#i think moving them to the lake is a bad decision on concept for a lot of reasons tbh but once we get there lets see | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kookingtae · 4 years

Text

the equation of love (pt. 10)

pt 1 | pt 2 | pt 3 | pt 4 | pt 5 | pt 6 | pt 7 | pt 8 | pt 9 | pt. 10

professor yoongi x uni student reader

→scenario: When you met Yoongi in a club, you thought it was fate that brought the two of you together. But after you walked into your college math class for the very first time, you weren’t so sure anymore.

→genre: smut | fluff | angst

→word count: 10.5k

→a/n: alternatively: fuck it, it’s been five years and this wip has been staring at me for three of them, so im just gonna post it. i have not read this over since 2018, so pls dont judge me too harshly hhsdg it’s unedited and probably a bit cringy, but then again what ch of teol isnt? this is NOT all that i have planned for the series, but i figured something is better than nothing, right? and perhaps the saying better later than never applies here, too. maybe one day i’ll finally get around to finishing it (by then im sure no one will even be around to remember what teol is lmao) but until then, enjoy what ive been sitting on! and as always, if you’re still here, thank you for your endless patience and support with this series <3

→another a/n: after this will probably be an epilogue!

→tw: mentions of blackmail, r*pe and sexual assault (we mostly just get closure on the whole professor lee & jun situation!!)

→warning: this chapter is not a happy ending, but it’s not necessarily a BAD one either, so for those who don’t like to finish on an unhappy note, it’s up to you on whether you’d like to read it or wait for the epilogue to be posted!

Running water.

It was such a simple yet fascinating concept—atoms and molecules coming together to form the only substance on earth that has a natural state in all forms, while having the power to kill in three different ways. Solid, by hypothermia; liquid, by drowning; gas, by suffocation. This substance can take three different forms, yet it's most commonly a liquid, covering nearly 71% of the world with translucent bodies of water. Oceans, ponds, lakes—though the most enchanting of them all were rivers. They were always moving, crashing beyond rocks and bustling with the flow of the current and gravitational pull of the earth. Rivers were passionate, and strong, and no matter how hard one tried they couldn't break the whipping tide that was pushing against them. Nothing could cause the powerful force to falter.

But, like most things, even rivers must come to an end. The current stops flowing, and the waves stop breaking around the jagged rocks, and the powerful force that seemed it would never end dulls to a still, calm lull, as if the river was nothing more than a brief yet raging storm. All the passion, all the fight—over in a blink of an eye, left to dissipate into the mysteries of the vast ocean.

Staring down at the picture on the cell phone screen in front of me was like getting pulled by the current of a river; down, down, down I flowed until there was no river left around me and I was left stranded in the middle of the sea. Yoongi and I were once raging, and passionate, and ready to fight against anyone who tried to tear us down, but now the fight was over. We had been dragged too far, fading into a body of water that was not our own. This was bigger than us.

Yes, like the flow of a river, all things must come to an end.

"That's it," Yoongi gritted his teeth, and I felt the dip of the mattress beneath me as he rose to his feet in anger.

"Yoongi," I called his name in a warning tone, warily standing up from the bed and watching him move around the room. "What are you doing?"

"I'm over it," he said, hastily throwing the first articles of clothing he could grab from his drawers over his body. "I'm done dealing with all of this, Y/N! I'm going up to the school."

Despite the flare of determination that sparked in my heart at his words, his rage seeming to radiate off of him and onto me as well, I couldn't help the trepidation that I was also filled with; Yoongi didn't have a history of making rational decisions out of anger.

"Don't you think you should calm down first?" I offered, trying my best to match his pace around the room.

"No!" Yoongi suddenly skidded to a halt in front of me, his eyes wild and crazed. "I'm going to find her and I'm going to fucking kill her!"

I could only stand with a gaping mouth and watch as he stormed out of the room, leaving me with no choice but to pull on my old clothes and chase his stomping foot steps. He grabbed his keys before storming out of the apartment, down the stairs, and outside into the parking lot. I tried to ignore the blindingly bright sunlight as I squinted my eyes and continued after him.

"Follow me up to the school," Yoongi barked as he hopped into his car.

"Yoongi–" I started, but my consoling voice was cut off by the slam of his door. I frowned, scrambling to unlock my vehicle as his engine roared to life.

The drive to the university was a nerve-wracking one. I kept a watchful eye on Yoongi to make sure he wasn't speeding or swerving all over the road; they say you're not supposed to operate a vehicle while you're upset. Though it would seem my efforts were futile, because he did in fact speed and swerve, and all I could do was frown and try to keep up.

It wasn't that I wasn't angered by Professor Lee; I was furious, rage and disgust and frustration all stewing inside of me like a pot of water that was ready to boil over. But I just couldn't help but worry for Yoongi. I had always been the non-confrontational type, always hoping that with a little time things would get better if they were ignored long enough. But it would seem that my method was proven inefficient today, because as much as I had tried to ignore her antics, that wicked woman wouldn't stop at anything to make sure Yoongi and I were properly dragged through the mud and going down like a ship engulfed in flames. Yet as much as that angered me, I couldn't bare the thought of the turmoil it was causing Yoongi. I didn't know when I had started casting my own feelings aside and putting his above—it was a gradual thing rather than one, defining moment—but it was only another factor that proved how much I actually loved this man. And that very thought instilled a fear that shook me to the very bone.

We had a lot more to lose now than just his job and my education. We could be losing us. And that was more important now than it had ever been before.

Once we arrived at the university there were a lot of screeching brakes, messy parking and fumbling hands as I scrambled to catch up to his looming figure that seemed to stalk towards the building at an unnatural pace. The pounding of my heavy heartbeat was what drove me forward, anxiety rising with each quickened step that I took.

"Yoongi!" I yelled once I had lessened the distance between us, now dead center on the campus sidewalk. "Yoongi, wait!"

All of a sudden he whirled around, his abrupt halt causing me to crash straight into his chest. I let out a yelp in surprise, eyes wide and ready to interrogate him, before I felt the smooth curvature of his palms on either side of my face as he tilted my head up to his and slammed his mouth onto mine.

The world stopped spinning for a moment, everything around me fading into the motions of his plush skin, his soft lips exploding with flavor and spilling over my tastebuds, satisfying my thirst in a way that no water ever could. I didn't even question it for a second before I was melting into him, quite literally becoming putty in his hands as the rest of the world instantaneously escaped my mind.

It's funny the way that worked—the way he was able to completely erase everything that had once existed in the blink of an eye, just by his simple touch. Whether it was magic, or I was just that fucking whipped, I didn't know. But either way, I didn't possess the power to stop it even if I wanted to.

When Yoongi finally broke away, he was breathing heavily, his breath fanning across my face in cool puffs of air. "I don't care what anyone thinks anymore," he spoke onto my lips, his forehead pressing against mine with a firm force. "Let them see. The only thing I care about is you."

It was then that I was suddenly aware of our surroundings, the reality of our world crashing down around me as I glanced around at all the eyes watching us. It varied; there were those choosing to spare us a glance as they walked to and from their classes, those who stalled their current actions to lift their heads to us not once, not twice, but three times, and then there were those who stopped altogether, their widened eyes and slackened jaws dead giveaways that they knew exactly who Yoongi was: Professor Min, Algebra 101 instructor.

A stroke of his thumb across my cheek brought my attention back to him; I stared up into his eyes, the desperate look in them captivating me and making it impossible to look away. His chest was rising and falling beneath his shirt, his fingers were grappling at my face as he brushed my wisps of hair out of the way, silently begging me to understand, to agree with him.

And in that moment, I knew what I had to do.

My lungs were filled with a breath of newfound determination, dazed and driven by Yoongi's words and embrace. "I love you," I spoke with conviction, caressing the nape of his neck as if to give him more reassurance. "Let's go.”

With that I grabbed his hand, holding my head high for the rest of the campus to see as I started up Yoongi's stride towards the school's building. He was right beside me, weaving his fingers through mine and giving my hand an extra squeeze as if to say that he was here, that he was proud to let the world know that I was his and he was mine, and that he wasn't going anywhere.

We were going to take down Professor Lee.

The seminar room was empty of students when we stormed in. Seats were placed throughout the floor, papers were scattered on the desks, and Professor Lee was at the front of the room, fiddling with the cords from the projector screen.

At the sound of the door opening, her head snapped up. "Well well well, look what we have here," she smirked when she saw us, making no plans to move as she saw me marching over to her. "You know, I really don't think–"

Slap!

The impact of my palm to her face cut off her words, skin on skin contact crackling through the room and echoing into a deafening silence.

Professor Lee gasped, immediately grasping where a red mark was now forming on her cheek before looking up at me with wild eyes. "You just slapped me!" She cried in disbelief.

"You're damn right I did," I gritted my teeth, taking a threatening step towards her and raising my palm. "Want me to do it again?"

It was then that I felt Yoongi's hand on my back, the feeling having an instant calming effect over my senses whether he wanted it to or not. I sighed before visibly relaxing and lowering my hand.

"You're barbaric!" Professor Lee was foaming at the mouth, still holding her face with a slack jaw. "Are you forgetting that I'm a professor? When Dr. Kim finds out about this, I swear he'll–"

"Tell him!" I roared as loud as my vocal chords would let me. "Tell whoever, tell the whole world, I don't fucking care! I'm done with your bullshit, you selfish psychotic witch!"

With that I gave her one final shove against her shoulders, and when both of her hands flew out to grab ahold her surroundings in an effort to keep from falling over, I planted another slap right across her face. The impact stung my hand, but I didn't care. Seeing Professor Lee stumble through the air was worth it.

"Baby," Yoongi spoke in a gentle yet warning tone next to me, and I had almost forgotten he was there until I felt his grip slightly tighten around my waist. It was a comforting hold, as if to say he completely trusted and supported whatever I chose to do in this situation, but still a protective hold nonetheless. He wanted to make sure I wasn't going to get myself hurt.

"You know, what is your problem, exactly?" I tilted my head at her as she struggled to get her bearings straight. "Is there an actual reason you're doing all of this, or are you just mentally insane?"

"It–it's not right!" Professor Lee stuttered with wide eyes, raising a shaky finger to point at me and Yoongi. "Your relationship, it's–"

"Oh cut the bullshit, Sara," Yoongi let out a sound of disgust from beside me. "We all know that's not why."

"I... I..." she stumbled for words, wide eyes glancing back and forth between the two of us. "Who do you guys think you are? You can't just storm in here and start attacking me–"

I took a menacing step forward, pure rage making up for what I lacked in intimidation. "Are you fucking kidding me?" I fumed, reaching out to grab her again.

"No, please!" She suddenly cowered before I could get to her, shielding her head away from me with her arms. "I—Yoongi, I'm in love with you!"

Her confession sent me reeling backwards in a downwards spiral, my body instantly going limp as I watched her with a dumbfounded expression. A vast silence echoed throughout the room that could be cut with a knife before she finally spoke again.

"Ever since you started working here, I knew you were the one. I just knew it." Her voice was sad, exhausted now, and a look of defeat washed over her features.

"What?" Yoongi gaped in disbelief. "Sara, that was two years ago!"

"I know!" She spat harshly. "You don't think I know that? For two years, I had to deal with this silly crush I had on you. I had to spend every day with you, watching it bloom into love overtime, and there was nothing I could do about it."

"You could've just told me!" Yoongi exclaimed as if that was the obvious answer.

Professor Lee snorted humorlessly. "Yeah, and be made a fool of? No thanks." She lowered her eyes to the ground.

"Sara, we're grown adults. You could've acted like one and fucking said something to me about it, made a move, anything but drag my career under the bus!" Yoongi's voice was strained now, his eyes wide as if silently begging her to understand him while he was equally trying to understand her.

"I was going to!" She lashed out again while whipping her head up towards him. "I was working up the courage to ask you out on a date, and then I see that fucking slut on your lap and I–"

"Don't you dare call Y/N that," Yoongi suddenly growled, pushing past me and stepping towards her intimidatingly. "One more thing out of your mouth about her and I swear to god I will kill you right here, right now."

My breath hitched in my throat at his threat and I couldn't help but weave my arm around his to grab his hand, intertwining our fingers and squeezing tightly. He gripped mine back even tighter, as if he was desperately trying to latch onto whatever calming effect I seemed to have over him.

Professor Lee swallowed, choosing to stay silent and watch him carefully as jagged breaths rose and fell from her chest. "The point is," she continued on, "I saw you with someone else—someone who wasn't me. And that completely tore my heart to shreds."

"So the only solution is to ruin our lives," I chimed in sarcastically.

"I may not have gone about it the best way," she quickly gritted her teeth and shot me a glare before turning her attention back to Yoongi, "but I had to act on instinct. I still wanted to be with you, so I figured that maybe if I split the two of you up, you would have no one else to turn to but me."

Yoongi just stared at her, his face scrunched up in a mix of confusion and disgust. "Do you know how sick and twisted that is?" He asked.

"All I ever wanted was to be with you, Yoongi," she pleaded, her tone vulnerable now as she took a tentative step towards him and started to raise her hand up to caress his cheek. "I still do. It's not too late; we can leave now, just you and me and forget this whole thing–"

"Don't fucking touch me," he knocked her hand away with his forearm just before it could reach his face. "If you think I'm going anywhere with you, you're even crazier than I thought." He then stepped back to wrap his arm around my waist and pull me securely into his side. "I'm in love with Y/N, and I don't give a shit what rumors you or anyone else wants to spread about it. You're fucking pathetic."

At that moment there was the sound of a door bursting open, causing the three of us to turn our attention to the entrance of the room. There, standing in the doorway, was Dr. Kim.

The sight of him immediately deflated the elation I was feeling from Yoongi's words, instantly replacing them with a sense of anxiety and fear that lodged its way into my throat until I was sure I would die from suffocation. This was it; according to the text from Professor Lee, he had already seen the picture of me and Yoongi kissing. This was the moment that would decide our future forever.

I just hoped we had enough evidence against Professor Lee for him to take our side.

"So let me get this straight." Dr. Kim folded his hands on the dark oak wood of his office desk. "Professor Min and Y/N had relations before Y/N became a student here, while Yoongi was unaware of her age?"

"Yes sir," Yoongi nodded his head in assurance.

"And then you continued your relationship, even after finding out that she was your student."

"He didn't at first," I interjected in hopes of getting some of the heat off of Yoongi. "He tried to call it off, but I kept pushing it. The reason we got back together during school was my fault, not his."

Yoongi's eyes met mine from the chair next to me, his gaze seeming to hold the words that silently spoke that's not true, and I instantly knew what he was thinking. In actuality, he had been the one to give me after-school tutoring on that Saturday during the homecoming football game, not I. He had been the one to kiss me first that day. But there was no way in hell I would ever tell that to the dean.

"I don't care whose fault it is; all that matters is that it happened," Dr. Kim frowned. "And it's still happening if I'm not mistaken, correct?"

"I... um," my eyes flickered to Yoongi, every fiber of my being starting to fill with panic. Shit, we should've discussed this beforehand. I wasn't going to willingly rat Yoongi out, no matter how many times he's said he didn't care anymore if people knew about us.

Suddenly I felt the warm, soft sensation of skin wrapping around the curvature of my hand that was resting atop the wooden armrest. "Yes, it's still happening," Yoongi spoke, and then his fingers were intertwining with mine.

I practically choked on my own spit at his words; did this boy have a death wish? A cough came sputtering out of my lungs, the sound causing everyone in the room to look at me until I'd settled down. Even Professor Lee leaned forward from her seat on the other side of Yoongi, bewilderment written all over her expression as she gave me a look of disgust.

"Well there's your proof right there." She threw her hands up in defeat before gesturing to the two of us. "What more do you need? Expel them, Dr. Kim."

"B–but that's not it!" I suddenly exclaimed and lurched forward, feeling the heat of everyone's stare on our embraced hands, which in turn only made me grip him even harder for support. "Dr. Kim, you have to believe me when I tell you that Professor Lee has worked hard to make my life a living hell ever since I got to this school. She had a vendetta against me; she's in love with Yoongi, and so she–"

"That's not true!" Professor Lee screeched.

"She worked to turn people against us rather than coming to you because she wanted to blackmail Yoongi into being with her," I ignored her interjection and continued. "She even made a seminar about it—the mandatory seminar that everyone attended today!"

The dean turned his attention towards her. "The seminar about the importance of practicing safe sex?" He questioned in bewilderment.

My eyes practically bulged out of my head at his words; that's what she was telling everyone it was about?

"It was!" She scrambled in defense. "I mean I... I may have brought up Yoongi and Y/N as an example, but that's only because they fit the part! Y/N had a pregnancy scare not too long ago, and I didn't want the same thing to happen to our students!"

I felt the color draining from my face, blanching it a stone cold white and decimating any feeling I had left in my body.

How the fuck did she know about the pregnancy?

My head instantly whipped towards Yoongi to see if he had any logical explanation for this, and his face was as poised and stoic as ever in front of his two colleagues—but I could see through it. I knew him well enough to catch onto the slightest falter in his blinking, the increase in heat that collected between our palms, the small twitch of his mouth that would've gone unnoticed by anyone else who observed him. I knew there was no way he could've told Professor Lee about the pregnancy, because he was just as blindsided as I was.

Dr. Kim simply raised his eyebrows in interest before turning back to Yoongi and me.

"Dr. Kim," Yoongi spoke, his voice dripping with amusement, "I mean no disrespect, but do you honestly think that if Y/N had a pregnancy scare, we would tell Sara about it? Come on; not after all she did to us."

"They—they didn't tell me!" Professor Lee huffed out a desperate breath. "I overheard them while I was–"

"While you were what?" I interrupted with a raise of my eyebrow. "While you were spying on us to find any blackmail you could use on Yoongi?"

"N–no!" She stuttered, though at this point it was obvious that she was making up lies on the spot. "While I was walking past the classroom!"

"Why would we be talking about that with the door open?!"

"Enough!" Dr. Kim barked, his deep voice rumbling throughout the small office. We all grew silent as we turned our attention to him. "There will be no arguing of he said/she said in my office," he scolded, then turned his attention to Yoongi before speaking. "I understand that there was someone you wanted me to see?"

Yoongi, who had remained calm during all of this, simply nodded his head before releasing my hand. "Yes, sir," he said as he stood up and walked towards the door.

My eyebrows were knitted in confusion as I watched it all transpire: the words exchanged between the two men, Yoongi rising out of his seat, the sight of my biology professor being revealed behind the closed door. The whole thing came as a surprise to me, and my emotions seemed to be having a war between the shock and relief that I felt raging like a storm in the pit of my stomach.

Why didn't Yoongi tell me about Professor Park being involved in this discussion? When did he have time to ask her to come? Did it even matter at this point?

"Professor Park," Dr. Kim widened his eyes, his frame physically reclining back in his seat. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"As am I to be here," she smiled though her voice was venomous, eyes flashing to a very alarmed Professor Lee.

"Mia?!" The woman barked in disbelief at her friend's entrance. "What are you doing here?"

"Something I should've done a long time ago," Professor Park replied, and with that she turned towards the dean and opened her mouth to speak.

"I'm here to testify on the behalf of Min Yoongi and Y/N."

Earth-shattering elation rippled through me from the inside out, starting at the base of my toes and spiraling to the top of my head and the tips of my fingers, causing them to tingle and buzz with a newfound sense of hope. We might actually have a chance!

"What?!" Professor Lee's voice ripped through the air in a deafening screech. "This isn't a court case! You don't get to play witness!"

"Actually, if Professor Park has witnessed anything, I would definitely like to know," Dr. Kim chimed in, raising an eyebrow towards my biology professor.

Professor Park nodded her head towards him in appreciation before speaking. "A few months ago Sara approached me in my classroom to tell me about the nasty rumors that were surrounding her and a student. She singled the student out, saying to purposely damage their grades because they were treating her unfairly and disrespecting her rules and authority as a professor; she even went so far as to say that they were sending her death threats"

"What?!" The word ripped from my throat faster than I could blink as I stared jaw-dropped at the women in the room.

"That's not true!" Professor Lee instantly protested as expected. "Sir, I can assure you that I never–"

"I have the text messages if you want," Professor Park offered in a tone so nonchalant one would've thought she was conversing about the weather.

Dr. Kim raised an eyebrow. "Text messages? I thought you said she came by your class?"

"She did, sir." Mia interlaced her fingers in front of her and bowed her head politely. "We spoke about it on multiple occasions. I asked why she wouldn't just go to you, or even the authorities if the student was making death threats, but Sara was adamant. She didn't want any scandals revolving around her so that she could maintain the level of professionalism that she had developed here."

I heard a snort coming from next to me, and it was with a swollen heart of pride that I realized the sound came from Yoongi trying to hold in a laugh.

Professionalism? Her? I had never heard anything so far fetched in my life.

Sara simply glared as Mia ignored him and continued. "She assured me that the best way to deal with this pesky student was to slowly start to fail them, and I'll admit, I was angry for her. Sara was my friend, and I respected her enough to believe what she was telling me and follow her requests." She turned her head to where I sat on the other side of Yoongi. "That student was you, Y/N. And I just wanted to say that I am so sorry for the way I handled things. You were treated unfairly and poorly due to false information."

"It wasn't false!" Professor Lee jumped in to defend herself, but everyone was pretty much ignoring her. Even the dean could tell she was playing the part of the boy who cried wolf at this point.

"I'd like to see those text messages, if you don't mind." Dr. Kim reached his hand out expectantly.

There was a brief moment of silence while Professor Park nodded and tapped away on her phone before handing it to him. His cold and calculated eyes scanned the screen while saying nothing, all three of us waiting with bated breath for him to come to a decision in his mind.

There was no where left for her to run. With these text messages, all the constant denying that Professor Lee has done will be proven false and she will be exposed for all the hell she's put me through this semester. My heart was practically bursting at the thought.

"Well I would've appreciated it if you ladies had come to me with this information instead of handling it amongst yourselves, true or not," Dr. Kim finally sighed before giving Sara his full attention. "Ms. Lee, you have three people accusing you. Even if you didn't do it, there's obviously something that's turning them against you. And here at this university we strive to hold cooperation and communication above all else. If you don't get along with the fellow staff here, then why should I believe that they're the problem and not you?"

"Um, because Min Yoongi is fucking his student?!" Professor Lee was fuming now, her upper body lurching forward in her seat and her hands gripping the arm rests for dear life. "He literally just admitted to it!"

"Language, Ms. Lee," Dr. Kim scolded calmly. "I still like to maintain a professional attitude here in my office."

"I apologize sir, but that's beside the point." She was sitting back in her seat now, though her tone was no less frantic. "Min Yoongi is in a relationship with his student, and staff cooperation or not, I don't really think that's in the teacher handbook." She raised a snarky eyebrow at us as if believing that she had finally won.

I knitted my eyebrows, my palms feeling slick with a nervous sweat against Yoongi's as I realized the bigger problem here. It wasn't whatever lies and schemes Professor Lee had cooked up with my biology teacher; it wasn't even Professor Lee herself. It was the fact that Yoongi and I were in a relationship, and that was going to have enough consequences alone to shake me to my very core with fear.

"She's right," Dr. Kim uttered the words that I was silently hoping he wouldn't say, my grip tightening on Yoongi as I anticipated whatever outcome he's decided. Our fate was in his hands.

"Of course I am." Professor Lee crossed her arms and sat back in her seat with a smug grin.

"I'm afraid I have no choice." He was shaking his head, frowning at us apologetically though the sentiment didn't reach his eyes. "Mr. Min, I am sorry to inform you that you will have to be forced to resign from our university."

The color instantly drained from my face, and with it pulling all five senses that I have into the depths of the earth until I couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't speak—I could barely even breathe. There was a lump that was forming in my throat and settling deep within my gut, all of this feeling fake, too fake to be real.

Yoongi was fired, and it was all because of me.

"I understand, sir."

It was Yoongi's words that were pulling me from my fog of disbelief and devastation, my eyes blinking in an effort to snap back to reality as I looked from him to the dean. "No. No, there has to be something we can do, please!" I begged, my voice starting to get frantic the more the severity of the situation hit me. "I–I'll drop out! You don't have to worry about me ever coming near here again, just please, please don't fire him!"

"Y/N..." Yoongi's voice was quiet and full of resignation, defeat, but I wasn't giving up.

"Yoongi is an amazing professor who has worked here for, what, two years? He's extraordinary at what he does and students love him. It's not easy to find a professor like that everyday." I was staring into the eyes of the dean now, trying to move him with my words. "You shouldn't throw away someone as great as him just because of some stupid 18 year old's mistake! Please, Dr Kim." I leaned forward in my seat, the room silent as I spoke. "He wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for me. Please, let me suffer the consequences, not him."

I continued to stare in Dr. Kim's eyes, silently channeling my emotions through the pleading expression in my eyes, and it wasn't until I felt a comforting hand on my back that I was instantly drawn away into a more calm state in my chair. I gazed over at the owner of the hand, and he flashed back that smile I loved except it was sad, and it didn't reach his eyes, and I could tell there was so much he wanted to say to me right now if we weren't in the confinement of his boss' office.

"I understand your efforts, Y/N, but there's nothing I can do." Dr. Kim shook his head, and it was as if the world around me was shattering into blades of glass, scraping at my skin and leaving bloody wounds that I knew would never heal. "Mr. Min was involved in this relationship as well, and no matter whose fault it is, the professor needs to be held accountable. There is a level of professionalism and maturity that he must possess in order to work here; he's your superior, a respectable authority figure, and so he should've known better."

It was all I could do to keep from crying as I lowered my eyes and shook my head, every inch of my heart breaking for Yoongi until all that was left were tiny fragments to scatter in the wind. I couldn't believe I'd done this to him. The very thing he'd been worried about from the start—I had ruined his career.

"It is our goal as a university to see our students succeed," he continued, though I could barely hear a thing. "As for you, Y/N, I see no reason as to why you shouldn't keep attending this university."

I blinked a few times, confused. "You want me to... what?"

"You will have a suspension on your student records, mind you, and one more of those will lead to expulsion," he explained. "Though that doesn't mean that you can't keep going to school here. You will have to meet with an advisor every two weeks, though, who will be keeping a close watch on your behavior."

I could barely even believe my ears; had my hearing been completely lost due to the shock of the situation? "That's totally a double standard!" I gestured to Yoongi in disbelief.

"Y/N, it's okay..." Yoongi tried to calm me down.

"No, it's not okay!" I roared, eyes wide and brows furrowed in disbelief as I glanced at him before turning back to the dean. "Where do you think you can get off by treating people like this? This is his career—his life!"

"That will be enough from you, Ms. Y/N," Dr. Kim bellowed in a stern voice as he frowned. "I'm doing you a favor here by letting you continue your education. Speak out against me one more time and I will be revoking that offer."

His words were deafening throughout the office; it was suddenly understandable why he was so feared by those who worked under him. Yoongi started to run his hand along my spine in a soothing manner, and though it helped relax my fiery nerves and clear my foggy mind, I was still just as upset—if not more, now that the information was beginning to settle in.

"So that's it then?" Professor Lee spoke for the first time in a while, her lips pressed into a firm line, obviously disappointed by the turn of events though she didn't dare to speak out against Dr. Kim as he had warned. "Yoongi gets fired and Y/N gets a free ride?"

"Not so fast, Ms. Lee." The dean turned to her. "What you did was beyond unprofessional. You violated several school policies as well as bullied a student! Do you think that type of behavior is acceptable as a professor?"

Professor Lee opened her mouth as if to protest before slowly shutting it again, realizing that she had nothing left that she hadn't already denied. It was obvious that the evidence given to him by Professor Park, who stood silent in the corner of the room, was incriminating enough to sway his decision.

"I'm sorry to have to inform you that you will be fired as well."

"What?!" Her shrill voice screeched through the air, tearing whatever I had left of my eardrums and rendering me deaf here in this office. "What I did was no where near as bad as Yoongi and Y/N!"

"If anything, it was worse." Dr. Kim folded his hands over his desk. "Let's not forget that you managed to involve the entire student body in a false seminar that maliciously exposed one of our students and professors," he raised an eyebrow at her, "and that was just today."

"Yeah, not to mention all the other shit you did behind my back to make my life a living hell," I couldn't help from interjecting in a heated tone, though I backed off upon seeing the dean's stern gaze.

He redirected his attention back to Sara. "Here at this university, we strive to have a professional relationship, safe environment, and healthy lifestyle for our students. Neither of you achieved those three goals, so both of you will have to be let go."

Yoongi's expression simply remained placid and free of any emotion while Professor Lee's reaction was practically visceral, though neither spoke a word as heavy silence fell over the small office.

"Am I... am I still needed, sir?" It was Professor Park whose voice broke through the tension, everyone having forgotten she was there in the midst of the emotion-filled chaos. "Because if not, then I'm going to go."

"No, I'm just about finished here." Dr. Kim let out a sigh, as if what just transpired had been hard on him out of all people in the room. My blood boiled just looking at him, though I know I had to learn when to speak out and when to bite my tongue as Yoongi had taught me.

"Dr. Kim, is there any way you can reconsi–"

"That will be enough from you, Ms. Lee," his booming voice interrupted the frantic professor. "I've said all that I need to say on the matter. I'm not changing my mind."

"Dr. Kim?" I spoke up just as Professor Lee and Professor Park were getting ready to walk out the door. "I–I have something else to tell you. Un-related to this," I threw in when I saw him throw a glance in Lee's direction.

The man sighed before waving them out, leaving his office empty of visitors other than me and Yoongi in the chairs. I wasn't going to let that boy go anywhere.

"Y/N, I'm sorry that the outcome isn't exactly what you wanted but I'm afraid there's nothing I can–"

"Choi Junwoo tried to rape me," I blurted out.

There was a moment's pause as the dean was stunned silent with wide eyes, and out of my peripheral vision I could see Yoongi tense up and inhale sharply next to me.

"W–what–"

"Choi Junwoo," I spoke slowly for him so that he'd understand, "a student here at this university, tried to rape me at a frat party."

I couldn't leave the office without saying it. I couldn't leave the office without telling him. This wasn't just about me or the turmoil or trauma he caused; this was for every other girl in the future who might be a victim of Jun. Though in my heart I truthfully believed he was a good person, and that he really was just intoxicated beyond belief that night, it was still no excuse. If he had rape-tendencies while he was drunk and I didn't speak out about it, then I would be no better when it came to helping other sexual assault victims.

"Are you sure–"

"I found them at the party while he was mid-act," Yoongi jumped in, probably figuring he was already fired so there was nothing left for him to lose when it came to revealing details about our relationship outside of school. "It was... disgusting. I got her out of there immediately, but not before punching that bastard in the face."

"Metaphorically, of course!" I couldn't help but chime in, not wanting an assault charge to be on his record as well.

Thankfully Dr. Kim simply brushed off that minuet detail in favor for the more important issue at hand. "Y/N, what you're telling me will ruin this student's future. Are you absolutely sure you want to file this?"

Despite the anger that swelled up inside of me from him questioning my accusation, I still couldn't help the little trickle of doubt that crept in as I considered his words. At one point, Jun had been a friend... maybe even a potential lover had Yoongi not been in the picture. Dr. Kim was right, this information could potentially ruin his reputation, his education, his record... was I ready to carry the weight of knowledge that I've ruined someone's life forever?

"What are you talking about? Of course!" Yoongi spat an answer before I even had a chance to finish my thoughts. "She told you what happened, didn't she? Why would she speak out about something like this if she was making it up?"

"Maybe a personal vendetta?" The dean shrugged his shoulders. "People will do crazy things for revenge."

Now that got me heated. "The only one who wanted revenge here was Junwoo!" I stood up from my seat to yell. "He liked me and was mad that I turned him down. As if I owed my feelings to him or something! And when I told him no, he forced himself on me?! Is that really the type of message you want to send at this college? You know, since you're so high and mighty on "cooperation"," I did air quotes of sarcasm around my last words, my ears practically steaming with boiling rage.

"We will come out about this story, by the way," Yoongi added in, his voice full of venom. "And how will that look if you tried to keep us silent?"

"You can forget about me attending this university," I hissed.

"Alright, alright, settle down, the both of you," Dr. Kim lowered his hands in a calming manner. "I was not suggesting I buy your silence or anything of that nature. I was simply making sure you wanted to go through with this."

"Yes," Yoongi and I both answered in unison.

The dean nodded his head before clasping his hands together. "Alright."

The rest of the time in the office with spent filling on paperwork on a claim against Junwoo. I'd been given the option to be kept in the loop or even present when everything went down, though I politely declined. I wanted nothing more to do with that boy.

Though it would seem Professor Lee didn't share the same sentiment when it came to me, because as soon as soon as the two of us walked hand in hand into the hallway and Dr. Kim's door was securely shut, she sprung into action.

"You bitch!" She shrieked, not wasting another second as she leaped through the air and onto my body like a crouched tiger that was waiting for the right moment to attack. I felt the pressure of her weight against my chest and the sting of her nails scraping against my cheek, and before I knew it I was stumbling down, down onto the ground with another vicious blow to my jaw that was accompanied by her fist.

It all happened within a matter of seconds, but it wasn't long until I heard Yoongi yell Sara! and then her weight vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

All I could do was stare with wide eyes as Yoongi slammed her shoulders back against the wall, though it was the look in his eyes that caught my attention. I had seen that expression before.

He was about to throw a punch.

"Yoongi, stop!" I cried, summoning all the strength I possessed to push myself to my feet and stumble over to the pair.

Yoongi whipped his head towards me with exasperated, almost wild eyes and his brows knitted in confusion and disbelief. "Y/N, she attacked you!"

"She isn't worth it," I spoke firmly in an attempt to get through to him. "Yoongi, just let it go. She isn't worth the trouble anymore."

It was when I placed a soothing hand against his back that Yoongi finally sighed, his stance visibly relaxing and his hands dropping from Professor Lee's shoulders. "She's right," he spit in a low, venomous tone as he turned back to her and grit his teeth. "Thanks to Dr. Kim, you already got what you deserve."

"Yoongi," there were sudden sobs that were tearing through the hallway, and it took me a moment to realize that Professor Lee was now... crying.

"Yoongi," she continued as she clung onto his shoulders. "Yoongi, I loved you!"

Somewhere deep inside of me, past all the burning hatred for what this woman has done to my life out of pure jealousy, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for her. This was once me, heartbroken over the effects of unrequited love. Yoongi was a very sought-after man, I'd come to realize, and it wasn't about my feelings or Professor Lee's or anyone else's. It was about his.

"Sara," Yoongi sighed, and there was almost a wince in his tone from how hard he was trying to make her understand. "It's over."

"W–what?" The woman was scrambling now. "It doesn't have to be! We can go back to the way things were–"

"There never was a ‘we’!" He ripped her hands from his shoulders. "We were friends, and then you sabotaged my career and Y/N's education. You never once spoke out about your feelings, came forward, handled things like adults," he stressed the last line. "You never once did any of those things! Instead you belittled another woman and cost yourself your job all for a man—someone who until now, was your friend." Yoongi sighed again and shook his head. "I hope you get the help you need, Sara. I'm sure there is someone out there who will love you unconditionally... but that person is not me."

And with that, he put a gentle hand on my back and we walked away.

“Oh my god.”

Those were the first words out of my mouth the second we exited the building, my hands resting on my head in disbelief as I turned to Yoongi. “Holy shit, Yoongi–“

“Shhh,” he instantly consoled me, his arms engulfing me in a comforting hug and my face tucking underneath his chin as he held me close. “We did it, Y/N. It’s all over.”

I stayed in his embrace for a few moments as his words sunk in. It was all over. No more secrets, no more Professor Lee—no more anything.

“B–but your job...” I pulled away to look up at him with a shaky tone, my brows furrowed in concern. “Dr. Kim fired you, he–“

“I resigned, Y/N. There’s a difference.”

“Is there?” I couldn’t help but look up at him with a hopeless expression.

Yoongi simply nodded his head, the picture of nonchalance as if his career hadn’t just changed forever. “Yes. If I had gotten fired, it would look terrible on my resumé should I apply for another teaching position. However, given the circumstances of our arrangement...” he paused, no doubt thinking of Professor Lee, “I suppose he decided to take it easy on us all.”

My shoulders deflated in relief. “Well thank god for that...” I sighed, not even wanting to think of what could’ve happened if Dr. Kim had given us the harshest punishment. In an ironic, twisted way, I suppose I have Professor Lee to thank for that. If she wouldn’t have made my life a living hell, it would’ve been that much worse if Dr. Kim ever found out on his own.

“But none of that even matters to me right now,” Yoongi suddenly snapped, and then in the time it took me to raise an questioning eyebrow he had already grabbed both sides of my face and rammed his lips into mine, the same as he did before we went inside to confront Professor Lee.

Only this time, the kiss was different. It didn’t hold promises and potential; it held freedom. It held the success of finally getting through everything by the skin of our teeth, the relief and the pride and the pure love that we have for each other after overcoming everything that we’ve been through together. I kissed him and I didn’t care who saw—because he wasn’t my professor anymore. There were no invisible chains that bounded us apart. It was just me and him sticking together against all odds. Never in my life did I think I would ever be a part of a relationship so committed, so passionate, so determined. He and I would never stop fighting for each other.

“I love you, Min Yoongi,” I murmured against his mouth with a grin on my features that was hard to disguise—especially when I felt the corners of his lips pull up into that gummy smile that I adored with all of my heart.

“God, I love you too, Y/N,” he replied back with a content sigh, and then he continued to kiss me on the busy campus sidewalk until we were both breathless and blue in the face.

Because we now had nothing to lose.

Despite finally being released from the clutches that school had on us, the days following the meeting with Dr. Kim were not easy.

Other than having to put on a fake smile and continue attending a university where practically everyone knew about my relationship with now-former Professor Min (my mother would never let me drop out—not that I could ever tell her the reason I'd want to, anyways), there were the stresses that Yoongi was dealing with of now being unemployed. And what with all but abandoning my dorm room to instead spend my nights with him at his apartment, it was impossible to not feel the weight of his problems on my shoulders as well. No matter how many times Yoongi tried to put up a façade and reassure me that he was okay, I couldn't help but feel like this was my fault.

"If I just never would've made you dance with me at that club..." I'd say at times, unable to keep from tracing back each and every one of our interactions and blaming myself.

"Cut that out," Yoongi would snap.

"What? It's true!"

"You know I don't like it when you talk like that!" He'd turn to me with a stern tone. "I don't regret anything that happened between us, okay? Not one single bit." There was a heavy silence as his words would hang in the air. "If you wouldn't have asked me to dance, then who knows if I ever would've worked up the courage to kiss you? And I wouldn't be here, sharing this bed with the love of my life."

"Aw, Yoongi..."

And the two of us would make love, again and again until we'd have a similar argument some time later and repeat the whole process all over again. I'd feel guilty, Yoongi would remind me of exactly how much he doesn't regret meeting me, and we'd get lost in each other's embrace.

That is, until a simple Sunday morning suddenly changed everything.

"I got it."

I casually peered over at the sound of him from my spot in the living room, sitting criss crossed on the couch in my pajamas with a laptop in my lap. "What?"

"The job." Yoongi's voice was low, serious as he stared at the paper in his hands that had previously been so carelessly disregarded on the kitchen island along with the Sunday paper. "At the university in Seoul."

"Wait." He had all of my attention now as I sat the laptop on the coffee table and rose to my feet. "Like the Seoul National University university?"

"Yeah," he let out a single chuckle of disbelief before he pressed the paper against the counter and turned to me. "I got the job."

"Oh my god, Yoongi!" I exclaimed with my own chuckle of disbelief before running forward and wrapping my arms around his neck. His arms immediately engulfed my waist and lifted me off the ground as we spun around in place, my lips instantly finding his in a searing kiss that was full of passion and excitement to match our current mood. "That's amazing!"

"I know," he replied as he placed me down. A tentative smile was frozen on his lips as he stared off into the distance before letting out another sound of disbelief, his head shaking before his palm slid down his face. "I can't believe it!"

"I'm so proud of you!" I mirrored the grin of pure elation on his features, my chest swelling with joy and relief and most of all, pride.

I was so, so proud of Yoongi. I knew how much his job meant to him, and the feeling of guilt that weighed down on me from knowing that I was the one who inadvertently took that away from him, that I was the one who inadvertently caused all this stress of job hunting was instantly lifted off my shoulders. I knew how much he wanted this. I knew how hard he had worked to get this job at such a prestigious school, and god damn it, I knew how much he deserved it. If Yoongi was anything, apart from being an amazing person and a wonderful lover, he was great at his job. He was a natural born teacher.

Though no matter how many times I've willingly showered him with endless compliments about his work, he'd blush sheepishly and simply swat away all of my words with a simple kiss, or an "if you don't shut up your food is going to get cold. We're unemployed now; we need all the nutrition we can get. Haven't you ever heard of the Great Depression?"

So instead, I just chose to beam at him while he basked in the euphoria of the moment that this job acceptance brought on. After all, I knew he was well aware of how proud of him I was and how supportive I'd always be when it came to anything he wanted to accomplish.

Though the bliss was short lived.

I watched as Yoongi's expression slowly fell, the smile on his face slipping into a deep frown and his eyes turning to stone. "No."

"What?" I furrowed my brows, concern filling me and etching onto my features as I cupped his cheek in my hand, trying to figure out why his mood had changed so suddenly. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not taking it." His tone was cold, definitive, as if the subject wasn't even up for debate as he grabbed the letter.

"Wait wait wait," I hurried to stop him from tearing it in half. "What are you talking about? Why not?"

He turned to look at me with cold, incredulous eyes, as if he couldn't believe I was even asking a question so stupid. "The university is in Seoul, Y/N."

"Okay...?" I shook my head in confusion, still not understanding what the issue was. "And?"

"I'd have to move." He was taking the paper back out of my hands and ripping it right down the middle before I got the chance to stop him.

I suddenly deflated, the severity of his words dropping in my stomach and wrapping around the anchor of my heart, sending it down, down, down through the floor of his apartment and hurdling towards the center of the earth.

"...What?"

"I'd have to move away from you."

And there is was, the bomb detonating an explosion and demolishing whatever was left of my heart.

"No... t–there has to be another way, there has to–"

"Seoul is hours away from here, Y/N," Yoongi barked out, his tone angry and harsh as it always was when he was upset. "It's on the other side of the country; there's no way I'd be able to commute without living there."

"Okay, so why did you apply then?" I couldn't help but snap back defensively. "You knew the distance to Seoul prior to applying for the job. Why even bother if you're just going to get pissed about not taking it?!"

"Because I didn't think I'd get accepted!" His voice was loud, almost yelling now. "It's the most sought after, prestigious school in the fucking country and I didn't think some young idiot who got fired from his last job would be able to get in!"

It was silent as his words settled over the atmosphere, clinging to the air that filled the room around us and encasing my lungs until it was impossible to breathe.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I finally hissed. "You're a great teacher, and you know it. If anyone's a young idiot here, it's me!"

Yoongi scoffed with a shake of his head. "I'm the one who kissed you again during that tutoring session after telling you to stay away. I'm the one who fucked you against that desk." His tone was low now, and his eyes seemed to grow harder in realization with each step that he took towards me. "I'm the one who asked to take you out on that fucking date and I'm the one who pulled you onto my lap when Sara caught us in my classroom! God damn it, I'm the one who tracked you down at a fucking frat party and punched one of my students!"

His voice slowly raised until he was yelling again, and if it weren’t for the fact that he was now standing chest to chest and cornering me up against the countertop of the island, I would've winced at the loud volume so close to my ears.

"Stop blaming yourself, Y/N, when I'm the one who was the authority figure. I'm the one who should've had my shit together, but I just couldn't around you!"

I felt myself soften at that. As angry and intimidating as he seemed right now, surely frightening whoever would come into contact with him when he was like this, I knew that it was all a front. Yoongi wasn't the best at dealing with emotional situations—he'd all but bite my head off any time I even tried to mention his father—and sometimes lashed out in anger when he was upset or hurting inside. I knew how badly he wanted this job; I could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice when he'd first submitted the application. And now, when the career position of his dreams was finally right under his nose, he couldn't have it. Because I was holding him back.

"You have to take it." My voice was solemn and steady as I stared him in the eyes.

He instantly frowned. "What? No, I–"

"Yoongi."

He fell silent, all signs of anger and malice wiped from his features once he saw just how serious I was being. A soft, bittersweet smile that had nothing to do with happiness slowly tugged at my lips as my eyes gleamed with pain. My heart was breaking with every word I was speaking, but I knew it was something I needed to do.

"You have to take the job."

The silence that ensued my words only further proved my point, simultaneously stabbing a knife into my chest with each passing second. He knew I was right. He knew it. He just didn't want to hear it.

"You don't..." He sounded smaller, more pitiful and confused as he tried to make sense of what I was saying. "You don't want me to stay?"

The hurt, the sadness, the utter hopelessness in his voice absolutely crushed me. I couldn't help but fall into his embrace, wrapping my arms around his chest and squeezing tightly as if I could somehow hold the pieces of him together that I knew were breaking. The severity of what was happening, of what I was doing started to settle within me the moment I heard his voice break.

"I do, baby," I replied, the sound muffled by the skin of his neck that my face was buried in as a sob threatened to claw its way out of my throat and swallow me whole. "God, you know I do. But you can't."

"Y–you can come with me." He was shaking his head now, his hands gripping at the shirt on my back with closed fists while he desperately tried to hold onto me, as if I would disappear beneath him at any moment. "We can move together to Seoul and you can–"

"You know I can't, Yoongi." It was my turn to shake my head, and with it came a heavy tear that fell down my cheek. "I have to go to school. I have a family who's helping pay for my tuition, and my mom— you know it's not all up to me."

I heard him sniffle as he pulled away, and even though I felt no evidence of tears from him against my skin or my shirt, his eyes were bright red when he stared back at me.

"I'm not leaving you, Y/N."

The sheer determination in his voice had me shattering like broken glass. "I'm not letting you do this, Yoongi. I'm not letting you waste this opportunity. Do you know how many people are waiting to work at Seoul University? How many professors would kill to be in your position?" I kept my gaze steadily on his as I slowly shook my head. "I care about you... so fucking much. I've never loved someone so much before... not like this." I paused, asking myself one last time if this was really the decision I wanted to make as my words settled in. I took in the sight of his beautiful, breathtaking features silently begging me not to do this. "I'm putting you above my selfishness," I finally decided with another shake of my head. "You need to do this Yoongi, for you. You know you do."

Yoongi slowly shook his head, though the expression on his face told me he knew I was right. "I don't want to lose you," he spoke as a tear spilled over the brim of his eye, dampening his lashes and leaving a wet streak in its wake as it rolled down his cheek, and the sight was the final breaking point that had me bursting into tears.

"Neither do I."

His fingers dug into my skin as he tightened his grip on my body, his forehead leaning against mine as the only sounds exchanged between the two of us were the unspoken words of labored breaths and soft sobs.

Sometimes when you love someone, you have to do what's best for them.

And I knew this was what's best for Yoongi.

#yoongi fanfic #yoongi x reader #yoongi smut #bts fanfic #bts smut #lmao why am i so impulsive #i decided i was gonna post this all of ten minutes ago and here we are #anyways this will help my peace of mind to know that at least SOMETHING is out there #some sort of closure to the series #not everything i had planned but #it'll do for now #i hope u guys can forgive me for whatever tf this is fjshgdkfd

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9layerdevilfoodcake · 4 years

Text

HelloGoodbye/Part 1:It’s The End Of The World As We Know It

Summary: it’s the last day of life as you know it at Camp Redwood when the apocalypse comes calling, but what does that mean for the souls shackled to this particular hellmouth?

Word count: 3.3k

Warnings: mentions of death, implied-ish smut, the end of the world?

The day the world ended started out the same as any other.

You woke up to the sunrise, wrapped in a jumble of blankets, limbs and bleached hair.

Sleep wasn’t really necessary for the undead, but it just came naturally, like muscle memory. Plus it was a nice way to pass the time.

But it was what came after a good night’s sleep that was your favorite part of the day, more specifically it was waking up next to him.

There are few things better in life (past or present) than waking up in his arms.

Your lover? Boyfriend? Mutual sufferer in eternal purgatory?

You’re not really sure what you would call him. You and Xavier both agreed the afterlife was no place for labels.

But if you asked any of the other souls shackled to this hellmouth with you, they would all call you two the same thing; inseparable.

It had been that way for decades, you spent almost every reawoken moment together. He was the one thing that made your afterlife feel as though it’s axis tipped more towards heaven than hell.

He was the light at the end of the tunnel. And looking at him now, eyes closed, lips parted, and sleeping soundly without a care in the world. You might go as far as to say you are thankful you didn’t listen to your gut, and made the (what at the time you thought regrettable) decision to take your friend's extra ticket and step foot on the haunted site for a music festival, one that never even happened mind you.

You got stabbed in the face and she didn’t get to blow Billy Idol, you guess you would call the weekend a bust for the both of you.

You’re comfortably laying back and reminiscing, when you feel Xavier stir.

The long hum that leaves his lips, followed by their soft touch on your shoulder lets you know he’s awake and it’s followed by a mumbled “Good morning”.

“Good morning” you answer back. Leaning down to plant a chaste kiss on his lips. A little too chaste for his liking, so before you can pull away he grabs hold of the back of your neck and pulls you back down for more.

One perk of being dead, no morning breath. There’s no need to break the mood with a trip to the bathroom to brush your teeth. Not that that would stop him anyways, through your time with Xavier you have come to realize that there are very few things he won’t try, and even less he would determine “too gross” to kill his mood.

So much like countless mornings before this, it’s a good couple of hours before you two make it out of bed and decide to properly “get up”.

“What should we do today?” He asks as he’s rummaging through the luggage some ghost adventurer left behind in their haste to “get the fuck out of this place”. It had been years since anyone around here had partaken in any blood sport. But that didn’t mean there was still no fun in scaring the tourists. (And maybe occasional bets were taken to see who could get a camper to wet themselves first).

He pauses and holds up a pair of dark blue wranglers, waiting for your opinion.

You just shake your head in dismissal.

“We haven’t been in the lake in a while. We could take a dip...then maybe you could take a dip…” you say wiggling your eyebrows to insinuate your innuendo, while you make your way over to the stash, taking over the search for yourself.

“No”

“Why not?” You know the reason for his rejection, but can’t help giving him a little pout anyways.

“After what happened last time? Not happening.” His voice is stern but with the underlying playfulness that’s always present between the two of you.

“Oh come on...I won’t let that happen again.”

“Believe it or not, drowning is not fun, dead or alive. And you know what’s worse than drowning once? Coming back to and drowning again because the person with their legs wrapped around your head hasn’t even noticed!” He emphasizes his “anger” by snatching the green umbro shorts you’d found from your hands and proceeding to dramatically stomp his legs through the holes before pulling them up around his hips.

“You only have yourself to blame for that, if you weren’t always such a tease I would have known something was wrong. I just thought you were trying to work me up and build my anticipation, not give me some signal your foot was stuck in the mud” You argue back tossing him a cut off Duran Duran t-shirt, that despite its tag saying 2018 has been given holes and bleached to give it a “vintage” look. The irony of donning such items always makes you laugh.

As he finishes getting dressed you simply look at him with that same pout back on your face, although it slowly morphs into a smile as you see his resolve slipping away.

Who is he kidding, he could never say no to you. He would do anything you ever asked. He would drown every hour, on the hour, if it kept you looking at him the way you are now.

“Fine, but if I start slapping your thighs it is not to keep you in line, it’s me begging for oxygen.”

“Ok” you agree with a chuckle as you grab his hand and head to the door, but he holds his place, making you turn and raise a brow at him.

“And the next time those birdwatchers are in camp, you have to blow me in front of that Condor’s nest they all jizz their jeans for.”

“Sure” you answer, shrugging your shoulders, not a bad trade...

“While they’re taking pictures of it.”

You pause for barely a moment to think that over, who were you kidding, you’re just as whipped as he is.

“Deal”

You weren’t in the water very long before you heard it, a siren sounding in the distance.

Xavier had only just removed your bottoms before you were pulling him up by his hair.

“What?” He asks, as he emerges, shaking droplets out his face with a look of confusion mixed with some underlying self doubt. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you hear that?”

As you both listen the sirens start to get louder and new ones join in the cacophony of sounding alarms.

“Yea, they’re probably just testing the storm sirens?”

“All of them?”

Before Xavier can talk you out of worrying and let him “get back to work” you’re interrupted by Chet yelling at you from the dock.

“Hey! You guys should see this”

Once you both redress you make your way to the cabin which once upon a time was assigned to the male counselors, but now it serves as more of a clubhouse for the lingering spirits. Upon entry you see almost every soul in the camp crowded around the TV.

There have only been two occasions when you have all collectively been in the same place at the same time; when you got revenge on Margaret, and when you made plans for what to do about the “Ramirez problem”.

Something big must be happening.

“What’s going on?” Xavier inquires as you join the group.

“The end of the world” Answers Montana, in a voice so calm she almost sounds bored, it’s like that happens every week.

“Oh no did Belinda Carlyle die?!”

“No...not yet anyway”

Your attention is brought back to the flat screen television Jingle’s son Bobby had gifted you. After his visit, he had been kind enough to set up wifi around the camp, as well as pay for a cable package, with the help of Brooke and Rita (or whatever her real name was). After hours of trying to explain how a touch screen works, as well as the grappling concept of Bluetooth; he deemed the pursuit pretty much a wash. But you did all know how to work a television, so most days were spent watching reruns of Knight Rider or Press Your Luck, and checking in with the nightly news.

So now you found yourself surrounded by your fellow ghosts, watching the man on the tv announce the incoming missiles and saying a teary goodbye to his family.

“What does this mean? I mean for us?” The question came from one of the victims of the first massacre in the 70s, whose name you were now feeling a little guilty for never bothering to learn.

It was a good question nonetheless, your souls kept coming back after just about any obstacle thrown at you, staying attached to the camp, but would they stay attached to a camp that wasn’t even there?

Unfortunately this was also a question nobody knew the answer to.

“Should we go to a basement or something?” Chet chimed in

“I doubt a basement will win the fight against a nuclear bomb, at least this close to the blast radius.” Trevor now spoke up, making his way over to the television to check another news channel, before addressing the group. “Besides does that even matter for us?”

“I guess we’ll find out soon enough”

As everyone is switching back and forth between intently checking the news and murmuring confusion between each other, you pull Xavier aside.

“Xavier, just in case we don’t make it. I just want you to know” you start, averting your gaze as you feel the tears begin to pool in your eyes. “...I just...I’m really...you’ve been…” you’re trying to find a way to tell him how much he’s meant to you, and the amount of gratitude you have for his patience and understanding, how he’s made every day a memorable one for you, how he’s the best person you’ve ever known, dead or alive. How you don’t believe you’ve actually been stuck wandering the earth together all these years, because when you’re with him you think you must have done something right in your life, because there is no doubt in your mind this is what heaven feels like. But you can’t, you can’t get a single word out if you want to keep any semblance of calm and keep the flood gates from opening.

Thankfully Xavier stops you before your nonsensical blubbering can go any further.

“I know, you have too.” He says this as he clasps your hands in his, before moving one hand up to wipe a stray tear from your cheek and bringing your attention back to him. As you look at him you see glassy blue orbs filled with tears that match your own, holding behind them eons of love and unsaid devotion. But he is much better at holding himself together so he marches on.

“If something happens and we don’t make it through this. Or we end up in some new shittier purgatory, I promise you I’ll come find you there! There is nothing in this life or any other that can keep me from you, okay? We’re gonna be alright though, I promise”

All you can do is nod your head, and muster up enough strength to get out a quiet “I love you”

“I love you too”

You and Xavier sit on the bunk that was once designated as his, all those years ago when he came here with the hope of a fun summer away from his troubles. Back then he was always running; running to something, running from something. There was never any certainty in his life, not even in his after life, not until you.

Now he’s starting to feel like that scared boy he once was. The one once found on the edge of death in MacArthur Park, trying so desperately to feel anything, and trying even more in vain to make that feeling last. He had nothing to loose back then in his desperate pursuit for euphoria. But he learned real fast that when things sounded too good to be true they most certainly were.

And that’s why he holds you closer now. Because you were the greatest good he has ever known, and there is certainly no way someone as wretched and cursed as him could ever keep someone as exceptional and pure as you.

He’d tasted bliss for too long now, and it must be time for the collector to come calling. But that didn’t mean he would let you go without a fight, because here in your arms is the only place that has ever felt like home, and he would protect his fortress come hell or high water (or the literal end of the world).

But that fight may or may not come and right now was about settling your nerves and keeping you calm. So he puts his resolve on the back burner and moves to pull you into his lap to whisper words of love and encouragement while you wait for the missiles to strike.

You feel them before you hear them, the impact on the earth, who knows how many miles away, before it broke the sound barrier. You didn’t even have enough time to process the incoming force before you were knocked out and everything and everyone you had known for decades was wiped away.

There is no way to tell how much time has passed when you wake in a pile of rubble and ash, with no discernable clue as to where you were in relation to the miles of identical rubble and ash that surrounded you. You weren’t sure where in the camp you were. The only thing keeping you believing this was even still Redwood were the semblance of remaining trees around you. Other than that there was nothing else insight but dirt and debri, and no sign of any other soul.

After you got your bearings you go in search of Xavier, or anyone else for that matter.

After a few minutes you come across a spot of land that seems vaguely familiar. Although there are no more cabins and no more dock, you’re pretty sure the crater that sits before you used to be the lake.

The lake where you died.

The lake you had no escape from for the past 30 years.

The lake you were swimming in only a few minutes ago.

The lake where you and Xavier spoke your first words to each other.

The lake where you sat on the dock dipping your toes in the water as you told one another that you loved each other for the first time.

The lake that you used to think if you never saw again, would be too soon.

The lake that you would now give anything to see full again.

After a couple minutes lost in your reverie, you hear a voice in the distance. One you’d recognize anywhere.

Without a moments hesitation you take off towards its source.

After tripping over countless branches and what you can only assume used to be one of the cabins you make it to a clearing and see Xavier bounding your way with Chet in tow.

“Oh my god! Thank god you're okay!” He breathes out as he pulls you into his embrace. You feel him exhale in relief as he holds you, before he lets you go in order to inspect you, searching for any signs of distress.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

“No I’m fine, are you ok?”

After looking him over in return to make sure everything’s alright and he gives you a nod, you look over to Chet, who you had quite honestly forgotten was there.

“You too?”

“Yea we’re fine, it’ll take more than one measly nuclear bomb to take down all this” he accentuates by raising his shirt and slapping his abs.

“I’m glad to see your modesty survived the blast as well” you answer giving him a wink and a nudge before you continue.

“we should find the others.”

It took a couple hours to track down the rest of your group. At least what felt like it, with the clocks gone there was no telling what time it was.

And the haze the bombs left kept it constantly looking like dusk.

After regrouping you all agreed you should look for any pieces of camp left behind, any signs of life, or just any signs of anything at all.

And that’s how it went for the next couple of days. You would walk around looking for signs of life, and finding very few momentos left behind by the camp. Then every once in a while you would all regroup in the middle of the crater that was once the lake, and switch between theories of what was happening out in the rest of the world and reminiscing about times when this place was still standing.

Almost everyone in your group of confidants, aside from Ray, was sitting at your usual meeting spot when he came barreling towards you all.

“You guys come here I have to show you something.” His voice was full of excitement.

“What?” Montana asked back, thoroughly unimpressed with his optimism. You had never met two people more different. To Montana, Ray was like a pesky mosquito, who she would often shoo away, that is when she wasn’t bossing him around and telling him to “make himself useful”.

“Just trust me it’s important.”

After a few minutes of grumbling and feet dragging. You and Xavier, Montana, Trevor, and Chet made your way to the empty piece of land Ray was pointing at. Picking up Bertie and the real nurse Rita along the way.

“What? What are we supposed to be looking at?” Bertie questioned, taking it upon herself to ask what you were all wondering.

“Right here.” He points to a spot on the ground, that aside from the line he had made with his shoe, looked the exact same as the rest of your surroundings.

“This is the entrance to Camp Redwood.”

“How do you know? There’s nothing here.” Xavier pointed out motioning around to the surrounding emptiness.

“I have measured the number of steps to the entrance, from just about every place in this camp.”

“God somebody needs to get laid. You have way too much time on your hands.” Xavier regards. And you can’t help but let a laugh slip out.

Narrowing his eyes at that comment, Ray attempts to defend himself. “We’ve been here for decades. Chet wouldn’t even talk to me for years, and before you met y/n, you and Montana only acknowledged me when I was cleaning up your messes, and I….you know what I don’t have to explain myself. What I’m about to show you will have you praising me for the way I chose to pass the time. You should all be kissing my loafers for this.”

Ray was really getting sick of still being the butt of the other counselors jokes and jabs. Even now at the end of the world, when he has made such a monumental discovery.

Deciding not to waste more time getting upset he proceeds.

“So as you know most of the camp has been destroyed and there aren’t really any notable places left behind? Well there is one. The tree we all signed our names on, well most of it anyways. But lucky for us I could still make out both Trevor and Xavier’s names. And exactly 644 steps straight ahead of those signatures is the entrance to the camp.

“You’re point being?” Montana snips, tired of waiting for him to get to the climax of his story.

“My point being. Right now I am in Camp Redwood.”

He says, before he slowly and dramatically takes one long stride over the line he had drawn.

“...now I’m not...”

“and I feel fine”

Notes: i wasn’t really planning on uploading any of my writing here, but I feel like there is more of an interest in Xavier content than on ao3 so why not? Basically the jist of this comes from speculating what would happen to the spirits stuck at the hellmouth’s after the apocalypse (which I know many people have wondered and we’ve never been given a definitive answer). So I wondered what would happen if the whole world became one large hellmouth and the spirits could roam free. This series follows you an Xavier as you eventually make your way to rumored Sanctuary. It will involve Michael Langdon, and as of right now might get kind of dark, so fair warning. Anyways, thank you for reading!

Tagging this supporting queen: @guiltyfiend

#Xavier Plympton #Xavier Plympton x reader #ahs 1984 #michael Langdon

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yami-writes · 3 years

Text

The Underworld - AoA Mythology Event

(✨) paring(s) — Hades Shouto Todoroki x f!reader

(⚠️) warning(s) — some angst, talk about devils, hell and stuff, mentions of execution, fires and buildings burning down, major character death (nothing graphic)

(💌) yami's note — my contribution to Attack on Academia’s Mythology AU event! hope you enjoy- even though i know close to nothing about mythology :sob: also this isn’t a specific AU/theme or anything, i was pretty lost on what to do so i just went off what i knew + a bit of my own shit ( this is my first work in a while, i'm a bit rusty lmao )

Y/n, never to be held back by the rules. You always preferred to do things your way, bending and breaking rules to do what you wanted.

“I’m supposed to be executed next month.” You took a bite out of your mashed potatoes while Denki choked on his. “What!? How could you say that so casually!?”

“I don’t care. They’re supposed to be executing all the lifetime prisoners here as some sort of offering to the Devil or some shit.”

You spent the better half of your life as a wanted criminal, committing acts left and right at your will. You never had a reason to commit crimes, it was more or less the ‘You Only Live Once’ mentality, as well as your own curiosity that drove you to be a bad person. For better or for worse, you enjoyed your life of crime. It was a never-ending adventure, a game. What crime will you commit this time? How many cops would show up this time? How far will you have to go to escape them? It was all a fun game to you.

“I’d rather be executed than spend the rest of my life in this place. We’re not even treated like humans. More like rabid animals that could attack at any moment. At least if I get executed I’ll be dead.”

“At least if I eat food I won’t starve.” Denki mocked. “But is it true? Are you really going to be executed?”

“Yeah.” you take another bite out of your lunch. “The guards hate us, they’ve been wanting to see our heads on a stick for a long time.”

“What!? But if you die I won’t have anyone in here to keep me sane, y’know!! We’ve only been talking for a few days but I like you!!”

You merely nodded.

“Hey, Y/n!” Mina poked your cheek. “What is it this time?”

“Have you ever heard the term ‘yolo’?”

“The fuck is a yolo?”

“I said it’s a term!” Mina laughed. “It’s an abbreviation for ‘You Only Live Once’.”

You Only Live Once. Those four words touched your soul. They told you to go, do the things you never thought you’d do. Commit the crimes you’ve never even thought of committing. They told you nobody, not even the law could tell you what to do, only you could tell yourself what to do.

Time was passing fast. Minutes, hours, days passed and your execution only got closer.

You didn’t care, but word sure did get around fast. Two weeks until the execution and everyone knew. You received weird looks wherever you went, which was normal, but these were different. You couldn’t explain what made them so different though. Maybe it was the way they lingered for longer than you’d like, as you had gotten used to the quick glances.

They were getting cocky.

You ate your lunch in silence, Denki was nowhere to be seen but you couldn’t be bothered, you just hoped he wasn’t doing anything stupid. As your execution came up you had been thinking, mostly of your past, your decisions, your life. Specifically, that one night...

It was a quiet Sunday evening. After being passed around in foster homes, enduring abusive foster parent after abusive foster parent, you were put into an adoption center, where you were finally being taken care of. You never made friends with anyone, you were scared of them. You thought they’d hurt you, abuse you, call you names. You didn’t want to go through that again.

“Hey!” A girl called out to you. She sat in front of you on the floor. “My name’s Mina!” The girl had messy pink hair, it was hard to tell if it was natural or not. You stared at her for a second, unsure of how to respond. “Hello.” Was all you could choke out.

“You’re y/n, right? I think you’re cool, wanna do this puzzle with me?” She took out a puzzle of a cat wearing a wool hat.

“Sure.”

“Yay!!” Mina cheered, quickly dumping the pieces on the floor.

From that point on your friendship with Mina flourished. Countless days and nights spent together. Laughing, talking and gossiping, together. You didn’t want it to end the way it did.

Months later, you never imaged standing in front of the adoption centre, the building ablaze and falling apart due to fire damages. Your friend, Mina, nowhere to be seen outside of the building. Was she still inside? The entrance to the building had already caught fire and looked about ready to collapse. You weren’t quite sure if the emergency exits were available, but if they were Mina would’ve used them by now, she was always quick-witted.

“y/n..” The adoption centre staff that had escaped with you puts her hand on your shoulder. “I’m sorry, but… They’re gone.”

You understood the concept of death very well, you’ve experienced losing someone before, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

“Hello, y/n.” A lady walks up to you, waking you out of your daydream. Her hair is up in a tidy ponytail and she’s wearing a prison uniform, she’s a prisoner too? “What? I was hoping to enjoy my lunch alone.”

“My apologies.” She sits down beside you. “I just wanted to talk to you before your execution, I think you’re very interesting.” You continue eating your lunch, minimalizing socializing with your prison mate. “Have you ever heard of ‘The Underworld’?” The lady asked.

“The Underworld?”

“Yes. It's where lifetime prisoners like us are bound to wind up. Lemme tell you about it.” She makes herself comfortable on the bench.

“If he deems you to be a bad person, the Devil will bring your soul down to The Underworld as a way to punish you for the sins of your past life. It’s a large, dark place, filled with the souls of people like you and I, who have committed horrible crimes and now have to deal with the consequences forever.”

“I see... And why are you telling me this?”

“I’ve been telling everyone about it! We’re all gonna go there!! It's good to be informed. Anyways, I’ll leave you to your lunch now. It was nice talking to you, y/n.”

“Okay.”

You pondered for a while after listening to that woman. She seemed pretty nice but it was obvious she had some screws loose.

You also thought about her teachings of The Underworld. If you enjoyed your life to the fullest, did it really matter what happens in the afterlife? You asked yourself that question often. You were more curious than you were afraid of the underworld.

You’ve heard many different interpretations of it, although the most common seemed to be one of suffering. Eternal suffering at the hands of Satan. The supreme ruler of Hell torments your soul for longer than the human mind can comprehend as a means to pay for the sins of your past life. The cold-blooded Devil rests on his throne as he listens to the tortured screams for mercy, to be set free.

The thought left your mind soon after, although you never seemed to get that woman off your mind. She was interesting, to say the least.

Two days. Two more days until you’re to be executed. As the days went by you became more and more curious. You had been thinking of the woman often.

She was a kind, yet mysterious lady. You’d gone around and asked other prisoners about her, but they all had nothing. Some people said something about her being pulled from a mental hospital and into jail but those seemed to just be rumours. Who is she? Where could she have gone? The prison was relatively big, so finding a specific person would prove to be pretty difficult, but almost two weeks of searching should’ve yielded at least some sort of information. You had given up on finding anything about her, she was just someone who wanted to speak to you, there was no need to spend the last few days of your life on her.

You never stopped thinking of The Underworld, or whatever it was called at this point. You wondered what it was really like. What really happened down there? Are bad souls really tortured for eternity? Is there even an afterlife? You wanted to know.

You went to bed thinking about it. About your afterlife.

You opened your eyes, a dark blue sky looking back at you. Outside? Your head was pounding and your throat was dry. Your body ached.

You could hear an eerie ambiance in the distance, this was truly an odd place. Ignoring the pain, you got up, taking a good look around you. The ground was made out of a mix of rock and dirt, around you seemed to be lakes of water. The sky was a dark blue colour, almost like a night sky, although there was no moon, stars, or sun.

“Hello.” a voice called out to you. You turned in the direction of the voice, a hooded figure stood before you. “Who are you?? Where am I??”

“Woah woah, calm down.” a hooded figure tried to calm you down. Their voice was rather kind, leading you to believe they weren’t a threat to you, they seemed to calm you down a bit. They wore a black, hooded robe and grasped a long stick with a red gem on the top. Behind them was a river, as well as a boat. “Was it a rough fall?”

“...Yeah,” you looked up at the gloomy sky, “I guess so.”

“I’m sorry about that, I'll ask him to add some sort of cushion here.” the mysterious person takes off their hood, revealing green hair and a rather cute freckled face. “I’m Izuku, I’ll be bringing you to the mainland.”

“Mainland?? Wait where even is this place, why am I here?? I’m supposed to be in prison right now-”

“Oh! You’re in The Underworld now. You’re dead, I'm sorry..”

“Dead!? How!? I wasn’t executed yet!”

“Your questions will be answered once we get there, so come with me into this boat and I'll take you to the mainland.” Izuku leads you to the boat, preparing it to sail once you get in, and soon enough, the boat starts to move onward.

“We might be here for a while, mind telling me about your past life? He never tells me anything about the souls that wind up here.”

“Uh sure, I guess. My parents died when I was still young, so I was tossed around in foster homes until they just stuck me in an adoption centre… One day one of the ladies that worked there caused a fire and it got burnt down, only me and that lady survived. After that I moved to the next town over and started a life of crime, I enjoyed it. Eventually, the police caught me and I was sentenced to jail for life for all the crimes I committed, they planned to execute me tomorrow but.. Y’know, I’m dead now.”

“Hm.. what an unfortunate life you’ve lived, although that story isn’t very new around here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve heard the stories of most of the souls down here, their lives began to tumble after a traumatic event. The loss of a loved one, car crashes, tragedies, I've heard it all before, but it doesn't get any less saddening.”

“I see..” you sigh, slumping over the side of the boat. You stare down at the water, watching your reflection. The water was almost as dark as the sky, tinted a greenish colour. ‘I’m kinda tired…’

“And~~ we're here!” Izuku announces, stopping the boat. “Sure did take a while.” You step out of the boat, taking a look around. It looks identical to where you first woke up.

“Follow that path, it’ll take you to Hades. He never asks to see anyone so you’re special!”

“He asked to see me!?”

“Yeah, I'm not sure as to why, but you better hurry! He doesn’t like waiting.”

“Oh, okay! Thanks!”

You immediately make your way down the path, concerned as to what Hades himself wanted from you. The path seemed to stretch on forever, turning corners before another straight, long extension. It almost left like you were going in a long circle.

At this point you had been in The Underworld for 30 minutes, although the sky hadn’t seemed to change at all, was there no time here?

After a long 15 minutes of walking, you made it to a large palace, tall gates of steel keeping unwanted guests from entering. A button rested on the side of the gate entrance. You pressed the button, unsure of what it would do. You wouldn’t be surprised if it summoned another hooded figure like Izuku to escort you into the palace, this place was unpredictable.

A loud ‘buzz’ sound erupted from the button upon being pressed, followed by a “Who’s there?” The voice on the other side was definitely different from Izuku's. It was deeper, but pleasant. “I’m y/n, Izuku told me Hades wanted to see me?”

You heard another buzz sound before the front gates opened. You anxiously walked in, not sure what to expect next. Your mind raced with thoughts as you wandered through the halls of what you assumed to be Hades’ palace. It was surprisingly bland on the inside, though. Maybe he wasn’t good with interior design.

After making your way through the halls, you were met with a surprisingly small room, with the classic long, expensive red carpets you would only see in movies. You felt somewhat bad for stepping on it, it looked expensive.

You looked up to see someone, a humanlike being sitting upon a throne.

“Hello?” you called out to them, inching closer.

“Ah, you must be y/n.” They acknowledge, standing from their throne and walking up to you. Was this Hades?

He looked more human than you thought he would. His face is what caught your attention, he was incredibly handsome. The type of man you’d only see in your dreams. His hair split in the middle, his left red and his right white. There also seemed to be a red mark on the left side of his face, it looked like a burn scar…

“Uhm, why’d you call me here? Shouldn’t I be like... Suffering? With the rest of the bad souls that ended up here?” you questioned him, trying to ignore his beauty.

“No. I’ve been watching you for a while, y/n. If I'm getting to the point, I want to marry you. I killed you prematurely so those awful people didn’t get the chance to, and so I could get to see you early.” He smiled. His lips looked incredibly soft, the kind you’d want to kiss forever.

“What!? Marry me!? But-”

“You mustn’t worry about the details, y/n. I love you, everything from your beauty, to your personality, I feel drawn to you. I would like you to be my wife. We could live happily together.”

The way he never elaborated didn’t make it any easier to take in, but an idea came to your mind. “If I marry you, will I still have to suffer? Like to pay for my sins…”

“Of course not, my love. Let’s say marrying me is enough to pay for them.”

You were curious to know what would happen if you didn’t marry him, or if you had a choice at all, but you decided you were better off not knowing for once.

“Alright, I’ll marry you.”

“Wonderful. Please feel free to explore the palace, and pick a room. I know you’re probably tired.”

“Thanks.”

After exploring the palace, you settled for a cozy room on the second floor. You liked the colours and arrangement of the room.

You lie in bed, pondering what had happened in the first few hours of your afterlife. You spent your life thinking you’d be sent down to meet Satan, an unforgiving force meant to punish evil souls for their wrongdoings, but was met with Hades instead, a God that was not only kind, but had at some point, fallen in love with your character. He had promised you an easy afterlife with him, an eternity you could spend however you wanted. Do the things you never got to do in your past life as a spirit.

You were beyond grateful to him, choosing to not only have mercy on you, but make you, a criminal who’s committed many crimes, his wife, another ruler, God of The Underworld.

Everything turned out quite different from how you originally thought.

#shouto x reader #todoroki x reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader #reader insert #mythology #mha x mythology #bnha x mythology #mythology au #hades #shouto todoroki x reader

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cheri-translates · 4 years

Text

[CN] Victor’s R&S - Six out of Seventeen (Eng Translation)

🍒This R&S (“十七分之六”) will not be released in EN or any server as it’s one of the cancelled R&S which came with the Dream Heart Lake gacha event!🍒

This is a full translation, so you can follow along with the narrator if you want to!

Summary: Victor has been persistent in one thing for seventeen years. The part he lets other people know about is simply six out of seventeen.

Other cancelled Victor R&S:

> flashback

> paradise on earth

> so-called disparity

[ Chapter 1 ]

The first time he recognised his powerlessness was during that failed escape.

The second time was the sense of loss when his mother passed away.

The third time was when he faced the boundless sea of faces, at his wit’s end.

Victor will not say that he searched unceasingly for the girl for seventeen years.

It’s akin to how people talk about being secretly in love: Although they might say “I’ve harboured a crush on him/her for so many years”, “I’ve continued following him/her on social media all these years”, ultimately, they will not delay the things they have to do.

To Victor, “finding the girl” had a similar concept.

He will not enumerate how many hours and minutes he spent on this matter of “finding the girl”. One, there was no point in doing so. Two, he was slightly worried - what if he discovered that the problem which had been entrenched in his heart for such a long time was actually very trivial... what would he do then?

However--

It’s akin to how people talk about being secretly in love: Although he had no idea how the other party looked like now, the palpitations from back then, and the blurred face in his dreams always motivated him to press onward. Exactly because he couldn’t set it down, it turned into a permanent, clear moonlight in his heart.

To Victor, “finding the girl” remained the same as always - this matter was on track, even after he established his business.

After all, Victor was only eleven years old when the incident happened. As a young student, his abilities were limited. At the time, all he could do after school was check in on places the girl would often visit, but his investigations didn’t go smoothly. On one hand, his understanding of the girl was already extremely limited. On other other hand, the inside story of what happened during the orphanage incident was undisclosed.

He could have received some measure of support from his parents if he asked. But after going through the kidnapping, Victor understood that it would be better if fewer people knew about his superpower.

He wasn’t afraid his parents wouldn’t believe him. It was just that he was afraid his parents may get “implicated” in his personal secret. What if they ended up like the girl...

This was the reason why teenage Victor chose to delay the matter of “finding the girl” - not give up, but delay it.

At that age, Victor already understood the importance of preparation. In the years ahead, he was a good student in the eyes of teachers, a good student who looked as though he was perpetually in a bad mood, taciturn, and a bit heavy-hearted.

Even till he graduated from high school, none of his schoolmates knew about the kidnapping Victor experienced in childhood, and nobody knew that he had been continuously collecting materials related to back then. However, his roommates all knew that a girl’s name would occasionally surface when he talked in his sleep.

It’s thanks to this that nobody ever spread rumours about the girl. At an age where everybody loved to joke at another’s expense, nobody ever used Victor as a joke.

[ Chapter 2 ]

The first year Victor entered university was also the time social networking gained traction.

The reason why his business could develop at such a rapid pace was to a large extent attributed to social networking, which gave rise to the theory of Six Degrees of Separation.

Unfortunately, the social networking which helped Victor establish his business was unable to provide much assistance in “that matter”.

It wasn’t that Victor didn’t search for posts pertaining to the orphanage incident, but the content was mostly meant to attract attention.

Some who were steeped in fantasy said that the orphanage incident back then was the result of vampires causing trouble, and the orphans discovered in it were actually sustenance reserves for the vampires. Some who were more realistic made an analysis and claimed that it was a relatively large-scale child trafficking situation. Some who were inclined towards sci-fi asserted that it was an attack launched by aliens who had plans to take the children back to their planet to conduct experiments...

While Victor felt disappointed by such results, they were within his expectations. After all, the official materials which were disclosed back then were already limited to begin with, and the other children who were involved were too young, and lacked as clear a memory as he did - after being rescued, they had high fevers and may have even thought everything was simply a dream.

To Victor, all these arguments confirmed his deductions: He couldn’t use layman methods to find her.

As such, Victor hired a private investigator in the year he graduated from university.

Contrary to popular belief, private investigators existed among the people in the city.

It’s just that they generally had a different identity, and it was difficult to find them without a recommendation from someone else. Victor managed to locate this private investigator from a recommendation by one of his men. At that point, LFG had already established itself to a certain level. When the detective, whose surname is Bao, heard from the middleman that LFG’s Victor was looking for him, his first reaction was -

“CEO Victor, we have to make something clear. If this has to do with a company-related scheme, I don’t wade in such muddy waters.”

“Teacher Bao.” Addressing him as “teacher” was part of his upbringing and etiquette. However, the sentence which followed after was far from polite. “Do you know about the kidnapping incident which occurred in the orphanage eleven years ago?

He asked the other party to investigate the truth of what happened back then, along with an open reason - as a victim of the incident, he had the right to know.

“CEO Victor, telling me about this right after we just met... does this count as you having trust in me?”

“CEO Liang recommended you, and I trust him.”

Without saying anything else, Victor and Detective Bao agreed on a quarterly report, and then sent him out politely.

On the night of the conversation, the old detective received a payment much higher than the agreed remuneration. Only then did he believe that the guy he saw in the afternoon was truly what CEO Liang called an “awe-inspiring business elite”.

And he experienced the shrewdness of this “business elite” when he presented his first report three months later.

[ Chapter 3 ]

That day, Old Bao gave a voluminous speech spanning a full hour, thinking Victor would give one or two phrases of praise. Even a nod would have sufficed. However, he didn’t expect that after listening to the report, all Victor did was to move his fingers.

Victor’s slender fingers curled inwards, and he pointed towards a box in the corner.

“CEO Victor, this is?”

Ever since he withdrew from the media, Old Bao had not experienced many great storms. But he would never forget the answer Victor gave him. He said it lightly, but it could cause the listener to vomit three litres of blood.

“You’ve passed the test.”

It turns out that the box contained all the materials Victor collected over the years - some official and some not. 90% of the content was mentioned in Old Bao’s report - and that was what Victor based his “you’ve passed the test” on.

Because most of his clients were introduced by friends, goodwill was a guarantee provided by the middleman, which was why most of the transactions could be settled during the first meeting. But for someone like Victor...

It was the first time Old Bao met such a person.

So, he had been busying himself for nothing over the past three months? This report was basically just a test for him set up by Victor?

There was a particular moment when Old Bao really wanted to walk straight out the door. But for some inexplicable reason, this idea was throttled to death at the cradle.

Perhaps it was curiously. Perhaps it was the gut instinct of a detective--

He wanted to know what exactly Victor wanted to search for - to the extent that he didn’t hesitate to waste three months’ worth of time.

Thus, on such a foundation, their partnership commenced.

If it was because of curiosity at the beginning, a moment of impulse was what prevented Old Bao from rejecting this business. If he were to persevere, he had to find a motivation to tide him through long-term. After all, Old Bao would sometimes ask himself:

Why did he make the “humiliating” decision to provide his services to Victor? Purely out of curiosity? That was enough to cause him to throw his pride away? Isn’t his time also time?

Fortunately, every time Old Bao questioned his life, remuneration would be funnelled into his bank account, helping him find a new direction in his lost state.

Apart from this, having a new understanding of Victor was also another reason why Old Bai eventually made steady progress.

If he were to label Victor at the very beginning, it would be “taciturn”, “stern”, “proud and formidable”. After the first report, a few more labels would be added - “shrewd”, “meticulous” and “deserving to be called an elite”. However, as they interacted for a longer time...

Most of these were torn down by Old Bao himself.

After working with him for a year, he deduced that Victor’s patience and temper were actually much better than what he expressed on his face. Even though there was little progress in his investigation most of the time, he didn’t receive the severe criticism he expected, and the agreed-upon remuneration didn’t diminish because of it.

Faced with one after another of disappointing reports, Victor’s response would just be a few words, in keeping with his style -

Definite and decisive, resolute and persistent.

[ Chapter 4 ]

Sometimes, an inner struggle would surface in Old Bao’s mind: Could Victor have known that the girl was actually no longer on this earth, and his way of searching for a needle in a haystack was a form of coping? If that was the case, he’d just have to cooperate with Victor in acting out this charade, and he’d be able to earn a lot of money.

No, no, you can’t lack a conscience, especially as a detective. Since I’ve already accepted his money, I should carry out his work properly.

After three years of working with him, Old Bao felt as though he had waded into far muddier and complicated waters than a company-related scheme - clues to finding the girl were cut a few times. But as he dived further into the orphanage incident, a few questions started to be brought to the surface:

If the girl simply died in the accident, why was it that apart from her death certificate, most of her information had gone missing? If the kidnapping at the orphanage was just a simple incident, why did most of the people related to it vanish?

The overly conscious effort to cover up the matter could instead prove a few truths. For instance, there were huge stakes behind the orphanage kidnapping. For instance... that girl could still be alive, just that she had gone incognito and has had a change in identity.

After six years of working together, Old Bao finally fiound a key piece of information.

At the same time, he also understood the necessity of the test back then. When Victor told Old Bao his true objective, it was essentially entrusting his biggest secret into the hands of a stranger.

Old Bao examined himself. If he were in Victor’s position, he wouldn’t have been able to do it better than Victor did.

Old Bao suddenly understood why CEO Liang, who had only worked with Victor a few times, was so full of praise for Victor back then.

Since he had found important information, following the clues would be a quick task. Old Bao knew that their employer-employee relationship would not continue for much longer. With regards to this, he had mixed feelings.

One one hand, he felt as though a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. After being troubled by this issue for so long, there was finally a clue. On the other hand... he was reluctant to let go - after all, it had been a full six years.

He didn’t know whether he’d be able to meet someone as remarkable and talented as Victor in the future.

Such an appreciation transcended gender and age. It was a natural inclination humans have towards good things.

At the same time, he also hoped that Victor’s future could be smooth-sailing, and that he wouldn’t need to look for people like him to resolve troublesome matters.

This was a sincere blessing from a member of the older generation to a member of the younger generation.

As Old Bao tackled with this secret inner struggle, it was truly “speaking of the devil”. His phone screen lit up, and he received a new message, the contents containing only eight words:

“Investigate HBS. We will talk in detail tomorrow.”

“This person, he’s really...”

Without even looking at the sender, Old Bao already knew who this message was from. He felt an uncontrollable smile inch up his lips. Old Bao shook his head resignedly, and he didn’t know if he was mocking himself or feeling rueful. He continued.

“Really... very contradictory.”

Other cancelled R&S: here

Lucien’s cancelled R&S (by other user): here

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc victor #cncancelled #after translating three r&s consecutively I came to the conclusion that #it doesn't matter how young or old you are #male or female #nobody can resist Victor's charm

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knight-queen · 4 years

Text

Lunatic Parade Ruki Mukami – (Chapter 1)

Place: Bernstein Castle 一 Castle town Residential area

Yui: (I must have to get back my heart as soon as I can…!)

Ah…

*Wolves howling*

(I can see the castle…! As Ruki kun said, that's Earl Walter’s….)

Ruki: Oi, stop here.

Yui: Eh…?

Ruki: before getting into the town, I shall talk about something.

I had collected information regarding Walter as much as I could.

Yui: Earl’s…?

Ruki: Yes, However….

There seems to be no one to know the details about the guy called Earl Walter to begin with.

Yui: Eh…?

Ruki: Only things I’ve heard... he’s unidentified, appears in many places and he has very sharp ears.

But, it may not be sufficient enough…

But it’s said that there’s merely a Butler who’s served Earl for a long time in the Bernstein castle.

It’s still unclear whether he’s in the castle or not however…

He’s the only one to know about the truths about that castle or the Ear.

Yui: ………

(We come to this demon world but…)

(Getting back my heart looks unexpectedly hard…)

Ruki: I thought there’s no way to get to the castle but…

It looks like Bernstein castle is not only on the ground surface, but it’s also extended along the sky and underground.

It looks impossible to enter the castle if we use those ways.

Yui: (Such...I think we have to face difficult circumstances if we want to get back the stolen thing at once…)

(Then it’s impossible to take back my…)

Ruki: Oi, livestock. Don’t make that face. It’s too early to give up.

Yui: But…

Ruki: Only few exist who were able to get back the treasure from Earl at once.

If you search those people and talk with them about getting back stolen things from him, we may get a hint.

...More importantly, I am with you. I’ll ofcourse find a way to get back your heart.

So, you can be relieved.

Yui: nh...Ruki kun…!

(That’s right. Ruki kun’s with me…)

(Because like this, he made me aware of Earl by informing me about him.

(In these times, there’s no person who’s reliable like Ruki kun…)

Yui: Thank you, Ruki kun.

Ruki: You don’t have to thank me. You’re my livestock at any rate. So, it’s my responsibility.

...You know it, don't you?

Yui: ...Fufu, that’s right…

(I only believe in him…)

Ruki: Let’s go then. We’re close to the castle town.

Yui: Yes.

Place: Glimmer Street Main street / グリンマーストリート表通り

Yui: (There's a huge bunch of people everywhere….is that for the parade?)

Ruki: It’s a crowd so don’t go away from me.

Yui: Ye- yes….

(Nevertheless...does he have any guess of where to go)

(All we’re doing is going ahead for a while….)

(...Anyway, let’s follow him)

Place: Mornstein Hotel, Entrance

Yui: (kh...This place…)

(Hotel, right…?)

Mornstein Hoten Clerk: Welcome. Are you here for reserving?

Ruki: Yeah, that’s right. I am Mukami.

Mornstein Hoten Clerk: So, you have made a reservation of two people. Thank you for waiting.

Please sign here…

Ruki: Gotcha.

Yui: ...Re- reservation…? *Blushing*

Ruki: For doing anything, we’ll need to live in a specific place right?

Plus there will be so many customers for the parade. That’s why I have reserved just in case.

Yui: I- I see….you’re right…

(Looks like he’s not a hesitant person at all….)

(I am somehow unexpectedly aware of this situation…)

Place: Mornstein Hotel, Guest Room

Yui: (...This….!)

(Wa- wait a sec...we’ll share a single room…!?)

(Wha- what should I do…!)

Ruki: …? Is there anything wrong?

Yui: Eh...because, that’s….

I thought we’re gonna have separate rooms…

(I’ll spend all the time staying in the same room with him, what kind of face can I make at this rate…!?)

Ruki: Fufu...what’s up with that face? Are you dissatisfied with having the same room?

Yui: ...I- it’s not true though…

Ruki: Then, what could it be? ...Oh, I see now…

Yui: Eh…?

Ruki: Are you expecting something else?

Yui: Eeeh!?

Ruki: Say it without holding back. What are you actually expecting?

Yui: E- expecting…!?

Ruki: ...Don’t lie. You’re making an upset face, you know?

Come on, sit here. I’ll listen to you.

Yui: Ah…!

*Ruki undresses her*

Yui: Ru- ruki kun…!

Ruki: Fufu…

Yui: (...I- It’s almost like he’s hugging me…!)

Ruki: ...Tell me what were you expecting? Say.

Yui: Th- there’s nothing….I was expecting…

Ruki: ...I won’t let you go until you say it.

Yui: ….Even if you say it…

Ruki: ….Is that so. It can’t be helped. I’ll punish you if you just hide...this this...nh…*kiss*

Yui: Kyaa…!

Ruki: ...How was it? Have you intended to say it now?

Yui: ………

(What can I do...I don’t know how to explain…!)

Ruki: Hm...seriously. You’re a tough one. Then I’ll …

*Ruki kisses Yui*

Yui: ….nh…!

Ruki: ...nn…

Yui: (Ruki kun…!)

(What now...I am facing these conditions, that’s even just after coming to the demon world…)

(We just started searching my heart but, it’s already at his pace….!)

(Then I won’t be able to possess my own body…)

Ruki: ...Hmph, you’re very calm today.

The people who lack concentration need to be punished even more, no? Nh…nh...

*He kisses*

Yui: Nnnh…!

(No...my face’s become really red…)

*After a while*

Ruki: It’s tea, you drink too.

Yui: Th- thank you…

Ruki: For today’s conversation 一

Yui: (...Talking about Ruki kun, he’s surprisingly normal…)

(About that thing he did while ago too…) *blushes*

(kh...What am I thinking…! No, I just can’t!)

(As I thought, it’s weird that I am the only one to think this way…)

Ruki: ...Oi, are you listening?

Yui: Eh? Ye- yes...Of course, I am listening!

Ruki: Haa...as I thought, today you’re unexpectedly losing concentration.

If that's the case then I shall discipline you by giving that punishment once again?

Yui: kh….!

(Th- that’s….!)

Ruki: Hmph, if you don’t want then, listen to my conversation. I am talking about something important.

Yui: Mhm, Got it…

Ruki: I told you before coming here though,

The very first decision will be to talk with the people who have experience getting back stolen things before.

Yui: ….You’re right.

Ruki: I’ve already left the familiars there to collect the information.

Yui: (kh...Ruki kun, as expected of him…!)

Ruki: Their reports also contained useless ones, but there are also numerous worthy informations I received.

Let’s try to use the advantages at once.

Yui: Yes, understood.

Ruki: According to the familiars, there’s a man among qualified people, who lives near this place.

We should immediately visit him I think.

Yui: That’s right.

(I hope he will give us some hints…)

Place: Rubean Lake

Yui: (The reflected light on the canal water looks really amazing…)

This town uses gondolas for traveling, right?

Ruki: Yeah, as you can see. The waterways are developing.

The man that we have business with is the owner of a certain shop. We’ll can have clear concepts if we meet him in the shop but…

Well, all you have to do is to just follow me.

Yui: Yes, got it.

(Exactly, I can be at ease if I leave everything up to him.)

Place: Glimmer Street, front of Wagon Main street

Ruki: Right ahead of this road.

Yui: (Uwaa...I am getting overflowed with these crowds…)

(Even so…)

(I am smelling something really good for a while)

(....Crepes' pretzels...and there’s different kinds of stalls...all are specially for the parade, I guess.)

(Somehow, I am feeling hungry out of nowhere….)

Ruki: ……..

Yui: Hm? What’s wrong?

Oh, so the store of that man we’re searching is around here…?

Ruki: No, it’s not like that. Something really smells good. If I guess, it’s crepes huh…

...It’s rare so, wanna eat some?

Yui: Eh? Crepe?

Ruki: Yeah.

→ Selection

But / でも... (+correct)

I’ll eat! / 食べる!

Yui: ………

Ruki: ….? What’s wrong? If you like something other then, I’ll go with that…

Yui: Oh, nope. It’s not what I meant. Shall I eat, the creep…

(But...it’s very rare for him to offer me like this…)

(Could it be... 一)

Ruki: Which flavour?

Yui: Umm...I’ll go with the strawberry one….

Ruki: Got it. Wait a little here.

*Walks away*

Yui: (He’s gone…)

Place: Diamante Fountain

Yui: Mn…

(This crepe is really delicious….!)

Ruki: ….Delicious? It’s somehow understandable by looking at your expression though….

Yui: Fufu, it’s super yummy. What about having some?

Ruki: I am….

Well, then I will have just one bite.

Yui: Mhm, here you go.

Ruki: ….

...Good taste.

Yui: Fufuh

This expression is likely you.

(Nevertheless, I was a little surprised when he ate the crepe suddenly)

(If it would be the usual Ruki kun, then he would prefer to search for something to hold the food…)

(As expected, it means that he’s taking care of me…?)

Ruki: ...Anyway, let’s hurry. Our aimed store is right ahead.

Yui: Yes.

Place: Glimmer Street, Aizen back street

Ruki: ……….

Yui: (Somehow, it’s a place of no sign of people…)

(But, he’s just going ahead…)

(I must not lose the sight of him)

*After a moment*

Ruki: ...I think it should be right ahead…

But, it’s the end point... Let’s go back.

Yui: Eh…?

Ruki: ...What? Hurry and come.

Yui: Neh, Ruki kun...could it be…

Ruki: ...Yeah. We’ve gotten lost.

Yui: (Kh….Ruki kun is….!?) *Blushing*

Ruki: What’s, that face….

...Is it bad for me to get lost?

Yui: N- not bad...but…

Normally, getting lost like this for the Ruki kun who’s very reliable...fufuh

(...It’s a little cute, I think…)

Ruki: ...So, what’s wrong with that? Doesn’t make sense.

*Grabs her*

Yui: (H- he just dragged me towards the wall…)

Ruki: Oi, stop laughing and say the rest. If you don’t, then again…

Yui: N- no...I didn’t really laugh to make a fool of you…

I am feeling like you’re showing your sides that you don’t show often, it made me happy…

….I also like that side of yours...I thought…

Ruki: ngh…..

...For livestock making fun like this, you’re really a cheeky one…

I knew, you still have many ways to go to be disciplined. Nh…*kiss*

Yui: ...nh…

Ruki: ….nh...this amount isn’t enough yet. I’ll do this….

*Undresses*

Ruki: Haah...nnnh...mnnn….*sucking*

Yui: kh…!

Ruki: ...mnn….mmmn….!

Yui: Ru...Ruki kun…! In such a place…

Ruki: I don’t care about such things. More than it, right now...haa...nh…

Yui: (No way….my strength is fading…)

*Sound*

Ruki: kh…!?

Yui: (....! The wall just moved…!?)

*Screen shakes*

*BG black*

Yui: Kya…!

(There was a hole in this place….!)

(No! I’ll fall…!)

Ruki: Yui…!

Yui: (Eh…?)

Place: Underground corridor / 地下回廊

Yui: (...I’m floating, in the air…?)

Ruki: Haa...I managed to make it in time. That was a close one.

Yui: (I see, he held me by flying…)

Thank you. You saved me…

(I thought we were gonna fall together for that crumbled brick…)

By the way, this place…?

Yui: (Water is also flowing in this place…)

(I didn’t think that there’s such a place in the underground…)

*Let down Yui*

Ruki: I get it. With the underground corridor, he meant this place huh.

Yui: Underground corridor…?

Ruki: Actually, I have been searching this entrance for a while.

That proposed boy’s shop seemed to be in this underground corridor.

Yui: A shop in such a place…?

Ruki: Yeah. However, I can’t say this place has good walls.

And also I can’t say what kind of guy we’ll meet on hereafter. Don’t let your guard down for the sake of our goal.

Yui: Mhm, understood…

Ruki: Aight, then let’s go. It’s this way.

Yui: This place?

Ruki: Yeah, no mistake I believe.

Yui: (Not a shop if it looks like a mere basement room to me...what it could be that he’s selling…?)

(Oh, before meeting the shopkeeper, I should fix my clothes.)

*They’re going to inter*

Yui: (Alright…!)

*Knock*

Ruki: Oi, is the shopkeeper here? I sent the familiars before…

Shopkeeper Man: Yeah, it’s open. Come inside.

Ruki: Then, excuse us.

Place: Underground, Shopkeepers Shop / 地下道内店主の部屋

Shopkeeper Man: Oh, you’re that….

Ruki: Mukami Ruki. She is ...一

Yui: Ah, umm…

Komori Yui. Nice to meet you.

Shopkeeper Man: You’re here to discuss the time when Earl stole my thing right?

Ruki: Exactly.

Shopkeeper Man: Well, talking while standing is weird so have a seat. I’ll also have you some tea…

Yui: Th- thank you so much…

*After a while*

Ruki: ...I see. So you can’t say the time about how to get back that thing huh?

Shopkeeper Man: Yeah, that’s right…

Ruki: Why? If you don’t mind, then I want to hear the reasons…

Shopkeeper Man: ...Sorry. My bad, but I can’t say everything about that…

Following that, Earl forbade me to speak about it...and also...一

………..

Yui: ….?

Ruki: …….

Shopkeeper Man: You came here with troubles but I am not able to cooperate with you, really sorry for that…

Yui: That’s...it’s okay. Same here, sorry for raising such questions…

Ruki: If you have circumstances that we have no choice. We’ll try to find another way.

Sorry for pushing you. ….Then excuse me.

Shopkeeper Man: Yeah.

Place: Diamante Fountain

Yui: (At the end, we could get any useful information...what should we do…)

Ruki: Haah...don’t make such a face. That was just the first one, right?

Let’s try out the next. This right ahead.

Yui: Yes...that’s true.

(Exactly. It’s just he said.)

(It’s useless to feel down in the first place…)

Place: Diamante Fountain

Ruki: Haah….

Yui: ……..

Monologue 一

After that, we visited the people who were able to get back the stolen things…

That person made a mistake, he wasn’t able to get back the stolen thing.

I wonder how that shopkeeper was able to succeed by taking back the stolen thing?

Anyway, we returned back to the same place when we couldn’t get any information.

For these, we just sighed.

End of the Monologue

Ruki: Hah…

I thought we'd be able to get some information, but we failed…

I also made you visit there for a wasteful reason….sorry.

Yui: Such...you don’t have to apologize….

If I was to be all alone, then I wouldn’t even know where to get started…

Ruki: Certainly, it seems to be hard to find another way...what can we do…

Yui: That’s…

(...Ruki kun really did his best this far…)

(He was also concerned about me all the time…)

(I wonder if something I can do….for him….)

(kh….that’s right!)

Neh, Ruki kun, it’s a time waste if you just keep thinking about that right?

Won’t you like to change the place? Look, there’s an amusement park…

It’s a good time, so let’s ride there! No?

Ruki: Roller coaster….?

Yui: Yes! Talking about the amusement park, there’s also…

(It occasionally caught my eyes but…)

Ruki: But, right now, your heart….

Yui: I am fine. Kleinod hasn’t done something strange so….

No danger is coming right away….am I wrong?

Ruki: Good grief...saying these stuffs out of nowhere….

Yui: (He won't….huh…?)

Ruki: Haa….I have no choice. Roller coaster will do right…?

Yui: Yeah! Then….!

Ruki: It’s fine, I’ll accompany you.

Yui: (That’s good…!)

Place: Roller Coaster Boarding Gate

Attendant for rides: Well then everyone, please hold firmly the bar in front of you, okay!

Yui: (It’s gonna depart soon...I am somehow scared to get into it like this…)

(Hands are trembling…)

Ruki: Oi….

Yui: Eh? Wh- what….?

Ruki: What's wrong huh...you’re the one to invite me to ride it….

Yui: Eh…?

Ruki: ...No, it’s nothing. More importantly, move on?

Yui: kh...Ye- yes….

*After a while*

Ruki: Riding this in a while is making me feel refreshed.

Yui: Th- that’s right…

(I- I was scared…)

Ruki: …..Fufu...Ahahah!

Yui: Wh- what…?

(He’s smiling though….!)

Ruki: It means you’ve weakness in roller coasters don’t you?

Yui: Eh, it’s not the case….?

(...It’s not like I am very confident but…)

Ruki: Fuh, your manner of walking was doubtful, plus you’re very lacking in strength.

Your hands were trembling during the ride…

Yui: kh...You noticed…?

Ruki: ….Ofcourse! But, that’s fine.

Anyway, I know that you stressed your body to change my sorry feelings and company me.

Honestly, doing this I was able to change my mood.

Yui: Ruki kun…

Ruki: Plus... you also had a point.

It doesn’t mean that things will improve if I just fill myself with determination.

….For all of these, let’s search for a clue from tomorrow.

Yui: Eh…?

Ruki: I said just a little before, but I’ve changed my mood. I’ll date you for the whole day today.

It’s the parade after all, it’s okay to enjoy ourselves.

Yui: Yes…!

(Thank you so much, Ruki kun…!)

*Yui hugs Ruki*

Ruki: ...What? It’s unusual for you to wrap your arms around.

Yui: Ah...it’s for….that’s….

(I was so happy that I approa….!)

Ruki: It’s fine. Stay like this, since it’s a trouble if you stray away.

Here, come closer.

*Ruki hugs Yui closer*

Yui: Ah…!

(...He just hugged me…)

Ruki: Then, what’s next? I don’t mind your choice.

Yui: Let’s see….well….

Place: Glimmer Street, park

Yui: The view from the ferris wheel looks really great.

Ruki: Yeah, you’re right.

Yui: (Mirror house, then coffee cup and ferris wheel...we rode different kinds of rides.)

(....What’s the next?)

Ruki: Hey, livestock. What about having a match with me?

Yui: With you? I’m fine with but what is that….?

Ruki: ...That one.

Yui: (That one…)

Place: Game Center

Yui: Slot machine….?

(But having a match….choosing slot out of nowhere….)

Ruki: Do you think luck is everything?

Yui: Eh? Yes, that’s….well….

Ruki: Fufu, it’s true that I can’t ask until someone gets the hang of it, however it’s not something like one can perform well in this match just by getting skilled in observasions.

Yui: I- is that so…?

(But, it’s Ruki kun so I may not….)

Ruki: Hmph, what’ll you do? Will you not accept?

….I thought I will reward you depending on the result. How unfortunate.

Yui: kh…..Reward….?

Ruki: Well, if you don’t like it then don’t force it. Let’s move on somewhere…

Yui: Wa- wait! I’ll accept!

Ruki: ...Ho?

Yui: (It’s the Ruki kun after all to invite me afterall…)

(More than that, I am a little excited about the prize….)

Ruki: Fuh, Alright then. Let’s start right away.

→ Game

Words he said in the game 一

“Let’s start the game.”

“That’s the key to do that”

“Focus on”

“With this, it’s over. You did well, livestock.”

*If you win + (CG)*

Yui: kh….it means I am….

Ruki: Looks like it’s your victory. You know that game pretty well.

Yui: (I don’t believe that I will win against him…)

(I am happy….!)

Ruki: Then, let’s give you the prize as I promised.

It’s a prize for you.

I’ll specially permit you to touch your master’s body.

Yui: Eh…?

Ruki: Come on, you can touch as much as you want.

Yui: (kh….even if he says that….!)

Ruki: ….hm? What’s wrong? You don’t have to hesitate.

Yui: D-don't hesitate you say….

(....He’s just teasing me, right?)

Yui: Ruki kun, Umm...一kyaa!?

*He gets closer*

Ruki: It’s no good to deny your master's affection.

...I’ll punish you now. Nnh…*kiss*

*Fades to CG*

Yui: nnh….!

(Ruki kun…!)

Place: Rubean Lake

Yui: Haah….it’s enough for me to walk here and there around. I’ll just sleep when I’ll go back to the hotel.

...But, it was a lot of fun.

Ruki: Is that so? Then, it’s good.

...It’s a beautiful Moon.

Yui: Eh…?

*Looks at the sky*

Yui: ...It’s true.

Ruki: Ayway, from tomorrow, we have to get prepared and find a way to get back your heart.

Yui: Yes…

(He’s right. At the end, we don’t have any clue after all…)

(We have to do our best from tomorrow…)

*BG back again to Rubean lake*

Yui: ………

Ruki: ...Hah, don’t worry that much. I’ll of course manage a way.

Yui: ….Ruki kun…

Ruki: So, you can relax...一

*Yui holds Ruki’s hand*

Yui: I’m not worried at all, I’m fine. Because you’re with me like this…

I believe in you…

(Even though I can’t do nothing but holding his hand,)

(At least, I hope I can pass my true feelings towards him…)

Ruki: Yui…

You are holding my hands from yourself…

You also embraced me before, you’re very positive aren’t you.

Yui: M- may be…?

Ruki: But...this kind of you isn’t bad either.

Yui: Fufu…

(I’m glad…)

一 End of Chapter O 1

#This route includes game where u can get Cg if u win #cg is yui and ruki are kissing #ruki mukami #ruki mukami lunatic parade chapter 2 #chapter 2 #diabolik lovers #mukami #mukami ruki #ruki x yui #chapter 1

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wannabe-fic-writer · 4 years

Text

Natasha Romanoff x Reader : Escape

Summary: The Red Room haunts you, from the moment you stepped foot inside to long after you’ve left. Truth is, you don’t think there is any escaping it.

Warnings: 18+ Violence, Depression, Mentions of Death, Smut

Chapter 9

******

You know that this isn’t going to be perfect. Pepper and Tony had told you and Natasha that marriage wasn’t meant to be easy, Tony saying so in his Officiant speech. He said that you would have to fight through all the bad to get the good. Your love would make it all worth it even if it didn’t always seem that simple.

The both of you had made sure to make mention of that in your vows. Through the good and the inevitable bad, as you had put it, you promised to always fight for each other.

For the time being you didn’t have to worry about the bad. At the wedding you allowed yourself to ignore all the possible bad you feared you two would face, instead focusing on your new found friends and your wife(god you loved calling her that).

Neither of you left each others sides that night, even when Happy had a little too much to drink, broke a glass or two, and ended up dance battling Rhodey. Funnily enough they both lost as Pepper had taken Morgan on the dance floor and instantly won.

That moment alone solidified in you that there would always be good in your life so long as you have Natasha, something you never once thought you’d have.

Still, the euphoria continued on into the honeymoon and talked about “honeymoon phase” in which the two of you could not get enough of each other and would be unbothered by the outside world.

Which, turns out, is true if current activities weren’t proof enough.

Natasha’s nails drag up your back, leaving a painfully pleasurable feeling in their wake, as you pounded your fingers into her. Your free hand holding on to her quivering thigh as you work her to the edge.

“Fuck, I’m close.” She breathes, leg wrapping around your back as hers arches.

You pull your mouth off of her to say, “cum for me Tasha.”

Your words are her undoing. She curls her fingers in your hair and holds on as she rides out her high, subtly rotating her hips with your fingers still in her.

When she finally comes down you crawl up her body and place little kisses all over her chest, neck, and face.

A dazed chuckle falls from her lips as she kisses you again and pulls you into her. You allow it but don’t put your full weight on her instead flipping yourselves and letting her lay on your chest.

Silence falls and you look around the room, eyes locking on the view outside the window: the lake and the expanse of trees.

With your fingers combing through her hair you ask,“ so it’s clear you like having sex here. How would you feel about living here?”

She hums, finger tracing circles around your nipple,“ here? In this house?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Sure, we can move in tomorrow.”

“True, all we’d need to bring is our clothes.”

A brief pause, before she’s pushing herself up to look at you,“ wait seriously? Y/N, isn’t this just a vacation house?”

“It can be,” you shrug,“ except this is a bit of a ‘residential’ area.” You turn around in the slightest, looking out the balcony window,“ look.”

Natasha does so.

“See that house, lit up across the lake?” She nods.“ That is the Stark residence and we can’t see it from here but the compound is also in that direction, couple miles behind all those trees.”

Green eyes snap to yours,“ you found a house across the lake from Tony and the compound?”

“Well, yeah, I know that if you even considered moving, you’d still want to be close to the compound. It’s your home and it’s where you work for the most part ya know.”

Her eyes search yours, before glancing down at the hand you have over hers, focusing on your wedding band, before she smiles,“ I wouldn’t mind living here with you.”

You’re expecting a “but” that never comes.

“And I do in fact love having sex here.”

You chuckle and kiss her quickly,“ good, it’d suck to try to sell this place.”

After she’s given a little laugh, she sits up and pulls the blanket from off the back of the couch, wrapping it around her body.

“Hold on,” she looks over at you, her hair falling over her shoulder,“ you already bought this house?”

You nod,“ had things not panned out like I expected I would’ve held on to it, or maybe given it away.”

She rolls her eyes at you with a smile. Of course you would buy a house for her before she’s even agreed to move with you.

“God you are gorgeous Miss Romanoff.” You can’t help but say.

She smiles, hand resting over the one you placed on her shoulder,“ I think you mean Misses Y/L/N-Romanoff.”

You sit up as well, legs on either side of her, and place a kiss on her neck,“ have you seen any of the house, you know, in between our moments?”

“No, it’s all right here.” She looks around the very open house.

“True, except you haven’t seen the basement.”

With the way to the basement hidden from possible prying eyes, she frowns at you in confusion.

“Okay, let’s get cleaned up and I’ll give you the exclusive tour.”

After a shower and a quick change of clothes, you’re both walking out of the bedroom. You stop to look out the window, catching the lights of the Stark residence flicking on.

It was basically luck to find a house so close yet so far both Tony and the compound. But you knew how important the Starks and the Compound is to Natasha so when Tony helped you look for housing the location was non negotiable.

Catching your stare, Natasha stands beside you,“ not sure about having Tony as a neighbor,” she jokes,“ but it was very sweet of you to find a place close to the compound.”

You kiss her as a way of saying ‘you’re welcome’ before taking her hand,“one last thing.”

You lead her to the garage, all the while praying that you don’t fuck it all up with this.

Being presumptuous isn’t you. Decision making usually only comes with undeniably solid facts. That concept flew out the window lately with Natasha, if the random proposal and buying this house wasn’t proof enough, there’s also this last surprise.

When you lift up a block of the concrete floor and lead her down the spiral steps, she frowns.

“You’re not trying to kill me are you?”

Laughing, you shake your head,“ not in the slightest my love and I’m sure you wouldn’t make it easy for me.”

Nat pulls you close by the arm, wrapping it around her, but doesn’t deny it.

The basement is simply a wine cellar, stocked by Tony and Pepper as a wedding present. Then there’s her office, designed by yourself and built by Tony. Honestly it’s great that Natasha agreed to stay here since this is where Tony and Pepper put majority of their gifts.

Your wife stops at the door, raising her brow at your lab,“ you know that I’m not into this stuff right?” She jokes.

“Yes I know, this is my lab, but something in here is for us, more so you.”

God don’t let this be too much.

There couldn’t be a louder prayer coming from you.

Stopping in front of a computer, you type away, digging for the project file you need. It comes up, instantly displaying on the three monitors on the wall.

Natasha steps forward, as you gesture to the screens, and starts reading.

By the time her eyes leave the first monitor there are tears pooling in them. They flow freely by the time she’s done.

“Tony says he has a, female, doctor who is more than happy to do this for us whenever we’re ready.” You step closer,“ whenever you’re ready.”

She throws herself in your arms, clutching on to you as she cries happy tears.

You breathe a sigh of relief and hold her just as tightly.

So one conversation about children is undeniably solid facts and your decision to prepare this wasn’t presumptuous. Granted she wasn’t going to try to get pregnant right away, she’s still beyond happy to have the opportunity to start a family with you when the time is right.

The future for you two is brightening by the day and you love every minute of it.

******

Taglist: @thelastavenger-3000 @aaron-despair @messuhp @izalesbean @bvb-bk @username23345 @sighsam @confusinggemini612 @natasha-danvers @rileigh519 @higherfurther-romanova @dynnealberto

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff #natalia romanova #black widow x reader #black widow #marvel x reader #marvel #mcu x reader #mcu #reader insert #Escape

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gumnut-logic · 4 years

Note

I did a spin on the randomiser thingy and got "hypothermia" and "car trunk". I think you know who I'm gonna ask for ^^; :blue_heart: Big thanks in advanced!! :blue_heart::blue_heart:

I think I stretched the concept of ‘trunk’ but I hope you like it anyway :D

Many thanks to @scribbles97 for the Scott character check and readthrough :D

Spin and send me a character and prompt :D

-o-o-o-

“Why don’t you ever listen to me?!”

He’d done it and he’d done it proper.

“I told you it wasn’t safe. I told you not to go in. But no, you know better.”

Oh, yes, he had done it proper. He hadn’t heard Virgil go off the deep end like this since high school and the time Gordon had decided to not be where he was supposed to be at school pick up and the three hours of terror that followed.

Admittedly, Scott had been just as angry at the time. It was a whole new perspective to be on the receiving end.

“Virg-“

“No, Scott. I’ve had it. You obviously don’t trust my judgment. You think you know better. Well, newsflash, hot shot, you don’t!”

Oh, yes, this was going to go on for some time.

So, he kept his mouth shut. It would be worse if Virgil realised that not only had his jet pack run out of fuel, but it had dropped him from quite a height. Without warning...he must speak to Brains about that. Fortunately, he had rolled down a slope and into an underground lake.

Unfortunately, the slope had been jagged and torn up his uniform somewhat. There was likely some bruising.

And the lake had been damned cold.

Virgil had been livid by the time he had arrived in Two. Yes, he had told Scott not to go in. Yes, it had been a gamble. But if it had worked, Scott would have been able to locate the cavers much faster than Gordon who was still looking with a second pod while Virgil hunted down their wayward commander.

Of course, Virgil had found him as fast as possible, but the engineer had had the remainder of Two’s flight time and the pod hike down into the massive cave network to stew on the stupidity of his brother.

Scott was forced to agree that he might have a point. But he was not going to apologise. Command decisions were command decisions whether they succeeded or failed. He owed no-one an explanation.

Regardless, he was sat in the back of the pod so far, he may as well be sentenced to the trunk, while Virgil blew steam.

On any other occasion he would have given as good as he got, but to be honest, he wasn’t feeling so great.

The pod itself was clambering up an almost vertical cliff - proof that flying in was far more practical than climbing - and Virgil’s concentration between expletives needed to be focussed. Scott would mention it on the next flat bit.

But then they would be getting out of here soon anyway. Might as well wait until they reached the surface.

He let his head drop back against the seat.

“Scott?” The pod was dangling from an overhang and had stopped moving. Its spots lit up rock inhabited by dangling…things.

He blinked as something flew through the beams.

“Scott? You with me?”

“Huh?”

There was silence a moment, Virgil’s head attempting to turn around and look at him, but failing with an exasperated grunt. “Scott, speak to me.”

“Wh’t do you want me to say?”

His brother grunted and the pod began moving again. This time though, it changed direction and shook harder as if his brother was in a hurry to get somewhere.

Next thing he knew the pod had stopped, the hatch was open, a yellow light was flickering everywhere and a pair of worried brown eyes were glaring at him.

The light vanished, leaving his brother’s helmet lamps to pale him to a ghost creature dressed in deep blue.

“You said you were okay.” It was soft and hurting. The ghost hovering over him just looked sad.

“’M okay.”

“You’re bleeding and suffering from hypothermia. How can you possibly be okay?” It was said quietly, but it cut through him like a knife because with it came disappointment. Virgil turned away and reached for the storage locker below his seat. “I guess I should know better.”

“Virg…” But his brother refused to look at him, even when he folded up the front seat and climbed back in to hunt down exactly where Scott was leaking blood from. Turned out he had cut the back of his leg. Not badly, but bad enough.

The water in his boot was so cold, he hadn’t felt it.

Sure and caring hands removed Scott’s footwear, his helmet, and his baldric was unfastened and tugged off. Virgil, it was Virgil, ever dependable Virgil, was unzipping his uniform, gently pulling him forward and peeling his under shirt off his skin.

He should be helping, but he couldn’t quite pull the energy together.

An emergency blanket appeared and Scott found himself quickly swaddled. A hiss and he was suddenly smelling something warm and chocolatey.

“Scott?”

He discovered his eyes were closed and he forced them open. Virgil was crouched in front of him, holding up a plastic cup of something emanating warmth. He had no hands to take it, but his brother offered it up to him like a baby.

Somewhere in the back of his mind the big brother part of him was outraged and horrified, but he was too busy sipping warmth to care.

A cap was gently tugged onto his head, completely messing up his hair.

Warm fingers brushed the strands out of his eyes.

Virgil was staring at him, so much emotion in that one expression. Exasperation, frustration and worry, but most of all love.

Something inside Scott just melted.

“I’m sorry.” It came out in a rush through a throat that had suddenly grown tight.

Those brown eyes widened and Virgil leant back just a little. His lips parted, but he didn’t say anything. He just stared for a moment before lowering the safety harness over Scott’s shoulders.

“I need to get you back to Two as fast as possible. Gordon has located the two cavers and is making his way to the main cavern. They report no injuries and once orientated will be climbing out themselves.” His brother unfolded his seat and clicked into position before jumping into it. “You’re the only injury.” The canopy hissed shut and the pod started up, its claws immediately grabbing at rock.

Scott swallowed.

He lost some time after that. The next thing he knew he was in daylight and the pod was stomping over level ground only to be engulfed by the green shadow of Two.

The pod came to a halt and the canopy was thrown open. “Hey, Bro, how you feeling?”

He found enough energy to frown. “I’m fine, Gordon.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that too often if I were you.” He lowered his voice and leant in as if conspiring. “Virgil is pissed.”

“Move, Fish.” Gordon disappeared to be replaced by Virgil. His lips were tight as his eyes examined Scott. “You’re going to ride back in the infirmary and you are not going to complain. After that, you have two days off rescues and if you say anything in protest, I’m reinforcing that medical order via Grandma and her latest interest in exotic soup. You will do what you are told and after a health review we will have a discussion regarding operative safety.”

“Virgil, I’m sorry.”

His brother froze.

“I mean it. You were right and I screwed up.”

Another moment of staring. “I need to get you to the infirmary.”

Scott untangled himself from the blanket and grabbed his brother’s arm. “Virgil, I mean it.”

The engineer looked down at Scott’s bare arm and the hair suddenly standing on end the length of it. A gentle hand reached up and moved his arm back under the blanket. “We’ll get you well, first, then we will discuss this.” His brother’s gazed dipped and for a split second a deep sorrow flickered across his expression.

But only briefly. A blink and Virgil was reaching into the pod and lifting the restraints. “C’mon, let’s warm you up and fix the holes you’ve got in you.”

Scott pushed himself to his feet somewhat wobbly. “Holes? I thought I only had the one injury?”

Clambering over the side of the pod, Virgil caught him and eased him to the ground. “That would be too easy. You, my dear brother, are hard work.” He pulled a hoverstretcher close. “Now make it a touch easier by lying down without arguing.”

“I’m fine, I can walk.”

The growl that echoed off the module bulkheads was positively savage.

Okay, perhaps he should let Virgil have this one. He backed up and sat down on the stretcher.

He was forcibly nudged to lie down and his feet lifted up onto the cushioned surface by a smirking Gordon.

As the stretcher was pulled into motion, his medic brother muttered under his breath.

“So much damned hard work.”

-o-o-o-

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Scott Tracy #Virgil Tracy

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paradigmsofbrittaperry · 4 years

Audio

okay so literally no one asked for this. but here’s my personal folklore/evermore playlist arranged both thematically and in a way that makes it a semi-linear storyline because I quite literally had nothing better to do. long winded explanations/my train-of-thought convoluted storyline under the read more!!

1. the 1

you can’t not start with the 1. it always has to be the first song. I don’t make the rules.

2. champagne problems

this song works like a compliment to the 1, like the other person’s perspective on their failed relationship. placing it after the 1 makes the songs a dialogue and I really like that.

3. the last great american dynasty

this seems random at first, but I promise, there was intent. I liked the idea of “I had a marvelous time ruining everything” applying to the failed relationship of the previous two songs. additionally, the concept of moving on to have the crazy life that you’ve always dreamed of after the relationship ended seemed fitting.

4. seven

exploring the woods around their house causes the narrator to reflect on their childhood.

5. dorothea

I like imagining that Dorothea is the childhood friend referred to in seven. even if you don’t like that idea, the songs are still thematically similar and have the narrator reflecting on their childhood/teen years.

6. willow

this is a transition song of sorts. it somewhat fits into the thread of the first five songs, but - and hear me out - imagine this song as being from Betty’s perspective. this is her journey of falling in love with James, being infatuated with him from the first time they meet and being unapologetic about it.

7. gold rush

James’ perspective of falling for Betty. he doesn’t think that he has a chance with her and resigns himself to only daydreaming about her, but eventually realizes that Betty feels the same way about him.

8. invisible string

whoo they’re together! they’re in love! this is high school, so they’re already hearing wedding bells.

9. cowboy like me

more of the same. but specifically, I see this song as a goodbye before the summer. I imagine that James’ family goes on vacation to the beach, and that’s where he meets…

10. august

and they have their summer fling. August (I prefer that name for her instead of Augusta or Augustine) is in love with James, and I imagine that he didn’t tell her about Betty. I also am operating on the assumption that they coincidentally live in the same town, but don’t go to the same school.

11. ivy

James’ perspective on his affair with August. he thinks that he may be truly falling for her, but knows that he is still promised to Betty. just imagine all the “he’s” as “she’s”. actually, this gives me an idea. they’re all lesbians now. I make the rules. James will henceforth be referred to as she/her.

12. illicit affairs

James tells August about Betty, but continues to see her for the rest of summer. hence, it’s an illicit affair now.

13. ‘tis the damn season

essentially functions as a plea from August to James to stay with her. however, she realizes that James would never choose her over Betty and leaves of her own volition.

14. epiphany

(this one is actually courtesy of my friend b/c I didn’t know where to put epiphany so!!) James and August are coming down from the euphoria of their summer relationship and realizing they have to go back to reality. James knows this won’t stay a secret from Betty, his secrets will be “bleeding out”. August has accepted the whole james not choosing her thing, but it still hurts, hence her “crashing now”.

15. hoax

August reflecting on her relationship with James. she misses her, and doesn’t know if she’ll ever find someone she feels the same way about, but knows that it wasn’t a healthy relationship and that James didn’t treat her the way she deserves to be treated.

16. mirrorball

this fits both August and Betty’s perspective. they both put their all into entertaining James, and both are wondering what it was all for.

17. tolerate it

we’re back to Betty. she hears of James and August’s affair from Inez and is devastated. she goes to confront her about it and lays everything out on the table, detailing everything that she’d done for him and asks how she could have done this to her after all of that.

18. mad woman

Betty knows that she’s expected to get over it and not be mad at James. but she’s pissed. James cheated on the wrong girl. also, she wants August to be as mad as she is, since neither of them deserved what James did to them.

19. no body, no crime

Betty’s violent revenge fantasy. that’s all. I didn’t know where else to put this song and this spot seemed most fitting.

20. exile

Betty and James reflecting on their breakup. maybe she has another boyfriend?? maybe this is “plus I saw you dance with him”?? I don’t know, I’ve put too much thought into this at this point and feel like I’m losing it.

21. happiness

Betty, James, and August all reflecting on their respective relationships.

22. my tears ricochet

Betty’s still thinking about James.

23. this is me trying

everyone is still recovering from the events of the summer and doing their best to move on.

24. closure

Betty receives a letter from James. she doesn’t want his empty apologies or his closure.

25. majorie

another song that I wasn’t sure where to place, but the “what died didn’t stay dead” and “if I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re still around” fits the idea Betty and James missing one another well enough.

26. coney island

they’re still missing each other. James hears about Betty’s party and makes the decision to go see her and tell her that she’s still in love with her.

27. betty

self-explanatory.

28. peace

their conversation in the garden.

29. cardigan

Betty reflects on everything that they’ve been through when she first sees James standing in her front porch light and decides to let him back in.

30. the lakes

Betty and James make plans to elope! they’ve graduated college and they’re leaving everything from their past behind them to be with each other.

31. long story short

tl;dr of this whole gosh darn thing: they had a bad time. they survived.

32. evermore

similar to the 1, there just can’t be any other closing track. however, the theme of finding hope after a long depressive period of time still works with the narrative. Betty and James are together and starting a new life. August has moved on, maybe found someone else, has a successful career, and has hope for the first time in a while. screw it, the first five songs were actually from older August and Dorothea’s perspective and were them reflecting on their shared past. Dorothea was August’s first true love after James, and had also left, but comes back to her in the end. all of our main characters have been through a lot, but here they are. their pain won’t be for evermore. they survived, and better times are here.

#i cannot stress enough how no one asked for this #but here it is #bri speaks #taylor swift #also i just like the long pond version of exile more idk

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feminist-propaganda · 3 years

Text

The Star Wars Saga Is A Meditation On Single Motherhood

It recently dawned on me that the entire story line of the Star Wars saga is built on the lives, loves and tribulations of 3 generations of single mothers. There are monsters to slay and aliens to find and planets to explore, yes, but if you think about the powerful message in the movies, you’ll come to realize it was mostly a reflection on the status of single mothers, the outcomes of their offspring, and the conflict that lives forever in their descendants.

Each trilogy, once reframed, becomes the story of one woman, who finds herself in a situation that is as old as time. She is with child, but the person who planted the seed in her is not by her side.

Shmi Skywalker or The Good Single Mother

In the Phantom Menace, Jedi Knight Qui Gon Jin meets Anakin Skywalker, a slave boy with a talent for repairing machines. The Jedi knight is impressed with the child’s abilities. He’s knowledgeable, intuitive, and most importantly he’s also kind and thoughtful. When a sand storm threatens the group of travelers, Anakin takes them to his own home and offers them shelter.

We meet Shmi Skywalker, who in many ways is the archetype of the good single mother. She is not just quiet. She has completely erased herself. She has no personality, apart from being Anakin’s caretaker. She expresses no needs, no desires, no dreams. She simply loves Anakin, and when she sees an opportunity for him to leave the desert planet ruled by the Huts, she doesn’t stand in his way.

In a now famous scene, Qui Gon asks her about the child’s origins and Shmi famously responds “There was no father”. The line continues: “I carried him. I gave birth. I raised him. I can’t explain what happened”.

The immaculate conception myth refers to the idea in Christianity that Mary, much like Shmi, was impregnated by some magical force, a holy spirit. Both are parabols: images we use to discuss painful topics. Single motherhood has probably always been a part of the human experience. Jared Diamond explains in “Why Is Sex Fun?” that in terms of evolution, it is more rewarding for human males to be “super spreaders “ rather than “good fathers “ . The “good father” gene does not pass down to future generations, because in effect, not sticking around to raise the child is a better strategy for a human man to pass on his genes to the next generation. Not convinced? Just count how many women have been impregnated by a rapper like Future (8 last time I checked). If you’re not into hip-hop, you can think of the offspring of the Mongol Genghis Khan

The purpose of the parabol is to provide an image, to extract ourselves from the technicalities of onr person’s story and to instead talk about all single mothers at once. Indeed, single mothers come in all shapes and sizes. Some are widowed, some are abandoned, others are lied to, and some run away from abusive environments.

Shmi raises her son the best she can, and her love for him is unconditional. She doesn’t bat an eye when he is freed while she is to continue her life as a slave. She doesn’t even seem to mind when Anakin leaves the planet and never returns to free her, even after he marries into some serious money.

But the story of Star Wars tells us that Shmi’s relationship to Anakin, because it was so fusional, because it was all that he had, led to his undoing. In Episode 2, when he senses she is in danger, he jeopardizes his mission to protect Padme to go rescue her. When he eventually finds her, he is so upset about her ultimate death that he commits mass murder, targeting the Tuskan riders of the sea of Dunes.

When Yoda first lays eyes on Anakin, he senses Anakin’s pain, he is just a child whose been ripped away from the only human that’s ever cared for him deeply. The turmoil inside the boy is palpable, and Yoda advises against training him.

Padme Amidala or The Bad Single Mother

Anakin develops feelings for Padme, and in Episode 2 the pair decide to secretly get married in the lake district of Padme’s home planet Naboo. Their relationship is very intense. Both share a strong sense of civic duty: Padme was elected queen of the Naboo when she was just 14 & Anakin is a keeper of the peace. They care deeply about issues such as how the galaxy must be governed, how much action needs to be taken versus when diplomacy must be prioritized.

Their strong sense of service has made them lonely young people. They’re far away from their families, surrounded by advisors, servants and droids - not friends.

They jump into their relationship with an eagerness that suggests it is their original caretakers they crave for.

Padme becomes pregnant while the Clone Wars are raging, and immediately Anakin begins to experience trouble with his sleeping. He imagines Padme is dying in childbirth, and the visions haunt him during the day. His fear that she will die ultimately leads to his decision to join the Dark side of the force. Senator Palpatine has manipulated him into believing that Sith Lords have discovered the power to prevent death itself.

Just like his mother before him, we need to look at Anakin’s story in terms of symbolism. It isn’t really about his specific experience with fatherhood : it’s about the universal conflict that men feel towards their own offspring. Even the way it is announced to him, in the Senate chambers, barely hidden from the rest of the Coruscant elite, implies some sort of entrapment. The columns around them seem to be like a cage that is closing in on his life. He is in the middle of the Wars - he should be celebrating his victory over General Grivious, but instead he is stuck with his wife and he has to absorb her anxiety & reassure her.

Anakin makes a weird, forced smile and says : “This is a happy moment.” But neither Padme nor the audience believe him. Nothing about him feels happy, he isn’t relaxed: he is tense.

At the end of Episode 3, Anakin attempts to kill Padme when she condemns the mass murders he’s committed against the younglings in the Jedi temple. Hr uses for the first time his “strangling” trick, which becomes his signature move in the original trilogy.

Palpatine makes Anakin believe that he’s killed Padme, but the truth is somewhat more nuanced. She dies of heartbreak shortly after giving birth to twins. For anyone who thought this was corny, it’s actually been proven by the scientific community that heartbreak reduces your life expectation (it diminishes the size of the telomeres in your body cells, which is the molecule that helps replicate your DNA).

As Lisa Feldman Barret wrote in How Emotions Are Made:

Emotional harm can shorten your life. Inside your body, you have little packets of genetic material that sit on the ends of your chromosomes like protective caps. They’re called telomeres. All living things have telomeres—humans, fruit flies, amoebas, even the plants in your garden. Every time one of your cells divides, its telomeres get a little shorter (although they can be repaired by an enzyme called telomerase). So generally their size slowly decreases, and at some point, when they are too short, you die. This is normal aging. But guess what else causes your telomeres to get smaller? Stress does. Children who experience early adversity have shorter telomeres. In other words, emotional harm can do more serious damage, last longer, and cause more future harm than breaking a bone

More severe cases involve patients actually dying of a broken heart, the myocardia just collapses under the weight of the sadness the human feels.

The original trilogy should be re-viewed with all of this new information we have. In the 80s, when Empire Strikes Back came out, the “I am your father” line became instantly iconic. But the plot twist was more like an “Oh My gosh!” moment rather than a profound reflection on fatherhood. The audience sympathized with Luke not because his father had been absent and negligent, but because his father’s job was to serve a fachist leader. It was the actions of Darth Vader as a political servant that were questioned, not his refusal to nurture a smaller being.

Padme is the opposite of Shmi. She is the archetype of the “bad” single mother. The bad single mother is the single mother who can’t deal with the situation and checks out of it. She collapses under the weight that she feels on her shoulders. She can't get over the heartbreak, she can’t find the will to live.

Society tends to punish the Padme’s just as much as it praises the Shmis. Television programs like “Teen Mom” are set up to shame the young deviants into adopting the correct behavior. The purpose of the show is to judge these young women into becoming self-sacrificing mothers.

Leia Organa - The Non-single Single Mother

Leia Organa is Anakin Skywalker’s daughter. She is raised by an adoptive frailly on Alderaan after she’s separated at birth from her brother Luke. Much like her mother, she becomes a dedicated public servant, a trusted leader and a beloved public figure.

She is raised by a wealthy family in the central galactic systems. The Organas teach her the ways of the elite political class. As an adult she serves the cause of the Rebels, and when she meets Han Solo in Episode 4, the mediocre smuggler fascinates her.

In the now famous scene from Hoth in Episode 5, Leia declares her love for Han Solo right as he’s about to be frozen in carbonite. The ultimate bad boy responds his chilling, because realistic “I know”.

Han is nothing compared to Leia. He drives a broken down ship, doesn’t have any morals or even a simple code of conduct, much less a cause that he’s dedicated his life to. He has nothing to offer her, and is definitely not in her league. But still, in Episode 6, the pair become an official item.

The last Trilogy was an opportunity to explore Leia’s experience with motherhood. By now we know that Leia’s grandmother was a “Good single mother”, she completely sacrificed herself to protect her son & more importantly she never questioned her status of sole caretaker (remember the “there was no father“ line). We also know that Leia’s mother was a public servant, and a passionate woman who allowed herself to fall deeply in love with a sensitive young man with a non existing support system. Leia’s mother was the “bad” single mother: driven only by her career (Queen of the Naboo, later a Senator of the Old Republic) she did not step up to the task when her destiny revealed itself to her.

Leia seems to share her mother’s taste in reckless young men with a lot of attitude and no emotional security to offer. It’s the excitement she craves, not the tranquility.

Her fate will be the same as her foremothers. She has a child with Han, but when she sends him away to be trained by Luke, she loses them both.

Their dialogue in Episode 7 goes like this:

Han Solo : Listen to me, will you? I know every time you... Every time you look at me you're reminded of him.

Leia : You think I want to forget him? I want him back.

Han Solo : There's nothing more we could have done. There's too much Vader in him.

Leia : That's why I wanted him to train with Luke. I just never should have sent him away. That's when I lost him. That's when I lost you both.

The last trilogy develops Leia’s character in a way that allows her to be something else than just a single mother. She loses her husband, she even loses her son to the dark side: but she never loses herself. Leia doesn’t allow her condition to define her. She becomes a leader of the Resistance even if it means going after her son’s New order.

In Episode 9, Leia even destroys her son to protect Rey - the symbolism is that she’s overcome her role as a mother, she’s rejected the notion that she must sacrifice everything for her son even if it goes against her own self interest (like Shmi). She also rejects the idea that her partner abandoning her is the end of her. It isn’t. Unlike her mother, she finds the will to live, and to lead the next generation of freedom fighters and peace keepers.

The saga ends on a hopeful note for all of us single mothers out there. It comes with a message for us : we don’t need to choose between the austere Shmi and the weak Padme. We can instead decide that this “single mom” problem is kind of like beauty : it lies in the eyes of the beholder.

Single moms don’t need to think of themselves as failures, they don’t need to live in modest conditions, they don’t need to beg society's forgiveness for merely existing. They don’t need to be ashamed.

Single moms don’t need to erase their brains and their lives, and sink into an ocean of denial either. They don't need to be obsessed with their careers or caught up in romantic entanglements that are only going to exhaust them.

Single moms can just decide that they’re women, with beautiful, inspiring personalities and kind, loving hearts. Mothers are first and foremost, the leaders of the young, the protectors of the realm and the makers of the future. It’s not that it doesn’t matter that they’re alone. It’s that they don’t have to be alone at all.

#single mom #star wars #padme amidala #leia organa #shmi skywalker

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innittowinit · 4 years

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Abandoned amusement parks are the best place for young children (Chapter 18)

Fic summary:

Techno, Tommy, Wilbur and Phil have been hanging out at the abandoned amusement park in the woods since they moved in. Techno likes knowing he's definitely alone with his brothers Tommy likes climbing on the old rides Wilbur likes having a place to play his music Phil likes spending time with his younger brothers

That is, until a group of brothers calling themselves the 'dream team' move in down the road. Will the sleepy boys give in and share the park or will they succeed in scaring the new kids off?

Chapter summary:

Wilbur and Techno go to school, eat lunch, and go to class B)

Chapter word count: 2209

AO3

School lunches were…..well they were school lunches. No matter how many people they painstakingly explained why they were the way they were to, there were always people that just never seemed to get it. That was fine, neither Wil nor Techno had ever asked for understanding, having learnt far too early that that was a big ask, instead they would gladly settle for respect. All they had ever really asked for was basic respect, all they wanted was for people to accept that they were going to stay together and that, no, Techno was not going to talk to them just because they gave him notes from class one time or helped clean his desk.

Teenage boys didn’t really seem to grasp the concept of respect. When they saw something they didn’t understand their reaction was to mock it, to make whoever was doing it so humiliated and ashamed that they wouldn’t dare make them confused ever again. Again, Techno and Wilbur both had a lot of experience with this, they knew what bullying was like and what was happening right now didn’t feel the same as the kids that had hurled insults at them in primary school. Nothing was physical anymore but it still hurt when they walked past the ‘popular’ group and they could hear the muffled conversations being had about them.

Wil had always been much more of a people person than Techno had, maybe that’s why it bothered him so much more that the fact that they were close seemed to confuse everyone else so much, Techno could tell that Wil desperately craved for a group of friends their own age that understood them and didn’t question it. Unfortunately, people like that were hard to come by.

They had Niki and they had Eret, that’s all they needed.

“It’s a nice place to chill out” Eret hummed as they led the twins out towards the school field, all three boys holding their lunches in their hands as Eret had said that today was a nice day and they’d be having a picnic outside instead. Technically, year 9’s weren’t allowed on the field at lunch anymore, at least not since Quackity (as he had been nicknamed around the school) stole a duck from the lake that bordered it. It was lucky that all three of them were pretty tall for their age, meaning they blended in well with the year 10’s that were playing football on the main section of the field, with the added bonus that nobody in that year really knew them so that meant no harassment.

Eret had led the twins to the very back end of the field, all the way to the rocky border of where the lake began, only stopping when he reached an old oak tree that’s trunk was considerably wider than any of the boy’s torso’s, taking his seat on top of his coat against the tree’s bark.

“What’s up with you guys today? if you don’t mind me asking, if it’s personal or anything that’s fine,you’re just not normally this….touchy? With each other. I probably worded that bad but you understand what I mean right?”

Wilbur nodded and then glanced to Techno for permission to tell the story, who simply shrugged in response. Both boys took their seats next to the tree and began unwrapping their lunches as Wilbur sorted out the events in his head, everything had happened so so fast and in slow motion, seemingly simultaneously, giving it a hazy and confusing feeling to try and look back on. He supposed that’s just how panic attacks felt in hindsight though, the adrenaline would make things feel fast and stressful of course, while the long reality gave it a much slower feeling than what was true.

“Techno got stuck in a shed yesterday” Blunt. It was easier to simplify it, Wilbur realised.

“Huh? How’d that happen?”

“I got in a fight with these boys who live near us, Techno got overwhelmed and left, the door got stuck and I freaked out. I dunno I didn’t realise i was being more touchy than normal but if i am it’ll probably be because I’m still a little bit shaken up I guess”

The fact that it had been brought attention to made everything seem a lot more obvious, suddenly he felt far more self conscious about having held Techno’s hand all day, about how he skipped music in favour of sitting with his brother in French, hell, even about how he had shifted himself when they sat down so that even when they were eating their knees were still touching. He hadn’t wanted to admit it but all the thoughts of whether or not he was ever going to see Techno again had culminated into a big ball in his stomach that seemed to grow whenever Techno stopped touching him. The reassurance that everything was okay was so so important to him and even if it was embarrassing to realise that he had been clinging onto his twin the whole day, he had known Techno long enough to know that if the touch was getting to be too much, he’d let him know, otherwise he’d just let him burn out all the anxiety until he was sufficiently reassured that nobody was planning on abandoning him.

After what had happened yesterday, Phil had called up their therapist and booked an ‘emergency session’ (Wilbur didn’t think it was an emergency but appreciated it nonetheless) so they could have a professional help work through what had happened. As much as he’d like to provide everything his brothers could ever need all by himself, he was mature enough to realise that some things couldn’t be handled by a 16 year old boy, he loved his brothers to bits and that’s exactly why he wanted them to have every chance needed to get better; the idea of them having to wait multiple days until their usual appointment made him feel a bit sick, they’d gone through something incredibly scary and they deserved to feel at least a little better before then. Said appointment was scheduled to be directly after school today so he wasn’t too stressed about clinging onto Techno for a long time anyway.

“Oh i didn’t realise it was something like that, sorry for bringing it up” Eret sighed, clearly a little guilty after having seen Wilbur try to decide whether he wanted to let go of Techno and be scared or stay and be clingy. He seemed thankful that the decision had ended up being to stay ‘clingy’, he wasn’t sure how he’d deal with it if he put Wilbur through all of that again just from a poorly worded comment.

Techno shook his head, glancing about a bit before deciding that nobody was paying them any mind. “You’re fine.” He muttered, patting his hand on Eret’s shoulder and tearing off a corner of his sandwich, popping it in his mouth afterwards, chewing a bit before talking again. “It’s not the first time it’s happened. Wil’s gonna be fine”

With a little nod, Eret visibly relaxed, of course it made sense to trust Techno on this topic far more than his own instincts, he’d known Wilbur far far longer and they did everything together. The confirmation that whatever damage wasn’t permanent seemed to provide some kind of comfort to him.

There it was again, Techno thought, that immediate acceptance. No questioning. No badgering. Nothing. He knew well enough that there were aspects that Eret didn’t fully understand since he hadn’t lived their life but the fact that he never once tried to press them to talk more than what they were comfortable with, or ask exceedingly personal questions like some people did, it just made Techno, at least if not Wilbur too, feel very seen and heard.

Many times in the past they’d been ‘friends’ with people who were really just using them as some kind of badge or token like- ‘oh look at me! I’m so nice I managed to get the weird kids to talk to me’. It always made Techno sick to his stomach when he realised someone he had trusted would betray them like that, to simply use them and nothing else. Techno was sure that Eret was not like this, he was real and down to earth and good, everything about him screamed trustworthy. At least now they had a good, real friend, who both of them were incredibly thankful for.

“Oh shit” There was a beeping noise coming from Eret’s phone, causing him to chance at the screen and groan “I’ve gotta go, I’ll see you later i guess if we have any classes together”

With that, she packed up her things into little ziplock bags so they wouldn’t spill in her bag and closed everything up, backpack swung onto her shoulders before she waved and jogged back to the main school.

---

School was pretty uneventful the rest of the day, after lunch they had had science (or Techno had science and Wilbur refused to go to his own classroom) and Techno’s violin lesson.

“I’m not going anywhere y’know?” Techno sighed as they waited in the empty corridor for his teacher to show up, Wilbur latched onto him like a lost puppy.

“I know but every time you go behind a door or anything my head gets so loud and it feels like you’re gonna get stuck again. I don’t wanna annoy you, it’s just hard”

Techno sighed and pat Wilbur on the head, he wasn’t really up for a long conversation right now considering that even though the corridor was empty, it could quickly become not empty.

“You don’t annoy me, Wilbs”

In all honesty that was only half true, of course he would never have any strong feelings of anger and annoyance at his brother when he was only doing what was necessary to feel safe but when he was being grabbed and prodded at all the time, there was admittedly a part of him that wished they’d been brought up normally. In any case, any anger that came from Wilbur getting clingy at times was never directed at Wil himself, instead it was more so towards their parents for causing the damage in the first place.

“I’ve got both today? Oh that’s just great, go on in boys!”

Techno was brought out of his mind by his violin teacher walking up, a kind smile on her face as she greeted them. She had been one of the few people who accepted them for them from day one, of course at first she’d been a little hesitant considering she was only being paid to teach one boy but once Wilbur explained that he didn't even own a violin and he was just there because they did not split up she seemed to be fine with Wil sitting in during the lessons. Plus, it was a lot easier having someone who could translate Techno’s little shrugs and grunts.

Taking his violin out of the case, Techno situated himself in front of the music stand, flipping his folder to the piece they had been working on recently, Wilbur pulling up a chair and holding onto one of his belt loops, not wanting to grab his arm or anything big like that right now since playing the violin kind of needed your arms.

“Are we carrying on from last lesson? Getting lots of practice in at home, I hope!”

Techno nodded to both questions, he hadn’t really practiced as hard as usual but the week had been eventful so that was fine.

“Okay then, can I check if you’re tuned up? and then we’ll get started”

Leaning against the wall shortly afterwards, Techno handed the woman his violin, giving Wilbur a sympathetic smile when he saw the boy staring off into space. Surely he had places he would rather be than listening to Techno play his music, he didn’t even play the kind of music Wilbur liked! God. Times like this reminded him why he shouldn’t give up, it reminded him that getting help wasn’t going to ‘break’ the special bond they had, instead it would only strengthen it since they’d both have the freedom to do what they like.

“There we go!” “..Thanks”

The rest of the lesson was best described as peaceful, as different as Techno’s Classical violin concerto’s were to Wilbur’s indie guitar songs, he really did love listening to him place. There was a certain calmness that resonated whenever he did so, a wave of serenity that only painted his face whenever he was completely engrossed in a piece. The music was always things Wil would never go out of his way to listen to and if it wasn’t his brother playing he was sure he wouldn’t have such a strong connection to the music but right here, right now, listening to the careful notes was almost like a compulsion, beckoning him to stare at the dancing bow that was being pulled against the strings in a complete virtuosic pattern.

And so, as the beautiful music decorated the air, Wil decided that everything was okay, no matter how messed up they were, everything was going to be okay.

#sbi #sleepy bois inc #wilbur soot #wilbur #technoblade #fanfic #fanfiction

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o-w-quinlan · 4 years

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Digimon Adventure 2020, episode 10 reaction (and over-analysis)

This week, some absolutely amazing stuff mixed with some pretty bad stuff, and neither of them is what you’d think it’d be.

By the way, this post is pretty long. Just a warning.

The episode starts with an ellipsis from last week’s ending. The Chosen Children are all in a cave, having escaped in the confusion, as Koushiro’s recording of it plays behind them. As silly as the idea of Koushiro starting to record what was happening in the middle of a life-and-death situation is, it actually manages to underline how everyone is feeling about those events perfectly. The moment is then ruined when apparently Koushiro managed to get the information from the fortress before it was destroyed. It makes no sense that he would have had the time to do that, and when Jou makes the completely reasonable question as to how, it just gets ignored.

We go back to Taichi and here’s where the episode shines. As action-focused as the series has been, it’s actually pretty good at showing small moments that characterize the children (and to a lesser degree the Digimon). Taichi’s clenched fist and neutral expression, the use of flashbacks (so much better than last week), Ogremon’s pride influencing and motivating Taichi and Agumon... it’s all great. Yamato, meanwhile, is rather pragmatic (though his distrust of Ogremon’s information seems more paranoid than actually reasonable). The small combo of Mimi-Jou-Sora perfectly sets up both Mimi’s and Jou’s character arcs for the next episodes. The Agumon and Taichi reunion is extremely touching, as is the show making it obvious that Ogremon is dead without explicitely saying it (I’m assuming Toei forbid the writers from that). We get emphasis on Taichi and Agumon thinking and feeling the same, which will be relevant later on. Taichi’s, Yamato’s and Sora’s conversation shows that, while the emotions have now calmed down, every argument they said still holds true. It’s a couple of truly excellent scenes...

And then we go back to Koushiro’s ultra-convenient and unexplained information from the fortress. The map we’re shown makes no sense considering it shows the enemy HQ in the middle of an uninterrupted forest, when we know there’s a lake of miasma and a desert at least in the proximity. To be completely fair, this moment does give some Taichi-Koushiro interaction by making it obvious everything Koushiro did is in the service of supporting Taichi’s position in the argument (why else specifically give Taichi the enemy information?).

Off-screen, they come up with a plan to have Taichi and Agumon serve as bait for MetalTyranomon. This makes no sense. Agumon was the most injured from their most recent fight, why would they let him fight alone? If the entire attack plan requires them to make use of a small window of time in which MetalTyranomon is vulnerable, why not send their acknowledged fastest digimon, Garurumon? Are the kids seriously fine with Taichi and Agumon going on what’s almost certainly a suicide mission? Yes, I know both Sora and Yamato have some dramatic staring moments that imply they are not fine with that, but considering they do nothing, I’m not going to count them. The plan is perfectly fine as something Taichi and Agumon would come up with, but it makes no sense as something the other kids would agree with. If they’re going to do this, then please at least give us a scene with them discussing the plan and agreeing it’s for the best, otherwise it just makes everyone but Taichi (and maybe the Digimon) look terrible.

The introduction to the miasma is great. The characters reacting to how it just reeks of evil, Mimi throwing Jou’s book to make sure it’s actually dangerous and being completely unapologetic (there’s a lot of Mimi-Jou interactions this episode, and in the past few ones, and I love every second of it). The only problem is that, while the show establishes why Ikkakumon can’t cross it, it does not say anything about why Kabuterimon and Birdramon can’t. I’d accept any explanation why it’s a bad idea, but I want to see them actually discuss the obvious solution before discarding it. A single flashback to Gesomon would have been enough.

Then it’s the star of the episode, the Greymon/MetalTyranomon fight... and it has more problems than any other fight in this series. MetalTyrano’s original attack for this series, the electric web, is simply terrible. The fact that it makes sure to not hit the opponent first but just to encase him in some dodgeable weaker beams makes it seem ineffective. The more standard missiles are fine, but after a great sequence where MetalTyrano baits Greymon into attacking him while he’s “vulnerable” only to then hit him from the side and has him completely at his mercy while still ready to shoot missiles, we get... ellipsis. Greymon and Taichi were dead, there was simply no plausible way for them to escape that attack, but they did it off-screen anyway. This is then slightly redeemed by Greymon suceeding in his plan to attack MetalTyrano while he’s switching attacks only to find that it’s completely ineffective. The missile conveniently throws them to the same place their friends are, and upon seeing MetalTyrano has Greymon on the ropes, the other digimon do... nothing. Seriously, why. I understand if Greymon doesn’t want help, but I don’t understand why the others aren’t offering it. Oh, and MetalTyranomon runs extremely fast to get there, which just highlights how static he looked for the previous part of the episode.

After that, we get Taichi and Greymon being completely in sync, thinking the same, with Greymon suddenly seeming a lot more powerful than he did before, and the evolution triggers. Honestly, while it’s certainly not among my favorite evolutions to Perfect in the franchise, I am intrigued. For the majority of previous series, evolutions have been about the Tamer resolving a personal issue, perhaps inspired by their partner. In Adventure 2020, though, evolution is about the depth of the bond between Tamer and Digimon. While I think Ruki and Renamon did this far better in Tamers, I do think it’s in general the best evolution trigger concept and thus am glad they’re using it in this series too.

Anyway, it’s MetalGreymon vs MetalTyranomon, and it’s completely amazing. MetalGreymon looks like a war machine (as he should), and the light effects on the metal are great. He’s far, far more mobile than he’s ever been before, and pulls the exact same “hit with tai” trick MetalTyranomon did on him before. MetalTyrano being amped by the miasma, and MetalGrey showing extraordinary speed to move out of the way before finally killing his enemy, was done perfectly. The fight ends with MetalGreymon devolving to Agumon (curiously, Taichi is engulfed in a sphere of light during this and dropped to the ground), who then wonders if Ogremon was watching the fight. On Agumon’s part, it’s the perfect ending to the issues set-up by the previous episode and by this one.

Oh, and Taichi tanked an explosion from MetalTyranomon. We better get an acknowledgement that kids are more durable in this world soon.

To end the episode, we have an scene where the kids decide to separate after visual aid from yet another convenient Koushiro map. This decision makes no sense, and the show tries to handwave this by having Yamato say it’s for certain that one of the two groups will find the HQ, which it’s not. The most reasonable position for the enemy HQ would be in the middle of the miasma, since no one but them can cross it. There’s no actual reason for them to separate other than “the script says so”. At least it’ll most likely lead to some great interactions between the smaller groups, so I’m fine with this.

I was originally going to make a post summarizing how I feel about this series 10 episodes in, since I thought the first evolution to Perfect was a good place to do so, but this episode feels in general worse than any other one in the series (with the exception of 4, which is the only one I’d call straightforwardly bad) that I don’t want it to poison my general thought on the series. I’ll do that later, next time an opportunity shows itself.

Next week, Sorato shipping, WereGarurumon evolving and Gomamon being best boi:

He’s doing this in the middle of a desert.

#digimon #Digimon Adventure:#Digimon Adventure 2020 #Taichi Yagami #Agumon #MetalGreymon #MetalTyranomon

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fedoranonymous · 4 years

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Infinite List of Beginner-Friendly Anime Recs: Princess Tutu

“Welcome to the stage I've been saving. Now. tell me the best story that was ever told! Tell it to me with no regard for your lives!“

tl;dr I questioned someone’s recommendation for someone else’s first anime on the basis that people who are unused to anime might like something that’s less than 20 hours long and tells one complete story within the first hour or so, and 20,000 words later I decided to make my own post(s) because I clearly had Feelings

26 x 30 minute episodes | watch it: amazon prime | vrv | hidive

a ballet school attempts to put on a recital consisting mostly of pieces of swan lake and the nutcracker, but tchaikovsky wanders onto the stage and starts loudly proclaiming that this isn’t the ballet he wrote, where are the canons and why is this duck here? someone points out that tchaikovsky has been dead since 1893 and tchaikovsky says “i know! that’s the weirdest part of this whole damn play! i wonder what they’re going to do next? hey, turn your phone off! don’t you know you’re in a ballet?”

Follow the Read More for more convincing and trigger warnings (to my best recollection)

Features:

The early aughts are known for their animation jank as studios attempted to transition to digital when it became less expensive than traditional cel animation. Princess Tutu looks downright elegant, though

The ballet pieces used are both musically and choreographically excellent

While music and sometimes choreography from many ballets are used, the stories are combined with common fairy tales (especially Grimm’s Brothers) to make something fun and novel to experience

“Death of the Author? Haha, you thought. Let me liveblog your attempts at retelling MY story!” Drosselmeyer (not actually Tchaikovsky sorry for fibbing) is a trip and a half and I’m here for it

Duck/Ahiru is adorable always and I love watching her fall in love with everyone she meets

It’s a macguffin of the day show but the stories never, ever feel stale to me. The plot just keeps on moving, with every character seeming to touch on the themes of Death of the Author vs Authorial Intent and Predeterminism vs Free Will.

“May those who accept their fate be granted Happiness; may those who defy their fate be granted Glory.”

If what you’d like to experience in your anime is a cheerful, well paced experience that has a lot of philosophical things to say and defies tropes will rewarding close reading, Tutu is a good pick.

Watch Out For:

No truly major trigger warnings iirc. Some unnecessary “fanservice” (especially in the official thumbnails? I count two panty shots and at least 4 noncanonical, sexy and/or overly intricate outfits. There’s one Rue that I’m pretty damn sure is fanart pasted into the background of an existing key art) while in ballet leotards so, like, at least it matches the aesthetic. Pretty sure most ballerinas are grown ass adults though. Parts with the Raven and Kraehe can get pretty gruesome in implication but I don’t think it gets bad.

IDK what Mr. Cat’s deal is. Is he a pervert who genuinely wants to “marry” (code for have sex with) a middle school student but knows he’s ugly? Is he being forced into the part of the token pervert in a show where they aren’t doing anything with the concept? Is he just a horny tomcat in an alley, and his, ah, “singing” ended up in the piece? Who’s to say. If he makes you uncomfortable, you’re not alone.

The dub’s decision to split the difference between leaving the sempais in and transliterating them away by having Duck call Mytho “Senior” all the time annoys some people. If it were being done today, they’d just leave it as “sempai” since, you know, being noticed by sempai is a common meme now, but at the time we were still trying to make anime more accessible, and with Princess Tutu being mostly inspired by european ballets, it should have been a good pick for transliteration. Part of Duck’s character arc is getting past it, though, so it should ease up.

Drosselmeyer is a headtrip and a half. He’s been canonically dead for years (centuries) without finishing his story, and yet he’s judging the characters all the time. He complains when they go off-script and when they follow it. Like, it’s on purpose, it’s kind of the draw for older audiences, but you might not be in the mood for it.

Watch Princess Tutu with your little cousin, your sibling, your kids, your grandparents, it’s a highly accessible anime. Just be prepared for questions about why it’s never your turn to do the dishes.

#eli's anime recs #the worst triggers i can think of are fanservice and existential dread #it's just a wholesome show #also for fuck's sake if you know the show and I missed something please chime in

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imaginejamesandsirius · 5 years

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An AU where they have daemons (as in His Dark Materials style if you know it??) - the story can be anything!

((A/N: So I’ve only ever watched the Golden Compass movie that came out like 10 years ago, and it was a while ago. Please ignore all inaccuracies the daemons have >.> For ease, their daemons’ names are just their Marauder nicknames. Mentioned abuse on the part of Sirius’s parents.))

Sirius was scratching right behind Padfoot's ear, making the daemon's tail wag rapidly. Thankfully, his tail was away from anything it could hit since they were out near the Great Lake. Padfoot was a bear dog, fluffy and massive. James once got actually concerned that Sirius had suffocated in his fur-- as if a daemon had ever killed their human, accidentally or otherwise. Though, given the utter flatness of Prongs's fur, it made sense that James wasn't quite used to it.

Sirius had a gigantic black dog, James had a deer that was quite frankly huge as well, and Peter had a rat that mostly hung onto his shirt around his shoulder. The only one of the Marauders that hadn't settled yet was Remus. Moony flitted from ferret to chimpanzee to wolf, and what made it the most confusing was that none of those were similar. Padfoot had circled around the Canis genus for a while, and Wormtail had pretty much always been some kind of rodent, and for a few months they'd thought he'd end up as a hamster before he settled into rat. Prongs had had like two changes before settling, but that was in keeping with who James was. James didn't hesitate, he didn't hem and haw like the rest of them did before making a big decision, because he knew what he was going to do almost as soon as the question was asked.

And that, unfortunately, was why Sirius knew he didn't stand a chance with him. James knew what he wanted, and it wasn't Sirius. Not like that, at least. Sirius was his best mate. The best friend to ever live. Don't get him wrong, Sirius loved that part. He just... wanted a little extra. Snogging and shit. Maybe flowers or something, he didn't have a set plan in mind.

Padfoot headbutted his shoulder, tilting him over a bit. "You're thinking about James again. Don't."

Sirius glared at him. "That's not helpful. He's coming out here to meet us in a few minutes."

"As if you'd listen to me anyways," Padfoot huffed, walking a few circles before settling, his massive head on Sirius's lap.

It was a quiet time as they waited. Sirius closed his eyes and tilted his head up, soaking in the rare sunlight. When company did arrive, it was more than he'd expected. The whole gang was here, and Sirius grinned to hide his disappointment. He'd thought it was just going to be him and James, but apparently he'd been wrong. Strangely, he'd been wrong about that detail a lot lately. He didn't have time to follow that train of thought because they were circling up-- Moony currently as a ferret looped around Remus's neck-- and talking about their classes, homework, and their next big prank. Wormtail wandered off after a minute, saying that their discussion was boring and he was going to go find a good pebble (for his collection that Peter couldn't convince him to get rid of).

Padfoot had a good time napping until Prongs convinced him to get up with all his prancing in bored loops.

Apparently pranking all of Slytherin was mean now that they were seventh years, because none of those first years had done anything to anybody-- as far as they knew-- according to Peter and Remus. It was easier to do the entire dormitory than a single room, but whatever. Suddenly, a shudder went through Sirius. It wasn't unpleasant necessarily, but it was definitely surprising. It felt- it felt like someone was touching Padfoot. Not necessarily a reason to panic because the occasional animal had bumped into Padfoot before, but it was bloody shocking and he would like to avoid that thanks. He turned his head automatically to seek him out, only to find Prongs, nuzzling at his head.

He froze. What the- how was- did James know this was happening?

"Sirius? You okay?" Peter asked, concerned.

James was along the line of sight between Sirius and their daemons. He followed Sirius's eyes, then paled. "Oh Merlin," he breathed in horror. He scrambled to his feet and wrapped his arms around Prongs's neck, yanking to try and pull him away. "Prongs what the hell are you doing, stop it," he muttered, face getting red in embarrassment and shame.

Padfoot, for his part, hadn't been trying to get away or lean into it, he'd just been sitting there as it happened. Padfoot shook out his fur, and Prongs finally stopped resisting James. When he stepped back, James stumbled, arms still around his neck and face bright red like he hadn't been pale as a ghost twenty seconds ago. Padfoot slowly ambled over to Sirius, acting like he wasn't the least bit bothered.

"I'm so sorry, Sirius," he said, too ashamed to look over at him. His eyes were trained on the grass where Padfoot had been, and it looked like he was about to run off with his figurative tail tucked between his legs. Usually James didn't do that because he didn't have anything to be nervous about, but this was... Merlin, Sirius didn't even know. "I don't know why he did that. I'll just- er, I'll just go," he said, shaking his head. "You know, give you some erm space and we'll- it'll-." James sputtered to a stop, looking like he wanted to sink into the ground and not be heard from for the next week and a half.

"It's fine," Sirius said, but James saw his hand trembling as he reached a hand up to pet Padfoot. He was shaken but not traumatized. Not like after that night with his mother. But still, it wasn't something he'd expected.

James cleared his throat in a way that somehow conveyed how little he believed that. "Yeah. I'll just er-" He darted away from Prongs and snatched his bag from as far away as possible, not wanting to be closer to Sirius than he needed to be. He put an arm around Prongs and led him away, though Prongs did turn his head for a minute to look at Padfoot and Sirius for a bit longer.

"You okay?" Remus asked, a frown creasing his face.

"'m fine."

"Sirius," Peter said, leaning in a little, "you don't need to cushion it just because it was Prongs. If-" he stopped, then swallowed, regaining his courage and continued "-if this upset you, you should admit it to James tonight. It's not good to hold it in."

"Who're you, my counselor? Bugger off." Sirius sank his hands into Padfoot's fur, then extracted them.

Padfoot sighed. "Oh goodie, we're moving again. Have you ever heard of a little concept called rest and relaxation?"

"No rest for the wicked," Sirius replied, getting to his feet. He swung his bag over his shoulder and dusted off the back of his trousers. "I'm gonna talk to James. See you round."

"Sirius, I don't think-" Peter started, but Remus just said goodbye.

James always moved slower when he was depressed, so it was easy to catch up to him in the corridor. He didn't seem to hear Sirius coming either, which was a bit of a surprise. Sirius had half-thought that he stomped around the castle, the way James always noticed him even without the Map. "You look like you need a hug, mate."

James jumped. He looked at Sirius, then just as quickly shot his eyes up the corridor. "What're you doing? Shouldn't you be with Remus and Peter?"

"Not really. I thought it was going to be just us before they showed up, and now you're upset so... no. You need me."

If anything, that made James's mood worse. "I said I was sorry," he mumbled. "I had no idea Prongs was going to haul off and do that, and I'm trying to make sure it won't happen again."

"What're you on about?"

James's jaw clenched. He looked unfairly handsome, like a brooding hero on the cover of one of Peter's muggle romance books.

"Jamie, it's not that big a deal," Sirius tried to comfort him, putting a hand out to touch his arm. It was a simple touch, something he'd done a million times, but unlike those times, James flinched. Sirius came up short, slowing to a stop. Beside him, James did the same, looking more ashamed than ever.

"My daemon touched yours," he whispered lowly, like it was a crime. It's not like Prongs had hurt him-- which would have been a crime-- and now that the shock had worn off, Sirius actually thought it was a good sign for their friendship. It was taboo for Prongs to have touched Padfoot when they weren't bonded yeah, but it wasn't quite as bad as James was acting.

Sirius put a hand on his arm, and this time James let him-- though he did look a little discomfited. "It's fine. A little weird, but fine. It's not like Prongs could ever hurt him."

"Thank you," Prongs said.

James glared at him. "You don't get to fucking talk unless you're going to tell me why you did that."

Prongs just licked his own nose and said nothing.

"James, I'm not kidding. It's fine, we're good, you don't need to worry about it."

"Why are you acting like this doesn't matter? It's your bloody soul we're talking about and-"

"And you would never do anything to hurt me."

James blinked, surprised by how confident Sirius sounded. Especially considering what had just happened.

Sirius's hand trailed down James's arm before falling back to his side. "Okay? You can let it go."

Instead of smiling and being relieved like Sirius had been hoping, James frowned at him. "You never look out for yourself."

"What?" Sirius asked, taken aback. He didn't know where this was going, but it probably wasn't good.

"We're not bonded Sirius. My daemon has no business touching yours, and he never will. You may not think it matters, but I can promise you that your future partner will."

"You sound awfully sure it won't be you."

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

"Why would it be me?"

Sirius shifted uncomfortably. "Well. Why wouldn't it be? I mean, c'mon James, our daemons... And we... y'know? Never mind. You've made it pretty clear you don't fancy me."

"What? When the hell did I make that clear?"

"You- well James, you keep inviting Remus and Peter to stuff we used to do just you and me."

"Because I was nervous!"

"Yeah nervous to be alone with me, I get it."

"No, it's- shit. Okay." James took a deep breath, one hand tightening at the base of Prongs's neck. "I noticed you. Like, noticed you. You'd always been my mate before, I wasn't used to it. And I wanted to ask you out, but it kept coming out wrong and you thought I meant all the Marauders, so I started inviting them along on purpose until I could get my head on straight and ask you out proper."

Sirius blinked. "That doesn't even make sense."

"Well excuse me for not being a bloody poet."

"Why didn't you just say you meant it as a date? I would've said yes!"

James spluttered, "I- you- well I didn't know that at the time!"

"Now that you know, will you let it go? Padfoot's fine, he wasn't even bothered."

"He wasn't happy about it either," James grumbled.

"Your view is too narrow," Prongs said, and James glared at him.

"I don't care if this worked out, you're still an arse for doing that."

"I knew the truth even if you did not."

"Liar."

Prongs snorted and tossed his head a little.

Sirius stifled a laugh, rubbing at his nose to try and cover it. "So er, how about we do something tomorrow night? Y'know, just us. Something special."

"Like a date?"

"Of course like a date, it's what you were just talking about," Padfoot said, then yawned.

Sirius looked at his daemon for a moment, then back to James. "Sound good?"

"Yep, sounds great," James said. "Er, by the way. In the future, when we're telling the story about how we got together, we're leaving out the part where Prongs sodding touched Padfoot without permission."

"That's dishonest, Jamie."

"Who gives a shit? I don't want people to think that about me."

"Aw c'mon, I doubt Prongs would have done it to literally anyone else."

"That's not the point!"

"I think it's sweet," Sirius said, grinning widely.

"You have issues."

"My issues benefit you, so shut it."

#prongsfoot #fanfic #marauders #james potter #sirius black #no voldemort au #hogwarts time #getting together #siriuslystarbucks #Anonymous

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