#got a comic planned for it but it may take a while

[v-albion]

HAPPY TRANS VISIBILITY DAY EVERYONE

[melzula]

Smoke and Shadow

part one

pairings: Zuko x Princess!reader

notes: it’s finally here! hope you guys enjoy this and sorry it took so long! and ofc reminder that reading the comics is suggested for this piece

summary: The Princess decides to pay Zuko a visit only to find the Fire Nation in disarray.

~ part of the fire lilies series ~

Returning home from the Fire Nation always feels bittersweet; you miss your people, but you know that once you’re back in the South the ache of homesickness will be replaced by your longing to be at Zuko’s side. You once thought the end of the war would mean easier days for your relationship, but being the leaders of two different nations seemed to keep you apart more often than it kept you together. Leaving him never got any easier, but you knew in your heart that this was for the best. You had duties to fulfill and people to take care of, so you’d just have to be patient. Things will settle eventually and the distance will become easier, you just have to see it through.

“Do you really have to go? You just got here!” Kiyi complains with a frown as she watches you pack your things and prepare for your return home.

“I’m sorry, Kiyi, but my people need me.“

“Can’t someone else do it?” She retorts, prompting you to let out a small laugh of amusement. She certainly had her older brother’s attitude at times.

“I’m afraid not. I have a tribe to rebuild and students to teach,” you explain to her. “Things don’t run very smoothly when the Chief is away for too long.”

“Will you at least come back and visit me?” The little girl begs, and you can’t really find a way to say no to her when she looks at you with her best pleading eyes. “I want to see more water bending tricks!”

“I promise to come back as soon as I have the time,” you assure her before giving her a tight hug. You’ve grown rather attached to Zuko’s little sister since meeting her, so it’s not easy having to say goodbye.

A gentle knock at your door alerts both you and Kiyi of someone’s presence, but once you see Zuko’s face peeking through the doorway you smile and part from the girl so that she can run out to play in the palace halls. “My love, the ship is ready to leave when you are.”

“I suppose I’m ready,” you sigh with a melancholic smile, melting into Zuko’s touch when he pulls you into his embrace. “It’s going to be hard being away from you.”

“I know,” he comforts while resting his warm hand upon your cool cheek, “but it’s nothing we can’t handle. We’ll be together again soon.”

“I’m already counting down the days,” you profess earnestly, eliciting a soft chuckle from him in return. Rubbing his nose affectionately against your own, Zuko angles his face to reach your lips and press a tender kiss against your own. It’s the last one you’ll be sharing for some time, and he makes sure to savor it for as long as possible. Your kiss is impossibly sweet, your smell of fire lilies intoxicating, and it pains him to have to pull away from you.

“I love you, y/n. I hope you know that.”

You smile before pulling him in for another kiss, enjoying your perfect goodbye.

~~~

A month has passed since you left the Fire Nation, and the South has developed swimmingly. With the help of your sister tribe, the outer villages have slowly begun to transform into cities equipped with new buildings, homes, and even town halls. Progress is steady and your tribe is growing, and it will only be a matter of time before the Southern Water Tribe is restored to its rightful glory.

As your advisor, Hakoda has agreed to oversee the Southern Reconstruction Project so that you may focus on teaching the next generation of water benders with Master Pakku. Your time as Chief is spent either at your school or in your office to approve new construction plans and debrief with Hakoda about the progress of the rebuilding project. You’re as busy as ever, but you couldn’t be any happier.

“Sifu y/n, why do we have to learn about healing?” One of your students complains as you set out the practice mannequins for the children. “I don’t want to heal, I want to fight!”

“Healing is just as important as bending,” you explain thoughtfully. “As a wise woman once told me, ‘You cannot bend something that is broken, but you can heal something that is hurt.’ Some situations require a gentle hand, and it’s important your bending has balance. Healing can save lives, and your gift can be used to help your people.”

“Sifu y/n,” another student says with her hand raised eagerly in the air, “is it true you healed Fire Lord Zuko from a lightning strike?”

“It is,” you reply with a fond smile, laughing at the amazed gasps your students share at the story. “I wouldn’t have been able to save his life if I hadn’t known how to heal, and that’s why it’s important for you all to learn. Now any last questions before we begin?”

A little hand raises into the air and you nod, signaling them to continue. “Do you miss Zuko?”

“Always,” you sigh wistfully, the familiar ache of longing pulling at your heart strings. You wondered what he was doing now and if he was thinking of you in this moment.

After teaching your healing class, you retire to your office for the evening to look over the new construction plans Hakoda has prepared for you. However, your mind seems to be elsewhere for the night as you find yourself repeatedly looking upon the frame on your desk. The night of your coronation you’d had a local artist paint a portrait of Zuko and yourself. You shared the biggest smiles, the two of you adorned in formal water tribe attire for the festivities ahead. It had been a perfect night, and the painting served as a reminder of the wonderful time you’d had together.

Sighing, you look over your schedule for the upcoming week. Nothing too major seems to be taking place, so maybe it wouldn’t hurt if you took a short trip to the Fire Nation to see how Zuko and Kiyi were doing. Hakoda could handle the reconstruction project on his own for a few days, and Pakku could look after your students in your absence.

Grabbing a scroll and a brush, you quickly begin scribbling out a lengthy list of items for Hakoda and Pakku to oversee while you’re gone. It seems your mind is made up, and as soon as your affairs are in order you’ll be using the secret tunnel to travel to the Fire Nation to finally see Zuko again.

~~~

Zuko was exhausted.

Carrying the guilt he felt for his sister’s kidnapping as well as the awkward tension that came with working alongside his ex-girlfriend wasn’t exactly helping him keep his peace. More children were going missing with every night that passed, and it seemed he wasn’t any closer to catching his sister and her group of Kemurikage. A part of him wished it really was spirits tormenting his people instead of his sister, but he figured she’d have to turn up eventually.

“We’ll find them, Zuko,” Mai comforts, carefully resting her hand upon his tense shoulder as he stares down at the array of scrolls scattered across his desk. Various passages about the Kemurikage and information about the men part of the New Ozai Society line the endless papers, and yet none of it has gotten them any closer to figuring out where the missing children or Azula are.

“I hope you’re right,” he murmurs before shifting his gaze to the bush of fire lilies out in the courtyard. It dawns on him then that he hasn’t had the time to write to you lately, and he feels you deserve to know about Kiyi‘s disappearance and Azula’s return. He’s sure you’d know just what to do, just what to say to make him feel better, and he needs the comfort now more than anything. “I should write y/n. She cares for Kiyi just as much as I do, she should know.”

Mai’s mood immediately sours at the mention of the Southern Princess, but she’s able to mask it well enough for Zuko’s sake. Despite being willing to work with her ex-boyfriend to find her missing brother, their past relationship was still a sore subject for her. It’s not exactly easy getting over the fact that the boy you thought was in love with you was really just using you to get over someone else.

Their talk at the Boiling Rock hadn’t given her any real closure, and her encounter with the Princess at the flower shop didn’t leave the greatest impression on the girl. Mai still couldn’t see what was so special about her, and she didn’t understand what kind of future Zuko saw with her. She supposed it didn’t matter what she thought anymore, and it didn’t matter what Zuko did with his life. She was with Kei Lo now, and the Fire Lord was no longer her concern.

“Is writing a letter to your girlfriend really your top priority right now?” She can’t help but to retort sarcastically, prompting Zuko to scowl.

“Y/n could be a great help to us,” he argues defensively. “She views things more clearly than I do at times and keeps me from making rash decisions.“

“So is she your girlfriend or your babysitter?”

“Mai-!”

“I know, I know,” she sighs with a passive wave of her hand. “I’m sorry.”

Frowning, Zuko lets out a quiet breath before turning to meet her gaze. He’s unsure of how to approach such a sensitive subject, but he knows he must if any progress is to be made. “I know you’re still mad at me, and I know no apology will fix the hurt I caused you, but you have to put it behind you if we’re going to work together. Y/n is my girlfriend, and Kei Lo is your boyfriend, so why are things still so awkward between us?”

“It’s not that simple, Zuko,” Mai snaps, a bitter scowl masking her features. “It’s not just that you broke my heart, it’s that I was stupid enough to let you! I should have known I’d never be enough for you, and you talking about her is like throwing salt in the wound. It’s like a constant reminder that I was never good enough for you, that what we had was all just a lie. I never want to feel that way again, but I feel it every time I’m around you. I’m like the pathetic ex-girlfriend you can’t get away from.”

“Mai…”

“I can’t believe I still care about you,” she grumbles sullenly.

“I care for you too,” he insists before gently taking one of her hands in his own. “Maybe not in the way you want me to, but I do. I always have, even when we were children and I pushed you into the fountain to put out that apple on your head. You’re a good friend, and I owe you more than I can ever repay you for what you did at Boiling Rock. Can’t we still be friends?”

Mai is silent, her gaze set firmly upon her hand in his own. The sensation is warm and familiar, comforting, but she knows the hurt that is to come if she agrees to his request. Maybe one day she can learn to love Kei Lo and fill the emptiness, be the one doing the using instead of the one being used, but she can’t accomplish this feat with Zuko in the picture.

The room is quiet and tense, but still she does not remove her hand.

And neither of them notice the figure in the doorway watching the scene unfold.

~~~

You’re surprised to find Zuko’s end of the tunnel blocked off by Fire Nation guards. He hadn’t been expecting you of course, but you didn’t think you’d find the passage closed off like this. What had happened while you were away to promote such a drastic measure?

“Excuse me,” you call gently so as to not startle the guards that face away from you, “I’m here to see Fire Lord Zuko. May I cross?”

“I’m sorry, but no one is allowed in or out of the Capital City,” one guard states gruffly, but his companion waves him off dismissively.

“She’s the Southern Chief and the Fire Lord’s girlfriend,” he explains before gesturing you to continue forward. “I’m sure he wouldn’t be happy to hear we’d blocked his beloved from seeing him.”

“O-Oh, my apologies,” the first guard stutters sheepishly before clearing himself out of your path.

“What’s going on? Why is the Capital City in lockdown?”

“Children of the Fire Nation have been going missing and the people are becoming restless,” he explains. "The Fire Lord wants everyone to stay put until a culprit has been caught and the children are returned safe.”

“How awful,” you murmur quietly before an uneasy feeling begins to hit you. “Have you heard anything of Kiyi, Ursa’s daughter? Is she safe?”

The two guards exchange solemn glances, and that’s all you need to know before immediately rushing towards the palace. If Kiyi is in danger, you want to do everything you can to help Zuko find her and the other missing children before it’s too late. Who knows what danger they could be in?

Your trek to the palace isn’t easy, what with the protests and unrest occurring on the streets as a result of Zuko’s harsh restrictions, but you manage to weave your way through the chaos and make it to your destination. You’re a bit overwhelmed by the commotion, blind to the conflict that’s been occurring in your absence and unaware of what exactly is going on, but you do your best to focus on finding Zuko first.

Surprisingly, the palace hallways are relatively empty, and you slow your sprint to a walk once you reach the throne room corridors. The pristine gold doors are left open, and the sound of Zuko’s voice carries through the air. Already you can feel the worry melting away just by hearing him speak, and though you want nothing more than to run in and throw yourself into his arms you stop to listen. You want to make sure you’re not interrupting anything important before you announce yourself.

“I care for you…” you hear him say, prompting your brows to furrow slightly in uncertainty. You can’t exactly make out everything he’s saying or what the context of his conversation is, but you’re able to note the soft gentleness in his tone, and a part of you is starting to feel strange listening in. Who is he speaking to in such a manner?

Peeking your head around the corner, you can’t help but feel your heart begin to sink to your stomach at the sight before you.

Zuko stands in the center of the throne room, gently clasping one of Mai’s hands in his own as he speaks to her in a comforting manner. You’re not sure what exactly they’re saying to each other or why she’s there, but watching the scene unfold before you fills you with dread and insecurity. Surely Zuko wouldn’t be unfaithful to you… would he?

You’ve worked hard to build your trust in him again after all you’d both been through, but you can’t help but question what he’s been up to in your absence. Why was he with his ex-girlfriend, and why he was holding her hand in what looked to be like an intimate moment? Was he thinking of leaving you again? Had he changed his mind about your relationship? What had you just walked in on?

“Zuko?” You call meekly, as if you shouldn’t be there interrupting their moment and as if you’re not his actual girlfriend. The two startle at the intrusion, but when Zuko realizes that you’re actually there before him he immediately releases his hold on her and runs towards you.

“Y/n!” He exclaims, engulfing you in the tightest hug imaginable. You’re unsure how to react at first, still reeling from what you’d just seen, but eventually you return his hug. Your weary gaze sets upon Mai who keeps her eyes down to the ground and refuses to look you in the face.

“Am I interrupting something?” You warily ask when he finally pulls away. He falters for a moment, almost offended by your insinuation.

“No! No, of course not,” he rushes to explain. “We were just… talking.”

“It kind of looked like it was more than just talking to me,” you say defensively. You don’t want to be jealous or accusatory, but you can’t help it. How could you not question them being alone together and holding hands?

“Princess, I swear there is nothing going on,” Zuko pleads earnestly, taking both of your hands in his own. “Mai is only here because the children of the Fire Nation are going missing and she’s helping me find them.”

“They took my little brother,” she adds quietly, solemn gaze still focused on the ground.

“They took Kiyi,” Zuko utters sorrowfully. His eyes are full of shame and worry, and you find it difficult to be upset with him when he looks so hurt and vulnerable.

“I’m so sorry,” you murmur softly before pulling him in for a tight hug.

“I have the city on lockdown until I’m able to find the people responsible, and I’m doing everything I can to get them back. I’m sorry you had to find out like this, I didn’t mean to exclude you. I swear I was just going to write you and ask for your help.”

“You never have to ask,” you say with a comforting smile. “I came to surprise you because I missed you, and I’m glad I did.“

“So am I,” Zuko professes earnestly before cupping your face and pulling you in for a kiss.

Neither of you notice Mai leaving the room.

~~~

Zuko catches you up on everything- the Kemurikage, the “Safe Nation Society,” the kidnapping of Tom-Tom and Kiyi, Azula’s return, and Ukano’s possible connection to Zuko’s sister. It was a lot to process, but you were quick to get up to speed so that you’d be able to do all you could to help.

“I don’t think you should have kicked Aang out of the throne room,” you chide Zuko after hearing him recount his disagreement with the Avatar. Fire Nation guards escort you to the Capital City prison as you converse, and Zuko hopes that by the time you reach your destination Mai’s father will be caught and ready for questioning.

“I tried to do things his way, but if he isn’t going to see things my way then I can’t have him around,” he tries to explain.

“Zuko, I saw firsthand how restless your people have become as a result of your harsh lockdown rules. Aang might be right,” you try to reason with him. “I don’t think causing fear and uncertainty is going to help us find the missing children.”

“I had to do something,” he argues weakly, “I have to get my sister back and stop Azula before it’s too late.”

“You will,” you assure him firmly, giving his arm a comforting squeeze.

As the two of you talk, Mai trails along quietly behind you both. A whirlwind of emotions are festering in her mind; she wants her brother returned to her, but she feels guilty exposing her father to Zuko and his guards and costing him his freedom. It feels like she’s working with the enemy, and perhaps in a way that’s true.

She can’t help the scowl that plays upon her features as she watches you and Zuko walk arm in arm to the prison. While she’s fretting over her family, it almost seems as if you two don’t have a care in the world about anything but each other. That isn’t true, of course, but her resentment clouds her better judgement, and all she can feel is disdain for the couple in front of her.

You were Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, a master bender, kind, beautiful. She could understand why any guy would want you, but why did Zuko? And why did you have to want him back? You had practically everything, you grew up a Princess, so why couldn’t you have just let her have this one thing? Why did you have to take him back and take him away from her after she’d finally gotten the one thing she’d always wanted?

“I’m sorry about your brother,” a voice says, pulling Mai away from her thoughts. So wrapped up in her cynicism, she hadn’t even realized they’d made it to the prison. A couple feet away, Zuko speaks to one of his men about the riot that had broken out on behalf of the Safe Nation Society. And in front of her you stand, your features kind and your words remorseful despite the tension you share.

“Thanks,” she says flatly, unsure of what else to say. The last time she’d spoken to you had been in the flower shop, and it hadn’t exactly been a pleasant conversation. She knows that you’re trying, and she knows this is all just as uncomfortable for you as it is for her, but she still isn’t so easily swayed. She doesn’t think you deserve her sympathy or understanding, and she doesn’t plan to go out of her way to be nice to you.

“I don’t have any siblings so I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but I want to help however I can if you’ll let me.”

“You can help by staying out of the way,” she replies bluntly, her gaze hardening much to your surprise. “Zuko promised he’d help me find Tom-Tom, and I don’t need you distracting him while you’re here.”

“I want to help him find Kiyi,” you argue defensively, “I’m not going to get in the way of something as important as finding the missing children. Why can’t you believe that?”

“Because you have a really good track record of getting in the way of things that are important to me.”

Stunned by her admission, you can’t help but find yourself falling short of words. You knew Mai didn’t exactly think highly of you or approve of your relationship, but did she really still believe that you’d stolen Zuko away from her? You’re not to blame for what Zuko did to her or what she went through. You’ve endured just as much hurt as she has if not worse, and it isn’t fair for her to paint you as the problem.

“I didn’t even know about you and Zuko until we were already broken up! I’ve never personally tried to hurt you, and I don’t expect you to like me, but you need to get over yourself. Zuko isn’t what’s important here, you and I are not what’s important, it’s the kids. It’s Tom-Tom and Kiyi and all the children that are probably so frightened and alone. Can we at least agree on that?!”

It’s silent for a moment, you and Mai simply starting each other down for what feels like ages until she finally relents. Her tense shoulders slowly fall in defeat and she sighs, somewhat embarrassed at her little outburst. She’d been letting her emotions get the better of her lately, failing to conceal them like she was usually so good at doing, and it was painfully embarrassing for her to come to this realization.

“You’re right,” she murmurs, “let’s just focus on finding the children. The sooner this is all over the sooner we never have to see each other again anyway.”

“Fine by me,” you huff indignantly. Though Mai has more to say, she isn’t given the time to once she spots her boyfriend being escorted towards the prison in handcuffs.

“Kei Lo!” She exclaims before turning to the Fire Lord. “Zuko, this is obviously a mistake! Get him out of those cuffs!”

“I’m not so sure,” Zuko says hesitantly, looking to you for guidance to see if he’s making the right choice. You merely give him a hesitant shrug, not really wanting to get involved in their quarrel. You don’t know the full story, so it’s better to just stay out of it.

“Are you serious? You need her permission to let my boyfriend go?” She exclaims exasperatedly. “Release him!”

“What were you doing with the Safe Nation Society, Kei Lo?” Zuko prods firmly, ignoring Mai’s complaints.

“They ran into me! Literally!” The boy argues to try and prove his innocence.

“You’ve betrayed your allies bedore, who’s to say you aren’t acting as a double agent now!”

“Zuko! Stop being ridiculous!” Mai scolds angrily before looking to you. “Tell him he’s being ridiculous.”

“I’d rather not get involved…” you trail off awkwardly, only irritating her further.

Eventually Zuko allows for Kei Lo’s release, but you can tell by the look on his face that he isn’t too happy about it. His firm gaze seems to be burning holes into the back of Kei Lo’s head as he watches Mai embrace the boy, and a part of you wonders if he’s feeling some sort of jealousy towards him. Surely he wouldn’t be, he has no reason or right to be jealous, at least you think so anyway.

“Zuko?” You utter softly, placing a careful hand on his back to get his attention. “If I ask you something… will you be honest with me? Even if it’s something I don’t want to hear?”

“Of course, my love,” he says earnestly before giving you his full undivided attention. “What is it?”

“Do you… do you still-“

“Zuko!”

You startle away from Zuko at the sudden intrusion, eyes widening as you see Aang sprinting towards your boyfriend with Suki and Ty Lee in tow. You’re honestly surprised to see him considering he should have been heading back to the South with Katara and Sokka by now, and based upon his reaction it seems he’s just as surprised to see you.

“Aang!”

“Y/n! What are you doing here?” He exclaims in bewilderment.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Zuko interrupts. “I thought you left.”

“Well you thought wrong, buddy!” Aang corrects him impatiently. “We’ve been looking all over for you! Suki, Ty Lee, and I found something you need to see! Come on!”

“Fire Lord,” one of Zuko’s men interrupts, “the sun will set before we know it. We need to make a plan our people will rise up again.”

Zuko shares a quiet glance with the men before looking to Aang. You know what his answer is going to be, and you know that the Avatar isn’t going to like it.

“I’m sorry, Aang, but General Mak is right. I need to handle this my own way.”

“Even if your way is stupid?!” He rebuffs indignantly.

“What Aang means to say,” you correct, trying to put a nicer spin on his words, “is that maybe the approach you’ve been taking isn’t working. Maybe keeping your people on lockdown like they’re criminals in their own homes will only make things worse. You need to change your approach.”

“I’m sorry, Princess, but I know what’s best for my people.”

“I’ve seen your people, and they’re not happy. They’re scared, and I know you want to find Kiyi and stop Azula but you need to start thinking rationally first.”

“Can you please just trust that I know what I’m doing? Help me come up with a new plan to keep the Fire Nation citizens in order and find Azula and Ukano so that we can find Kiyi.”

His pleading eyes beg for your understanding and support, but you’re hesitant. You know that Zuko means well, but you don’t agree with his methods at all. Being a leader yourself, you know that fear and unrest is not the way to solve problems. You must treat your people with trust and respect like they deserve, otherwise they won’t be able to do the same for you.

Luckily, Aang buts in before you’re able to shoot Zuko’s request down. An air scooter is abruptly thrown beneath your boyfriend, lifting him up and carrying him away to spirits know where- if the situation weren’t so serious you’d laugh at how discombobulated Zuko looks being swept up off his feet and whisked away by a ball of air.

“Aang, slow down!” You call out before sprinting after the pair. Suki and Ty Lee are right beside you chasing them down. “Why are our reunions always so chaotic?”

“I don’t think this group knows how to live without chaos,” Suki quips with a breathless laugh. “It’s good to see you, y/n. Ty Lee and I will catch you up on everything on the way there.”

“I’d love nothing more,” you applaud gratefully.

You can only hope that whatever it is they’ve found will make things much easier from here on out.

Because you’re not sure how much more of this you can take.

| atla tags: @sirkekselord @niktwazny303

| zuko tags: @thebluelcdy @royahllty @the-firebender-girl @ilovespideyyy @yiyibetch @eridanuswave @lammello @a-monsters-love @knaite-solo @taeeemin

| fire lilies tags: @emberislandplayers @kikaninchen-2 @music-geek19 @thia-aep @thyunnamed @haylaansmi @nataliahaslosthershit @idkdude776 @aangsupremacy @thirstyforsometea @ihaveaproblem98 @brown-eyed-thang @xapham @misnmatchedsox @chewymoustachio @that-bucket-hat-gal @chilifrylizard2 @kyomihann @kaylove12 @kiwihoee @freggietale @moon-spirit-yue @bubblegum-bee-otch

[ayakashiz]

Alien Stage R6 Analysis

VERY LONG compilation of my interpretations, impressions and unanswered questions about Round 6 of Alien Stage. I just wanted to write this to put all my thoughts in one place so I can finally rest (in pieces). TW for mentions of suic*de/suic*dal ideation.

The most debated is no doubt the kiss/choking scene and Ivan’s motivation for doing so in the first place. 

I think from the very beginning, even before R3, Ivan was planning to go out with a bang. That’s the immediate impression I got from the comic where he mocks/criticizes Sua for planning to “selfishly” die for Mizi and feel good being the “heroine” rather than having to deal with the trauma of being the one left behind. 

(I'm too lazy to edit the whole translation as of now, but might do so when I have more time.)

Ivan tells her how he’s “relieved that he’s not the only who’s that twisted” = He’s comparing himself to Sua. He thinks they’re both ‘twisted’ for planning to do the same thing, but from Ivan’s perspective, he at least isn’t fooling himself into thinking his motives are altruistic. He tasted the feeling of being ‘abandoned’, and he knows he doesn’t want to experience it twice. 

He also probably thought that his death wouldn’t be as impactful on Till as Sua’s death on Mizi, and therefore his own selfishness is more justified in his mind. This most likely plays a role in how cold and biting his words are towards Sua –he’s jealous of that difference between them.

I hadn’t noticed this detail the first time I watched the video: Not only did Till look absolutely miserable and defeated from the get go, but he completely gave up and stopped singing at some point. If you look at the video, we can hear the audio that was supposed to be sung, but Till is quiet and still, and THIS is the moment Ivan chooses to act.

Although they do not show the votes at that particular moment, stopping mid song would have definitely taken a hit to Till’s score as it’s basically forfeiting –a huge contrast to his previous match where he didn’t even let his opponent utter a single line.

In response, Ivan doesn’t just walk towards him but throws his microphone to the ground, explicitly forfeiting as well in order to then pull a drastic move like it was foreshadowed in his interview.

The kiss itself imo was the less calculated/arguably unplanned part. He could have just choked Till from the start and it would have gotten him the same if not better results (since it was the act of violence against another contestant that ultimately lowered his score and got the counter to stop). 

That kiss was authentic and for himself entirely, both as a last desperate attempt at conveying his feelings and a selfish way of leaving a strong impression on Till that he wouldn’t be able to forget (a hypocritical move going back to how he criticized Sua). In that sense, I don’t think Ivan was seriously trying to take Till down with him –although that’s up to interpretation. As I see it, that would contradict his actions up until that point.

Till was VERY CLEARLY suic*dal (once again, he gave up singing), and after the initial shock of Ivan squeezing his neck, this fiery, rebellious man who is KNOWN to fight tooth and nail, simply closed his eyes and relaxed his body, waiting for Ivan to end him without fighting at all. 

The thing is, no matter how suic*dal one may be, the fighting response when being actually suffocated is automatic and completely involuntary. People mention there not being marks on Till’s neck but I think the most telling sign is him not going red, not squirming, not struggling or holding onto Ivan’s wrists (again, expected involuntary responses), his eyes not watering or having blurry vision while we see Ivan from his POV, not opening his mouth even a little to gasp for air and not coughing or gasping either when he was finally released.

Ivan definitely had him in a strong grip, might have even made him a bit lightheaded, but the reason why Till could look so relaxed in the first place is because he had given up and was waiting for Ivan to go ahead. If his closed eyes and limp posture were due to the choking itself, he would have fallen or stumbled when being let go, but we see that his eyes open as soon as he feels Ivan’s hands slipping away and he looks shocked instead.

So then what was Ivan’s motivation, if not to kill him? Yes, there’s the already discussed plan to get himself disqualified. But Ivan glances at the screen only a few seconds after he starts the choking, confirming that the voting had in fact stopped with Till having the higher score. He then goes for one last ‘goodbye’ kiss before continuing to choke him, holding his grip even as he starts getting shot.

We see a closeup of him, his eyes and hands trembling, looking more frustrated/emotional than in Till’s first POV where he looks rather stoic. It makes me think that the reason he refused to let go was simply because he wanted Till to look at him. 

They strongly imply throughout the whole video that being annoying or mean or violent was the only way Ivan learnt how to make Till focus his full attention on him, but now even as he’s threatening his life, even as he himself is dying, even after that kiss, Till wouldn’t look. 

It took him getting fatally wounded and realizing there was no turning back to reach a state of acceptance. His bittersweet expression here reminds me A LOT of his smile after Till runs back during the meteor scene, although this one seems a lot more tender. He seems to accept the fact that Till will never love him back, but Ivan cannot stop loving him anyways and he at least got to put his feelings out there. 

(The parallels here are driving me insane. The way there is light in his eyes in both instances as he looks at Till even while 'losing him' in a way. The struggle between wanting to posses him yet realizing his free spirit/strong will is part of what he loves about him. That last genuine gaze from a character who spent his whole life putting on a mask. Yes I am very normal about this.)

Until then, Ivan’s more tender/vulnerable side is only shown while Till is unconscious or looking away.

(That soft, loving nuzzle to Till's face has me in SHAMBLES.)

But ironically, it’s only when he releases him and shows him this vulnerability without a mask that Till really looks at him for the first time. I’d go as far as to say that it was this moment, and not the kiss, that finally made Till understand Ivan’s feelings. And in turn Ivan gets that little shot of euphoria as he falls to the ground.

Going back to the survivor’s guilt… I can only imagine it’ll go completely downhill for Till from now on. Not only does he already think Mizi might be dead and is angry at himself that he couldn’t save her (as seen in the shot where he punches his own picture), but now he has most likely realized that Ivan intentionally fumbled their match for his sake –which would lead to the realization that he was the reason why Ivan chose to run back to Anakt Garden after him in the first place, and that choice ultimately lead to his death. 

Even though we see them fighting a lot as children through the videos and comics, it’s also implied that they were always together and they shared some quiet moments –the “Mizi didn’t play with you, I played with you” art, all that art of the main 4 playing together, those bright smiles as they ran away together during the meteor shower scene and Till looking so guilty when he let go of his hand. 

There are a few cute doodles of them for those who are on Patreon, and some more lore in the Anakt Garden kit –so they were at the very least friends in their own way (as best as 2 very traumatized and abused children could), constantly fighting and making up. Which God… it shows that despite appearances Till must have actually had the patience of a saint when they were little lmao.

But what I’m trying to say is that despite what Ivan may have thought, his death will most definitely have an impact on Till and the narrative going forward, and I’m excited to find out how that reflects in the final round (if the resistance doesn’t manage to get back up in time to disrupt it). 

Despite how much I adored (and SUFFERED WITH) this round, I still have MANY questions that were left unanswered, both about Ivan and Till, and the lore in general, and I wonder if there’ll be time to answer them all, as I can imagine the next MV will be focused on Luka’s perspective, the only one we haven’t been presented with.

One of the most pressing questions being: What’s the relationship between Ivan and that alien dog? Did he tame it? It is implied that it was Ivan who somehow led Till and Mizi to it in the first place in that one scene, and if so I wonder what his motivation was? Normally jealousy would be the first thing to come to mind but Ivan wasn’t interested in Till until AFTER he saw him stand up to the beast to protect Mizi, so it couldn’t have been that. 

This is something that was also teased on Patreon and I was looking forward to the explanation on the MV, but it never came, and now Ivan is dead, so the next video will most likely not be too concerned with his backstory any longer. (Which, also, I was really curious about his life in the slums before being captured, auctioned and brought to Anakt, as that would have played a huge role in his twisted personality/dark tendencies –once again teased on Patreon very briefly, but not explained beyond that frame of him looking famished.)

The second is, how is Ivan able to open Till’s collar/muzzle so easily? This is a question I’ve been having since R3, but chalked it up to Ivan being sneaky and figuring out some kind of code to the cell door and that somehow automatically deactivating the locks on the restraints… or something. But with how many times he does it in R6 with just a touch it’s very clear that that isn’t the case and also imo they’re trying to point this out as a significant detail. 

It may turn out that I’m just looking too much into it, but I find it really curious and interesting. Not only is he the only child without a collar (Mizi and Sua still had them despite being just as well behaved as him), but he seems to be the only one able to take them off –or at least Till’s. I’m pretty sure the children wouldn’t normally be able to remove them by themselves as it seems to be a control mechanism. So how can Ivan? This might explain a lot about how they were able to escape, and also add a layer of tragedy knowing that Ivan could have chosen to escape by himself at any point, but refused to leave Till behind.

Last but not least there’s all the human experimentation Till was subjected to, which was the main topic of the teaser and we see the same images show up in the very beginning of the MV. They help emphasize Till’s suffering and distressed state of mind, but then they’re never expanded on or mentioned at all for the rest of the video. That’s a huge piece of lore that I also hope isn’t forgotten.

I mean, I really doubt it will. So far VIVINOS & co. have been incredible with their ability to hold back information and release it at the moment where it’s the most impactful, which is refreshing to see. So I trust we’ll get some answers eventually. 

Really curious to know why they would experiment on an ALNST contestant in the first place, especially one that is undoubtedly talented and described as a musical genius (aka. has good odds of doing well on stage and earning the segyein revenue). A very plausible theory might just be that he was just getting constantly drugged to make him less of a threat/more submissive –like we see on the karaoke room scene. But it might as well be something bigger.

As for my expectations for the next round… I’m still just trying to process this one, as you can see by the sheer amount of text. There are many things left to address, and the Hyuna/Luka confrontation has been strongly teased. I wonder also, if the round goes on without interruption, what would Luka’s strategy against Till be? Would he go for provocation again, trying to imitate Mizi/hint to his recent trauma with Ivan? It probably won’t be that simple.

I mean, VIVINOS has been known for subverting our expectations with each round:

The ominous/callous framing that was given to Ivan by the end of Black Sorrow and the art that followed, making us suspicious of his intentions, only to have him die for love. The lifeless/doll-like framing given to Luka, vulnerable and cornered by flashing lights, only to have him be the cruelest/most calculating one (that we know so far). The rebellious, rowdy, willing to do anything to survive framing given to Till, only to have his fighting spirit completely break and willingly waiting to die by Ivan’s hands. The naive, complacent and passive image given to Mizi, only to have her snap, beat the shit out of Luka and join the rebellion –and with how things are going (and her being the protagonist) I wouldn’t be surprised if she, and not Hyuna (the one who was framed as the most strong and reliable, giving us a false sense of security going into R6), is who will have to try and rescue Till (and Luka???).

There are still a ton of things that keep me awake at night about R6 –my favorite character dying aside. I could talk about it forever, but I’ll leave it here. 

Feel free to share your theories, delusions, interpretations or any detail I might have missed with me. God knows we need group therapy after this as the cute chibi keychains can only heal us so far. Thanks for reading my rambles if you made it this far. :’)

[scrunchi]

LAST PART

FIRST PART

This… took way too long to finish. I fell out of the whole IT and Reddie vibe for a while but I’m baaaack! Never thought that I would have so much trouble finishing THIS part out of all of them, because I had planned this one for almost 2 and a half years and I was so excited to finally put it into the comic, but it ended up to be the one that made me so mad because it wasn’t perfect and I didn’t even wanna look at it for months, so you can clearly see the pages that I drew in fucking May and the ones I literally just finished today…

Soooo, I’m very sorry for the long break, but I hope the next part won’t take that long… thank you all for asking when I can update, even though it was annoying sometimes, but I still hope some of you are still on board for the story, because we still got some monsters to kill here.

[xitsensunmoon]

Biting the Hand That Feeds au FAQ (Vampires + donor au)

Any general content warnings for bhtf au?

Yes. A normal amount of fnaf warnings, a normal amount of vampire warnings. For someone who doesn't know I elaborate... For vampire stuff, the most obvious ones are blood, hypnosis, bites, and animalistic behaviour. Less obvious - slightly suggestive themes. For fnaf - fnaf's usual violence, dark themes, a drop of gore and murders. The lore is uh. Very dark. I will try to decrease the amount of all of the cruelty but man. People who know, know how hard it will be. But I will tag everything properly so don't worry.

Is there a fic for your au?

No. And currently, I'm not even planning on writing one.

How do I find the story?

For now, we have two comics that are directly connected and one that doesn't have a specific place in the story but is about canonical lore.

[ 1 ] - [ 2 ] - [ x ]

In future, we will have more and I probably absolutely will forget to update this post so I recommend checking the tags. Here's the tag list

Tip: don't click the tag. Tumblr hides half of the results. Type it in the blog's search instead :)

Are the comics the only canonical thing about au?

No! I answer asks and draw a lot of doodles with bhtf au all the time and 90% of them are canon. You can, yet again, find everything in the tag list linked in the previous question.

Can I draw/write fan stuff for your au?

Yes, please!! I'm always happy to see fanart and fan writings and literally everything that you do! Just tag me when you post and use a fanart or fanwriting tag for au specifically so I don't miss it!

Can you include my characters in your story?

No, unfortunately, I cannot. The story is already written and I don't have any "space" for background characters either. Maybe it will change but currently, things are like this.

I asked a question with an interaction with my characters and I never got an answer, why?

I don't accept such requests. I'm not ready to spend my time drawing other people's characters for free(if I personally don't want to, of course)

Is there any limit to how many questions I can ask?

No, not at all! You can ask all you want just please make sure your question wasn't answered before. There is a big possibility I will just simply delete it if it was answered beforehand many times. Check the ask tag for it.

What about limitations? Any boundaries?

Please no questions about tickling🧍‍♀️ I got so many of those it already makes me uncomfortable. And for some reason, a lot of people send asks that include violence towards my characters and while I don't really feel uncomfortable with this I just idk what to answer and why are you even doing this lmao

What questions I should avoid?

Well, not really avoid but I will mention it anyway.

The things I have planned to draw right now:

- Sun and Moon and y/n's first meeting

- The creation of Sun&Moon

- Why S&M are sensitive to light and darkness

- How they hunt

So no need to ask me about these. I will show it, I promise.

What about sexual themes?

I understand that I post a lot of suggestive stuff and it may appear I allow such a thing but no.

You can create content with it tho, I don't mind for the most part. Just be ready that I may not reblog it, as my Tumblr is a SFW place. It's always 50/50.

Romantic themes?

I do draw some kisses and cuddles when I feel like it and you of course can send ideas for cute interactions but in the story we're very far away from it lol.

My question gets ignored even though I followed everything that you mentioned here. Why?

Answered in main FAQ.

Can I share the ideas for your au with you?

YES!!! Yes, yes and yes! I'm very open to that, like yes! The only thing that I definitely want to mention - you should expect that I actually can take your ideas and use them. Some people are protective of their ideas so if you're like this you probably should not share them with me :)

The information that you're using for your au is wrong.

Happens sometimes yeah. I know nothing about any medical stuff for y/n so I usually improvise. After all it's an au about robotic vampires man, this information is absolutely wrong. But! You're free to drop feedback/constructive criticism in my inbox!

Will be updated later

[luvvyouforever]

Heyy,

I really love fics when George is together with y/n and they are at The Burrow and all thr Weasleys love them so muchh

the healing process - george weasley x reader <3

↳ george weasley is still healing, years after the wizarding war. his family just needs to give him the final push to begin his life.

↳ some angst but it is resolved, post hogwarts, wizarding war, fred is still dead i'm sorry, fluff.

↳ a/n: i'm sorry if this isn't exactly what you wanted but i had this idea and had to run with it!! it's got some happiness and some fluff but it deals with angsty things. i hope you enjoy!

harry potter's birthday was an entire event at the burrow. this time around, he was twenty-two and it had been four years since the wizarding war.

molly took it upon herself to throw a large party now that their lives had calmed down and rebuilding was coming to a close. she claimed that it would be nice to bring everyone together, to celebrate our hero, and catch up. harry reluctantly agreed and now, the burrow was filled with life, conversations, drinks, and dishes that the enchanted sink could barely keep up with.

outside, just off the lawn, a few people lingered. those that could barely take the loudness on the inside of the warm home. one such person was george weasley.

after the battle of hogwarts, george was incredibly sensitive to crowds and sounds. he didn't enjoy the unknown and the exciting anymore. he was cautious and planned every one of his moves. in his shop, he stayed to the top floor, eyeing everyone below him. he scanned their faces and committed them to memory.

he spent nights crying over fred, over the people he lost, over the memories he desperately clung on to. he was scared that all that was good from his life was gone. he had the store, sure, which was rapidly gaining popularity in a rebuilt wizarding world. but there was nobody to share it with.

"george!" molly's voice called from the open kitchen window. her head poked out comically and though tempted to hide himself, george looked to his mother with curiosity. "oh, there you are! hiding away, are we?"

"d'ya need something?" he asked.

"i could do without the attitude, you know?" she scolded george. her annoyed expression quickly turned to one of happiness at her next words. "someone is here and keeps asking about you! i think you should come and see!"

george felt his palms go clammy at the idea of going into that house with people he barely knew who were all too boisterous and rowdy.

molly recognized the look on his face and softened. "i'll tell everyone to quiet down. you can stay in the kitchen, dear."

george thought for a moment, wiped his hands on his pants, and nodded at his mother. he turned around to go to the front door and hesitantly, he turned the doorknob. immediately, the chaos inside diminished and george was thankful that everyone understood.

the crowd was gathered in the living room, forming a circle around someone who sat on the couch. he was all too curious about who this person may be. very suddenly, his questions were answered as a sweet voice rang out: "is that george?"

from the crowd rose george's best friend, second to fred, all throughout his time at hogwarts. y/n had met george and fred in their first year after she had helped them acquire ingredients for one of their very first potion experiments. it was a budding friendship at first which turned into an intense, unbreakable bond by their fourth year. fred and george were never without her. and she was never without one of them.

while fred easily made friends with other people in their house, george had more trouble. which is why he always gravitated to y/n's presence, electing to stay by her side, eat with her, or be partners in their class. sure, all three of them were friends, but there was something more about george and y/n that both of them were too scared to act on.

when they graduated, y/n wasted no time in joining the weasley wizard wheezes crew and made employee of the month multiple times (all thanks to george). however, the war began and when it ended, mcgonagall declared y/n an emissary and for the past four years, she traveled the world, visiting schools and wizarding communities as a representative.

y/n loved what she did, there was no doubt there, but it hurt her tremendously to leave her life, her family, and george. she couldn't say no to mcgonagall and george understood but on their final night together, y/n placed the most softest of kisses on george's lips which, if he thought hard enough, he could remember the feeling.

and there she was now, in front of him. his heart was beating so fast, he was sure she could hear it all the way across from him. "y/n?" he dared to speak. it came out in more of a squeak but she smiled anyway and walked toward him confidently.

her arms wrapped around his middle tightly and he accepted the tightness she offered. "i missed you so much," she mumbled into his chest. the entire burrow seemed to be happy with her presence. molly had always loved y/n like her own daughter. ginny confided in her. ron asked her for girl advice. charlie introduced her to his favorite dragon and she met up with bill while in africa. percy tolerated her which was enough.

gently, she pulled back from george's embrace and led him to the kitchen. there, they both sat down at the dining table, legs brushing up against each other. y/n had grown much more than the last time he had seen her. her skin had tanned and there were some added wrinkles on her forehead and around her lips. her eyes held something enchanting, like they were filled with the sights and knowledge she gained throughout her travels. george's world felt just a little lighter while staring at her.

"h-how was your trip?" george asked.

"trip isn't the word for it! i went to ilvermorny and met some of their professors and i got to meet some members of their magical congress. i spent a lot of time in france with the beauxbatons. bill introduced me to the other cursebreakers and showed me all the magical artifacts he's found," she rambled. "it was a lot of fun, george, but i really missed being here. being with you. i'm sorry i had to leave."

quickly, george jumped to assuage her worries. "no! no, don't apologize! you had to go and i wanted you to. i've been fine! the store's been great, really. but i did miss you. a lot."

y/n's eyes softened. "i've missed you too, georgie. so much. but i'm back now! i did my work and now i want to come back and help you with the store. if you'll have me."

in that moment, george would have surely said yes to anything she said. having someone to share the store with was all he had wanted for the past four years. his chest felt like a weight had been lifted off of it. there was still some pain in the back of his heart and flashes of fred came into his mind.

y/n must have recognized the flashes of pain that went across his eyes. "i know it's not the same but i want to help you heal as much as i can, george. i'm here now."

he looked up at her through his long eyelashes. her smile was genuine, wistful, and meant a lot to him.

"i would love for you to come back with me, y/n," he said. his hand wound around hers and she squeezed his comfortably. slowly, she rose up and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek but at the last second, he turned his head and their lips met again.

she giggled and he reveled in the sound. "just as mischievous as you've always been, georgie."

up the stairs, looking through the bannister, was molly weasley admiring the scene before her. a strongly worded letter to mcgonagall asking to bring y/n home was all she needed.

[todays-xkcd]

Shipping times vary. Same-ocean delivery may only take a few years, but delivery from the Weddell Sea in Antarctica may take multiple decades, and molecules meant for inland seas like the Mediterranean may be returned as undeliverable by surface currents.

Oceanography Gift [Explained]

Transcript Under the Cut

[Cueball and Megan are standing thigh deep, at either edge of a stretch of water between two steep but walkable shorelines.

[Cueball, at the left, is apparently opening bottles of water and pouring them into the sea while recording himself.] Cueball: Happy birthday! Cueball: I got you these water molecules. [Sound effects:] (click) (pour)

[The water between has a morass of short swirling arrows indicating movement. In the air above this there is a square-bracketted 'label'] [Label:] 10 years pass

[Megan, at the right, is dipping bottles into the water to fill them] Megan: Aww, thank you! [Sound effect:] (scoop)

[Text below comic:] Global surface ocean connectivity times are ≤10 years (Jönsson & Watson, 2016, DOI:10.1038/ncomms11239), so if you're willing to plan ahead, you can pour water into the ocean while wishing someone a happy birthday, and then in 10 years let them know they can pick up their gift at the nearest coastline.

[theminecraftbee]

so, first, accountability statement: I plan on trying to finish the “zedaph steals a baby” fic by the end of the month and god is that one-line summary no longer accurate but we’re sticking to it, said here publicly so now I have to do it. obviously I also have recursive exchange and the writing I have for hotguy comics zine, but I am not SUPER worried about either of those time/inspiration-wise at the moment and also for Reasons I know it won’t be long until I have more free writing time after that, SO.

various items that are on my potential writing docket, I am curious which of these appeal most:

I dust off the supervillain support group au. two ways this could go: I chip away at the second arc of my original outline and acknowledge this will be like a 300k fic I’m not ready to feel “done” with or “ready to post” with for ages, or I re-work it into something a little more doable and less ambitious keeping the same premise (ren runs a support group for supervillains, doc pov as he starts to heal and redeem himself). this MAY honestly be a target for “if I don’t hate the first 50k on re-reading it and I can actually make my brain write the second arc, do a slower release schedule and then start releasing chapters before I’m done writing”? but this ALSO runs the risk of “I stopped writing it, which is often a sign I was having trouble writing it”.

pearl monster au, which has been cooking in my head for a long while. the basic premise is “one day, pearl, with no memory of how or why this happened, wakes up in a facility as a monster and must try to figure out how she got there, escape, and find her way home, even knowing she may be irrevocably changed”. now with bonus season 10 fish flavor to add to this creature design I’ve been iterating on in my head for forever! this one is ALSO an experiment for me in “can I write a fic where I can’t write dialogue for basically the entire first act”, which would be interesting to see from me, you know?

the related “bigb folklore au”, where after secret life bigb is woken up by Cat and Dog by the tracks of the King Snake, which bigb can recognize as the railroad track, and decides to journey down the railroad to see if he can figure out what the fuck is going on. I need to do video review of life series bigb for this one. this is my excuse to get Weird and Metaphorical and also assign everyone to various animals for no reason, along with using some very specific aesthetic I have wanted to use for some worldbuilding but hadn’t gotten around to yet in any of my stuff. man walks through the desert with animal, confronts train that might be the watchers, might be death, and might just be a train. also, realizes that “confront” is the operative word there and has to deal with that. you know how it is.

““office au””, in air quotes because it’s not REALLY what anyone going to an office au is looking for so much as an excuse to write weird horror. iskall, normal-ish software developer man in a boring office job who does game jams in his free time, goes to work one day to work in his boring downtown office on a payment system for a client. and then things, uh, Take A Turn. this would be a LITTLE me going “what if I wrote an au with a guy who works in tech but like, the boring side of tech I’m in. like, banks and consulting and manufacturing and shit. where you sit in meetings all day and tweak java 8 code even though that language is ten years out of date. but THEN. something exciting happens in the worst way possible.” I’m doing to iskall what I did to mumbo stuffed bird is what I’m saying. it’d be fun.

DO ANY OF THESE PARTICULARLY INTEREST ANYONE. your input will be valued. like 50% chance i get hit with a strong bolt of inspiration then IGNORE that input but it’ll be valued all the same,

[pokeberry5]

your tim is soooooooo beautiful i can’t stop looking at him 😍

do you have any good tim whump fic recs? like the classic comm cuts out when he’s in trouble or really anything

(thank you!! im glad u like my tim art)

(in reference to this, where i mentioned liking whump fics where tim ends up on the ropes alone and his comm cuts out)

i was digging through my reading history to try to find some recs and it seems??? i may have extrapolated fics based on what i wanted to read rip

i did still put some fic recs together! but these are slightly to the left of your original requests. i'm gonna put them in order of relevancy. broad warning to please read the tags on all of these

Little Pig, Little Pig, Let Me In by nierembergia

tim's on the line with damian when suddenly a harmless-seeming interaction at a gala turns sinister (wip)

buy the ticket, take the ride

wherein tim is attempting to deal with things on his own after finding himself alone in vegas, at some point calls jason to "consult" him about blood spatters, and then has to hang up on him because he's getting shot at

the days of theft (no more) by SilverSkiesAtMidnight

gen omegaverse, jason takes tim and in the process snaps the bond between bruce and tim. including this one because the pack bond snapping between bruce and tim has, to me, the same emotional impact of a comm getting caught (wip)

Into the Brighter Night by shoalsea

the set up of this fic is tim manipulating the bats into following a plan he misrepresented and then purposefully going dark, although the majority of the fic deals with the interpersonal fallout of tim's actions (complete)

children of the stars by Scarlet_Ribbons

jason takes tim in because jack drake's a piece of shit and ends up doing his own growing in the process. not sure how to explain why i'm including this without spoiling it, but there is a Big Moment later in the fic that to me is equivalent to tim purposely cutting his comms off to deal with a situation himself (wip)

Call to a Lonely Earth by Drag0nst0rm

in the midst of brucequest, tim ends up on an earth where there are no longer any children and bruce has lost both his sons. i'm mostly including this one because i like it a lot, but—mild spoiler—tim does make a call explaining what he presents as a hopeless situation that he can't be saved from and then hangs up! (first fic is complete but sequel isn't)

also, while it doesn't quite have the same emotional force of what i was looking for, detective comics (1940) #698-99 is where i originally got the idea from and it does feature protective dick and alvin draper!

[happy-beeeps]

To Build a Home

WC: 4.2k

Pairing: din x reader

Synopsis: You’re on the hunt to make this house on Nevarro a home, but you’re wrestling with feelings of inadequacy in you and Din’s relationship after he adopts Grogu but doesn’t take you as his riduur. Fluffy, emotional hurt comfort, domesticity, slice of life, Din is a fisherman for 30 seconds.

Warnings: none really! Vaguely ooc Din but I think I got it back. Ever since that one episode of The Bad Batch I’ve just been dying to send Din fishing

A/N: HAPPY MAY THE 4TH!!!!

Fun fact, when I started this blog three years ago it was because the Mandalorian had just come out and people had only just started writing Din fic. I was in the trenches with the other mando fic pioneers. Technically this is the same reader as my first ever longfic “I don’t do droids” which I’ve semi abandoned BUT I do plan on making a better spin off version soon! It's not at all necessary to read that to understand the reader’s backstory though!

* * *

You’ve been to markets before. The familiar fast paced environment had always been something of a vice to you when you traveled with Din, the reprieve from being crammed on the crest or a short expedition for something to snack on. Once or twice Din himself had even accompanied you, with the baby wrapped around your chest in a bundle of fabric, his hand interlaced with yours. Now, though, you’re alone for what feels like the first time in years. You’re wandering through the market at a speed so slow it’s almost comical, taking time to touch, to see, to hear.

It’s exhilarating.

Nevarro has grown since you had first been here, and you can’t say it’s been particularly easy for you to return, to immerse yourself in a system that’s caused you so much pain. There are nights you find yourself thrashing at the sheets at the image of Din’s body crumpling under fire as the rest of you were forced down through the halls of the covert, or the ice that filled your veins when you realized your son had been taken. That Nevarro is gone, however, up in ash like the volcanos that dot the landscape of this system. You have a home here, a real house, and you’re determined to make it into something to rid both you and Din of your nightmares.

You left Din and Grogu at the house and took the small speeder he had been restoring for you back to the city center, parking it just outside the bustling square, ready to go if need be. Old habits die hard, you guess. The city itself now brims with life, families duck in and out of each other as they weave through the streets, droids pull carts of fresh produce. It’s all very exciting, very reassuring. 

“Lady Djarin!” A booming voice calls, one that stops the people nearest to you as they part ways to make space for the figure coming through. Greef Karga walks through the parted crowd, offering handshakes and smiles to those he walks past, before coming to stop at you and extending his arm. “Going shopping?”

You blush slightly at the moniker, Din had been clear that you had been made part of his clan and while you were by no means married, you appreciate the sentiment. “You know if I let Din make decisions on the house it’d stay as barren as the day we moved in.”

“I don’t doubt that,” he chuckles, escorting you through the streets and alleys. It really is beautiful here, with overflowing greenery practically spilling out of the windows of the residents, flowers of numerous bright colors dotting shopfronts and the hair of those who walk past you. “Have you been to our markets before?”

You glance at him and quirk up an eyebrow.  “Have I ever had much time for shopping when we’ve been on system?”

“You’ve got a fair point.” He leads you farther, until you approach a colorful alley with storefronts boasting fruits, silks, and small goods that stretches farther than you can see. “I recommend the flowers from the Togruta woman halfway down, if you were to pick some up,” and pats your hand before leaving you to your own devices. He knows you well enough at this point to know that you aren’t unable to defend yourself, and that you do occasionally appreciate the rare moments you get away from father and baby.

It’s not that you don’t love them both dearly, you do, so much so that you keenly remember the feeling of bringing a vibroblade up to the chest of Moff Gideon before you were quickly thrown aside. You’ve got the scars to prove it. You adore them. You also needed a moment of peace, to think and feel and make a home out of the house you were so graciously gifted. Besides, you can’t help but feel a little lost in your place in life now, as the dust has settled. Din had clearly adopted Grogu as his son, a fact you really couldn’t be happier about, but where did you land? You had waited with baited breath for him to ask the Armorer to add you to their song, but he hadn’t. Instead the three of you left soon afterwards, planning to meet up at Nevarro after he went to talk to an old friend with the New Republic. You had grown to resent his little two seater N-1, much preferring the space of your trusty fighter.

You walk down the alley, stopping to feel the fabrics and scarves that line the booths. One stall boasts brightly colored blankets, and you rustle through the soft blankets before you find a warm cream color dotted with tiny, multi-colored, embroidered flowers.You hand the shopkeeper the credits, and continue to walk down the street, doing your very best attempt to not buy everything you touch, though you aren’t sure you’ll succeed.

“Fruits! Fresh fruits here!”

“Instruments for the finest songstress!”

“Silks and scarves, keep warm when the sun sets!”

“A treasure for the finest student, primers for language!”

It’s this last seller that stops you in your tracks, reminding you of the reason you first met Din anyways. Sure, your role had grown now, twisted into something beautiful and pure, but aside from being lover, mother, confidant, and pilot, you were at your core, his translator. 

“What languages do you offer?” You say, walking into the old man’s small storefront. It’s cool inside, with walls painted a deep blue with light blue outlines of nearby star systems, like a map projected. He’s got datapads and even a few books of flimsi strewn around, tucked into cupboards, as well as collectibles from systems you could only dream of visiting. 

“What language do you need?” He grins, pulling out a datapad from his pocket and opening a menu that seems to scroll for years. “I offer most standard tongues, as well as a few more useful in the outer rim. You strike me as someone who’s looking for something a bit more unique.”

“I’m a translator by trade,” you say, scrolling through the offerings until you find something that stops you. “Standard is my craft.”

“A scholar then,” he pauses, and takes the datapad away from you. “When was the last time you learned a language for yourself?”

“I learned Kaleesh when I was younger,” you shrug, and the shopkeeper laughs.

“What does a woman like you need a war-tongue for?” “All the best people in my life are fighters.”

“Perhaps the language of a friend then, a spouse?” he offers, and you stop in your aimless wandering around the shop. Of course, how could you have been so stupid.

“I’ll take one basic primer, for a child, and anything you’ve got on Mando’a.”

Your arms are beginning to tire from the amount of things you’ve picked up: you’ve got toys for Grogu, fruits and vegetables, some meat for dinner, the blanket, your downloads, a few silks to hang for drapery, seeds, and a rug that’s set to be delivered in a rotation. You’re about to turn back, content with the amount of credits you’ve ran through in a day when you notice her, the Togruta woman and her flower stand. She’s inarguably stunning, with wide eyes and lekkuu that stretch down her chest, her markings intricate and carved down her face in an eye-catching way. 

“Hi,” you begin as you walk up to her, she’s pruning a bright orange flower now, and she glances up from her work to offer you a smile. “Your flowers come highly recommended by magistrate Karga.”

She scoffs and sets her flower down, offering you a worn hand to shake. “I’m Obesha.” She gestures to the blooms bursting from her cart. “What are you looking for?”

“Well, I’m relatively new in town, me and my,” you struggle to find the word. Din isn’t your spouse, but he’s more than your boyfriend. Frankly, lover feels a little too intimate for this woman you just met. “Companion and our child just settled outside town and I’m looking for something to brighten up our home.”

Obesha grins, before plucking a variety of blue, yellow, and white flowers carefully, tucking in pieces of greenery amongst them. “Turning a house into a home is one of the most challenging, yet rewarding things a being can do.” She gingerly plucks at the leaves, pruning it to perfection, before wrapping the bouquet up in a light gray cloth, which for some unbeknownst reason feels softer than anything you’ve felt before.

“What is this?”

She hums and turns back into her shop, coming out with a larger swatch of fabric, this one decorated with finely worked sheer lace, dyed the same blue-gray as the fabric on the outside of the bouquet. “It’s custom in my village to wear these for special occasions,” she pulls the wrap up to model it on herself, and you’re struck by the way the light filters through the lace. “It’s deceivingly warm and very beautiful.” She folds it up into a small square before handing it to you, “consider it a housewarming gift.”

Your mouth falls open as you struggle to reach into your bag for the credits. “Please, let me pay you, I have the money.”

She extends a hand forward to hush you, then gestures back down the alley. “Pay me back by letting me know what your family thinks of my arrangement.”

* * *

You’re distracted your whole ride back, which you admit probably isn’t the best thing for you to be as you navigate the desert. It’s not a particularly long ride to your home, which you’re grateful for, and you smile as the familiar form of the ships parked outside the small cabin beacon you in. Din and Grogu must not be home, considering he usually rushes to you to take anything you’re carrying and you can typically hear Grogu’s coos before you see him. It isn’t a surprise then, when you walk in to find the house empty, and notice the small message flashing on the datapad he’s left behind.

Gone fishing just down the springs.-D

It’s a habit he’s picked up after the brief time the two of you spent apart, when Grogu went to live with the Jedi and Din went off on his own. He came back to you quickly, finding you easily while you worked as a translator on Tatooine, with the daimyo you and Din had gotten to know very well. He never left without a message again once he had you back, and you smile as you swipe the note away.

“Time to organize!” you clap to no one in particular, and begin setting things up around the home. You tuck the new blanket in along you and Din’s bed (a concept that still feels so foreign after the places you’ve been sleeping recently) and the toys on a shelf in the small room you’ve begun calling Grogu’s nursery. The rest is relatively simple, tucking fabrics along windows and placing fruits in the kitchen. You put the bouquet down in the middle of the small table, and are sure to add fresh water to the vase. It’s really coming together, you have to say. The cabin isn’t particularly large, the majority of the house consisting of one large room that works as kitchen, living, and sleeping space (which you’ve done your best to section off,) a small ‘fresher off towards the back, and the small room you and Din have given to Grogu. It’s perfect for your little clan of three, and you don’t find yourself wishing for more from the space, settling down on the couch and digging into the Mandalorian language pages on your datapad.

You aren’t sure how long has passed when your legs want for movement, and you set the datapad down and opt to go find your fishermen. It’s still blazingly hot on the surface, so you forgo the small shawl and walk towards the direction of the springs. You and Din had both dipped in them on your first night here before you realized the springs died off into a small, cooler pond a short walk away. There, Karga had explained, there was a thriving population of fish and other reptiles that were open for fishing. 

You spot them before they spot you, Din’s shiny helmet reflecting in your direction. It’s another thing that’s had your gut twisted in on itself. You’ve seen Din’s face, the day Grogu left you had seen it. In that moment you had fallen deeper in love than you realized even possible. You were absolutely supportive of him and frankly, you were elated he’d been able to be welcomed back into his covert, but you couldn’t help but feel like an absolutely terrible person for it. Honestly, you hadn’t expected this move to domesticity to churn up so many emotions for you, particularly when this is the thing you’ve basically been dreaming of since the two of you first kissed.

Now, he’s perched on a rock, pole in hand, while Grogu sits on his knee, eyes fixed on the pond. You walk up quietly behind him but years of experience have him turning his head to spot you walking. Grogu turns too, and you can swear he gurgles out something to the effect of “buir!” as he bounces up and down on his father’s knee. You move in to scooch beside Din, who happily makes room for you, as you run a hand down the side of his helmet.

“Hi,” you breathe, and his hand, not on the pole, moves to find your fingers.

“Hi.” He murmurs back, and you rest your head on his shoulder. 

“I got some things for the house,” you lean over to scratch Grogu’s ears, “Got some stuff for bug and some food for dinner.”

“Can I cook for you?”

Your cheeks bloom at the words, “Sure, I’ve never had your cooking.”

“Never really had the space to do it,” he shrugs, “but I do now.”

You settle into a comfortable silence after this, and he sets Grogu down to splash in the edge of the pond and rests the fishing pole on the side of the rock. With his hands free, he heaves you up onto his lap and slides his arms around your waist. “Did you get anything for yourself?”

“One or two things,” you wave a hand in the air, “got a language learner for Grogu, thought we could try and teach him basic.”

“Please, as if we need to give him more ways to say ‘No’” He groans, but you can tell from the shake of his shoulders that he’s laughing, and he pulls you in closer to his chest. “We haven’t caught anything all day.”

“Mmm… so he clearly doesn’t get his patience from his father.”

“No, he gets it from his mother.”

You look up at him with wide eyes. Sure, you know you’re his mother, but hearing those words, after the adoption, it floods you with a warmth that has you wishing you could just kiss him right now.

“Cyare,” he starts, his hand coming to rest on your cheek, but is disrupted by the sound of violent splashing. You both jump up just to see Grogu standing at the edge of the pond, fish in hand. 

“I guess only one of you had trouble today,” you nudged him playfully before going to scoop up the baby, while he dropped the fish in the pond.

It’s been dangerously quiet inside the house, and you’ve been relegated to sit out on the small bench on the front porch. You appreciate Din cooking but the simple fact that you aren’t entirely sure he knows how to cook slipped your mind when you agreed. Now, you try not to think about that fact, and dedicate yourself to the datapad in your lap. You’ve seen some familiar words, buir and cyare, even the diminutives Din calls you late at night, cyar’ika and mesh’la.  You’ve always wanted to pick up his mother tongue, and you want to kick yourself for not doing it sooner. Now, you’re devouring it, trying to learn it all. It’s a rich language, more complex than most you’ve learned. You’re so wrapped up in your reading that when Din opens the front door you jump, and he leans forward to grab your hand, guiding you out of the chair.

“I think it’s done?”

“You aren’t inspiring a lot of confidence here,” you laugh as you walk inside, sitting down at the table next to Grogu. Din brings over the pot and you peer in. He’s done what looks to be a solid job, the vegetables are chopped a little more rough than you could’ve done, and you can tell the meat is slightly overdone, but considering it comes from him, you spoon it onto your plate like it’s the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten. You pour some out in front of Grogu and you feel Din’s eyes practically burn holes in your head.

“Yes?”

“I want to know if you like it.” He’s so quiet, the voice sounding almost shy. You reach over and place a hand atop his. 

“There isn’t a universe where you make something I don’t love.”

You both begin eating in silence, (his use of seasoning is surprisingly impeccable, and the meat is only a touch rough) when he starts up again. “The flowers are a nice touch, and the drapes.”

“Thank you,” you blush. “I just wanted to warm it up here.”

“Maker knows I don’t know what I’m doing, we’re lucky to have you.” He reaches over and taps you on the chin before turning his attention to Grogu, running a rag on the table across his mouth as he manages to smear every bite of food across his face.

After dinner, the two of you work to clean the kitchen while Grogu plays with one of the new toys you brought for him in the living room. You and Din are chatting, about nothing, about everything, when the warmth of the moment hits you, and you lean your head on his shoulder. He’s since dressed down to just his helmet, and you can feel the warmth of his skin radiate beneath his shirt. “This is nice.”

“What, dishes?” he laughs, but you can feel his arm snake loosely around your hips as he sets the last plate down.

“Just, this” you gesture to the house, to the pile of dishes, to Grogu playing, “it’s nice to have a home.”

“I already had a home,” he pulls you in closer, you can smell the sweat of the day and his spiced aftershave from where your head falls on his chest. “When Grogu falls asleep, I want to take you somewhere.” He pushes his forehead on yours, before moving to sit on the floor with Grogu, leaving you standing in the kitchen, grinning like an idiot at the scene before you. This is your family, your clan. Husband or not, Din is the love of your life, you’ve lost him and the baby once and you don’t intend to do it again. You set down the cleaning rag and join the two of them on the floor, happy to oblige in whatever game Grogu is playing.

* * *

“Where’d you get that?” Din asks as he leads you down the rocky sides of the springs.

“The florist, it’s shockingly warm.” You pull the shawl tighter around your form and Din stops suddenly. You're back at the pond from earlier only now it looks different. There’s a small blanket strewn across the rock you had sat on earlier, and he scrambles to light a few assorted candles that litter the ground. Even the scenery appears to have changed, as tiny yellow lights dot the air.

“They’re actually tiny lifeforms,” he says, gesturing to the yellow dots, “Karga told me they come out at night over here.”

“It’s beautiful, how come we haven’t been here yet?”

“Just waiting for a good time to get you alone.” He pulls you closer to the rock and the two of you sit down, your back pressed to his chest as you watch the sky turn a deep purple color as the yellow lights dance in the sky. You sit like that in silence for a moment longer when his voice comes out, rumbling and warm. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing’s wrong, why?” You sputter, and you want to smack yourself for how incriminating that sounds.

“You’re hiding it, and hiding it well. But something’s wrong,” his voice comes low to your ear now, still modulated and heavy but him. “What I don’t know is why you won’t tell me.”

“I’m… It’s really not a big deal.”

“Can I guess?”

“If you want.”

“Well,” he breathes in, like he’s holding his breath, “I commed Bo.”

You whip your head around at that. He must have been really concerned to enlist the help of one of your favorite Mandalorians.

“Oh? What did Bo say?” “That I’m a nerf herder.”

You snort at that and settle into his chest again. “Sounds like Bo.”

His hands come up to turn you towards him, and he pulls your legs so you're facing him, your legs wrapping around his waist. You’re close like this, if you leaned forward you could rest your forehead against his. “You doubt me, what I feel for you.”

“That’s not really the way I would put it,” you murmur, and he closes the gap for you, bringing his helmet to your head. “I just was worried… that I wasn’t a part of your clan. You’ve adopted Grogu, and that makes you his father. But I’m just-”

“His mother. Cyar’ika, I haven’t been fair with you.” His hands move to press small circles into your back. “I shouldn’t have let you feel doubt in me, in our clan. You are to Grogu as I am. You’re my-”

“Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum,” you breathe, and it’s your turn to cut him off, whispering the sweet words to him in the echo of the world. You can hear his breath hitch as he grabs you tighter. “I’ve been practicing all day.”

“You don’t need to speak my language to be a part of me. You already have been for longer than I can say,” he murmurs, and his hand goes to the back of your head. “Gar solus ner aliit, gar solus but buir.”

It takes you a moment to catch up with the translations, the sweet words he’s whispering, and Din uses this moment of thinking to bring both his hands up to his helmet, disengage the locking mechanism, and pull it off, resting it on the rock beside him.

“Din!” you shout, and smack your hands over your eyes, but he’s faster than you and catches your wrists in your hands. 

“Look at me mesh’la.” And you do, you drink him in with everything you have, bringing your hands to trace his lips, his nose, eyes refusing to leave his. “I finally have something to offer you.” He whispers, his lips so close to your ear that you swear you’ve died. That must be the case. You’ve simply ascended into the great beyond. “I didn’t add you to the song on Mandalore because I wanted to have something to give you, something to promise you forever.”

You look past his shoulder to the silhouette of the cabin. “Our house.”

“Our home.” He holds your cheeks in his hands, and you can tell he’s been as starved of this as you have. “You’ve made it a home.”

His lips are on yours in an instant, and you’re devouring him like you’ve been starved. Sure, you’ve kissed him since he put his helmet back on, but the weight of all of this, of his helmet being gone, of you seeing him again, it’s like the first time all over again.

“Din, your creed.” You murmur between kisses.

“Save me the trip back to Mandalore and marry me then.”

You pull back, searching his eyes for any joke, and you want to cry when there isn’t one.

“I told you, when I had something to offer you.”

You’re laughing and crying now as he fiddles with the lace hem of your shawl before delicately draping it across your head. “My riduur.”

Even with your expert knowledge of linguistics, the vows are clunky and foreign in your mouth, but with Din smiling at you, you have no complaints. He scoops you and his helmet up almost immediately, walking you back into the cabin and tossing you onto the bed. He breaks from your gaze for just a minute to go into the nursery and emerges with a sleepy-eyed Grogu.

“Hi baby,” you croon as Din places him on the bed and he waddles towards you.

“He loves his buir” Din whispers as he falls into bed beside you. The little green cover stealer is quick to settle between you and his dad, his hands reaching out to press on both of your foreheads. You look over at Din, whose eyes are once again finding yours.

“Welcome home.” He whispers.

You mean to tell him that you love him, that you’re happy to be married to him, but sleep 

finds you first. Not that it matters. 

He already knows.

[ijwrsmff]

I'm begging for a Buggy x f reader where reader ate the Flame Flame fruit and Buggy watches her mess around with her flames before a little girl in the "audience" begins to cry so reader goes over to her smiles and sits down to do a few tricks for her and he like melts at how cute it is. If that's too much I understand.

It's not too much I promise! I do be loving Buggy XD I didn't focus AS MUCH on Buggy and reader because I got carried away by the cuteness of a fem reader making a cute little show for the little girl. But there are a good few precious paragraphs with Buggy being a sweetie. As much as he can be XD

Word Count: 1,322

You’d been on Buggy’s crew for a while, and though you didn’t fully agree with his ideals, you were willing to put up with it. If it meant getting closer to him, you didn’t mind too much. He was funny, and was good at taking charge of a situation. His crew was loyal to a fault, and you were no exception. He may get mad often, but to the people he cared about he wouldn’t harm them for anything. 

You were there, in a new town, and he gave the townspeople a chance to join the audience of the circus…or there would be consequences. Almost all of them had heard of Buggy the Clown, so they followed with brief hesitation. He had a habit of making a name for himself everywhere you went, so within a couple shows the “audience” was mortified. They knew one wrong move and it may be the last they made. 

You were one of the acts, having the ability from your devil fruit to create flames in any shape or size. It took a while to get used to it, but now it was second nature. He sought you out the second he saw what you could do, and with his charm? You didn’t have to think twice about joining his crew. Even…if being called a freak all the time wasn't exactly what you had in mind for your life. He didn’t say it in a derogatory way though, just a fact of the people and beings who weren’t accepted by regular society, and gave you all a name to identify as and live by. 

In some form…it became an endearing term. You knew you were a freak at heart, as not a lot of people throughout the blues had a significantly strong and bizarre devil fruit. It was a way to show…that even if most of the world didn’t agree…you had a home, here with Buggy and his freaks. 

But you were still a kind person, so when it came to your first act for the audience, you noticed a little girl crying and knew you had to do something. Buggy would lash out at anyone for ruining his show, but…he had a soft spot for you. And it WAS your act being performed, he trusted your judgment. He was intrigued as to what your plan was for this, always watching the acts from backstage to see his freaks performing at their best, and sometimes even at their worst. 

“Hey…hey it’s okay. Are you afraid of fire?” You knelt down to the girl’s level, and she recoiled back a little bit. It was clear she was scared, but you wanted as many people as possible to enjoy your show. If even one person was in turmoil, you’d do what you had to in order to make it fun! “Don’t worry, it’s not gonna hurt you.” You backed up a bit and made the smallest flame possible on the tip of your finger. 

She still looked scared, and just nodded once to confirm she didn’t like your flames. You smiled, and tried to ease her fears. Your performance was much bigger than a couple small blazes, so you eased her into it, not even noticing Buggy watching curiously from backstage. “Wanna see a couple tricks? Just for you!” Your grin was wide, and you made a small ball of flames, no bigger than a baseball and tossed it from hand to hand. 

She looked scared still, so you made a couple balls and juggled it a couple feet away from her. While she looked afraid, a bit less so in seeing how small it could be. “What’s your favorite animal?” You paused the juggling and tilted your head in a comical way, making the small balls disappear. “Any animal in the world!” You spoke loud enough for others to hear, but not loud enough to give her another reason to be anxious. 

She gulped, and you could see her mother next to her rubbing her shoulders to try and soothe her. Her mother looked confused and hesitant, knowing what crew you were on. Who knew what you had in store for her daughter? You could just be trying to get her guard down to scare her even more, and she was clearly protective. Admittedly, for good reason. You were a pirate after all. 

When the girl didn’t respond, the mother said quietly, “Tigers…she really likes tigers.” She was guarded, and the little girl nodded at the words. Just in case, the mother held the girl even closer to make sure you weren’t gonna try anything funny. And not in the good way, like normal circuses would be. 

Your smile grew and grew, and you clapped, “That’s perfect! Very fitting for a circus, you have good taste!” You winked, and the little girl smiled briefly. Like a good freak, you decided to carry on with the show in a way. It’s far from what you planned, but it would do. 

You backed up, and started with a small and slow flame, barely flickering. It warped as you willed it to, and it slowly began to grow into the shape of a tiger. The stripes were blue flames, the rest their regular red/orange. It grew to be the size of a real tiger, and you had it run around the stage before stopping in front of the girl. It wasn’t always easy to make your flames harmless, but it was worth it when you saw this little girl light up in excitement as you gave her permission to pet it. 

And with that, the show had ended after a few more tricks and Buggy even let all the audience go. He pulled you aside, and he looked…different. Not angry, not irked, not even slightly irritated. He looked…proud. Though he wouldn’t tell you, he already had strong feelings for you. With that performance, and what you did for the little girl…he knew that you’d be his wife someday. He tended to rush a lot, but not this time. 

When he pulled you aside, he embraced you. It was confusing, and you were wondering why your captain was being so randomly affectionate. “That…was our best show yet.” He couldn’t get the words out he wanted to, but when you pulled back looking confused he decided to try. “When you made that little girl happy…it made the show that much better. I can force people to watch our show, but people don’t always be genuinely happy. It’s what I want. Second…to being the pirate king and being feared, but you made me realize a good show doesn’t always have to be planned.” 

You smiled, and hugged him again, “Thank you, thank you captain!” You knew he wouldn’t abandon his goals of being feared and renowned but it was a start. “I was worried you’d be made for me derailing my show for a while…” Looking sheepish, and looking away from him before he pulled you back. 

He placed his finger under your chin, and gave you a look that showed how much he adored your performance. It was the softest look you’d ever seen on him and it admittedly made you blush. “You might just be my favorite freak.” He chuckled and you ended up blushing even more. “Now I won’t be able to do a show without you, so you better be prepared to put on shows with me the rest of your life.” 

You smiled, and knew you’d want nothing more. To get closer to your captain like this…made feelings bloom in your chest, only hoping he truly felt the same. After that display of affection, you were even more determined to grow closer to him. With conviction, you said the words that he loved to hear from you. 

“Yes Captain Buggy! We’ll put on shows for as long as we can! To the future king of the pirates!” 

[shleepyissleepy]

When Sweet Meets Savory

Alastor/GN!Reader

Prolouge

Content warnings: Vague depictions of violence and death.

Notes: Descriptions, name, and gender of the reader is left alone.

___________________________________________

Dropping ass first into hell wasn't exactly on today's to-do list. The last thing you remember upon waking up in the middle of a bustling, critter ridden city was that you had just gone out for your morning stroll. It was quiet out. The fog had just begun to settle in, and it seemed that the day was due for a little rain. You had plans to go shopping, tidy up your quaint little apartment, and get some chores done. Perhaps read a book or two while your record player sang sweet melodies. Yes, a peaceful, productive day was in the works, well that was, until you decided to take a detour through the trail just short of less than a mile it'd take otherwise to get to the convenience store.

Something felt incredibly off. Entering the forest opening were the trail began, and stepping past the overgrowth of weeds and roots, it was clear this area of the neighborhood didn't get many guests. Normally, it's a smooth sailing walk, besides tripping over a couple of rocks and roots, that takes less than 10 minutes to walk through fully. However, today, it seemed you had a plus one. Someone had followed you into the trail, judging by the crackling footsteps behind you. Part of you assumed they just happened to be going the same way you were, but it just felt... wrong.

Anxiety started bubbling up in the pit of your stomach. Of course, you must be overreacting, but it couldn't hurt to pick up the pace a bit. Bad move. Immediately, the steps behind you move faster, and out of reflex, you do as well, sending you to full-on sprint. Slapping branches out of your way and jumping over protruding mounds of dirt at the speed you were going, mixed with the ever-growing fear as agitated grunting and heavy steps close in behind you causes you to hyperventilate. You didn't even make it halfway through the trail when the perpetrator caught up to you, tackling and pinning you down. You wondered if anyone heard your screams, or if anyone found your mutilated body.

Well anywho, that's how you found yourself here, admist the chaos of a crimson city. Honestly, you expected more fire and pitchforks. Adapting to your new environment took some time, well okay, a lot of time. Eventually, when you stumbled upon your reflection for the first time, you had audibly yelled in shock and fell on your ass. If you had a nickle for everytime that's happened since you got here you'd have two, which is not a lot but it's funny that it happened twice. Finding somewhere to settle proved extremely difficult given the fact that it was hell and everything came with a price, whether it be in the form of an "act of service", to giving up your mortal soul... and an absurd amount of money, of course. Which was why you eventually found yourself standing at the ominous front entrance of the comically infamous in completely bombing, Hazbin Hotel.

A place meant to house and redeem sinners. To be completely honest, you knew exactly why you were here in hell, however you were not very keen on sharing that information. But maybe if you could waltz in, and give a good enough introduction to apply for a job here, you may also get to have a decent roof over your head. Now the only issue with this little plan, was that there was literally no job openings that you knew of listed here, so you had to come up with... well something. Maybe coming here on a whim was a terrible idea, or it might just be the best decision you'll ever make in your undead life. You'll never know until you open those doors.

With a sigh and somewhat confidant stance, you push open the double doors, reveling in the crimson golden glow of the hotel. Immediately you find yourself in the lobby with pointedly no check in desk. Clasping your hands behind your back, you survey the interior and notice a bar to the left of you. A cat like demon with wings is behind the bar cleaning a glass, and actively avoiding to look in your general direction, but he definitely knows you're there. Just before you can finish examining your surroundings, a cheery voice booms infront of you.

"Hellooo!" You stumble back, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. A young woman in a red suit stands before you and practically touching noses with you seconds prior.

"Oh my gosh I'm sososo sorry I didn't mean to spook you, I'm just so excited to see a new guest!" Her voice trails off in a giddy nature, her heels rocking lightly. Finally you begin to process that the princess of hell, Charlie Morningstar, is in front of you. Which of course you expected, but not quite imagining it like this. Releasing the tension in you posture you hold out a hand to shake, introducing yourself. She practically shakes your arm off.

"It's so nice to meet you, I'm Charlie Morningstar- ah, but you can just call me Charlie..." backing away with a spin, her arms reaching out beside her in a grand display.

"Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel~!" She ends of with a sing song tune to her voice.

"Ah, it's nice to meet you as well...uhm but I'm here looking to be a guest, per say." Shit. You really didn't think this through. Also "per say"? Who says that??? Charlie laughs faintly, closing the distance once again to hold one of yoy hands in hers in a polite sort of fashion.

"Ah nonsense. Everyone is a guest here!" She tugs your hand gently but with purpose, guiding you towards the bar.

"C'mon lemme show you around, this is the baarr and the bar tenderrr.~" The demon behind the bar finally shoots you a non-committal glance before going back to scrubbing a... completely clean glass... yeeahhh. You give him a polite wave regardless and move on.

Over the course of the next thirty minutes, Charlie gives you a tour around the hotel. You couldn't help but feel charmed by her excited nature. She gushed on and on about the hotel and its goals, she seemed really committed to this place, you could practically see the sparkle in her eyes. Eventually, she got to asking you about what brings you to the hotel, your goals and such. Welp, time to bullshit something!

"Well you see, I'm here on business. I see your vision of redeeming souls, and I have an offer for you, if you're interested." Please almighty Lucifer be interested. She urges you to continue.

"I have a wonderful idea that could add some frosting to the cake, if you will. To your lessons and exercises. How do you feel about opening a library?" An awkward pause floats in the air. Charlie cocks her head slightly as she feigned a smile.

"Ah... a library?" You pat the air with your hands to wave away the tension. Internally screaming at the single braincell in your head to come up with something.

"Let me elaborate." Clearing your throat, you straighten your posture. A shiver runs down your back, and there's a dry spot in your throat. Time to make the pitch.

"With a library, guests can find themselves a quiet escape, something healthy and stimulating. Not only that, but you could utilize a library for writing and reading exercises. What's a better way to connect with people and to express yourself? I can offer poetry and calligraphy lessons, teach others to write about their experiences and through this medium, perhaps there would be a better chance to really help sinners along the way to redemption!" Slightly out of breath, you finish off with your best award winning smile. Most of that was just complete bullshitting out of your ass, but there was some truth to it. You always found comfort in setting like a library, or a cozy cafe in the hidden nook of a shopping center. Reading and writing has been proven to be therapeutic and a good medium for expressing yourself. Letting the mind wander and letting your imagination take hold of a pen- you're losing focus.

Your eyes snap back to Charlie from where they had trailed off, she stares back wide eyed. Worried you may have offended her for even pitching this ridiculous idea, you began to apologize. However you were interrupted by her grabbing your shoulders. She stood on the very tips of her toes and gleamed.

"That. is. a. WONDERFUL IDEA!" She spins you around for a moment before gushing further about all the new ideas she has for lesson plans and exercises.

After a while of banter back and forth, you were surprised and relieved to hear that you got the job. Not only that, but you were extatic to hear that you would be receiving your own room. Score! This is exactly what you needed. Now the only issue was the fact that the hotel... did not have anywhere to put a library, but that can be arranged! Charlie said she knew the perfect person for the job...

...and that was when you immediately regretted your decisions.

[queerfortress2]

May I request Scout with a reader who finds his awkward attempts at flirting with them endearing?

MOD MEDIC TWO IN A ROW (engie keeps looking at other requests) I LOVE THE IDEA OF TF2 PATHETIC MEN YOU GUYS DO NOT UNDERSTAND — mod medic <3

GN!READER X SCOUT ; SCOUT CANNOT FLIRT FOR SHIT

• ITS SO SAD MAN

• he tried to lean on a door once talking to you and miss the doorframe entirely, crashing on his side. he played it off by doing push ups but it was so clear he fucked up

• shoutouts to the bucket of chicken instead of flowers. i hope you like chicken! he’s so bad at romance it’s comical.

• i think he would try to impress you by taking you places and then see other guys do better and fold… you do have to tell him that you enjoyed the visit or else he will assume he did WORSE

• my mans got a bad complex im sorry

• it’s okay tho!! he enjoys you laughing! he thinks it makes up for all the mistakes he made in the day, because at least he made you happy while doing it!

• other scenario is that he gets you both ice cream and runs excitedly to you only to drop your cone on the ground. he would look down and then hand you his cone instead. heS SO SORRY BUT LIKE HE CANT HELP BUT BE FAST he forgot he was holding ice cream

• the adhd is real….. (hc completely help)

• if you happen to not be like him and a lot more sophisticated, 1. how did he bag you 2. i think he would try and take you to a library because “you fancy smart” and then get kicked out because he was being FAR too loud.

• at this point you have to set up the days if you don’t want wacky hijinks to occur in a romantic setting.. it’s just not gonna happen if scout plans it

• i think if he really tries to be traditional the only place it doesn’t go wrong is him taking you to his ma. and it’s very fun for you!! she loves you! a little too much. she shows you his baby photos and he’s begging her to stop. but look! little scout with a baseball bat and a missing tooth! he’s so cute!

• (he’s seething and crying)

[nanawritesit]

Obey Me! Demon Brothers Imagine: You Confessing Your Love For Them 

Characters: Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Belphegor

Anonymous asked: "Our lovely demons reacting to a confession from there MC?"

Of course I can! I love writing for these boys so much. I hope you all like this!

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

Lucifer:

Lucifer simply smiled at you from his place behind his desk, resting his chin on his fist.

"Could you please say something?" you demanded, gaze fixed on your own feet as you stood in front of him. You had your fists balled up, and you could feel your face heating up and your heart pounding in your chest.

He chuckled before getting up from his chair. He walked up to you at an agonizing pace, then stopped in front of you. He hooked a finger under your jaw and forced you to look up at him.

"Forgive me." he began. "I didn't mean to laugh. I just found it comical that you made such a big deal out of telling me."

"What do you mean?" you asked, feeling your stomach churn. Was he really going to reject you after you had just poured your heart out to him?

"I've known how you feel about me for quite some time now," he explained. "You don't have to worry about whether or not I return your affections MC... I've been in love with you ever since you walked through my office door."

"You mean that?" you asked, hopeful.

"Of course." Lucifer told you, taking your hand in his. "I was honestly just waiting for you to realize it. But now that you have... I no longer wish to be parted from you ever again. I'm so happy that you want us to be together."

You smiled at him, overjoyed that your love was mutual. You pressed your foreheads together and held each other in your arms for a while, just enjoying the bliss of this moment you shared.

"May I kiss you, my dear MC?" he finally asked. You nodded, and he brought a hand up behind your neck. He sunk his face down to yours painfully slow, then connected your lips in the most gentle yet passionate kiss ever. You were completely lost in him and his feeling, and you knew he felt the same based on how his other hand clutched your waist. Your own hands were pressed against his chest, gripping onto him for grounding. After indulging each others taste for a moment, he pulled back and breathed out a heavy sigh. "I'm so proud to be yours."

Mammon:

You knew how Mammon felt about you since about day two in the Devildom. He was so incredibly obvious no matter how hard he tried to hide it. But he was also your best friend, and didn't want to lose you due to his uncontrollable feelings, so he never ever confessed. Instead, he put up this front that he couldn't care less about some dumb human.

But you saw straight through him. You saw him for who he truly was: a man who wanted to be happy and feel loved. It didn't take long for you to fall for him either, but you wanted the timing to be right when you confessed your feelings.

However, things didn't really go as planned. One day when Mammon was being Mammon, you two got into a bit of an argument, and you lost the ability to censor your thoughts.

"I can't believe you!" you shouted, once the door of your bedroom had shut behind the both of you. "I told you that you needed to study for that test, but you didn't listen and went to the casino again!"

"I couldn't help it MC! Ya know I never miss out on Las Vegas night!" he huffed, tossing his backpack down on the floor.

"Do you know how hard it is to keep defending you to Lucifer?" you quipped, turning around to face him. "I have been sticking up for you since day one and you never make it any easier for me!"

"Hey, I never asked ya to do anythin' for me!" he fired back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No I know, you don't need the help of some stupid human." you snapped, rolling your eyes and putting your head in your hands.

"I honestly don't know why ya care so much." he muttered, turning around to leave.

You laughed at him in disbelief. "Why do I care so much? That's what you're asking me?"

He stopped in his tracks, then slowly turned around to face you. "Well, yeah... why do ya care whether I get in trouble or not?"

"Because I love you, you idiot!" you cried out, throwing your arms up in the air. "I hate seeing you get treated like a scummy screw up, because I know you're so much more than that! I only ever want to see you be happy and loved by everyone like you deserve, but you don't care enough about yourself to want it too!" You couldn't help the tears that fell from your eyes, not being able to hold back the well of emotions that spilled within you.

"Hey, no, please don't cry." he pleaded, approaching you and quickly taking you in his arms. You sniffled against his chest as he pet the back of your head comfortingly. "I'm sorry, I just... I never in a million years imagined that ya could love someone as no-good as me. No one ever sees me as more than a disappointment."

"Well I do." you said, pulling back to look at him. "I love you for who you are, not for who I want you to be. I just wish you saw yourself the way I did."

"I'd like to try." he reassured you, bringing a hand up to cup your cheek. "If I'm bein' honest, now that I know ya believe in me, it feels like anything is possible. You've been my dream for so long, I feel so powerful with ya by my side."

"You're so stupid." you laughed at him. You then grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into a kiss. His eyes widened for a second, but he quickly relaxed into it. He brought his arms up around your body and pushed it flush against his own. Through his lips, you felt how long he had yearned for your touch, all the times he wanted you but felt like he couldn't have you. How you were all he ever wanted, and how fulfilled he felt now that you were his.

"Only for you." he chuckled.

Leviathan:

It was late at night, and you were having one of your usual video game nights with Levi. You were both sitting in his bathtub mashing your controllers, with you between his legs and his arms around your frame. You were laughing and joking with each other about how bad the other one was at the game, having an amazing time together.

"Yes, yes yes yes!" you cried out, slamming your controller down when you had finally won the match against the other team.

"We did it!" Levi cheered, throwing his arms around you and falling backwards. You laid on top of him, laughing at how intense the match was. Suddenly, you flipped around to face him and propped your elbows up to rest your head in your hands.

"You're amazing Levi. I love you."

His face went pink, and he was speechless. There was no way you were being serious. "MC you..." he was lost in the affection that gleamed through your eyes, then thinking better of it, he shook his head and continued. "You shouldn't say things like that. It's not nice to get a lame otaku's hopes up like that!"

"What if I meant it?" you blurted out, not thinking. You always had a huge crush on him, but you didn't want to make him feel awkward because it had taken him this long just to become friends with you.

He inhaled a sharp breath, letting himself feel hopeful for the first time. "Well... did you?"

You nodded slowly. "I love you. Just as you are."

He laughed, showing you the brightest smile he ever had. "I love you too MC, I always have."

You giggled, then leapt on him and crashed your lips on top of his. His eyes practically bulged out of his head, and he went completely stiff.

"H-hey!" he stammered once you pulled back. "Give me a little warning next time!" He was a blushing mess, and you could feel his heart beating uncontrollably.

"Okay," you chuckled, "can I kiss you again?"

He looked at your lips longingly, then went back to your eyes. Suddenly, he put his hand on your cheek and smirked. He then leaned up and pressed his lips to yours, and you were caught off guard just as much as he was when you kissed him a few seconds ago.

"Now we're even." he said, forehead pressed against yours.

Satan:

You were both in the library, sitting next to each other on the plush couch. Your head was resting on his shoulder, both legs tucked up and resting on one of his. He had one arm around your shoulder, and the other held his book out in front of him.

You plopped your book down in your lap and took a deep breath. “Satan, I… I have something to tell you.”

“Hm? What is it MC?” he asked, turning toward you with a smile.

Do it! It’s now or never! You thought to yourself. “I love you.”

He sat there staring at you with a blank expression for what felt like ages. You started to feel anxiety gnawing away at your stomach as you waited for his response.

“You don’t mean that.” he tried to reason, pointing a finger to your face.

“I know what my own feelings are.” you stated, upset that he was trying to convince you otherwise. “I love you.”

He reached for your hand, but you pulled away roughly. He sighed, then reached across your body to grab your hand forcefully. “Listen to me, you don’t understand what you’re getting yourself into. It’s not easy loving me. I’m trying to protect you.”

“Satan, when have I ever tried to do things the easy way?” you demanded, glaring at him challengingly. “I know you’re difficult. You’re closed off, you can be kind of rude, and you have a horrible temper. But so do I. We suit each other.”

“You only think you love me.” he said matter of factly.

You were growing furious with him. “I’ve seen you at your absolute worst and you still don’t believe me when I say I want to be with you? Are you seriously going to reject me right now? You never once felt love for me too?”

“Of course I do!” he cried out, making you stop shouting. He fell back against the couch, rubbing his head in his hands. “I’ve loved you for so long.” he said, sitting back up.

“So why can’t we be together?” you demanded.

He took your hand again, and this time you didn’t fight it. “Because I couldn’t bear losing you if you saw a side of me you didn’t like.”

“Satan, that’s not going to happen.” you explained, leaning closer to him. “I’ve seen the real you and I love every part of it. I’ve never been so sure of anything else in my entire life. I want us to be together.”

“I want that too.” he sighed, putting his forehead against yours. “I’m just scared.”

“Love is always scary.” you giggled. “You should know that, aren’t you supposed to be smart?”

He chuckled, then leaned in to kiss you. You met him halfway, connecting your lips gently. It was a short kiss, but so sweet nonetheless.

“You’ll have to be my teacher in this subject.”

Asmodeus:

You were sitting on his bed reading one of his fashion magazines while he was at his vanity getting ready. You had just gotten back from a shopping spree and Asmo couldn't wait to get all dolled up with his new things.

"MC, I can't decide what to wear!" he cried out, digging through his shopping bags. "This red one accentuates my slender frame, but the black one shows more of my beautiful skin! And I think this new eye makeup style will make me look so alluring! Oh, and look how I styled my hair, isn't it hot?"

"Asmo, why don't you just wear what you like?" you asked out of nowhere.

He stopped what he was doing, not knowing what to say. "Well, I have to look sexy above all else. Otherwise people won't notice me."

"You don't need to look sexy just to look like yourself." you chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, if dressing in revealing stuff makes you feel good, then I say go for it, but don't force it. The real you is just as beautiful! I'm sure everyone would be ridiculously in love with you like I am."

"You're in love with me?" he asked, the corners of his mouth creeping up into a smirk.

Your eyes widened. You were so lost in your rambling about how great he was that you didn't even realize that you just accidentally confessed to him.

"I'm sorry." you sighed, collapsing down onto the bed.

"Why are you sorry?" he laughed, getting up and walking over to sit next to you.

"Because I don't want to burden you with my confession!" you cried out, face buried in the blankets. "I'm not good enough for someone as perfect as you!"

"MC, that's so stupid!" he giggled, rolling you over to face him. "You're the only person I've ever considered to be as beautiful as me, both inside and out... I love you too. I was just worried you thought I was only capable of lust and wouldn't believe me. It makes me so happy to know that you feel the same way!"

"Oh Asmo!" you cheered, hopping up and tackling him down on the bed in a hug. He laughed, putting his arms around you and attacking you with kisses. You two spent the rest of the night soaking up each others' love... and maybe a little bit of lust.

Beelzebub:

"What were you thinking?" Beel asked calmly while cleaning the wound on your knee.

"It doesn't matter." you mumbled in front of him, sat on the bathroom counter.

"Of course it matters!" he exclaimed, slamming his hands down onto the counter on both sides of your hips. You were shocked so see him so passionate about something other than food. "I know you're still learning your powers, but you're still human MC. You can't just go around picking fights with demons who are twice your size. What would you have done if I hadn't showed up? You could've gotten hurt!"

"It doesn't matter!" you repeated yourself, looking him straight in the eye. "He was talking about hurting you and I couldn't take it! I can't trust anyone who doesn't absolutely love you, like I do!"

His lips parted a bit as he was taken aback. After what felt like ages of the two of you just staring at each other, he reached up and wiped the frustrated tear you shed away with his thumb.

"I love you too." he confessed back. "I just hate seeing you hurt. I'm sorry I was angry.

You threw your arms around his neck and hugged him. He chuckled and wrapped his own around your body, taking your small frame into his large one. He held you tightly for a good while, then leaned back to place a kiss on your forehead.

"And I'm sorry for being stupid." you smiled. "Can we just please date already?"

"Anything you want." he laughed, scooping you up in his arms and carrying you out of the bathroom. "I'll take you to dinner."

Belphegor:

It was late at night, and you hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep. Your feelings for Belphegor were overwhelming you, and you couldn't wait one day more to tell him. You threw your blankets off of you and headed straight for he attic.

"Belphie?" you asked nervously, shaking his sleeping form.

"Mmh..." he grumbled, rolling around to face you. "What do you want..."

"I, um..." you stammered. You were glad the room was so dark, that way he couldn't see what an anxious mess you were.

"MC, you can ask one of the other guys if it can't wait until morning." he yawned, reaching for his cow print pillow. "Just tell me what's wrong or I'll-"

"I love you." you blurted out, heart pounding.

He sat there staring into the darkness for a moment, then you heard him chuckle. He suddenly jumped on you, pulling you down to lay next to him. "I love you too."

"You do? You mean it?" you inquired.

"Of course. I've loved you as long as I've known you, but I was scared I didn't deserve you after what I did." he confessed, nuzzling into your neck. "Now let me cuddle you to sleep, I'll make it more romantic in the morning."

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

[fisheshavegill]

-- Crazy Rich Asians. PT. II

「 ✦ CRA ✦ 」

sunghoon fanfic! fem reader!

"It's not the men in your life that counts, it's the life in your men."

2k | disclaimer : quotations at the start may or may not have to do something with the whole story (could be an add on)

Read Crazy Rich Asians PT. I

no proof read | word vomit

indented text are just my personal descriptions &lt;3

－ i got some lines from books ive read and movies ive watched! + the title of my fanfic doesn't mean the plot is mostly from the actual movie / book!

──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

. “ if it is real, it must by definition prove to be eternal?. “ .

– random flashback |. 📍 California

The waitress arrives, sets down all of our orders and disappears. 

I took out my fork as I swirled it in my pasta

“Carbonara?”  I offered him before eating it. 

Sunghoon shakes his head 

“Because it’s dairy?”

“No… I just prefer pesto” 

“Hmm. Impressive” “Very.....you” I say

A distinct ringing sound emanating from his pocket.  As the phone rings a few more times before Sunghoon finally takes it out of his pocket and looks at the screen

“One second”  he roses from his seat

I watched him walked away, his phone pressed to his ear. 

I looked at him through the window while I was sipping my tea.   

After a while the door bell rings, he came back again putting his phone to the pocket of his jacket. 

“So”, “How was your day?” He questions as he sits on the table, pouring water to his cup

“Lame” 

“Uhm” he hesitates to say  

“my mom's gonna have a birthday party”  he says out of nowhere, avoids looking at me while taking the silver utensils on the clothed table. "I planned it"

“I invited a lot of guests.” “All of my relatives and cousins know about it” He stops speed talking as he takes his first bite of steak.  

“And you” he weakly points me with his fork.

I didn’t say anything as I take another sip of my tea  

“Her birthday actually was yesterday, nothing so sleek about it and everyone was busy” 

“It will be held on Friday...in Korea” he added 

“That’s nice”

“So…. did you greet her?” 

“No..” I say 

“Why not?”

“I have been busy with stuffs”

“Like what?” 

I did not know what to say. 

"Look, I booked a flight for us" He broke the silence with hands clenched together

I take another sip of my tea

He sighs and leans into the table his voice was very low. 

“Ann, I understand that this entire situation has been extremely difficult for you. It has been for me too. I know that you have been trying to avoid my mom, but I want to remind you that avoiding her forever may not be the best solution.

Perhaps we can work together to find a way to face her again and move forward in a positive direction. What do you think?"

He whispered “Please just go for me" he held your hand as he rubs his thumb through your fingers. 

“Please.”  

Current time . the continuation of part 1

－exact 5 minutes after emergency left

Sunghoon's

His eyes were glued to the pages of a book that he had abandoned for weeks.

Sitting on the couch in the same room, while you were in bed. The silk pajamas draped his body comfortably as he sat partially facing the bed you were lying on.

The soft rustling of the pages turning was the only sound that filled the room

| Sunghoon had always remained true to his passion for reading books. His love for literature dates to when he was just five years old. On his birthday, his father gifted him a classic Spiderman comic. Since that fateful day, he has devoured countless books of all genres, from classic literature to modern-day thrillers. |

After a moment, he closed the book and placed it carefully on the see-through glass table in front of him. He leaned back on the couch, his head supported by the soft cushion, and looked up at the ceiling.

He reached up to his face and removed the eyeglasses he had been wearing to help him read the book. The dim light in the room provided by the single lamp on the desk beside the bed had made it necessary for him to wear them while reading.

As he rubs his eyes, his phone gets a ring from someone.

Mom

His eyes showed a bit of frustration as he hesitates to accept the call. But eventually does.

“Hi son.” A female voice muttered through the call.

“Good evening mom” he replies.

“How are you?” “How’s business?”

“Im Good” “Business? its he-“

“Uhm" – with a hinge of hesitation.

"If you are currently facing anything, please know that I am here to help you in any way possible. I am right beside you to offer my support, okay?"

The female voice assured him in a serious tone completely ignoring the fact she cut him off.

 "At the moment, there is nothing that is causing me any trouble or concern mom."

“oh... dont be so gullible” His mom says.

 "I appreciate your kind gesture of checking in on me. It's reassuring to know that you care."   -   The silence between them dissipated for a while.

 “Well, I guess if there's nothing to state about anything, I will be going”,

 the female mutters, closing the gap of silence in the call.

 "Goodnight"

she added as the call ended.

He runs his fingers through his hair as he deeply sighs. the head maid must had informed his mom about the state of the house and all the things that had been happening inside of it every day. All the things that were meant to be a secret, especially anything that revolves at the happenings in the house were all revealed to his arrogant mother. "

He couldn't help but wonder what else his mother knew and what her intentions were. He decided to step outside to clear his head. The swimming pool area was the perfect spot, with its beautiful bushes of flowers and serene atmosphere. As he took a deep breath, he sits frantically at the side of the pool lounger, tapping the fine fabricated mattress hovering it.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a single cigarette, carefully placing it between his lips. With a flick of his lighter, a small flame appears, and he brings the flame to the end of the cigarette, inhaling deeply as it ignites.

You thought he promised to you that he’ll never engage in smoking again?? No. It seems that the weight of his problems and struggles had become too much to bear, causing him to break that promise.

. 01/01 00:05 AM  

“Hoon are you there?”

Some laughter in the background and loud fireworks.

“I’m so sorry, I completely forgot. But I’m leaving now! Okay? Just wait there! Should only take me thirty minutes. I know, I feel really bad. Please don’t be mad. Call me back, okay?

As he hit the play button for the umpteenth time, a smile slowly spread across my face.

The old voicemail you left him on New Year's was like a time capsule, transporting him back to his days as a college student in bustling New York City.

How he remembered how much he had struggled studying with the constant, thunderous sounds of fireworks, which had filled him with a sense of unease The night progresses, the wind outside grew stronger and more forceful. Sunghoon could feel the gusts of wind through the bushes, causing it to billow fiercely.

The room was just as spacious as the one you both shared, but it was in a much better condition. The other bedroom would be undergoing maintenance tomorrow due to the extensive damage caused by the glass shatters on the floor and the tears on the wall

As he finishes his regular night routine he decided to just snooze it off. He carefully adjusted the blanket to cover you up entirely as he gently moved your hair strands aside that covered your face. Planting a soft kiss in your cheek before closing the lamp

morning - ur pov

As I woke up from the rays of sun hitting my eyes, I couldn’t help but feel a hinge of headache as I stood up from the bed. I looked around, everything seemed so foreign and unfamiliar.

I raised my hand to my head and began to scratch my scalp. I let out a drawn-out yawn. Standing about two meters away from the door, I suddenly heard a faint, muffled sound. It was difficult to make out at first, but as the voice grew closer, the words became clearer.

In a black suit and his phone pressed to his ear. And there he was, standing right in front of you.  As he notices me wide awake, his expression mirrored your own shock and surprise. A deafening silence filled the room as he stared at you, unsure of what to say or do.

After a moment, he politely excused himself from the call, putting it on hold

"Good morning." I say

Sunghoon smiled and nodded in response. There was some awkward silence in the room "Well…...I think you still hate me"  Sunghoon says as he starts finding something in one of the wooden drawers beside the door.

He let out a deep sigh and looked at me with a pout as he kissed my forehead, placing both hands on my shoulders. "I'm so sorry, darling," he said, trying to explain himself. - "Things have been hectic ever since I left for my business trip, and I haven't had a chance to reach out to anyone since that day." As he spoke, he began planting hundreds of kisses on my face.

Does he think I can forgive him easily? - "I have to go work again..” "I wont leave you for another 2 weeks". he said, brushing his hand through my cheeks. "I don't want to see you angry."

I watched as he leaned in to peck my lips, a smile creeping onto his face.  He grabbed his jacket and car keys from the glass table and kissed me one last time before heading towards the door. "I love you so so much," he said with a smile as he waved goodbye against the door.

 Despite his words, I couldn't shake off the feeling of anger towards him.

I stood on the balcony, only seconds after he had left the room.I watched as he made his way to the car, his jacket draped over his left arm and car keys in his right hand. Just before he got into the car, his gaze locked onto mine. "I promise I'll make it up to you," he shouted over the distance, blowing me a kiss. - - -

During that day, he went back to the house a with shopping bags intended to be  as an apology gift

He squats to my level as he laces my hand with his 

" I want to apologize... "

" I want to apologize for not being there for you throughout your struggles.. Two weeks may seem like a short period of time, but it could have been an eternity for you. 

My absence may have caused you some type of agony???, I am truly sorry. I hope that you can forgive me"

As he finished speaking, he looked into the my eyes and kissed my hand.

I stared back at him for a while, trying to see whether he was truly remorseful. After a moment of silence, I cling closer to him without saying a word. He pats my back.

“The night before your business trip” “You still remember it. Right?”  I say

He sighs  “What were you scared of?”  “I couldn’t seem to ponder it the whole conversation”

“Yeah. Forget about that” shrugging it off

why? just why did I feel like I had to be on guard on everything? 

Latter that evening I received a message notification 

message:

Don’t you wanna let him know about it?  You can’t hide it forever. 

" Hoon, Did you get any certain messages or emails today? " I say as he happened to enter the room 

Of course 

Did you happen to see it?

"Just event invitations and messages from Cass and my mom.  What about it?" as he looks into the wooden drawers.

Nothing. I sighed in relief

At this moment, it doesn't seem appropriate for him or even everyone to be informed about it. It is likely that he will discover it in due course??, but currently, I feel like the timing isn't right. I'll just hide it?

I don't know.

to be continued

authors note (DONT COME FOR ME YALL :) )

Hi there! I just wanted to address something with you guys....

I know that some of you might be wondering why did it take me so long to post the part 2 of CRA , and I wanted to clarify that it's not because I'm slacking off or anything like that. In fact, I'm really busy at the moment with other things going on in my life. I just wanted to let you know that even though it might take me a bit longer to post this series from time to time, that doesn't mean that I'm going to stop altogether or that I won't be back. I appreciate your support and understanding during this busy period, and I hope to be able to share more with you soon!

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Out Representative-elect Robert Garcia (D-CA) may not have been able to get sworn in yesterday due to Republicans’ inability to elect a Speaker of the House, but he has plans for when he finally can be sworn in.

When he takes his oath of office, he’ll swear on a copy of the Constitution, and, beneath that, an original Superman #1 comic from 1939, a photo of his parents, and a copy of his citizenship certificate.

Garcia came to the U.S. from Peru with his family when he was five-years-old and has said that naturalization was “his proudest moment” and the reason he started a career in politics. His parents died in 2020 of COVID-19.

He was the youngest and first out LGBTQ+ person elected as mayor of Long Beach, California (a position he served in from 2014 to 2022). During his time as mayor, he worked with businesses to reduce their environmental impacts, filled vacancies on citizen commissions with diverse and female members, and worked to improve local infrastructure as well as financial opportunities for local artists and home-based business owners.

He’s also an avid comic book fan.

In November, he tweeted a photo of the Superman #1 comic along with Amazing Fantasy #15, in which Spider-Man first appeared, saying he didn’t know which one he would first check out from the Library of Congress.

While many members of Congress will be sworn in on Bibles, they are not legally required to do so. Former Rep. – and current Minnesota attorney general – Keith Ellison (D-MN), who was the first Muslim person elected to Congress in 2007, was sworn in on a copy of the Quran owned by Thomas Jefferson.

Theodore Roosevelt wasn’t sworn in with any object after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901. And in 2014 Suzi LeVine was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein on a Kindle with a copy of the Constitution open.

“I wanted to use a copy that is from the twenty-first century and that reflects my passion for technology and my hope for the future,” she said at the time.

New members of the House can’t be sworn in until a speaker is elected. Yesterday, after three votes, no candidate for Speaker was able to get a majority of votes because of a faction of Republicans voting against Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). The Democrats’ candidate – Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) – got the most votes in each round of voting, and around 20 Republicans – including anti-LGBTQ+ Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Bob Good (R-VA), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) – voted for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).

Jordan himself nominated and voted for McCarthy.

The House adjourned without a new Speaker elected.