me smile !! ! @mskaneko Thank you so much for this new mood-board, I LOVE it, it’s just perfect

Love you girls ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

I'm tagging those who asked, if you want to be added to the list, just ask :)

@drxkewalker @pedudley @pug-bitch @burnsoslow @lauzales @desireepow-1986 @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore @yukinagato2012 @kingliam2019 @i-bloody-love-drake-walker @debramcg1106 @mskaneko

After their kiss at the Beaumont’s study, Alexis was rattled, she couldn’t allow herself to succumb to Drake anymore. Still feeling his lips on her, she decided to take a shower and try to get him out of her mind. She went into the bathroom and began undressing when a loud noise from the bedroom got her attention. She came back into the room and gasped when she saw Tariq standing in front of her, a twisted smile on his lips.

“My, my I had pictured you without clothes, but my imagination didn’t do you any justice.” He stepped closer looking brazenly at her on her underwear. She took the silky robe next to her bed and put it on.

“What are you doing here?”

He sneered again and pull a knife out of his pocket.

Her eyes widened “Don’t do anything stupid, Tariq. Leave my room, now.” She tried to sound calm and steady, but she was terrified.

“I won’t leave until we’ve had a little fun.”

Her eyes darted to the door, she tried to run to it, but he was quicker than her, so he blocked her passage.

“Where do you think you’re going? I told you that we were going to have a lot of fun tonight.” He pointed the knife at her again. “You can scream all you want but everyone is still at the party, no one will hear you. Plus, I’m not afraid of using this. You owe me, whore.”

After her attack when she was fifteen years old, Alexis had sworn to herself that something like that would never happen to her again. When she left for college in New York, the first thing she had done was to sign up for self-defense lessons. Also, she always carried a pepper spray with her, which was currently at her nightstand next to her bed.

She tried to think fast, if she screamed now, it’d only spook Tariq and make him do something irreparable, plus he was right: when she had left the party everyone was still there.

She’d definitely have more chances of surviving if she managed to convince Tariq that she would sleep willingly with him. Then, as soon as she’d have a chance, she’d mace him, kick him and run.

Alexis raised her hands. “Okay, calm down. Maybe we can talk about this, you don’t have to hurt me.”

“I knew you would come to your senses.” He licked his lips walking towards her and grabbed her by the waist kissing her lasciviously. Feeling his hands and lips on her was repugnant but it was the only way to escape.

After a few atrocious seconds, she pulled apart. “Yes.” She smiled and kept talking on a soft voice, “there’s no reason to make this horrible for either of us, we can just have fun. There are some whiskey and wine on the cabinet behind you. I could use some to relax.” She waited for him to turn to the cabinet and grabbed the spray as fast as she could, hiding it in her robe’s pocket. She watched Tariq put the knife on the cabinet while he served them both a glass of red wine.

She was ready, so as soon as he approached her to give her the drink, she maced him. He screamed at the sharp pain but immediately gripped her right arm to stop her from leaving. She remembered what Briana had taught her and used the heel of her free palm to strike him under his nose; she threw her whole weight into the move so she could cause him the most pain possible and force him to loosen his grip. She succeeded and ran to the door but just when she was opening it, he grabbed her ripping her robe. He felt like his eyes and nose were on fire, and that enraged him. He pinned her violently to the floor as she tried to kick him on the knees and screamed for help, begging that someone would hear her.

Drake was walking to his room with Maxwell’s words playing in his head over and over again. He knew the wisest decision was to wait until the morning to talk to her, but no argument was good enough, he needed to see her right then. He turned around and when he was getting closer to her room his blood froze. Alexis was screaming.

Less than five seconds later Drake ran into her room. He barely had time to register the scene in front of him, when a rage like nothing he had never felt before invaded him.

“GET AWAY FROM HER. NOW!”

Alexis took advantage of Tariq’s surprise and got loose of his grip as Drake grabbed him from his collar and slammed him strongly against the wall.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He hit him repeatedly, then tackled him to the floor immobilizing him, and turned to Alexis who was sitting on the floor. “Are you ok, Lexie?” She nodded but he saw the bruises in her arms, her black mascara all over her face and the terrified look on her eyes.

“How dare you touch her, you fucking piece of shit?” He punched him again and again until Alexis screamed.

“Drake! Stop! You’re going to kill him, he’s not worth it, please Drake, stop!” The distress in her voice made him stop giving a chance to Tariq to free himself, stand up, and reach for the knife he had left on the cabinet. He pointed it at Drake.

Drake arched his eyebrows smirking. “Do you think you’re scaring me? You’re nothing but a fucking coward.” He stepped towards Tariq.

“You better stay where you are, Drake because if you lose this fight, I’ll stab that whore right after you.”

Drake raised his hands shaking with anger. “You won’t be able to hide anywhere asshole, I’ll swear I’ll find you.”

Tariq left the bedroom and ran as fast as he could.

Drake didn’t hesitate for a second, even if he should follow Tariq, he couldn’t ignore Alexis’ small sobs. He kneeled next to where Alexis was sitting on the floor and took her chin. “Are you ok, Lexie?” She had an empty look on her eyes. “Baby, look at me.” He tilted his head so he could meet her gaze. “Are you alright?” He swallowed hard. “Did he-?”

She came back to her senses and shook her head strongly. “No, he didn’t have time.” She looked gratefully at him. “Thanks to you.”

“It seems to me that you put one hell of a fight yourself, baby. Let’s get you to bed.” He took her in his arms and put her gently on the bed, helping her to get under the covers.

“Come on Lexie.” He sat next to her and pulled her close to him. “I’m so sorry.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “Tariq’s eyes looked like they were on fire”

“I maced him.” She smiled at him.

Drake chuckled. “Really?”

“Yeah,” she answered proudly. “I also kicked him and almost broke his nose.”

He hugged her smiling against her head. “You’re so brave. You have no idea how scared I was when I heard you screaming.” He held her tightly.“If anything would’ve happened to you… I…” He cupped her face as softly as he could and kissed her lips with all the gentleness he was capable of.

Alexis smiled and cuddled up against him. His gentle kisses and strong arms wrapping her were everything she needed. She felt as she did every time Drake was around her, completely safe.

Drake stroke her hair and kissed the top of her head as she began to fell asleep when someone knocked at the door. Drake stood up and opened it. It was, Liam.

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Everything was going according to plan; he had talked with his contact at The Cordonian Daily News and she was going to wait until the right moment to release the pictures.

Liam would be so humiliated that it would be impossible for him to recover from it, and if by any miracle he managed to do it, he’ll simply set the second part of his plan in motion. Recruiting Penelope had been a master move, who could suspect the mousy assistant working for the party planner? She had access to every guest on the list and as dull as she was, she understood how he felt better than anyone.

He knew she would die for him if the time came. Of course, he didn’t want it to happen but if it did, it would be for the cause. The times when he was feeling remorse were over, after all, he was the one supposed to lead Cordonia. If someone else had to become collateral damage for him to fulfill his destiny, so be it.

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“What the fuck are you doing here?” Liam shouted

“What the hell is your problem, Liam!”

Liam entered the room furiously, but Alexis jumped off the bed and managed to get in the middle of them.

“Liam! Stop it! Drake is here because he helped me. I was going to take a shower and I heard a noise, when I came into the room Tariq was there, he...he wanted to...”

She looked at Drake incapable of formulating the words, he nodded at her reassuringly.

“He had a knife, Liam, he was going to attack her, she screamed so I ran to help her.”

Liam turned to Alexis visibly worried. “Oh god! Are you alright, love? Did he do anything?”

“No, Drake was right on time.”

Liam seemed relieved. “Thank you, Drake” He squeezed Alexis’s hand. “Come on darling, I’ll stay with you.”

Alexis’s heart broke seeing Drake standing next to the door watching her.

Liam turned to his friend. “I’ll take care of her now, Drake. But thank you” His voice broke thinking of what could’ve happened. “I mean it.”

“Of course. I’ll ask security to search the whole estate, I think he escaped but I prefer to be safe than sorry.” Before he turned to leave, he looked at Alexis one last time “Please, take care of yourself ” She only nodded, the lump on her throat prevented her from speaking.

When Drake left Liam turned to Alexis “Is there anything I can do for you, love?”

She shook her head and lied. “No, Li it’s fine.”

“I don’t think you should be alone, Alexis. Let me be here for you.”

She smiled at Liam. As touched as she was by his concern, the only thing she wanted was to be with Drake again.

“I can sleep on the couch, darling,” he suggested watching how uneasy she seemed.

Alexis felt relieved. “If you don’t mind, I think it would be better for tonight.”

Liam took some covers out of the closet and prepared himself for a night on the couch. After a moment, he noticed that Alexis was turning around on the bed, and his chest tightened, he would’ve loved to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he knew she wasn’t ready. His feelings, on the other hand, were growing stronger every day. It was almost ironic how he had always been able to have any woman he wanted without even trying, and now that he actually loved one, she seemed impervious to him. Because despite his best efforts, Alexis had built an invisible wall between them, one that Liam was decided to tear down by doing anything he could to be the perfect man for her, and with time, he was sure he would be able to conquer her. Liam wanted her so badly that he could barely sleep anymore, he dreamed about her, about her body under his, about her soft voice screaming his name. He wanted to share his life with her, to spoil her, to be her world. Alexis O’Brien was driving him insane, she would have to end up loving him, no matter what. Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts. She was talking in her sleep, so he pricked up his ears to listen and his heart froze, she was calling for Drake.

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Drake called Mara and Franz, the chiefs of security and they all looked thoroughly for Tariq around the house and gardens but there was no sign of him anywhere. After two hours, Mara tried to convince him to stop but Drake refused. Deep down, he knew Tariq had already fled but he needed something to occupy his mind and take it far away from whatever was happening between Alexis and Liam in her room. After her attack, he was aware that Liam was probably just comforting her but the mere thought of his arms around her pushed him over the edge. Finally, he gave up the futile search and took a bottle of whiskey from Bertrand’s collection, it was going to be a long sleepless night.

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Rashad lied in bed, smiling to himself thinking about Maxwell dancing and joking with Alexis at the party. He knew he would never be able to find anyone like him again, so sparkling and compassionate. Maxwell had been able to see through his fears and insecurities and had given him a chance to be himself. He had listened to him countless times during all those sleepless nights at the Beaumont State, and he had been the first man Rashad had ever loved, the only one. Maxwell knew him much better than his fiancé for over a decade ever did, and they only had been together for a couple of years.

Rashad knew he had taken the right decision breaking up the engagement with Kiara, it didn’t make sense anymore. Sure, she was the perfect match if he wanted to pursue a political career but pretending to love each other was getting impossible for both of them; she slept with a different man every night and he was sure she harbored very strong feelings for Drake Walker. As for him, well there was no point in denying it anymore, he was crazy about Max, even if he wasn’t ready to publicly come out of the closet just yet.

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The next day, after a quick shower in his bedroom, Liam went to work in the business center of the Beaumont’s state. He hadn’t forgotten what Alexis had dreamt the previous night, but he had decided to let it go for the time being. Drake was surely a mere distraction for her, nothing serious. Alexis had been raised to be with a man like him, someone who could give her the life she was used to, who would enchant her, and Drake would never be that kind of man. Liam still remembered the agreement they had made when he had asked for his help with the campaign, Drake would stay for two years, and then he would be free to live his life away from politics. Liam knew that for Drake that meant to retire to his cabin in the woods, finish his Veterinary degree, and live a simple life with no luxuries, and that was not the life Alexis deserved.

“Good morning, Liam.” Drake sat next to Liam with a large cup of coffee.

Liam couldn’t remember the last time he had been glad to spend time with his best friend.

“Hi, Drake. Rough night?” He pointed at the coffee.

“Nah, don’t worry,” Drake smirked to hide the fact that he hadn’t slept thinking about Alexis all night. “We searched the estate thoroughly last night but there was no sign of Tariq anywhere, I’ll go this morning to his parent’s house to see if he’s there.”

Liam raised his brows. “It’s not your job to protect her, Drake. It’s mine; I’ll take care of it.”

“This is not about you or me, Liam! It’s about her. She needs to know that he won’t hurt her anymore. She needs to feel safe.”

Despite his friend’s outburst, Liam remained calm “He won’t. I’ll make sure of it. That bastard will never get near her again. I’ll engage some security; they’ll look up for him.”

Drake sighed and nodded. As long as Alexis was safe, he didn’t care about the rest.

After a few minutes of quietly working and drinking coffee, Drake spoke. “We need to prepare for the rally in Castelraillan.”

“I agree, it’s a top priority. Can you take care of it?” Liam asked, coldly.

“Yes, I’ll go look for Kiara so she can brief me on the preparations that Joelle has already made.”

Drake stood up to leave the room but before he could get out of the door, he heard Liam’s voice. Something had been bothering the candidate since the previous night.

“I really appreciate what you did for Alexis last night.” He paused, “what I cannot understand, it’s how you heard her screaming. Your room it’s on the other side of the house. What were you doing on the west wing?”

Drake was tired, he hadn’t slept all night, and Liam’s attitude was starting to seriously annoy him; he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I didn’t know I had to give you a detailed report of my whereabouts, Liam.”

Liam stood up as well “You’re not answering my question.”

“And I’m not going to. Where I go or not after I’m done working it’s not your problem.”

Liam raised his hands “Fine. Don’t tell me. I, however, will tell you this for the last time.” He cut the distance between them and added with a threatening tone of voice. “Get away from her, stop pretending to be her friend or her knight on shining armor or whatever it is you’re doing. She wants to be with me, and you’ll have to accept that.”

Drake’s fist clenched. “What I can’t understand, it’s why are you being so fucking jealous if you’re sure she wants to be with you.”

Liam glared at him, they were standing only a few inches apart. “I don’t care what you think, just stay the hell away from her.” His blood boiled at the thought of Alexis saying Drake’s name in her sleep. “Or I swear, you’ll regret it.” Liam tapped his finger on Drake’s chest.

Drake shoved him. “Don’t fucking touch me!”

Liam was about to push him back when the doors opened, Alexis entered it but she stopped in her tracks, immediately sensing the tension in the room.

Her eyes darted from one man to the other. “What’s going on?”

Liam approached her “Nothing, love. Drake and I were having a misunderstanding, but I think everything is clear now. Isn’t it, Drake?”

His dark eyes did their best to hide the pain in his heart, as much as it hurt to admit it, Liam was right, she had chosen him. “Crystal.” He turned to Alexis, even after everything she had done, Drake had to make sure that she was fine “How are you doing this morning O’Brien?”

His voice had the power of making her terribly nervous, she had to swallow before answering “I’m fine, Drake. Thank you”. They locked eyes on each other for a second and they both blushed.

“Yes, you were sleeping soundly when I left your room this morning” Liam smiled, circling her waist with his arm and kissing her cheek, possessively.

Drake had to turn his head, seeing Liam being so affectionate with her and talk about their night together was much more than he could bear. “Alright, I have work to do. See you later”

Alexis reached for his shoulder to stop him from leaving. “Um, actually I was looking for you. I need you to give me some information so I can write Liam’s speech for Castelraillan.”

Drake nodded; maybe that would be a good opportunity to talk to her about what Maxwell had told him the previous night. “Of course, I can postpone my meeting.”

Liam cleared his throat visibly uncomfortable. “Don’t bother Drake with that, Darling. I can help you myself.”

Alexis turned to Liam exasperated “That’s not your job, Li. Plus, you told me that you have a meeting with the leader of the farmer’s union this morning. And I need to start writing this as soon as possible. The rally is tomorrow.”

Liam looked at his expensive watch, he needed to leave right now if he wanted to be on time, but the idea of leaving Alexis alone with Drake drove him mad.

“Come with me to the meeting, I can give you all the information you need on the ride there. And, we can go for lunch later. I have a surprise for you.”

Alexis sighed angrily because he wasn’t leaving her much of a choice. “Okay”

Drake arched his brows fighting the urge to punch Liam in his smug face. His attempt to control Alexis was as blatant as it was obnoxious. But Alexis had made her choice, there was nothing that Drake could do about it. “If that’s taken care of, I’ll go meet with Kiara,” he said angrily before leaving the room.

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The riding to the meeting proved infructuous for Alexis, Liam didn’t have the information she needed to write the speech.

“I apologize love, I can talk to you about policies and agendas but as far as the logistics go, it’s not my area of expertise.”

She took a deep breath. “I know Li, that’s why I needed to talk to Drake, I know you don’t like it, but I have to work with him in this.”

“I’ll ask my assistant to give you all the information you need, Drake has other things on his mind right now.”

“It’s not going to be the only time, Liam. We’re supposed to work together, you don’t have to worry about it. I’m with you.” Alexis placed her hand on his arm.

Liam chose not to answer, they rode in silence until the chauffeur stopped. “We’ve arrived, come on, love.”

After a long meeting with the farmer’s union, Liam and Alexis were free to go for lunch.

“God, I’m starving! I would kill for a cheese bacon burger and extra-large fries.”

Liam cocked his left brow smiling. “Extra-large?”

She laughed. “And with cheddar on top, obviously.”

He stopped to look at her, she was wearing a simple sleeveless white dress, but the way it hugged her curves was tantalizing.

“Well, I apologize in advance dear, but I don’t think they serve any burgers where we’re going.”

He took her to the roof of the building where a helicopter was waiting for them.

She turned to look at him surprised. “Where are you taking me?”

He kissed her. “If I tell you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?”

Two hours later, the helicopter landed. Alexis was exhausted so she had slept almost the whole trip.

“Love, we’re here” He kissed her hand “I would like to cover your eyes, so you’re really surprised when we get there”

She gave him a small smile. “Oh, that’s fine”

He put a silky scarf on her eyes and guided her to the car, then to an elevator. When it reached the top floor, he helped her step out of it and he stood behind her to untie the scarf. Alexis had to admit that she was more than surprised. They were in Paris.

He kissed her bare shoulder. “Welcome to La Tour d’Argent, Love”

The gesture was amazing, it was the most splendid thing anyone had ever done for her, but she couldn’t feel a thing.

The waiter took them to a table on the terrace, the view of the Notre Dame cathedral was incredible.

“I hope you like this, Alexis.” He took her small hand between his larger ones “I’m only doing this because I want you to understand how special you’re for me.”

She smiled at him reaching for his hand. “Thank you Li, it’s beautiful”

The waiter approached them with the menus, after a moment they both order the food and Liam asked for a bottle of champagne.

“I didn’t know you spoke such impeccable French.”

“I went to boarding school here. I arrived when I was 5 and left at 18.”

“So, I’m guessing Paris it’s not as impressive for you as I thought.” He grinned.

She looked at the sight “Paris is always impressive, Li. And I definitely wasn’t planning in having lunch here when I woke up this morning. It was a beautiful surprise.”

They spend the afternoon talking, eating and drinking wine. Alexis couldn’t deny that Liam was a very charming, interesting man, but her soul had been irremediably stolen by Drake.

At the end of their date, Liam took Alexis’s hand between his. “This was a delightful afternoon, love. Did you have fun?”

“Of course, Li. It was great.”

He took her chin between his fingers and kissed her carefully. “I’m aware that we’re going too fast, Alexis. The coming elections are definitely hastening things between us. I know my father is pressuring me and I’m guessing yours is too?” He tilted his head to meet her gaze.

Alexis wanted to be honest with him, at least once. “Yes, he is.”

Liam nodded. “That doesn’t mean I’m not completely crazy about you. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, Alexis.” He took a small velvety box from his pocket. Alexis's heart started to beat so fast she feared Liam might hear it. He opened it and took out a huge diamond ring off it. “Would you marry me, love?” His eyes were filled with hope and vulnerability.

She wanted to run as fast as she could, but her fate had been sealed 10 years earlier when she had taken the worst decision of her life. She managed to smile, and pass her desperate tears for happy ones. “Yes, Li, I will.”

He slipped the ring through her finger and kissed her hand. “You just made me the happiest man in the world, darling.” He sealed their engagement with another searing kiss.

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The next day, the whole campaign team including George, Constantine, and Regina were having breakfast in the hall room before leaving for Castelraillan. Liam was nervously expecting Alexis to show up so they could announce their official engagement together. As soon as she entered the hall, Liam caught her eye and gave her a knowing look so she wouldn’t be surprised at the announcement.

“Good morning to you all, before we head to Castelraillan, we have some news we will like to share with you. Come here, love” He gave his hand to Alexis.

She had spent the night awake thinking about Drake’s reaction, hoping that she would be able to tell him before everyone else, but Liam had beat her to it.

“Yesterday, I asked Alexis to marry me, and to my great joy, she said yes.” The guests immediately clapped happily, most of them standing up to congratulate them.

Drake watched the scene like it was in slow motion. At Liam’s announcement, he felt an acute pain on his chest, not a metaphorical one, but an actual physical pain ripping his heart apart. He felt nauseated at the sight of Alexis in his arms, his mouth on her cheeks, on her lips, his ring on her finger. Suddenly, he felt someone touching his arm.

“Put it together, Walker. They made their choice. Almost everyone else has stood up and congratulated them, it’s our turn.”

Olivia and Drake made their way to the head of the table, Liam and Alexis were talking with Regina who was already busy making plans for the wedding.

“Well, it is going to be a society wedding, of course, anyone who is anyone in Cordonia will have to be there,” Regina said, excitedly.

Alexis wasn’t listening anymore; all her focus was on Drake. The man that had helped her so many times, that had held her when she had felt lonely and scared making her feel safe for the first time in her life. The man that had saved her and took her away when she had needed it. The man that had made love to her, making her feel things she didn’t even know possible. The incredible man that she loved more than everything. Alexis cursed herself, the pained expression on Drake’s eyes was going to haunt her for the rest of her life.

“Congratulations, O’Brien.” He extended his hand.

“Please, Drake she’s going to be like your sister now that she will marry Liam.” Regina patted both their backs “You should hug each other.”

Drake locked eyes with her and saw a profound sadness on them, something he wasn’t expecting. He took her in his arms and held her for a few seconds, enjoying her soft body against him. Drake could’ve sworn that she was trembling slightly, but he didn’t have a chance to ask her anything, Liam was watching them closely.

“Thank you, Liv, Drake. We’re planning to get married as soon as possible, not later than a month. We’re desperate to be together.” Liam told them proudly.

Olivia arched her brows smirking “Just in time for the elections. If I was a cynical woman, which of course I’m not, I would say that that was a huge coincidence.” She threw a disgusted look at Alexis.

Maxwell spoke up desperate to end the tension. “Attention everyone, I have ordered mimosas to the kitchens so everyone can cheer to the- er happy couple.”

Everyone raised their glasses. Drake couldn’t take it anymore, he gulped his drink and left the room, followed by Maxwell.

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The whole trip to Castelraillan Liam had been thinking about the decision he was about to make. He knew Alexis wouldn’t be happy about it, so he arranged a meeting with Constantine and George to help him explain to her why he was firing her as his speechwriter. Of course, he didn’t tell them the real reason, that he wasn’t going to let her work with Drake and risk losing her. Liam had a whole other set of excuses ready.

Alexis was surprised when Liam asked her to go to the Estate’s office, and even more when she saw her father and Constantine sitting on the couch.

“Well, no one told me we were about to have a family reunion.” Or I would’ve taken a bottle of vodka with me. “What’s going on?”

Liam cleared his throat, going straight to the point “Love, I called you because I need you to step down as my speechwriter.”

She arched her brows. “What? What do you mean?”

George stood up. “What you heard, you can’t be his future first lady and his speechwriter, the electors would see that as a sign of nepotism.”

She ignored her father and addressed to Liam. “You have got to be kidding me, Liam, your whole cabinet grew up with you. I don’t understand what the problem is.” She saw the closed look in his face but insisted anyway, her job was the only thing that was keeping her sane. “Please, don’t do this, I love my job. I want to be more than a decorative figure on your arm, Li. I know I can help you get elected.”

Liam felt bad for her, but he wasn’t going to change his mind, she would have to understand.

“The decision is made, love. I’m sorry”

“You’re pathetic. I know why you’re really doing this, and you can go fuck yourself!”

She slammed the door on her way out.

George poured himself a tumbler of whiskey “Don’t worry, son. She’s always been a little wild, but she knows what’s best for her. She will be back tonight.”

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Alexis was furious. Until then she had felt guilty because she was lying to Liam, who she considered a good, caring man, but that new side of him was frightening. She had no choice than to marry him, so it terrified her that he would turn out to be as controlling as her own father was. That she would have to live a similar life than her mother’s with a man that had no interest in the woman she really was.

Maxwell found her drinking a glass of whiskey on the stairs. “Blossom! I was looking for you. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, don’t worry about it, Max. Liam and I just had a fight; he doesn’t want me working on the campaign anymore.”

“Oh! I’m sorry hon, I can think of a way to cheer you up though, I want to take you to my favorite spot.”

She smiled. “Yes, that sounds like a great idea, I could drink a gallon of whiskey right now.”

Just when they were about to leave in Maxwell’s red Porsche, Liam came running into the parking lot.

“Come on love, I’m sorry I had to make that decision but it’s best for everyone. Come back into the house so we can talk.”

She arched her brows. “You can talk about it with our fathers, you seem to value their opinions much more than you do mine. Come on, Max, let’s go”

Maxwell threw Liam an apologetic look, but he started the car and drove away.

After what seemed like half an hour Maxwell pulled the car at the beach.

Alexis didn’t understand. “Is this your favorite spot? The beach?”

Maxwell grinned “Here? Please, Blossom; It would need four walls, an expensive cocktail bar, two different dance floors, and three Dj’s to make this old beach acceptable for me. It is, however, someone else’s favorite spot.”

Alexis recognized the place, it was the beach where Drake had taken her the night they had met.

“Hi, O’Brien. I think we need to talk.” His deep, manly voice sent a jolt of electricity through her spine. Alexis knew that if she stayed on the beach with him, she was going to succumb to him again.

“I don’t think so, please Max take me back to Castelraillan.”

“I will, if you really want me to, Lexie, but I think you two truly need to talk. I’m sorry that I couldn’t keep your secret, but it was breaking my heart seeing you so sad.”

Drake approached her carefully. “Please, O’Brien talk to me. I saw your face this morning when Liam announced your engagement.” He stood in front of her and stroked her face. “I know something is not right.”

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone. Text me when you’re done, I’ll take you back to Castelraillan, Blossom.”

Drake offered Alexis his hand, and she took it. He was going to really hate in a few minutes when he knew the truth of what she had done, so she wanted to make the most of her last moments with him.

He took her to the cove, where he had set a blanket on the sand and lighted a fire. He had also brought a bottle of whiskey with a couple of glasses and the ingredients to make S’mores.

Alexis smiled widely, it was wonderful. It felt like home.

They sat on the blanket, Drake poured them a glass of whiskey and she took a large sip.

They didn’t say anything for a while, just enjoying their moment together staring at the fire, eating S’mores, and holding hands.

Finally, Alexis broke the silence. “I will tell you the truth because you deserve to know it. I didn’t say anything before because I wanted to protect you, but I only made things worse. What I’m about to tell you, will change how you feel about me. I’m a horrible person, and I deserve everything that’s happening; I’m just sorry I dragged you and Liam with me.”

He shook his head and squeezed her hand. “You’re an amazing, brave woman Lexie, and I promise you there’s nothing you can tell me that would make me think any different.”

She snorted but a streak of tears started to run through her face. “You have no idea what you’re saying. I’m exactly like your mother. I abandoned my own child.”

Drake’s eyes widened but he continued to hold her hand. “Tell me everything from the beginning, baby. What happened?”

“After … my attack … my father sent me back to the school in France. It was a very difficult time, I didn’t know how to cope with what had happened by myself, and I was sick all the time. Finally, one of the nuns saw me throwing up one morning and she guessed that I was pregnant. I was terrified, Drake”.

Drake’s chest tightened at her profound sadness. He moved to sit behind her and pulled her body to him so he could hug her tightly, with her back leaning against his chest. He moved her hair to one side of her neck and kissed her cheek. “I can only imagine what you felt, Lexie.”

Emboldened by his strong arms around her, she continued. “The nuns called my father who was beyond furious. His only concern was that he had paid my expensive education so I could marry well, and I had ruined his investment. I was kicked out of school, of course. It turns out that prestigious catholic schools don’t like pregnant girls.” She gave him a bitter smile. “So my father took me back to the States with him. During the flight, he made it very clear that I had two options. Either I gave up the baby for adoption or he’d cut me out entirely and I would have to survive by myself. The truth is that I felt mixed emotions concerning the baby. One part of me already loved her intensely, but the other part resented her just as much because she was a reminder of what had happened to me.” She drank her glass. “My father didn’t want anyone to find out that I was pregnant so he sent me to a house for rich girls who had the same kind of problem as me. It turned out to be a solace, the nurses who worked there were very nice, and I made friends with the other girls. The best part was that they had a psychologist and she really helped me to figure out a lot of things. When my final trimester arrived, I had decided that it would be best for the baby if I gave her up. I felt extremely guilty, but I had no qualifications, no money and I didn’t know how I could take care of her. My father had chosen a wealthy couple who would adopt her.” Alexis stopped unable to speak for a few moments. The memories were too painful, and she couldn’t stop crying.

Drake held her tightly stroking her hair and face. “It’s ok, baby. Cry all you need, it’s fine. I’m here with you.” She took a while to gather herself while Drake kissed the top of her head and wiped the tears off her face. After a moment she was calm enough to proceed.

“The day she was born was the most amazing and the most horrible day of my life. Giving birth really is an extremely beautiful and painful thing. I can still remember her smell when the nurse brought her to me. The way her little hand gripped my finger, the way she looked directly at me.” She started to cry again. “I changed my mind right there, I wanted to keep her but I had already signed the papers and no one wanted to upset my father.” She stopped to take a sharp breath. “They took her after the first time I fed her. The woman seemed very nice, she asked me if I had named her and then she promised she would call her the same. She also said that she would send a picture of her every year so I could see that she was healthy and well.” Drake wasn’t a man that cried often, but her broken heart was too painful for him, he couldn’t avoid the tears in his eyes. He hugged her as tightly as he could knowing that nothing in the world would be enough to calm her pain.

He cupped her face with his large hand and turned it to his, placing a kiss on her front. “How you named her, baby?”

“Abigail, like my mother’s mother. She’s ten now.”

“Did the woman send the pictures?”

“Yes, to my father who then sends them to me.” She pulled out her phone and showed her the pictures of a beautiful brunette little girl.

He grinned. “She’s beautiful Lexie, she looks like a little version of you.”

She smiled proudly. “Yes, I have a picture of me at the same age and we’re really similar.”

He shifted positions and sat in front of her, rubbing her face with his thumb. “How could you think I was going to hate you, Lexie. Or even compare you to my mother, a grown-ass woman with an income who abandoned her two children in the middle of the day with a note. You were sixteen, scared, and alone baby. It’s not remotely the same.”

She simply nodded taking refuge in his arms for a few moments.

He took her hand between his and grimaced at the sight of her engagement ring.

“And Liam? Why are you with him? Maxwell said your father was forcing you.”

“My father made a series of bad investments, and he has lost a lot of money. He wants to control Cordonia’s commerce, but the current president won’t let him have as much access to the transactions as he’d like. So, he made a deal with Constantine. If I marry Liam and my father donates enough money to his campaign, Constantine will convince Liam to give him all control over the exports and imports between Cordonia and The States. Every big company would have to have my father’s approval to make business here.”

Drake shook his head furiously. “So he’s using you as a bargaining chip. You can’t let that happen, O’Brien. You can let him control you like that!”

She stood up furious as well. “Didn’t you understand what is at stake here? I’m talking about my daughter, and if you’re thinking that he’s bluffing or that he would never hurt his ten-year-old granddaughter, well, think again Walker! Why do you think he sends me those pictures of her? SO I know why I’m doing this.” She gulped her whiskey tumbler.

“Do you know what did he do when my grandmother, his own mother, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s? He put her in a home. He has all the fucking money in the world to hire a nurse who could take care of her in the house where she has lived all her life. In the house where she feels safe. Or, at least, he could’ve taken her to a good facility where she could have the best medical care possible, but no! That … that asshole just ditched her on a cheap nursing home and never looked back. He didn’t visit once. I had to pull a lot of strings and ask my ex-boyfriend who is a doctor for help so I could change her to a good place, where she has good care.” She rubbed her face tiredly. “You know the sociopaths they talk about in the movies? The narcissist, egotistical characters everyone thinks they’re too evil to be true? Well, that is my father. He truly has no feelings, he never loved my mother or me or even his own parents. So yes, he really would be capable of hurting her, and if he does, I … I ...” She burst into tears.

Drake cut the distance between them and took her in his arms. “Shhh, it’s ok baby, I’m sorry, you’re right we have to be smart about this.”

She cupped his face so he could look at her. “No, Drake. There is no way around this. I didn’t tell you all of this, so you could help or save me. I told you because you deserve the truth, but I’m marrying Liam in a month, and there’s nothing you or me or anyone can do about it. I’m sorry.”

Drake didn’t answer anything, but he knew he wasn’t going to lose her without putting a fight. Not now that he knew that she didn’t love Liam. He took her chin with his hand and wiped the tears off her face, placing a soft kiss in her forehead, a gentle one in her right cheek, and a last one in her nose until finally, his lips found hers crashing into a desperate, hungry kiss. He knew it wasn’t the right moment to tell her everything he felt for her, so he tried to convey every feeling he had, into the kiss. All his desperation, his passion, his love for her where there. Finally, they parted, breathless. He couldn’t help but think how beautiful she looked under the firelight, with her bright eyes, the blush on her cheeks, her efforts to steady her breath after his kiss.

He held her in his arms until they had to text Max so he could come back looking for her.

They were so devoted to each other that neither of them saw the man staring at them from the blue van, with a camera on his lap. He pulled out his phone and hit speed dial. “Yes sir, I followed her. And, you won’t like what I just discovered.”

#drake x mc #drake walker #trr #drakefanfic #thetrade #twrape

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