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pippin-katz · 1 year

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Post Red, White, & Royal Blue Viewing Thoughts

Okay, I have now watched this film from start to finish four times since it dropped, and I think I'm ready to share my thoughts. This is a lot of thoughts, so if you click "keep reading", be prepared to read.

Total Word Count: 6,579

Part One: First Impressions

After the first watch, I didn't really know how to feel. I finished it not feeling very satisfied.

After the second watch, it clicked.

I adore it. It is a beautiful movie full of hope and love and it is definitely one of my favorite movies now.

I realized that I had watched it wrong. I was enjoying myself watching the film, but my mind was far too focused on thinking about what would and wouldn't be in the movie to truly watch it for the movie it is. This movie is not the book. It's not trying to be. It is a separate entity with its own unique take on the story. It is an adaptation, not a recitation, as Matthew Lopez put it.

If you watch it focusing on the book and wanting it to be a perfect copy, you will be disappointed. However, that's part of the point. It is not trying to recite the book.

Part Two: Film VS Book Format

In order for a perfect, 100% accurate recitation of the book to film to even be possible, a series would have to be made. Red, White, & Royal Blue is not a very long book, but it is truly stuffed to the brim with content. Casey did not have to worry about a budget or time constraints when they wrote it. That meant they could write lots of scenes with the side characters, and whole side plots without a problem.

That is simply not possible to do in a single movie. That is not what the format of a film is made for.

That's why sequels and series exists. That's why the television format exists. Multiple plot lines can be explored at once and you have more time in total, however the trade off is the audience dynamic changes and the risk that brings.

A series needs to have a strong concept in order to for it to successfully hold its audience and keep it watching through to the conclusion of the plots. It's bit different now due to streaming, but with series, if your audience does not remain interested and active, you may not get to even finish telling your story. All that time spent on the side plots and great scenes is wasted because you never even got to follow through with the main plot, let alone those.

A movie is made and then it's done. They can't unmake it. That story is always going to be told from start to finish in that movie, however it tells it.

With the way the industry works nowadays, getting anything more unique than the expected blockbuster movies to be made is difficult. The corporate side of the film industry has practically made it impossible to make anything that doesn't already belong to a franchise. I have not seen a trailer for a romance centered film in what feels like years.

This is a romcom, which have already been struggling, but also a QUEER romcom. It's incredible that the movie was made at all when you think about Hollywood and its absurd views.

We've already seen that Red, White, & Royal Blue got an R rating in the US despite not really showing anything actually explicit. Matthew Lopez even voiced that he believes if it had been a straight couple, it would've been PG-13. I believe it 100% would've been PG-13 if it was a straight couple.

To anyone who might be wondering why the rating matters, the maturity rating of a movie can heavily impact its audience and marketing. Obviously, an R rating steers away any preteens and parents with kids, but it also puts a preconceived notion of the movie's contents into the heads of anyone who sees the trailer.

When you see that R, you expect either heavily graphic sexual content, extreme violence, or vulgar language, sometimes all three depending on the movie. There are lots of adults who are fine with the idea of a bit of sexual content in their media, like a scene that implies it but cuts away or shows the bare minimum of the actions for the viewer to get the idea. But I think a lot people draw the line at something graphic enough to get an R rating, like Fifty Shades of Grey for example. They're going to the theater to watch a romance film, not a pornography film.

Red, White, & Royal Blue already has to fight for its audience by being a queer romance, and getting an R rating adds an extra hurdle that impacts what kind of audience will even consider their movie.

All that being said, it would've been unbelievably difficult for Matthew and the rest of the production team to secure a series rather than a movie.

Part Three: Adapting Your Point of View

In the case of this adaptation, it is not meant to be the book. After I realized this, rewatching the movie as the movie fixed my reaction.

It recontextualized the movie for me. I stopped sitting there like, "oh he didn't say this line" or "damn they cut that scene" for the entire thing. I approached it as a separate entity, so they didn't "change" the story, so to speak; I completely pushed the book aside and focused on the movie.

Lots of things are different in the movie world, but instead of focusing on them being different from the book, approaching it is as the standard of the movie allowed me to appreciate it. Some examples:

So Henry's last name is different; not to them! To them that's always been his name!

So June got removed; not to them! To them Alex was always an only child!

So Luna got removed; not to them! They don't know who that is because he never existed in their world!

The book still exists the way it has always existed. It is not changing, and not going anywhere. It's world will always be there within those pages. The movie exists someplace else, in its own world. What makes it an adaptation rather than an original story is the common denominator of the main characters and their relationship. Everything else is secondary.

Part Four: Cuts

To expand on that last statement, everything other than Alex and Henry's relationship is secondary. Their story, their scenes, their dynamic comes first before anything else. They are more important than June, than Nora, than Pez, than Luna, than anyone else. Their dynamic is more important than the campaign, the divorce, than the sexuality crisis, than Nora, Pez, and June's polycule, than the Powder Princess, than anything else.

Alex and Henry's relationship is the most important thing.

It's not a story focused on Alex learning his bisexual identity. That's a side plot.

It's not a story focused on Nora and Pez (and June in the book) hooking up. That's a side plot.

It's not a story focused on Beatrice's past with cocaine. That's a side plot.

It's not a story focused on Luna's role in exposing Richards. That's a side plot.

People need to understand what a side plot's role in a story is. It pulls away from the main story to discuss something different, but relevant. They're good for development, filler, or connecting dots between major events, but without them, the primary plot should be able to stand alone.

Red, White, & Royal Blue's plot stands alone. The plot of the first son of the president of the United States falling in love with a prince from Britain is an independent storyline.

With Alex and Henry, they're rivals-to-friends-to-lovers, so there is so much to say and show with so little time. It's not like two best friends realizing they're in love; their bond has been on screen the entire time already, it just changes into something more. It's not like a meet-cute where they go on one date and fall madly in love in minutes. Alex and Henry have to dislike each other, then build an understanding that they can like each other, then further that understanding into loving each other.

That takes time! Think about how many pages of emails are in the book! Those are there to show the reader the progress being made between them, and there's a lot of them, probably canonically more than the ones we get to read. A movie can't spend half its runtime narrating emails, it does not have time for that.

Believe me, someone adapting a piece of media that they love, as much as Matthew has said he loves the book, does not take pleasure in removing things. You find interviews he has done where he's talked about it, and admitted to having to be very ruthless when it came to cutting things. We know that the original cut was three hours long! He did not set out to hurt your feelings by removing and changing things.

Part Five: Miguel & The Waterloo Letters

Aside from the obvious removals, I think the biggest change in the movie is presence of Miguel. I've seen a lot of people already unsure or hateful of his character, though he did not bother me that much because I see what he's there for.

Miguel is a combination of Liam's character and Luna's/Richards' plot line.

Liam is obviously in the book as part of Alex's realization that he's not straight. He's the "I've played around with the idea" character. They have that phone call about their past "relationship" and he's done. Other than that, he's a cameo role that shows up like two times.

Miguel flirts with Alex and he gets a bit embarrassed/flustered because we learn that they had a make-out session while naked in a hot tub. Alex does not flirt back with Miguel; if anything, he ignores the insinuations that he's clearly making. He actively refuses to acknowledge their hook up when talking to him. He's not looking for a relationship with him, despite being aware that Miguel definitely wants to hook up with him. This is a symptom and storytelling method of giving off the impression that he's not really sure about his sexuality. He's not in complete denial, but clearly not super confident in himself to even acknowledge Miguel's attempts at flirting with him. It can be swept under the rug or brushed off. He only acknowledges Miguel's attempts to hook up again after he's slept with Henry, after he's become more comfortable and confident in his bisexuality.

Miguel is also a substitute for the Richards plot line, specifically the exposing Alex part. He's not the same as Luna by any means, but he was someone Alex was friendly with that turned around and stabbed him in the back, which is what he believes Luna to have done for most of the book. Miguel is clearly the one who got ahold of the emails and leaked them, filling in for the role Richards' campaign has. He's the one who has his team stalk Alex to expose him. Again, Miguel is not Richards by any means. He does not actively stalk Alex, but he fills in the role of the person behind the leak for nefarious reasons. Richards wants to expose him to win the election. Miguel wants to expose him for his journalism and because he feels personally slighted by him. It's not the same, but it works. They're both self-serving reasons for why the emails got leaked.

Part Six: Keeping It Light

I've definitely seen some people upset that the leak wasn't played as big of a deal as it was in the book. I think this change is tied to the role of Miguel filling in for Richards, and I believe it's intentionally not as intense as the book.

They have made it clear that the movie's goal is lift people's spirits, to give them hope and courage for the future, to make them feel seen, and bring joy.

The side plot of Ellen's competitor legitimately stalking her son and setting him up is fucking horrible to say in the least. That part of the book is the heaviest of the despair and public humiliation that hits them.

While it's important to the plot that the emails get leaked, I think Matthew made a point of skipping around it a little because it would've brought the entire tone of the movie down to a truly depressing state. It's heartbreaking to read, and probably would've been absolutely devastating to watch, and while there's angst, Alex and Henry's story is meant to be a happy one, an inspiring one. They would not have had the time to properly engage with that level of angst and then get out of it without the viewer getting whiplash.

I think that's probably also why the conversation with the king was far shorter than the conversation with the queen in the book. With the goal being to make people happy, spending too long on the seriously negative parts of the narrative would have been problematic and counterproductive. Like I said in part two of this essay, Casey had all the time in the world to set that up and drop that bomb on the reader, and then all the time in the world to get Alex and Henry to climb out of the hole they'd fallen into.

The movie doesn't remove all the angst and heartbreak, but it does its best not to pull the viewer out of the fantasy. When something on screen hits too close to reality, when it's not supposed to, it can ruin the movie experience.

I just watched Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade the other day, and legitimately had myself yanked painfully back into reality with the Nazi scenes, specifically the book burning one. That movie takes place in the past, the idea being that things aren't like that anymore, but with the way things have been going in America, and specifically in the state of Florida, where I live, it was too much. It used to be ridiculous to watch historical fiction where Nazi's hung swastikas everywhere and burned books, but now I see pictures of modern day swastikas being worn and flown and it crushed me. I couldn't enjoy the rest of the movie, despite it obviously being a piece of action/historical fiction about the Holy Grail, not actually about WWII.

I think it's also why they removed the Luna and Richards plotline, because an older Republican politician using their position to take advantage of young girls and boys is very, very dark. It's too close to what we hear coming out of the news every day.

I can also see this being the reason they decided to keep Ellen and Oscar together in this version. The book has the time to go into how their divorce both negatively and positively effected their family dynamic.

I saw someone complaining that Oscar talking about his and Ellen's relationship being a risk didn't work because they were still together, and the conversation in the book is to make Alex realize that it's worth it even if it doesn't work.

Yes, that's the point in the book. That is not the goal in the movie.

Again, they wanted this to be a fantasy romance that uplifted everyone. Approaching that decision with the more pessimistic idea that they probably wouldn't work paints a different mood than the hope his parents being together gives Alex for him and Henry. These are two entirely different approaches! It's intentional!

If Red, White, & Royal Blue had done more with those parts of the book, it very likely would have pulled the viewer out of the immersion and remind them of the depressing realities of real life, which is not the goal.

Part Seven: Intimacy

I was absolutely blown away by the intimate scenes in this movie. I'm demisexual, on the the ace-spectrum, and I am not personally a fan of sexual content in film. This is mostly because it's usually poorly executed, unnecessary, or over-the-top. It pops up in places it doesn't need to be, and makes me roll my eyes or get pissed off.

Part of this frustration undoubtedly comes from my bias as part of the queer community, and I'm willing to admit that. I've developed a slight bitterness towards most portrayals of straight couples in media from it being shoved down my throat my entire life.

It was new for me to see intimate scenes with a queer couple, or rather a gay couple specifically. I have encountered lesbian sex scenes, like in Wynonna Earp. However, I had never seen two men together. I think the reason for this difference is fairly obvious, as it's been widely known for some time that lesbians are very often fetishized by straight men, who are unfortunately the majority of higherups in Hollywood. It is far more likely to have a straight executive sign off on a lesbian sex scene than a gay one, because to them, women together is "fun", while men together is considered "uncomfortable".

This is not to say that gay men aren't fetishized, because they unfortunately are too, but only to point out the disproportionate amount of lesbian intimacy vs gay intimacy in film.

The point being that I had never seen two men be intimate with each other on screen. I was nervous going in because of my issues with most sex scenes, but there was something magical about how they handled them in this movie.

Like I said, I hate when sex scenes are tossed in for no reason, but in the case of Alex and Henry, it is a core part of their relationship and its development. It was the first time I watched a sex scene start without going "here we go with the sex" with a sigh. Their sexual dynamic is part of their dynamic as a whole, that is a key element in becoming closer and understanding each other more.

The thing is, I say all that knowing that there is still a lot of "gays being horny" moments in the book, some of which making it into the movie. What was wonderfully done about that though was that the fast and aggressive encounters were limited. They didn't show any further than making out and the motion of taking off pants. All of those horny moments were handled perfectly to provide the right amount of comedy and yes, sexiness, without shoving it down our throat (pun not intended).

I personally don't need to see a guy giving another guy a blowjob in a romantic comedy film! Ace-spectrum or not, if I wanted to see that, I'd go to a porn website like everyone else. Romance and pornography are not the same thing! Having them go far enough for the viewer to know what they were doing without showing it was perfect.

That brings me to the sex scene. Yes, the work of art that is their first time in Paris.

I said before that a lot of sex scenes make me annoyed or roll my eyes, because most of them are just thrown in for the sake of playing to their audience. In this case, this scene was not for the audience.

I've seen several people say this, and I have to agree, that watching that scene feels like you're intruding on something very personal and it is the truest example of intimacy I've ever seen. It's the most graphic scene in the film, yet it does not show the graphic parts, if that makes sense. Yes, they're naked, and you know what they're doing, but they don't film them in a way that made me uncomfortable, aside from feeling a bit bashful because, I mean, have you watched the scene?

There's no showing of their genitals or private areas at all. It's almost entirely focused on their faces, and the few cuts to their bodies only include Henry's hand on Alex's back and shoulder, in his hair, and the two of them holding hands. This is because they're not just "having sex", but as Henry put it "making love". Yes, that's a bit of an old fashioned way to put it, but it makes far more sense than simply saying it's a sex scene.

It's not just "two characters have sex whoo!". They're not crazily fucking like porn stars. They're clearly going slow and cherishing each other. It's almost impossible to put into words how intimate the scene feels and how not like a sex scene it feels despite being one. There's only some soft instrumental as the background as well, not some pornographic moaning and whatnot that you might find in other movies or shows.

This is all coming from a demisexual who has no interest in sex and gets genuinely annoyed with how often it comes up in film. That is how different this scene was. Their intimacy coordinator, Robbie Taylor Hunt, deserves a huge bonus.

Part Eight: Taylor & Nicholas

I mentioned this in a post before the movie came out, but I'll gladly say it again now that I've seen it. I've never seen a couple on film convince me so entirely that they were two real people in love, and not just fictional characters. It's astonishing to me, and I cannot put the feeling into words. I've seen couples in real life that look less in love than they do.

Both of them deserve awards for their performances in this film. Their chemistry on screen together is indescribable. They are amazing in every way. Both of them nailed their characterizations and nailed their dynamic together.

I had never seen either of them before this, and I can say that I desperately hope they are given the opportunity to be in another project together after this. I've been reading the interviews that were conducted prior to the strike and my respect for the two of them is immeasurable. They are both incredible actors and they did not take the responsibility of the representation lightly, and you can tell. You can tell through how electrifying the two of them are in every scene they share and in their individual moments of standing up for themselves.

Alex's speech about the queer community was beautifully written, but Taylor's execution is what drove it home. The energy he put into Alex on a whole truly brought him to life. Nicholas is one of the most expressive actors I've ever seen. His facial expressions spoke so much with no words in the way Henry has to because he's not allowed to share his thoughts.

I have so much respect and admiration for them, and I hope that even though they can't say much at the moment, they can at least see the impact they've had after just the first day of it being available.

Part Nine: Queer Identity

"The conformity of the closet cannot be answered with the forced conformity in coming out of it." - Alex Claremont-Diaz

I have never heard such a beautiful sentence regarding coming out. It could not be more perfect, especially considering how people immediately started assuming that Taylor and Nicholas are straight men playing queer roles.

As far as I know of, neither of them have publicly discussed their identities, and they do not have to. That does not give anyone the right to assume they're straight. If they are, I see that only as another testament of their skill and talent as actors. If they aren't, then they aren't and maybe they used their own personal experiences as part of their performances. Either way, they don't have to tell us. They have a right not to.

Nicholas obviously did a fucking phenomenal job with Henry and was amazing in portraying how that lifestyle can effect someone like him. He was truly heartbreaking to watch in his sad scenes.

The multiple lines where Alex discusses being bisexual are fantastic. The B is not silent! Having his bisexuality continuously reenforced to the audience was a great call, and they did it without being obvious about it. It's not like he's saying it every five minutes, but he doesn't just say "I like both" and never mention it again. He specifically uses the label bisexual when speaking to Henry and telling his mom. It's important for people to hear that word and be unable to ignore it.

Even though Alex had less of a crisis about being bisexual than in the book, there was still an arc to his confidence in his label. You can feel the uncertainty early on through Taylor's performance. Alex pretends to be suave and confident, but as soon as he goes to tell Henry his label, it takes him a second to say it. Then in Paris before their first time, he admits he's never had sex with another man before, and is clearly nervous. Taylor nailed those moments where Alex's confidence cracks. And you can see Alex become more comfortable with the label as the movie continues. When his mother asks, he's laughing and simply says "I'm bi" without any preamble, unlike when he needed a minute to breathe before saying it to Henry.

Speaking of his mother, although they didn't have the time to do the PowerPoint presentation, they still made sure to have Ellen not just be accepting, but supportive too. She doesn't just say "okay, that's cool", but takes it seriously as a part of her son's life. As embarrassing as it is to have your mom talk sex with you, it shows how she was immediately prepared to help him feel safe and healthy while being in a relationship with a man. She did not tiptoe around it or shy away from it. That is not just acceptance, that is support. That is important.

This movie is important in so many ways. It is honestly still hard to believe it exists.

Part Ten: Pacing

The film moves fast, but this is because the book also moves fast, but the film has way less time to get the same point across. I may be in the minority, but after I disconnected the book from the movie, I didn't feel like it was rushed.

Here's the thing, a lot of movies have a nasty habit of being stuffed with filler. There's so much unnecessary stuff that's put into films to pad the runtime, make it longer. Most people don't really think about it, but it's actually super common, and annoying for those who notice.

Red, White, & Royal Blue does not move too fast. It simply does not waste time.

The minimum runtime to be considered a feature length film in the US is 60+ minutes, but a lot of movies nowadays try to get closer to 120+ minutes, which is a big difference. Consider the original Avengers film, 143 minutes, which is a lot, and then we got Avengers: Endgame which was 183 minutes.

For some perspective, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers released to theaters with a 179 minute-long runtime, but the extended edition runtime is 235 minutes. The Lord of the Rings films are notorious for their extended versions and the fact that they are extraordinarily long. Almost everyone who watches the extended edition trilogy spreads it out over several days, if not a week because it is too much to watch in one sitting unless you have the entire day free.

These massive numbers come from the fact that they have a lot to show, most of which is vital to the plot. Too many movies now add unnecessary content to make their runtime longer.

There is not a single scene in Red, White, & Royal Blue is meaningless. Even the fun montage scenes like those at the lake house are there to communicate the development of their relationship, and how far they've come.

While we can see their love showing up early on, obviously they lead with friends-with-benefits relationship that makes for most of their physically shared time being sex centered. The lake house shows them genuinely enjoying being around each other outside of that context, like reading together on a hammock or Henry doing drunk karaoke. Their small conversations are picked carefully to showcase their banter, then their growing connection.

The story is about them, and therefore, there's no point in taking a winding sidetrack to go into the details of Alex's college classes or the campaign progress. That's all great for the book, but in the movie, they don't need to do that, and the decision not to was the right one. It only would've taken the focus off of them.

They have a lot to do with just them. There's no reason to drag their feet around, so they don't! There's no point in spending fifteen-twenty minutes to show something they can accomplish in five. There's no point in dragging out the passage of time.

The fast pace only doesn't work if their progression as a couple isn't believable, and we've already established that their progress as a couple is perfectly balanced.

That's my take on the pacing, that it's not rushed. I prefer them just going, not wasting any time. That's the other part that makes the cuts not bother me.

As much as I love so many scenes that didn't make it, they didn't need to be there for the story to progress as it needed to. Trying to cram more in would've only made it hard to keep up with. That would've made it rushed. The way it is is fine.

Part Eleven: Texts VS Emails

I saw some complaints that they didn't continue the way they did the text messages with the way they did the emails, and I have to say, I disagree that they should've.

The texts are conversational and work really well to have pop up graphics and edits, but those emails are letters. They are a lot more serious, and using purely voiceover is far less distracting. You can focus purely on what they're saying and the inflection of their voices. It also gave them a chance to show the progress of time through Alex's campaign work.

Most of their emails are exchanged over a period of time where nothing particularly interesting is happening. They are the interesting thing. Alex is busy with college and Henry's just doing his royal duties. That doesn't make for the most entertaining action on screen.

Alex's devotion to Texas in the book is his binder. It works really well in the book because we can hear Alex's thoughts, considering there's not much actually said about the binder. He has that confrontation with that guy in the White House, but the binder is his private, secret project. Hearing his thoughts and feelings directly works better than how it would've played out if they did the same thing in the movie. It would've been some shots of him with it, foreshadowing and hinting at it, but its true importance would've been lost on those who haven't read the book.

Instead, they were direct about it. He tries to get his strategy implemented from the beginning, while in the book, it's a secret plan that he doesn't intend to share yet. Instead of the argument with that coworker, he has the argument with his mother, which hits the beats of his desires for Texas. He wants to go out there and make them feel heard and reach out to the younger population, and that's exactly what he tells his mother in that argument.

Having him working on the campaign during that stretch of time between Paris and the lake house accomplished what all those thoughts and emails and Luna's role did in establishing what politics means to Alex, what Texas means to Alex.

Being able to watch him working while hearing him and Henry write to each other through the emails was a perfect blending of two parts of the book.

And again, their phrasing in the emails is very different from the texts. The pop-ups would've felt a bit odd. In the texts where they do that, they're bantering back and forth, sending the articles, and sharing interests, but in those emails, Alex is talking about the pressure he's under to succeed and Henry is talking about how inspiring he is. It's better to keep the audience focused in on them rather than the fun graphics and whatnot.

Part Twelve: Alex's Speech

I've been seeing some people upset about the changes to Alex's speech, and I have to say that I feel like they're overreacting. What he said in the movie was so, so important, and for the people who are freaking out like "he wouldn't confirm their relationship without talking to Henry first", do you not realize that people can have an unspoken understanding?

We don't get the same conversations, but Henry is obviously scared about going public, but he never gives off the impression that he doesn't want to, or that he wants to lie about it. There's also the undeniable fact that they had conversations we did not get to see, book based or not.

You think they didn't say anything else to each other the rest of the night after the V&A visit? You think we got all the emails they shared over the year they were seeing each other?

This is one of those moments where I'm like, "get over yourself" to those people. Who do you think knows Henry better? You, or the actual character he's in a relationship with?

Part Thirteen: Important Messages

Another thing I've been seeing driving me up the wall is people complaining about some of the messages from the book not being in the movie, and again, I have to say, do you not understand what an adaptation is?

The message of this movie is the primary message of the book. That love should not have to be justified to others.

That's essentially what Henry says to the king near the end. He directly questions him about maintaining a traditional royal image, and puts the king in the position of having to admit his discriminatory views. The king had been skirting around it, saying things like "your love is genuine" and whatnot, but still forcing them to lie and hide, which Henry puts his foot down to. He doesn't let him get away with dancing around it.

Henry's line of being who he is and not who they want him to be is powerful and potent. He refuses to keep justifying who he is. Philip refers to their love as a mad infatuation, and Henry shuts him down. He and Alex are in love with each other, and he is not going to pretend otherwise even though he's scared.

That is the core message, that love is love, and love wins.

The other messages are still in the book. They haven't gone anywhere. They simply did not fit into the movie format, but that does not mean they're not going to be heard. The opening credits tells you right off the bat that this is based on a novel, and those who enjoy the movie are likely to go read it afterwards if they hadn't previously.

Trying to cram too many themes and messages into one movie can destroy the impact of all of them. Sometimes it's better to focus on nailing one major theme and making sure that it hits powerfully than bouncing all over the place in an attempt say as much as possible. Messages that are alluded to or mentioned, but never followed through on harm the movie more than their inclusion helps it. It makes them feel hollow, like they're just there to be like "see? we're talking about this important stuff, give us credit".

I feel like people deep down know that, that if they had tried to fit everything they would've disliked it for a whole different reason, but they're still so determined to be cynical and negative that they can't acknowledge what the film did say.

Part Fourteen: Final Thoughts & Cake

Congratulations if you've read this far! I did not expect this essay to be as long as it was, but everything I wanted to say needed more explanation, which led to more branch offs, and that's why I ended up sectioning it.

I can safely say that I absolutely adore this movie. I am going to be watching it on loop for the next couple days since I have the house to myself for the weekend.

This movie is definitely its own entity. It is unique from the book, and should not be judged by how "accurate" it is. It's a different telling of the story, and a fantastic one. It deserves to be appreciated, and gushed about.

If anyone tries to bring you down with their negativity towards this film, ignore them. I don't mean people who are politely providing valid criticism. I mean those people who have been basing their opinions entirely on how the movie compares to the book, and deciding that any changes made automatically makes it inferior. The people who are ignoring all of the fantastic aspects of the movie because they're so wrapped up in their own head.

I'm finishing this off with that reminder, that the movie is not trying to be the book. Please keep that in your mind when you watch it. For those who may have felt a similar feeling of unsatisfaction after watching it for the first time, rewatching with this as your focus may allow you to find what you were missing from the experience before.

To put it into a simple metaphor, Red, White, & Royal Blue is a cake. Yes, I'm aware of the irony, but it works very well here.

Let's say that the base story of Red, White, & Royal Blue is a chocolate cake.

The book can be a chocolate cake, with buttercream between the layers, pink icing, and sprinkles. The movie can be a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse between the layers, blue icing, and flowers.

They are both chocolate cakes. They are the same and different at the same time. Most people are going to have a preference, but that does not mean you can't enjoy both.

You have two chocolate cakes! It's a win-win!

And to the people who are simply trashing this movie, I'd like to stop and ask you something. How is it that the original author, and creator of these characters and story, approves and loves this adaptation, but you can't?

I'm an author myself, and I'm fiercely protective over my characters and ideas, and immediately get my claws out when someone suggests a major change I disagree with or a false interpretation of it.

Casey themselves has said basically the same thing I did at the start of this when I explained that the movie exists separately to the book, and they love it. If the original creator loves it, sorry, but I really don't give a damn what you have to say about its "accuracy".

To everyone else, remember to try and not let people's negativity influence you too much. If you love the movie, you don't need to justify it. You're allowed to.

Thank you for reading this. Seriously, fucking congrats if you made it this far. I'm expecting this to get like no notes and still spent an entire day writing this lmfao

Update: If you enjoyed this essay & would like to support me, you can give me a tip on my Ko-Fi! ☺️

#red white and royal blue #rwrb #rwrb movie #rwrb book #rwrb thoughts #rwrb spoilers #matthew lópez #alex claremont diaz #taylor zakhar perez #henry fox mountchristen windsor #henry hanover stuart fox #nicholas galitzine #firstprince #history huh? bet we could make some

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streetlight11 · 2 years

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Hii can I request a one shot for Jeongin with mafia!gn!reader??^^ where the reader met him at the fan sign and i.n is their bias and have a crush on him, then one day, when jeongin just wants to go back home or his dorm from convenience store, a drunk man?? Try to hurt him so the reader comes and safe him. AHAHAHA sorry if this too long

Have a great day/night^^

Hellooo love! Thank you for sending in your request. I'm sorry this took quite long to be posted :( But anyways, this is a cute yet funny idea for a fic and it's something I don't really think I've seen or read before so I hope it turned out okay! Anywho, here is the requested fic! <3

~~~

You're My Hero

Summary: Surely there’s a soft side to even the scariest, most deadliest person on earth... Right? Well, you just so happen to be one of them. Who knew you could be working for a well known mafia boss and find a guy from one of the Kpop groups cute, at the same time

Theme: idol!verse au, strangers to idiots friends 🤟🏼

Genre: crack, fluff, a little violent but not brutal

Warnings: mentions of blood and a broken nose

WC: 5.3k

Pairing: Idol!Jeongin x Mafia!GN!Reader

a/n: This fic idea breaks the stereotypes of where the idol saves the reader and I like it! 😁 It's meant to be lighthearted so I hope I don't disappoint you with this fic!

Viper.

That was your code name within your gang and the mafia world. Why? Because you were an elite member of your mafia gang. ‘The Red Cobras’ was your gang’s name. Everyone in the mafia world knows who The Red Cobras are. Everyone knows not to mess with your team. Everyone knows to never cross the line whenever your team is involved. For their lives would be at stake if things ever go south. And you would be in-charge of eliminating the enemy or targets in cold blood.

Hence, why your code name was given as ‘Viper’.

Similarly to how they show it in the movies, you do have a private life outside of the mafia world. One where nobody knows your true identity. One where nobody knows what you do for a living besides going to university. Your dark side of your life has always been kept a secret, even from your own family and friends.

Reason being you don’t wanna risk their lives for something that you’ve done. If death is coming your way because things went south during a job, you want it to be targeted to you alone and not your loved ones.

Of course, you would never let that misfortune even happen in the first place. Which is why you can be really uptight and super precise when it comes to planning, preparing and going for every job given to you. So in conclusion, your whole life is a mess but you’d do whatever it takes to keep it intact and as far from your loved ones as possible. The only thing that keeps you going everyday is music. Who knew that someone as dangerous as you could love a commonly loved genre amongst all else, and that is Kpop.

Except, not just any Kpop but more specifically Stray Kids. You’ve been listening and supporting them along with their music ever since they were on that survival show. They have been your pillar of strength when nobody was there for you.

Sure they don’t know you personally. Sure they don’t even know you exist. Sure you probably won’t ever get the chance to meet them. Nevertheless, you were thankful that you found them and their music. As dramatic as this sounds, you definitely have no idea where you would be without them.

It was a Wednesday afternoon, you were having lunch in school when your notification went off. You checked your phone to see what it was and you nearly shat your pants. A few days ago, Stray Kids made a comeback with their new album called Maxident. JYP then tweeted saying that there will be a fansign event coming up for this album release and it will be a first come first serve basis. So as soon as they tweeted the link to apply for the fansign, you quickly clicked on it and prayed for the best.

Which is why you nearly shat your pants when you received an email from the event management saying that you were one of the lucky fans to secure a spot for yourself in the fansign. Nevertheless, you were really thankful for this as you could finally check off one thing on your bucket list. Your friend looked at you with an eyebrow raised, clearly unaware of what was going on.

“I got in for Stray Kids’ fansign this weekend!” You said, only then did they let out a scream of excitement that made everyone in the cafeteria turn heads.

“Omg! Are you serious?! Wait! Omg! You can finally meet I.N!” They squeaked to which you nodded.

“I can finally meet I.N!” You repeat their words out of sheer excitement. Not believing this miracle.

Nonetheless, you went about your day just like how you usually do. Finding it hard to focus sometimes whenever your mind just flickers back to the thought of meeting your ultimate bias this weekend. The chances of you getting the ticket in was less than 50% and yet, you still got in. There is no way you’d forget this day and the actual day when you’re finally meeting him in person.

The day finally comes, where you decide to wear something similar to Jeongin’s everyday look since that was basically your favourite style as well. It was simple yet comfy at the same time. You made yourself look as presentable as you could, spraying a good amount of your favourite EDP scent. The journey to the venue took about half an hour, thanks to the lack of congested traffic. Once you made it to the venue, you paid the cab driver the exact change before getting out of the vehicle. Immediately, there was a whole bunch of fans waiting outside in a queue.

They were all dressed up and ready to meet the boys of Stray Kids. Not only the fangirls but also the fanboys too. Who are we kidding right? You’re meeting your favourite idols. Of course you have to look good in front of them so that they notice you. When else can you sit down and have a chat with your idols casually, right?

Minutes felt like hours as they finally opened the doors to the hall. You sat according to your seat number, placing your bag onto your lap that was filled with the gift you got for each of them. The staff played a video of their new album songs, starting with Case 143 music video first. You were quietly listening to it while texting your friend, not aware of how long you’ve been sitting there. All until the Superboard music video stops and soon, you hear Chan’s voice through the speakers.

“Hello! Hello! Shall we come out and meet you guys?” Everyone in the room replied with a yes as you could hear the background began to get noisy with the rest of the members’ voices. Not long after, all 8 of them entered the stage one by one and you could’ve sworn your soul left your body for a split second when Jeongin walked in.

They greeted all of you and had a quick chat before they started with the fansign event. All the while you were waiting patiently in your seat, you went ahead and took pictures of them from afar.

At one point, you were just admiring the way Chan was laughing out loud while playing rock paper scissors with the fan when you glanced over to his left and saw Jisung staring at you. He didn’t have a fan in front of him so he opted to look at the seated fans. The minute you locked eyes with him, you cheekily winked at him and it startled him. Jisung began to giggle with his hand over his mouth, hanging his head low to avoid your gaze. When he looked back up to you, Jisung gave you a finger heart and pretended to shoot you with it in which you catched it in mid air and pressed your palm over your heart.

He grinned widely at you before giving you a little wave as the fan sat down in front of him. You found it adorable and you don’t think you would ever forget that moment you shared with him. About 20 minutes later, it was finally your turn to head on stage to meet the guys, starting with Chan.

The arrangement of the fansign was Chan, Jisung, Changbin, Seungmin, Minho, Hyunjin, Felix and Jeongin. So when you sat down in front of Chan, he greeted you warmly with a wave and a cute grin.

“Hello! How are you?” He asked as he took your album from the staff and turned it to his page to sign it.

“Hello! I’m good. How are you?” You asked, to which he looked up from the album to talk to you with eye contact.

“I’m doing great. Have you eaten?”

“I did before I came. I hope you had your lunch too?” You asked, earning a cute nod from him.

“Yes, yes. We did. By the way, what’s your name?”

“I’m Y/N.”

“Oh wow, that name really suits you! So, what song is your favourite from Maxident?” Chan asked while you thought of an answer. In all honesty, you loved every single song on the album. So it was hard to pick just one. However, because you were feeling pressured with how little time you had left with Chan, you just said a title that popped to your head first.

“I like all the songs but if I had to choose one? I’d pick Superboard.”

“Really? I like that song too.” Chan giggled, making you do the same. You chatted with him for a bit more but it was time to say goodbye to him.

Before you moved seats, you dug your bag for his gift and soon gave it to him. You told him it was a black hoodie with his initials on the right sleeve cuff and he gasped. He took a quick look at it only to smile brightly at you. He thanked you for the gift and told you that he promised to wear it for his upcoming Chan’s Room live.

Chan then waved to you sadly and placed his palm against the glass divider that separates the idol from the fans due to the pandemic that was still going on. You placed your hand against his and soon moved onto the next person, which was Jisung. Immediately, he laughed and spoke up to you.

“Hey! You’re the one that winked at me earlier, right?” Jisung asked, making you laugh.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Y/N.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Y/N. My name is Han Jisung.” He flashed you his signature toothy grin, making you laugh at how cute he looked up close for the first time. He however, was curious as to why you laughed so his expression changed so quickly to a confused frown. His cheeks puffed out while his eyes grew wide.

“Am I funny looking? Why did you laugh?” He asked in a sad tone, his marker hovering over the album page where his picture was.

“No! I didn’t laugh because you look funny! I laughed because you’re so much cuter in real life.” You said, to which Jisung was caught blushing upon hearing your compliment. He burst out laughing from embarrassment, not really sure on how he should react.

“Ah… Don’t say that. I know I look handsome in person.” He sounded so confident, to which Changbin scoffed beside him and said, “Please. If that’s true, then why is Hyunjin the visual of the group then?” Jisung stuck his tongue out at the male beside him in annoyance, making you laugh at their childish antics. Jisung then turns back to you and apologises for the small bickering.

“Don’t have to. Regardless of what he says, you’re still the visual to me.” Upon hearing this, Jisung’s lips curl up into a cocky smirk, earning a laugh from you. After you chatted with him for a bit more, it was time to move onto the next person. Not before giving him his gift which was a pair of ear studs with a chain loop on it. He thanked you for it, saying he’ll wear it out one day and promised he’d do it. You gave him a gentle high five through the glass divider and proceeded to take a seat in front of Changbin. He waved at you eagerly like a little kid, earning a small giggle from you.

“Hi! What’s your name?”

“Hello! I’m Y/N.”

“Hi Y/N, I’m Seo Changbin but you can call me Binnie!” He said cutely to you. This made you laugh knowing he loves being called ‘Binnie’.

“What did you have for lunch, Binnie?” You asked him casually, only for him to blush and giggle hearing you call his nickname.

“I had jajangmyeon, fried chicken, korean beef with rice and tteokbokki for lunch. What did you have?”

“Just kimchi fried rice.”

“That’s all?! Why! You should eat more!” Changbin said with nothing but pure concern and you didn’t know if you should be sad or thankful about it.

“It’s okay, my appetite comes and goes. Sometimes I’ll eat a lot then other days I’ll barely eat anything so it’s fine.” You said, only for him to frown at you adorably with his lips jutting out into a pout.

“Promise me you’ll eat something even if you don’t feel like it, okay? I don’t want you to fall sick.” He said, making you smile and promising him that. Soon after talking to him for a bit, you gave him his gift which was a keychain that has the initials ‘OCB’ then an X over the letter O, followed by ‘SCB’ below it. Changbin laughed after he realised what it means, thanking you happily for the amazing idea. You waved goodbye to him as you shifted over to the next seat.

Seungmin smiled at you like an adorable puppy, before he spoke up to you, “Hi! How are you?”

“I’m good, how are you?”

“Same. What’s your name?”

“I’m Y/N.”

“That’s a nice name. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Thank you! It’s nice to meet you too.”

“So, what is your favourite title track out of all the albums we had?” He asked, to which you took a while to answer.

“I really like all of it… But if there’s one title track that I listen to over and over again, it would have to be Thunderous.”

Seungmin smiled like he was proud of that answer, looking up from the album and said, “Nice choice. I thought you were gonna say God’s Menu or Back Door.”

“Don’t get me wrong though, I love all of your songs. Thunderous just hits me differently.” You explained, earning a satisfied nod from him. You chatted with him a little more about how you came across their music and what other genres you listen to before you were told to move to the next person. You gave him his gift which was a necklace which has a small puppy pendant, telling him that it reminded you of him and so he laughed.

He didn’t forget to thank you before you scooted over to the empty seat next to you. Only for Minho to smirk and tease you like you were his long time friend.

“Hey, haven’t seen you in a while huh?” He said confidently, causing you to frown in confusion.

“But this is my first time meeting you?”

This caused him to cackle, holding his stomach as it curls in his torso. He finally looked up to you and said, “I was just kidding! I didn’t wanna start off the conversation with the typical ‘Hi, what’s your name’ like the other four did. It’s lame.” He really is odd but probably the most realistic one in the group. And for that, you loved it.

“So… how can I address you?” He asked naturally.

“Y/N.”

“So Y/N, what do you think about the fansign so far? Anyone bore you? These four can be pretty dull sometimes, especially the one sitting at the start of the line.” Minho said cheekily before peeking past the front to make a silly face whilst staring at Chan but of course the latter couldn’t hear him so Minho opted for a laugh instead and so did you.

“They didn’t bore me, unfortunately. Maybe you might though…” You said teasingly only for him to scoff.

“Oh yeah? Okay, don’t talk to me then.” Minho said as he began to focus on writing on the page when you laughed, hoping he was not upset.

“I still wanna talk to you though…” You pouted, only for him to glance up and catch the look on your face. This made him smile, falling for your charms easily.

“Okay! Do you like me?” You were flustered by how direct he was, something you forgot Minho was good at.

“Yes.”

“Will you go on a date with me?”

“Sure. Why not?”

“I’m definitely not your favourite, seeing how easily you said yes.” Minho began to laugh, finding the situation funny. You, on the other hand, were surprised that he was extremely quick to catch on to the fact that you answered him without much trouble.

“Don’t say that! You make it sound so bad!” You begged, causing him to laugh even more.

“It’s true though, right? So who’s your favourite SKZ member?” He smirked at you and wiggled his eyebrows cheekily, making you laugh.

“I’m not telling you.”

“Why not?” He whined, to which you shook your head and soon took out the gift you got for him. He took it from you and opened the box, only to find a phone case which has a picture of his cats printed on it. He adored the picture so much that he couldn’t help but change his phone case on the spot. He thanked you as he waved goodbye while you got up to move onto the next seat.

Hyunjin greeted you happily as he started off the conversation with, “I hope you’re still having a good day after meeting the rest of my members. You’re gonna have the best day now that you met me.”

“That’s very confident of you.”

“I am confident.” He said before he burst into laughter. He then asked for your name in which you told him.

“What perfume are you using? It smells so good!” He asked.

“I’m using the Peony & Blush Suede by Jo Malone.”

“It’s really nice! I love the scent.”

“Thank you!”

“You’re welcome!” He giggled as he signed off the short paragraph of message before looking up at you to focus on you while he speaks.

“What made you like us?” He asked.

“I’ve been supporting you since the survival show and it’s been a great journey up till today. I never thought music could change my life but it did. After seeing you grow from Hellevator to District9 and so on, I feel really proud to call myself a STAY.” You explained briefly, only for him to pout at you from feeling overwhelmed. Though he knew he wasn’t allowed to make skin contact with you, he still chose to sneak his hand beside the glass divider and gently hold your hand to give you some sort of comfort.

“Thank you for staying with us from the start. We wouldn’t be where we are now if it wasn’t for STAYs like you.” He said, to which you couldn’t help but smile. You talked to him for a bit more before handing him his gift. And that was a set of paintbrushes that were custom made to have his initials ‘HHJ’ engraved onto the end of each paintbrush.

He was visibly moved by the gift, seeing how he had a hand over his mouth while he stared at the engraved letters. He thanked you for the gift, telling you that it was perfect and that he would keep it and use it well to his best abilities. You then said goodbye and moved down the line, only to meet Felix.

“Hello! Do you know my name?” He asked cheekily.

“Hello! Unfortunately, I have no idea. You are?” You teased just to see what he would say, and for some reason, you had a feeling he would say a pickup line.

“I’m your-future-boyfriend. Nice to meet you.” He said and right after he finished his sentence, his face immediately cringed as he squeaked from his lame attempt at flirting. He’s just too shy and gentle to give a strong pickup line like that. It almost seemed unnatural coming from someone as polite as himself. So you teased him by saying, “No, Felix. Please don’t ever do that to your crush in the future. You should just be yourself. You’re sweet enough already.”

With that being said, Felix laughed at your response finding the truth behind it. He then asked, “Is this your first fansign with us?” While he wrote something in your album.

“It is. I’ve been a STAY since the survival show actually. I just never got the opportunity to go to a fansign before.” You explained to him briefly, only for him to nod.

“I’m glad you could finally meet us in person! How do you like it so far? Have my members been nice to you?” Felix asked as he jokingly side eyed the rest of his members to his right, making you laugh.

“I love it so far. You are all so funny and sweet.” You said, earning a small smile from him. A few more chats and you were soon told to move down the line. So you quickly passed his gift before you forgot. For Felix, you got him a silver stainless steel ring with his initials carved on the inner part of the ring.

“It’s supposed to be worn as a ring but in case it doesn’t fit you, I included a chain in the box so you can put it through to make it a necklace.” You said whilst getting up. Felix gasped in awe, thanking you for the beautiful gift. Thankfully, he tried the ring on his middle finger and it fit perfectly so he decided to keep it on for the rest of the fansign. You waved goodbye to him before turning to the last person that was waiting in line for you to sit down.

Immediately, your heart was so close to leaping out of your chest. You couldn’t contain the shyness of having sat right in front of your bias. If you told yourself 4 years ago that you would be sitting here with Yang Jeongin from Stray Kids and have a full on chat for a few minutes, you would’ve called yourself crazy.

The minute you locked eyes with him, you could feel the world around you spin due to major euphoria. Right when you sat down, you felt as if your words got sucked out of your mouth. Suddenly, you were too dumb to speak.

“What’s your name?” He asked gently.

“I’m Y/N.”

“I like that name. It suits you.”

Jeongin said as you simply giggled while thanking him. He must’ve noticed the tremble in your hands because he immediately giggled and said, “Don’t be nervous… Relax.” With that being said, you tried your best to do as he says.

“I’m sorry! I just can’t believe I’m talking to you right now.” You said, hearing his shy chuckle through the glass divider.

“Well then, don’t let this few minutes go to waste! Which music video is your favourite?” He asked.

“Uh… Maybe Easy? Or Thunderous? But I liked Levanter too. Ahh I don’t know! I love all of it.” You said, earning a laugh from him.

“Who’s your favourite member?” He asked all of a sudden, catching you off guard. Compared to when Minho asked you, it was pretty obvious how you were stunned and almost stuttered now when Jeongin asked simply because you are in fact nervous. If Minho saw you right now, he would make fun of you for getting all nervous and shy now that your bias was the one asking the question.

“U-Uhh… I… Favourite member?” You stumbled over your words in which he reacted by saying, “So cute.” That almost made your knees weak.

“Y-You’re actually my favourite member.” You finally confessed, seeing the way his grin grew wider.

“Really? No wonder you’re so shy. Thank you!” He said, making you smile. Unfortunately, it was time to say goodbye so you gave him his gift.

“Is that for me?” He asked innocently so you decided to tease him.

“No, it’s for your manager.”

“Aish…” He playfully frowned as a pout appeared on his lips, making you laugh.

“Of course it’s for you!”

He opened the box to find a bracelet which had a circle pendant that had his initials on one side and an outline of his SKZOO character on the other. He was amazed by how you managed to get this customised.

“Thank you so much! This is really pretty.” He said with a bright smile on his face.

“I hope it’s okay that it’s not a branded gift.”

“Are you kidding? I don’t care if it’s not branded! It’s the thought that counts more. So thank you!” He said before his manager began to usher you away for the next fan to get their turn. He immediately put on the bracelet you gave him. You took your album and soon got up from the seat in front of him.

He then waved to you sadly, saying goodbye. You didn’t want this event to end but you knew it had to. As much as you wanted them to stay, that would never happen. You left the event feeling happy and content, hoping they’ll remember you even though you knew that wouldn’t be possible unless a miracle happened.

That night, you were getting ready to leave your apartment for your meeting with your boss at the headquarters when you received a notification from instagram with the title, “realstraykids just made a post”. You clicked it only to smile when you see a picture of Jeongin smiling into the camera while standing in front of a plain white wall. What catches your eye however was the bracelet you gave him, still wrapped around his wrist.

Maybe dreams do come true anyway.

It’s been days since the fansign and you haven’t seen them anywhere except through your phone or laptop screen. Your job has been pretty hectic recently, having to use every ounce of energy you had to get into a close combat fight with your targets. As crazy as it all sounds, you weren’t given the title of an “elite member” for nothing. You narrowly escaped near-death experience thrice throughout the past few missions. Tonight was no different.

You were walking down the street to head back home after you got separated from your group halfway through the mission. As usual, you got out of the fight with minor cuts on your arms and cheek but there weren't any deep cuts that would need to be sewn or stapled close.

After a rough fight and thankfully winning on your part, you told your members you were heading straight home to aid your cuts just so they know you’re still alive. However, on your way back is when you heard a squeal followed by a cry for help.

The problem is…

Why did the voice sound so oddly familiar?

You rushed your footsteps quietly down the path only to peak past the wall. That’s where you saw a familiar white headed boy curled up against the alley brick wall with his hands clasped in front of him desperately.

“Please don’t hurt me! I-I just wanna go home! T-Take my money! Just take it, please!” Jeongin cried as he begged the drunk man with a pocket knife in his hand, just pointing the sharp blade towards Jeongin’s eyes. Just as he was slurring over his words, you yelled at him to get his attention.

“Oi!”

Both of them turned to you as the drunk man began to swing his arm at you whilst letting go of his grip on Jeongin’s shoulder. You swiftly dodged his arms whenever it was getting closer to you.

“T-This is not your business! Get lost!” The man said as he struggled to stand on two feet. His breath reeks of alcohol and as much as you don’t normally comment on a person’s hygiene, this man looks like he’s been out of the house for days without proper care. Just then, he swung his arm out with the blade pointing outwards when you grabbed hold of his forearm to block it while your other hand lifted up at an angle only to slam your elbow down on his arm joint.

He let out a loud grunt followed by dropping the knife willingly due to the sharp pain, giving you access to punch his face.

The man groaned in pain as you stared at the broken nose and red crimson blood dripping down his cupid’s bow. You then bent his arm behind his back, keeping him in a locked position so his movements were restricted.

You reached down swiftly for your karambit knife as you wrapped an arm across his shoulder while pressing the tip of your blade against his neck right beneath his earlobe, only to hear him panic.

“Please! Please! Don’t kill me! I’m begging you!” The man cried to you. All you did was jerk your arm into making him think that you’re about to slice his neck open but you didn’t. The drunk man panicked even more as he apologised further. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Just… Please don’t! Don’t kill me! I swear I’ll leave!” He begged desperately while you had him locked in your arms.

“Get lost before I change my mind.” You threatened as you shoved the man forward, seeing him scramble away like he'd just seen a ghost. You kept your gaze on the drunken man, completely missing the way Jeongin had already stood up and was staring at you deeply. It wasn’t until he spoke up that you finally looked at him properly.

“I-I know you… You came to our fanmeet the other day right? You’re the one that gave me this bracelet.” He said as he held up his left hand to show you the bracelet you had gifted him.

This shocked you with the fact that he even recognized you in this all black fit in the dark alley. You remained quiet as he continued softly, “Y/N right?” You frowned when he was about to take a step closer to you but stopped him.

“Don’t come any closer… I… I’m a dangerous person for you. I should leave.” You said as you turned to leave when he spoke up again in a hurry, “Wait! Please don’t go. You just saved me from getting hurt, I can’t just let you go without properly thanking you.” Jeongin said as you felt your heart melt from his kindness.

Since you were hesitating, Jeongin spoke up again, “How about grabbing a coffee tomorrow afternoon at Daisies Cafè down that street? Coffee’s on me.”

“Are you sure?” You asked him, genuinely concerned for his safety and career.

“Of course I’m sure. Unless you have a better suggestion?” He asked expectantly with his adorable almond shaped eyes in which you could never say no to.

“Okay. I’ll see you there.” You said with a small smile. He mimicked your expression and soon nodded his head to you.

“See you there…” Jeongin said as he was about to walk off when his eyes grew wide at something he saw. Suddenly, he reached up to touch something on your face when he stopped himself. To avoid infecting your cut, he proceeded to touch the spot on his own cheekbone where your cut was and told you that it was bleeding. You swiped a finger over it, only to get a smudge of blood on your fingertip.

“It’s fine. I’ll clean it later.”

“I can’t believe this. How were you so shy a few days ago but so badass and strong now? You’re so cool.” He smiled brightly, earning a soft laugh from you.

“You’ve only seen a little.” You teased, seeing him burst into laughter. Jeongin decides to let you head home and rest, opting to say goodnight instead of running away, even though he just saw you threaten someone with a blade in your hand.

“Goodnight Y/N. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He said.

“Goodnight Jeongin. Get home safely and I’ll see you tomorrow too.” You smiled before going separate ways.

And that's how you became friends with your bias.

#stray kids scenarios #skz scenarios #stray kids imagines #skz x reader #skz imagines #stray kids x reader #skz jeongin x reader #stray kids yang jeongin #skz i.n #i.n x reader #i.n fluff #i.n scenarios

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honeyinapot · 1 year

Text

The Long Goodbye

I’ve also got this on AO3 and Wattpad uhhh I don’t use tumblr often I don’t think I’ve ever written anything on here since I made the account? If you wanna teach me anything that’d be nice…

Character deaths warning this is Dazai you’re reading about + Beast Light Novel spoilers.

"Osamu, why do you always seem like you're going somewhere?" You murmured to the man laying on your chest.

"Belladonna," His laugh vibrated against you warming the heart he pressed his ear against. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I know you Dazai, maybe you're not going anywhere but you're planning something." You frowned raising an eyebrow at him, "And you know how much I hate that nickname cut it out."

A calloused hand slipped from under you, Dazai slide his body above yours before resting his hand on your cheek. Dipping his head and gently kissing the curve of your neck softly. A contrast to the rough hand grazing over your burning ears.

"Love, forgive me..sometimes I feel as though you'll be the death of me." Dazai cold breath brought chills amongst your spine. "Even outsmarting me in my own game, you know I love it when you call me my name."

"Osamu."

"That's better." Before resting his weight against you once more. A comfortable silence trickled in, staring at the ceiling you slipped your hands in his hair massaging his scalp as he controlled his breathing.

"What are you planning?"

Dazai grinned up at you. "Well right now I'm planning to cuddle with you for an hour or so then maybe seduce—"

You sat up bending his body uncomfortably above you, he rolled off to an empty side of the bed.

"Seriously Dazai, I'm trying to have a conversation with you." You furrowed your eyebrows at the steel case beside you, he made you curious. He sighed through his nose and faced the ceiling.

"Like I said earlier, I'm not going anywhere or planning anything. Can we go back to what we were doing?"

He was changing the subject, but this had been something you wanted to discuss for awhile now.

"Dazai, why have I never been to your job? Actually, why won't you let me?"

"I never want to see you there." He still wouldn't look at you.

"Where do you work?"

He didn't respond. You pressed your lips together as you stared at him. You wanted him to tell you the truth, you gave him chances, hints, nudges. Now you were pushing.

"The Port Mafia, (Y/n) I work at the Port Mafia." You said for him. He stilled turning to look at you with wide eyes.

"What...what did you just say?"

"Did you expect me to never see a wanted poster with your name on it? Or see the news? Are your bandages on too tight?" Sarcasm poured from you, you didn't want to be cross with him, but if you want to hide something don't do a piss poor job at it.

Dazai pushed off the bed. He felt around for his deep brown rich coat and shoes.

"What are you doing?" You stood following him.

"I have to go."

"We're not done talking."

"I'm done...I'm done talking."

"You're kidding." You breathed out as he approached the door.

"You face countless threats everyday risking your life, but you're a coward when it comes to me?"

His back faced you as he held the doorknob with an internal struggle. He shut his eyes seeing something he never wanted to see again.

"Yes (Y/n), goodnight."

He slipped away leaving only a quiet click of the door. Presenting him with what you knew meant Dazai had more plans to arrange. He only hoped you wouldn't be there when the time came.

You hadn't heard from him in days and it was getting on your nerves. You only wanted to talk, to understand, to calm your nerves. There'd been more fights breaking out within Yokohama since your last conversation.

You didn't even know if he was alive.

You were bristling as you stood in front of the large building. You really meant to calm your nerves but you just weren't able to brush aside your curiosities.

Suited up men and women stood outside the building as you walked toward the doors. One of them to your surprise held the door open for you.

"Thank you."

"Enjoy your trip Mrs. Dazai."

The door shut behind you as heat rushed to your face.

"Mrs?" You mused as your brain finished. You continued to the receptionists desk as the image of that fool pranced around your mind. A small grin rested on your face seeing him jump around room to room, person to person with your picture.

'Look at my wife!'

Asking for your 'husband' you made your way to his office. During the elevator ride up you thought about what it would be like to actually marry the man. Your days always filled with adventure.

The doors opened to a long empty corridor. You heard only the sound of your shoes and the fabric on your thighs rubbing together.

You stared out at the beautiful day taking in how warm and sunny it was. Maybe you'd bully him into taking you on a date.

Dazai always had a reason for his actions, maybe you pushed too far. You couldn't wait to see his face to say you loved him and you were sorry. Sliding your hands in your pockets a smile spread across your face and your heart sung.

But then you saw him.

"Osa...Osa!"

You tried to breathe, make your voice stronger.

You weren't sure where your mind went as the scream built in your throat. At first you hadn't realized...but then his bandage unraveled and his deep brown eyes met yours for a moment a second and you could've sworn you felt your heart burst as he fell. A tucked away thought that you'd always feared finally came true.

You wrote for days.

Blueprints. Drafts. Editing. More drafts. Copies. Then finalized your work onto a page.

When you awoke in your new world you were certain your days of hurt would be over. All you had to do was find him. So you searched and stumbled upon a coffee shop.

You slipped above the stairs without alerting anyone.

Your heart responded to familiar laughter, it made you walk faster brushing past someone.

"Hey!" A distraction you ignored and pushed forward throwing open doors.

"You're not suppose to be in here—" You could faintly feel their hand try to grab you by the arm.

"What the hell? Hey!"

You finally threw open the door he stood behind. A room in disarray, paperwork fluttering around him and his tan coat as the sunset in the distance. Although you were facing his back you could tell he was grinning at the chaos around him.

Seeing him again wedged your heart in your throat. Your voice once again faltered, his name fell from your lips as a whisper. It felt like too long since you'd last saw him, nearly moments ago you were cooped up in your room writing to see him again.

Momentary bliss was destroyed when arms scooped you up pulling you into a frenzy.

"I've been calling for you throughout the hallway! You can't be up here." Blonde hair floated into your vision as you struggled against him thrusting your body forward and hanging onto the door frame.

"Dazai you suicidal bastard when I get my hands on you—"

Osamu's head snapped toward the sound of your voice, the smile he dawned earlier slipping as he recognized you. He'd barely been able to piece together your name in his brain as distant memories of your lives together haunted him.

You reached for the wooden beam above the doorframe hoisting your body for your legs momentum and throwing them back to land into Kunikida's gut. Weakening his grip you slipped from his arms releasing the beam and stormed up to the glowing man before you.

Without wasting time you pulled his body close grabbing him by his collar. The tan coat felt different on his body compared to his darker attire.

And his eyes. God, his eyes. You'd never seen both before one had always been enough. But being here seeing light simmering in his deep brown eyes unravelled something in you. You were happy to see him, it finally brought you peace, yet you were also pissed beyond words you couldn't find.

While you sat in your home writing you hadn't prepared what you'd say to him. You hadn't even thought about the raw emotions you'd have spilling out, the tears you failed to fight.

Seeing you like this broke him, he hadn't planned to find you again

"You said you weren't going anywhere, you swore! You never lie Dazai at least not to me! Why? Why? Why?!"

Dazai had loved you many times, but he wasn't sure how he messed up so badly. Well he did, he just refused to believe it. This wasn't his first time writing in the book, but this was his first time seeing your heartbreak. In every timeline he'd created for you he never lived long enough to see the aftermath. He'd never even gotten to the level of being with you, thinking staying afar would be safer, smarter.

Although he countlessly told himself this he always got closer, intertwining himself in your life. Despite his ability Osamu was still human, and humans made mistakes. He couldn't help it, he desperately missed you in his world. He hadn't held you in years, kissed you, heard you, all he'd been able to do was place flowers on your grave.

Only hearing his own voice, holding himself, missing your touch.

Osamu had met you years before his mafia life. You'd survived in the slums together by outsmarting and stealing from on goers. Today you managed to pickpocket the wrong one.

"I don't feel too fondly about little pests as yourselves touching me. Unless of course it were my dear Elise." He spoke calmly without a care in the world as he brought a foot down hard onto your abdomen. Your body salivated from the pain allowing you to cough up only that. He dug his heel into you as he grabbed Dazai by the throat.

"Now which one of you insects has it?"

You squirmed under the weight as Dazai observed keeping his one eyed gaze hard.

"Well boy?" Mori tore his eyes from Dazai to you as you writhed beneath him.

"Doesn't seem like your friend can take much more—" Mori looked back only to quickly release the dangling boy. He narrowly missed a golden metallic butterfly. Quick on his feet Dazai swooped low kicking the man off you. You scrambled toward him both of you bolting out the bright lit alleyway.

You huffed and puffed as you leant over, your lungs and body screaming for air.

"Let's stay away from that area for awhile." Dazai murmured just as out of breath as you were.

"You don't have to tell me twice..who even was that guy? I mean who strangles kids!?" Despite being in the wrong yourself he could've defended himself some other way. There's no need to go murdering children.

"You ignored me only to not know who we were stealing from?" Dazai was as pissed as a fifteen year old could be.

"I didn't hear you! He looked like an easy mark!"

"(Y/n), you're the easy mark! His wanted posters are literally everywhere he's from the Port!"

You ignored the remark he made given your mistake it was justified.

"Then why didn't you let me take him on? The mafia sucks and you know how my ability works I could've won easy."

Dazai opened and closed his mouth completely clamping his mouth shut at his reasoning being ridiculous. He couldn't even lie, not to you, never.

"Because."

"Becauseee?" You annoyingly nudged at his feet. Dazai turned away from you leaving his bandaged side to your sight.

"Osamu? Because what?"

This was the truth even if it was partial.

"Because...dumb old guys focus more on hurting you than me, so it leaves a clear opening to land a hit."

You stared at him void of any emotion.

"What?" He still refused to look at you, but he felt your stare.

"That didn't answer my question."

Startled he looked at you with red flush on his face and brown eyes bubbling with panic. A funny contrast compared to his usual teasing and stoic personality.

"I'm suppose to— I—you!" Dazai placed his hands on his face and let out a muffled scream.

"Do you know what the Mafia is?" Dazai drug his hands across his face as you gave an answer. In his eyes you saw that something wasn't right.

Barely a second later Dazai had shot toward you crashing your bodies together onto the dirt. As your head hit the ground a giant syringe stuck into the spot Dazai had been.

"If you're curious, I could show you the definition." You looked in horror as the man you robbed earlier approached you.

Osamu held you close with a scowl on his face dissipating his earlier fluttering emotions.

"Join me and maybe I'll spare you the punishment of trying to embarrass me."

A rumbling filled the heated room from the bees residing in it. You opened a window to clear the suffocating feeling. You didn't know how Dazai wore that dark long trench coat when you work together. He should've been hot enough with the bandages on.

Pulling away from the window you decided to check on your colony's productivity. Lazily stepping toward an angry bee covered corpse you dug into his mouth to retrieve a blood filled honeycomb. Your signature. Your eyes lingered over your work that you'd brutally honed for three years. Crystals gleamed within each hexagonal shape indicating the sweetness.

Your sights peered over to Dazai who'd been using the torture method on the aspiring new port mafia's boss. In other words a fake using the actual Port's name in vain. Dazai had still been punching the man and you wondered if he'd ever be done.

"I'm bored Osamu."

His dark brown eyes met yours a deep void that barely clung to light.

"Then come over here and finish him off."

He pulled away as you approached him shaking off the blood on his fist and wiping the rest on his coat. Rolling your eyes you yanked open the boss' mouth and placed the honeycomb made from his deceased partner and placed it. You patted the gang members head to hush him.

"Be a good boy and don't spit it out. The bees will follow wherever the comb is."

The boss teared up, maybe from pain, maybe from remorse, or from enjoying the sweet treat you left. You didn't really care. The job was done.

"Don't take us sparing you as a change of heart, we just need you alive for the papers, m'kay sport?"

He had the nerve to cry.

The both of you turned away, Dazai slipped an arm around your waist as you left the building.

"Fucking Port Mafia wannabe."

The walk most of the way back was long..for Dazai at least.

"Dammit Chuuya's right you are a waste of bandages!"

Dazai avoided looking at you, which was easy for him.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" He whined denying your complaints.

"Nothing wrong? You dropped me!" You pushed the lanky eighteen year old onto the grass. You hadn't expected him to pull you down with him. You shrieked as you tumbled down the hill with him. Your limbs intermingled with Dazai's as well as your laughter.

"I don't scream like that!" You snickered.

Dazai mimicked you once more sending both of you into fits of laughter.

"Stop!" You laughed harder to the point were it hurt to even breathe.

"It's exactly how you sound!" Tears flooded Dazai's eyes as he held his stomach. It hurt from the laughter so did his heart as he watched you.

Hair a mess, clothes tussled and blood stained from earliers fight. His heart caught in his throat from how beautiful he found you in the nightlight. He sat up fast feeling dizzy.

You continued to laugh until you realized you'd been laughing alone. You breathed out, "Osamu?"

He'd sat up and looked toward the sky. You could barely see his face. Following his lead you also sat up leaning your body against his.

"Belladonna." He turned toward you leaning closer making your face burn.

"Is something wrong?" You whispered.

"It's just will you..." Dazai's face shyly lowered to your shoulder, "will you do a double suicide with me?"

Your rising blood pressure rose higher switching from nervousness to anger. You thought he'd been asking you something different. As playfully as you could you shoved him off you.

"No idiot and stop calling me by that stupid flower!"

He looked at you with puppy eyes.

"So you won't kill yourself with me?"

"Is there a bandaged squeezing your brain? No!" You stood up even more pissed as you blinked back tears. It frustrates you more that you were upset about this. Every time it felt like he was toying with you.

"How about I go finish the report and I see you tomorrow Dazai? It's late and I just want to knock this out."

"Why the formalities (Y/n)? Did I make you upset?" Dazai joined you standing, towering over you with a smirk. You turned away from him fighting hot tears and a tightness in your chest.

"I'm gonna head back."

You peeled away from him miserably trudging up the grassy hill. Dazai followed behind you hands in his coat pockets. Walking ahead gave you time to cool and brush off negative thoughts.

"(Y/n)?"

You paused in your steps taking a breath in before turning to him. He stood paces away from you hands now at his sides fidgeting as he balled them up.

"Is something wrong?"

A simple question. Simple enough to make the floodgates pour. Enough to have Dazai bolting toward you.

A few droplets wiped away bloody grim off your face. Dazai's calloused hand held your cheek, his thumb smeared stray tears as he whispered. The street light above you flickered on and the sight of him, the proximity made your chest hurt.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

You slapped the hand away.

"You're what's wrong! I don't get you! I just—"

You buried your face in your hands with a sigh. You felt small in this moment, vulnerable.

"You're so frustrating look I—" You slide your hands off your face. Looking him in the eye you started over.

"I like you a lot. I don't understand if you like me back because you're always teasing me. Getting my hopes up and then stepping all over them like some game! It's irritating just give me a hint anything!"

He'd clumsily crashed his lips into yours having zero prior experience besides his pillow. He wished Chuuya had taken up his offer on practicing because God was he nervous. You were soft and bittersweet against his lips despite how rigid you were.

'Fuck, wait.'

Dazai pulled away from you. He shouldn't have done that this wasn't some fairy tale this was real life. Yet when he opened his eyes he saw yours shut tight, face flushed and hands squeezing at your uniform.

You peeked an eye open with a pout on your face.

"Why'd you stop?"

That night something you'd always cherish was the way his eyes shimmered. Pupils blown out wide and a bright light creeping through his eye while he stared at you with a wide grin.

"You're stiff as a wall."

You'd blush harder if you could.

"You're awful you know that, Dazai?"

"Osamu." He leaned closer to your face.

"What?"

"When you're happy, mad, or angry even with me call my name. We've known each other for too long, but it's alright we'll have more than enough time to practice."

You tried his name again, it felt differently with your newfound relationship.

"Osamu."

"Good, now we can practice those kissing skills."

You knocked him upside the pole.

"See you at the base, while you're up there plan a date for us tomorrow. We're taking the day off."

You weren't going to make it. You knew that even with Dazai blasting his way through members it was obvious.

Your focus had been occupied with more than enough between taking fire and bringing swarms over the men. Although you were busy your instinct had you peek at Dazai. You were right, it was a shame that he'd always been your weakness. Two members had eyes on him both taking fire as he returned shots. A third member crept behind him. Without a clear shot you leapt out of cover sure you'd gotten everyone.

"Osamu! Watch out!" You fired two shots into the members skull and they fell.

Dazai turned toward the sudden disturbance as he hid behind his cover. As he ducked away to reload he'd seen you get shot three times in the chest. To his horror he'd seen his targets change their aim to you. In response to this the bees you deployed were further angered planning new hives in the two remaining.

Dazai rushed over dropping to your body in a heartbeat. Pulling off his jacket he pressed it onto you to stop the bleeding wound. The fabric didn't help. You were choking. Gargling up words as you bled out.

"(Y/n)..no hey..look at me, look at me."

You saw the panic in his eyes, but remained calm. Everything was fine, he was safe.

Blood filled your mouth and pooled out of it as you struggled to speak. You reached for his face cupping the bandages instead of flesh.

"O...s...a? Os...am....u?" Your body seized still from the pain grabbing a hold of the bandages and pulled. If your heart hadn't been broken already the organ broke at the sight of both his eyes. As you saw yourself dying you watched that light you loved fade alongside you. Tears rushed to your eyes as Dazai turned to a creak at the door.

A file of members barged in. You could see Dazai scream as he fired at them. Despite how close he was you could no longer hear his screaming nor the ricochet of the guns.

But you could feel his tears on your body as he fought for you as you quickly drifted to a permanent slumber.

Soon after Dazai quit the mafia. There was no longer any point to continue protecting you.

He'd already failed.

Years passed.

He'd turned 19.

Then 20,

Then 21,

Than 22 without you.

And every year he found himself feeling eighteen again for four years. Cold and alone missing you.

Until he found it. The very thing Fyodor had destroyed the world with.

The Book.

He shaped and molded worlds for you to live in. Worlds where he could see you happy. A world where he could see you safe. Never again hungry scraping up dirt in the slums. He could never put you through that again. Dazai originally wrote to see you from a distance and then he left.

The first time he'd done so he came back to this world without you again feeling empty. He picked up a pen again to see you then disappeared.

But then he bumped into you, his mistake really he shouldn't have gotten too close. Months of seeing you from afar had him craving for more, but touching you gave him butterflies. A sudden thrill he'd missed for years—he caught himself before the rollercoaster of emotions went any further and once again disappeared.

Now?

Being away from you for so long made him restless.

So he created a world where he could fall in love with you all over again. Every world he'd made he'd kept everything that built your personality, especially you're cleverness. The very thing that led you worlds to his, something he hadn't even planned.

The only two aware of it should still be in that book.

Akutagawa and Atsushi.

So how?

"Osamu!" You pulled him worlds away back to his own and he breathed.

"You have nothing to say? Since you're so quiet I'll say what I've got on my mind bastard."

You opened your mouth to yell at him, but he'd shut you up with a kiss.

And he was eighteen with you again. Having his first kiss under a dim flickering streetlight, stealing bread from bakeries, taking out targets, going on dates. He was forever eighteen every time he kissed you.

But this time was special because he was eighteen and his life finally moved forward.

Bonus: Kunikida grumbling as he picks up and reorganizes the papers surrounding the two of you.

Extra bonus: You're absolutely terrified of Atsushi he's literally known in your world for being a murderer?? Since he's a cat and cats are scared of water you throw a lot of water on him the first day, and then adopt him.

#dazai x reader #bungo stray dogs season 4 #beast au bsd #tagging later #Kunikida I’m so sorry my love 😭🙏🏾#dazai osamu #yeah dazai and chuuya kiss what about it 😩#dazai x you #bsd dazai #bungou stray dogs dazai #dazai x y/n #dazai has ruined my life actually anyone kaiji tang voice atp

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m4niackkyun · 1 year

Text

“Words I've Heard” || [fdau fic]

The former groaned as he tried to get into a comfortable position, hissing in pain from how sore his body was in each stretch. It was just him, the closed space of the school bathroom, and a first aid kit he kept in his bag everyday; just in case.

He furrowed his eyebrows when the stinging sensation of the alcohol cotton pad that made contact with his bruised skin, a bit of blood still leaking from the cut. A long sigh escaped his lips, he was tired, so tired. He had to skip class again just so he could tend his wounds, they really didn't go easy on him this time.

“Mm...how am I gonna explain this to mom...saying I tripped off my bike again? Ugh...no no she wouldn't believe that,” he grumbled, to think he'd be worried about himself, he was much more worried about making his dear mother overthink about his own safety. He'd rather play off as the good and proper elder brother that he is...most of the time. He's the eldest Lee sibling, he's supposed to act stern and strong. He's supposed to be the one figure his siblings could look up to and depend on.

....

Ugh who is he kidding... What kind of big brother gets beaten up and hides away in the school bathroom like some fucking coward..? All that he's been doing is just lie to himself.

SLAM!!!

“Fuckin' hell!?! that dipshit ran away.”

The pair of red orbs widen in fear from the familiar voice, his breath almost stopped from how dreaded he was. He stayed quiet despite the pounding sound of his heartbeat which he felt ringing loudly within his eardrums.

“Oh c'mon, let it go dude. We beat him up pretty badly, he probably went somewhere to piss himself hahah!” another voice, a somewhat lighter toned speaker, chimed onto the other's frustration.

“Tch, well I ain't done playing with him—I mean, did'ja see how that stupid prick looked at me?! He dared looked at me dead in the eye with those disgusting eyeballs of his could you belive it?!?”

The other one scoffed, “What? You scared of that loser?? Pfffft—” the ravenette kept silent as he heard one of the two individuals crack a mocking laugh.

“Like hell I am, shit head. When I find that fucker I'll beat him up twice as much so that useless brain of his wouldn't forget who he's messing with.” his voice laced with malice. The ravenette couldn't help but quitely curl into a ball, a hand covering his mouth as he tried to steady his breathing. He was trembling, he couldn't risk going out now, not when he knows what will happen to him.

“Hey, don't you think we've been messing with him enough? Yer gonna attract those two other assholes,” another voice, this time gravely rough and hoarse, he also heard the clicking sound of a lighter. Ah..they're gonna take a smoke...great. now it'll take more time for him to wait.

“The twins?? Naaah, don't worry. Pretty sure they wouldn't care, they're not even family.”

The ravenette jolted.

“What..? You 'know it all' fucker, don't go blabbering stupid shit just to act smart,” the hoarse voice spat.

“It's true, dipshit! They all look nothing alike, that bastard's practically the ugly duckling of the group!”

There was a brief silence between the three of them, or... more like four.

“Ya, but Lee Soohwa's also got dark hair too? That kinda contradicts your theory.”

“So what? Hair is irrelevant. You know what Lee Jaemin, Lee Jaehwan, and Lee Soohwa all have in common?” he snaps his fingers before the others could answer, “Normal. Fucking. Eyes. Have you even been hearing what I'm talking about?! This bitch has red eyes. Red. Eyes. Don't that ring any bells for ya??”

The hoarse voice cackled, “That's your only argument? It could've just been a genetic mutation. See that's why you read books Einstein, fucking learn.”

“Tch, I'm also talking about facial feature-wise dammit. Jaemin, Jaehwan, and Soohwa all have that same smug shit-eating looks on their faces while he...” the former paused, as if he were finding the right words to describe him.

“I-i don't know he just has this weird carnal...sort of... grim look on his face that just...j-just like today he—I don't know man! It just fucking creeps you out.”

“So you ARE scared, HAHAH” the lighter toned voice cackled once more, it sounded like he was slapping the poor guy's back while he was at it.

“Fuck off, you don't know how it feels, asshole!” the former hissed, shoving the person in question away harshly, making him stagger a little from the rough gesture.

“Heheh, but that's a pretty funny theory. Like what if he's actually an illegitimate child, a bastard, if you will hahah!”

The individual who has been the topic of their conversation kept dead silent. Guilt and frustration started to boil within him, his jaw tightening more and more, hands balled up into fists.

Stop...

“Ahh right right right, no wonder he looks so different. Someone probably picked him up from a brothel!!” the lighter toned one chimed in.

Stop.

“Pffft—ahah! Or maybe, y'think someone could've knocked his mom up and made a little mistake along the way??” the hoarse voice emitted a squeaky laugh, “Man talk about lame pull out game—”

SLAM!!!

“??!?”

That was it.

The last. Fucking. Straw.

——

Hasty footsteps echoed through the halls, He knew exactly where his brother was. And he knew damn well what's gonna happen when he's either left alone or when they find him. It was like some sort of protocol that's bound to happen at least 4-6 times a week. Jaehwan had been a little around 5 minutes late due to the fact that his history teacher wouldn't stop blabbering about WW2.

Luckily he'd already texted Jaemin to get a head start and find him quickly.

Just one hall to the right and hopefully he'll arrive before things start going downhill.

After a sharp turn and nearly tripping over his feet, he saw a familiar figure standing stiff in the middle of the hallway, right in front of the opened bathroom door.

“Jaemin,” he huffed as he attempted to catch his breath. Slightly crouching his back forward as he placed his hand on one of Jaemin's shoulders. Not getting a response, he swallowed thickly, looking up to his twin who plastered a dreaded expression. Almost as if he's in total shock, his eyes locked onto whatever it was in front of him.

“Jaemin...? Where's hyu—” The bicolored teen glanced over the scenery before him. His dark orbs widen to the point where he was practically bawling his eyes out. The display was rather...grusome.

His brother, the person in questions, had his hand gripping the head of another individual. One he would recognize as “Taesang Hwang” from class 2-B perhaps if his face wasn't mushed up like a squished grape from the way his brother kept slamming him agaisnt the bathroom wall over and over and over again until the white tiles were absolutely painted with blood.

“H-hey, th-that's enough m-man, you're gonna k-ki-kill him!?!”

Another student, supposedly one of Taesang's lackeys, yelled from the corner of the room. Blood gushing from his mouth, probably from a few lost teeth. A couple of them scattered near him as evidence of the assult.

There's was also one more student right next to him, laying unconscious on the floor with one of his elbows dislocated just until you could see the bone poking out of the busted up limb.

Jaemin grimaces at the sight. Perhaps not out of any sympathy knowing what these three have done towards his older sibling, rather because of a little bit of nausea tickled his throat. Pools of blood were practically drowing the bathroom floor. Not only that, what sent goosebumps down his spine even more was his brother's complexion that laid no remorse.

After one last slam, he let go of Taesang's now deranged limp head. Jaemin stared at him before letting out a subtle sigh in relief after seeing Taesang's body twitch a few times.

Hey, that's a good sign okay? Means that he's not dead... yet.

The ravenette got up, his eyes moved slowly to trace the twin's figures. He was an utter mess. His hair was wet and sticky from a mixture of water, sweat, and maybe a little bit of blood. Uniform absolutely spoiled with the thick crimson fluid, and his hands shaking from the adrenaline rush.

A soft smile appearing on his face that made both Jaemin and Jaehwan's blood run cold.

“S...sorry...I—i..Th-they—” his voice was quiet, but audible enough for them to both notice how it shook.

Jaemin, initiatively pulled him into his embrace. Wrapping his warm arms around the ravenette in hopes that whatever he was doing would calm him down.

“It's...'s alright hyung, we'll get you home...”

As for Jaehwan, whom eyes were still fixated on the three beaten up bullies laying limp on the floor tiles like lifeless dolls. He couldn't help but feel a sort of....fear? He always knew his hyung couldn't fight for shit, and yet this goreish display in front of him was evidence of what he was more than capable of.

Lee Dae-Jung was something, but he wasn't a full blown brute. The ravenette was nothing but a gentle, soft-spoken guy that doesn't like violence. At least, that was the Lee Dae-Jung he knew all his life.

——

Thanks for @shuuryuhei for the name suggestion :> i decided to go for it anyway cause it'd seem fitting than the other ones

#kkyun's blurbs #yoo naosuke #lee jaehwan #lee jaemin #oc stuff #[fdau]

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sassypotatoe1 · 3 months

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Not to armchair diagnose but if you consider yourself an introverted extrovert, vice versa or an ambivert you might want to do some introspection and research because it's entirely possible that you're just autistic. Lemme explain. If you find that you struggle to form deep, long-lasting bonds with people, miss social cues often and get exhausted by spending a lot of time with a lot of people, but you also hate hate hate being alone and constantly crave connections you just can't seem to build, it might be because your brain processes social conventions differently and you're exhausted from sensory overload, masking, struggling to keep up with social conventions and difficulty regulating your feelings, not from actually being an introvert.

If your behavior and attitudes are contradicting that's fine, people are messy and contradicting and that's not necessarily pathological. If you struggle with some things that's fine, life is messy and contradicting and difficult, and it's not necessarily a Condition™. If, however, these things cause you frequent and intense distress or disable you from normal functioning you can go ahead and consider that something isn't quite right.

When I first got my adhd diagnosis I was so excited to tell everyone in my life so they would finally see why I am the way I am, that it's different brain chemistry, that I'm not lazy or doing it on purpose to be rebellious, and I'd use the words I learned fervently reading the dsm and journal articles to explain my struggles by pathologizing them, because I felt at the time that using words like "adhd paralysis" instead of "I want to do the thing but really can't" would make people take my struggles more seriously. Sometimes they did, mostly they just thought I was making excuses.

Sometimes, very rarely though, I'd talk to someone about the things I struggle with and they'd go "well everyone does that a bit" and at one point I learned to say "yeah, but is it to such a degree that it distresses you, disables you, can put your life at risk and makes things impossible for you that seem as easy as breathing to everyone else?" and it clicked for people.

I wasn't saying I have adhd because I forget my keys sometimes. I was saying I have adhd because I had to learn how to pick locks and scale palisade fencing to get into my own apartment at night after walking home in the dark because I forgot to arrange a lift again, and I'd locked my keys in my apartment for the 5th time that week, and nothing I've tried has made me stop forgetting it.

And since then I've gotten more diagnoses and my treatment plan and therapy strategy has changed half a dozen times, and I kept researching and learning and Journaling and exploring to figure out where what fits, and I've also learned that other than having a clear outline of your conditions, symptoms and struggles for medical purposes, pathologizing yourself is socially useless.

So now instead of saying "my nervous system can't regulate itself and my brain struggles with filtering sensory input" I say "my entire body is tingling painfully because my brother got the wrong flavor of ice cream and I can't stop crying about it because I REALLY needed triple chocolate ice cream to feel better, and I don't even know what from" because whichever way I phrase it, people who care will understand and people who don't will be committed to not understanding, and I can't change that, but I can change how I think about myself and my struggles and being more present in my experiences has been much more helpful than putting them at arms length with psychobabble and therapy speak.

This still doesn't change the fact that I have a list of diagnosed and undiagnosed conditions so long that I lovingly call it my shopping list. Understanding that something is wrong, what it is and how it affects me is crucially important, because in the past when I thought I was a typical abled normal kid, I almost got hit by high speed trains or almost broke my back, neck or collarbones in bad falls at gymnastics practice or drank so much coffee to be able to function that I'm convinced a congenital heart defect that typically makes itself known in someone's late 50s or 60s reared its head snarling and snapping at 20 almost 60% due to my coffee consumption during my teens alone.

Permanent injuries I have to live with now could have been avoided had I know that my unstable joints and clumsiness weren't just unfitness and inattention, but hypermobility and a built in weak interoception and proprioception. Knowing that my nervous system can't regulate itself properly helped me reduce self-harming behaviors significantly, because it was no longer "I'm crazy why can't I be normal why does this feel good why can't I stop" in my head, it was now "oh you're not regulated let's explore why you might feel this way and do a healthy stim. You like rough textures when you're embarrassed, so what can you do to manage how you're feeling now?"

Being aware that I get delusions and hallucinations now that they've significantly reduced after a med change did so much for my general paranoia and anxiety. I can watch a horror movie for the themes and story without being unable to sleep and panicking because I'm scared of ghosts I don't believe in, having to imagine a forcefield around myself to protect myself against forces I don't actually think are there, panicking every time my focus on this false force field slips even a bit. Shadows are just shadows now, and the way the lights from a passing car moves through the window is magical for completely mundane reasons: it looks fucking pretty.

This turned out much longer than intended but I guess what I'm trying to say with it is that if something causes you trouble or distress, you're not only welcome to but encouraged to explore what it might be, and you're allowed to pathologize your own behaviors, but you gotta maintain a balance, and it can take a bit to find it but it's worth trying anyway.

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aldmerii-blog · 6 years

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hey it’s a tutorial on how i make gifs

its a long one

carly, what programs do i need?

what a good question! basically, you need a program to record video (if you’re making gifs of video games), a program to take frames of the video you recorded (or the movie or show you’re giffing because you can do that too, obviously), and a graphic processing program (it’s photoshop, you need photoshop)

also if you’re recording your own game footage you need a computer capable of running that game well. ideally you want medium to high settings at 60fps (this varies; like you want to record, say, skyrim at high settings and probably modded, but newer games like mass effect andromeda, just medium-high settings should be fine!)

for video recording, i strongly recommend:

nvidia shadowplay

i think you can only use this if you have an nvidia graphics card. it’s very good because it automatically records at 60fps and at up to 4k (so like it’s good for taking regular video for video purposes also) and it starts up very quickly (so when you hit record, it’s only a few seconds before it starts recording). in-game, you hit alt+f9 to start recording.

xbox game dvr

i used this for a long time and it’s perfectly satisfactory, and great if you don’t have an nvidia graphics card. it comes with windows 10. you need to go into windows settings and set the quality to High and the framerate to 60fps. the only drawback is that it takes a hot minute to start up the first time you use it in a gaming session (like 10-30 seconds) and there are some games it won’t open over (i had issues with both assassin’s creed odyssey and far cry 5). in-game, you hit ctrl+alt+r to start recording.

for frame-taking:

gomplayer

has a slightly imprecise method of screenshotting, that is you have to time your “burst capture” while the video is playing - you can’t find the spot you want, pause it, start your capturing, and then play the video to have it start at an exact moment. however it really captures every frame and i’ve never had any issues with it. best advice is to record more frames than you need to and delete the ones you don’t need in windows explorer or photoshop. to open the screen-capture window, you hit ctrl+g

potplayer

i used this one for a long time, too! it does what i said gomplayer doesn’t do, which means you can pause it and start screencapturing and it’ll start from where you paused it when you hit play. i’ve had a few issues with it not actually capturing every frame even when i have it set to do so. but that might be just me. to open the screen capture window, you hit ctrl+g

for graphic handing:

photoshop. specifically cs5 -- that’s what i’ve used for about half a decade. i’m sure a lot of the steps are similar in cs6 and cc but i’ve never used either of them and i can’t help you learn those.

that’s it. no other options.

okay great!!!!!!! you got ur software set up. now what???

if you want to make gifs of video games where you use your own footage, read this bit. if not skip down to the next header.

at the most basic level, with creative cropping, you don’t really have to do anything more than record the screen of the game you’re playing. for a lot of games, this is what you have to do (dragon age origins and 2, stardew valley, etc). HOWEVER. there are ways to get different shots in some games and i’ll take you through skyrim/fallout 4 and dragon age inquisition (and i think other frostbite engine games?) if you have questions about other games you’re welcome to ask!

bethesda products (skyrim and fallout 4 mainly)

bethesda is very nice and includes console commands that let you get some good cinematic shots in their base games. these are the same for both skyrim and fallout 4 because they’re the same engine.

tfc

your bread and butter, baby. this is “toggle free camera” or “toggle fly camera” -- it detaches you from your character basically, and you can fly around. if you are in third person when you enter the console command, your character will remain visible and you can take pictures of them. in first person, theyre not. (also, drawn weapons will disappear in first person). note that in fallout 4 third person, your character will continue to rotate/strafe as you move the camera.

you can add a 1 to the end of the command (tfc 1) and it will also freeze time. this is good for taking screenshots, not gifs

entering tfc again will turn it off

‘toggle menu’ -- this turns off the hud, including the crosshair. this is. very important. you don’t want the menu in ur gifs ok.

it also hides the console window! so it may be a little confusing. but generally if the grass/water/dust is moving, the console window isn’t open.

typing tm again will reenable the menus

sucsm #

the default free cam is very fast and imprecise. i usually use sucsm 1 to slow down the speed at which the camera moves.

sgtm #

set global time multiplier. this one isn’t hugely necessary but i still find myself using it sometimes. default is 1. you can set it to, like sgtm .01 to basically freeze the game while you get the camera into position if you’re trying to capture an action. also sometimes if i think things are moving too fast or too slow i’ll change the timescale. MAKE SURE you set it back to 1 when you’re done!

i Heavily suggest, especially for skyrim, that you use an ENB if your computer can handle it. it makes the game look nice, but it also usually includes depth of field which i am an absolute slut for. if not, use the mod dynavision for a DoF effect (available for both skyrim and fo4!)

and then you just have fun with it. getting good shots takes some practice. play with it. i tend to record long sessions (~5-10 minutes) with a LOT of different shots to pick from when i watch it back.

frostbite engine (dragon age inquisition and mass effect andromeda, notably)

here’s where we use the Cinematic Tools, lads! these are a little more difficult. note that there are ct for a lot of games that i don’t play but i’m assuming they work the same. i’ve also never used CT in andromeda but it’s the same engine so they also probably work the same. so i’m mainly talking about DA:Inquisition.

OKAY SO. start the game. load ‘er up. you want to run origin and DAI as admin, and then once you’re in game, start the CT as admin, too. the controls window will open, and then another command prompt type window will open and hack into the matrix. you don’t have to do anything with it, but note that if you close the command prompt window, it will close the game.

okay! party time. there are lots of other tutorials on using the CT, btw, so if i don’t explain it sufficiently you can either ask me or look up other tutorials.

first, i usually take gifs of characters in DAI, which means i wait until cutscenes so we can see them talking or making faces or whatever. you can also do scenery gifs or whatever!

so we’re in a cutscene. first and foremost check “freeze time” and then “enable”. set up your shots. start recording. THEN uncheck “freeze time”. that’s all in the “free camera” tab of the CT and technically all you need. But wait, there’s more. we’ve got two other tabs!

in this tab, I most often use “depth of field” because we’ve already established that i love a strong DoF. all these things are a little hard to understand and mostly require a lot of messing around.

focus distance

pretty self explanatory -- it’s the distance from the camera that objects will be in focus. for portraits, i usually have it at 1.125.

blur factor

how blurry the stuff that’s out of focus will be. i usually set it somewhere between 4 and 7, though you can go higher or lower. dealer’s choice.

blur add

makes everything blurry regardless of focus. don’t use it.

blur filter

i almost always set it to gaussian 9 but it doesn’t make that much of a difference.

dof type

always set it to sprite

max blur

i absolutely do not know what this does and don’t use it.

near start/end

with this you can kind of expand “focus distance” to include more varied distances. i usually don’t mess with this and i suggest you don’t.

far start/end

most useful in outdoor scenes. usually it’ll be set to like 100, meaning that there’s a gradient way out to the most blurred parts. if you bring it lower, the gradient distance gets shorter, so the background gets blurrier closer to your focus. what i set it to depends entirely on the scene. just try messing with it and see what it does for you.

make sure you hit the green enable button on the left and Also tick “enable” on the DOF screen to use it.

this tab is a little more useful for screenshotting but i’ll include it since i’m going over the CT anyway. i have never messed with global fov or timescale BUT

shadowmap resolution

i usually set it down to 512 for smooth, soft, realistic shadows. otherwise they look kinda stripey.

resolution scale

NOT FOR GIFS. do not use this for gifs. but DEFINITELY do use it for screencaps. set it to two (i’ve had my computer freeze from trying to set it to 4, so like, be careful). it basically doubles the resolution of everything on screen and makes it very pretty but it’ll ruin your framerate so don’t try to record with it.

okay, I’ve got my footage, now what!

now we’re gonna open it in whichever player you picked.

GOMPLAYER:

for gomplayer, you’re going to press ctrl + g to bring up the screencapture window. i Don’t remember what the original settings are, but you wanna make sure your quality is set to 255 (highest) and that it’s set to original resolution.

now the slightly hard part. you gotta hit “burst capture” while the video is playing, so it’s slightly imprecise. for that reason i have the number (burst capture images) set much higher than i’ll use, so that i make up for the imprecision. after you capture, go in and delete the frames you don’t need, either in windows explorer or after you’ve loaded them into photoshop.

POTPLAYER:

just pause your video, hit ctrl+g, copy my settings, click start, and then play your video. potplayer will capture every frame.

i should have mentioned this earlier but you have to have a folder to save your screencaps in. i usually organize by GIFS>game name># what its a gif of>a numbered folder for each gif in the set. but it’s up to you. just probably don’t save to your desktop or wherever the default location is.

AND NOW THE FUN PART!!

open photoshop!!! if it’s your first time here, go to window>animation so that you’ll. have the animation window open.

now go file > load files into stack > browse, and find the frames we just took. select em all. click ok.

you’re probably going to start off in timeline view. we don’t want that yet. click the box in the bottom right corner that looks like multiple little boxes to switch to frame view.

in frame view, click the menu box thing. and click “make frames from layers” and then “reverse frames”

now select all your frames, and on any one of them, select the arrow next to “0.0 sec” (this is the frame delay). select “other”

what you set the frame delay to depends on what your footage frame delay originally was. if you’re using game footage, it was probably 60fps, in which case you should set the delay to 0.04 sec. if it was 30 fps, I usually go 0.06 to 0.08. play around with it and decide which you like best. there’s a play button so you can see how the delay looks before you continue.

now we switch back over to timeline view. so click the same button as we used to get to frame view.

now select all your layers, in the layer panel. right click on them and click “convert to smart object”

here is usually where I do my scaling/cropping. tumblr photoset sizes are 540px for full width, 268 for 2 wide, and 177 for 3 wide. KEEP IN MIND when making especially 540px gifs that the size limit is 3mb. so you can’t make them super tall or super long (time-wise).

the gif of calcifer i’m making is going to be 540x250. make use of set image size (ctrl + alt + i) and canvas size (ctrl + alt +c). set the width of 540 with image size and then crop the canvas to your desired height with canvas size.

okay! technically we can be done. this is what my gif looks like right now:

however i like to color and edit mine. yknow. here are my sharpening settings. I cannot help you with coloring because i’m bad at it. at best i will suggest you look at and download resource colorings from blogs like itsphotoshop

anyway, to sharpen: filter>sharpen>smart sharpen

and then apply your coloring. and save with ctrl + alt + shift + s, or just file > save for web and devices. set your file type to GIF. two things to look at:

1) MAKE SURE YOU SET THE LOOPING OPTIONS TO “FOREVER”. i put this in caps because I am an idiot who messed this up all the time when i first started.

2) keep an eye on your file size!! if it’s over 3mb (mine, down in the left corner, says it’s 2.697, so it’s fine) then you can try to reduce the number of colors. but don’t go below 128 colors, because then it starts to look bad. instead you can try reducing the height or going back and cutting down the number of frames (so basically remaking the gif again :( ).

okay great, click save. save it. you’re done. here’s our calcifer.

and that’s it! i hope this made sense and like. absolutely ask if you have questions.

#i have been meaning to do this for. months. and finally got around to it these last few weeks!!!!#boy i really hope this all makes sense #carly tells tales #i'm not kidding this is really long. click read more at your own risk.

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taeyamayang · 3 years

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tr boys as dads and rules

˗ˏˋ mikey, draken, baji, mitsuya, & kazutora ´ˎ˗

ㅡhouse rules they instill if they were a dad

↬ fancy volleyball players? click here for Haikyuu!!

a/n: short and simple domestic fluff to cope with my exams to brighten your day. i feel like i should have done more but vsnsbdjshsj finals took my remaining braincells. i'm sorry and i hope enjoy.

❃ MIKEY: CURFEW

ㅡamong all the members of tokyo manji gang, mikey is likely the most aware of what goes on in the streets when it's past sun down and he wouldn't dare to risk an enemy crossing paths with his child. he would go batshit crazy thinking of what if's and would lose his mind if he sees a single graze on his baby's skin. i hc him as a protective dad.

❃ DRAKEN: MAKE A MESS, CLEAN IT

ㅡdraken doesn't like his house untidy (i mean have you seen his room??) so the first thing he teaches his kid is to clean up the mess they made. he isn't the type to nag about how unorganized a room is instead he'd drag a long sigh before ushering to his kids to come see the mess they made his baritone voiceㅡthe type of voice a parent uses when reprimanding their child. but when the mess is tidied, he rewards his kid with their favorite treats. he loves seeing the small lids of his kid's eyes expand and the corner of their lips pulling up into excitement as he gives them ice cream as a reward.

❃ BAJI: KEEP YOUR DOOR OPEN WHEN GUESTS ARRIVE

ㅡhe's paranoid, not really, perhaps a bit. it's not like he doesn't trust his kid though, but the thing is he doesn't trust anyone aside from his family and friends. he's skeptical and would rather keep his loved ones secured and safe. so when a guest comes over (esp if it's a boy and he has a daughter) he insists on keeping the door of his daughter's room open. baji is usually not the hospitable type but his personality changes to a complete three hundred sixty degrees when guests are over. he makes sure to bring snacks and check on his kid every once in a while. he makes sure his child and the guest is comfortable (heck, this is just his excuse to spy on the stranger on them).

❃ MITSUYA: NO CURSING

ㅡlmao he's the one to blame for this. whenever his kid would unconsciously blurt out curse words he would tell them off immediately (bc he didn't want y/n to witness their child picking up his habit) he would try to be a 'serious' dad by lecturing his child about the weight of saying bad words but halfway into reprimanding them, his serious dad persona crumbles, revealing his true identity. he can't help but roll out soft chuckles as he looks at his child endearingly. his little one's pouted lips and rosy cheeks are too cute for him and all he could think of is squeezing those chubby cheeks. so in turn his kid would assume he's playing games with them. amazed by his father laughing, the kid repeats the curse word several times, and louder this time, until y/n hears it and shoot death glares to mitsuya. the latter sheepishly smiles and scratches the back of his head in defeat.

❃ KAZUTORA: OWN UP

ㅡthis may or may not be based on his experience but being older and wiser, he realized the importance of owning up to a mistake and later on apologizing for it. it doesn't matter if you made a mistake as long as you recognize your short commings and own up to it that thought alone suffices. i bet his kid is well loved by his peers and probably looked up to by many for their kind words and respectful gestures. this is enough for kazutora to feel warm and proud of his child.

thanks for reading! rb and likes are very much appreciated :)

Masterlist | TR Masterlist

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forsworned · 3 years

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[♥] academyau!substitute teacher {renguko kyojuro x reader}

Genre: Slight Fluff, Comedy

Categories: F/M

Relationships: Kyoujuro Renguko/Reader, Giyuu Tomioka/Reader

word count: 2,538

a/n: this is a pretty long read, so read at your own risk of boredom. i guess it could also b classified as a "x giyuu" but the title is just way too long and kind of throws the main focus off. might turn this into multiple parts so let me know what y'all think! also this is just a filler for the requests i have rn i don't want to leave you guys hanging

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

"I literally don't know shit about history."

Giyu sighed in exasperation. "You don't need to know anything about history [first name]. The teacher already has a lesson plan and you literally just need to pass out the papers. I just need you to cover for a couple of a days because one of the teachers are out sick."

You groaned as you threw your head back in annoyance, pushing your feet up against the edge of your desk. Even though it didn't look it Giyu was practically begging you to substitute for one of his coworkers. And he almost never asks for favors.

Giyu ran a hand through his hair. "He's super picky with his subs and everyone he's had come in hasn't come back."

"So you're saying that I'm a good pick." You mused, with your head in your hands with an annoying smug look.

"Don't push it."

You scrunched your face in disgust. "I just really, really don't want to Giyu. Middle school kids are the absolute worst. All they do is make moaning noises and forget or neglect to wear deodarant."

Giyu lightly chuckled. Your eyes darted to watch his usually solemn demeanor melted away into a small smile which immediately disappeared when you caught wind of it.

He cleared his throat and continued to speak like nothing happened.

"Anyway, so you'll do it?"

You rolled your eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. I'll do it."

Giyu looked pleased with himself when he heard your answer.

"I mean after all, I do owe you like a million and one favors." You sarcastically mused.

Which you kind of did. Giyu was your childhood best friend and always kept your out trouble in the nick of time. Whether it was you getting chased down by the neighborhood cat, or when you got gum stuck in your hair and you didn't want your parents to find out so he quickly snipped it out of your hair with everything seemingly in place like nothing happened. Yeah you could say you were a bit of troublemaker growing up, but Giyu was like the older brother that always looked after you.

"I'm so glad you realized." He replied cooly. "Be here by 7:30AM. Don't be late, I already have enough on my plate and I don't need you embarassing me."

You used your hand to shoo him out of your office space. "Mhm, you can leave now."

"I'm serious."

"Yup."

He squinted his eyes at you."[first name]"

"Ok! I got it. I'll be there 7:30 sharp." You exclaimed throwing your arms up in surrender.

He smirked in satisfaction. "Good."

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The morning air was crisp as the sun shone down on your blurred eyes. You absolutely dreaded waking up in the morning and despite that you still agreed to be here. Oh, how you hated that man.

"Good morning." A familiar voice muffled beside you.

Speak of the devil.

He was munching away at his raisin bread walking next to you in the most nonchalant manner. Typical Giyu.

"Shut up." You mumbled miserably.

"You know, you could be a little nicer."

Your eyes narrowed at him. Expression in full death stare mode, but Giyu was as cool as ever, and as always completely unfazed by your behavior. But before you could retaliate, middle and highschool girls were practically lining up to say good morning to Giyu, blushing like mad when he acknowledged them. You on the other hand, were getting the death stares and whispers instead.

"Must be nice to be the heart throb PE teacher." You teased, poking him with your binder.

Giyu ignored you as you walked into the building, showing you to your classroom. You ignored the stares of kids burning holes through your back as you analyzed everything. Tons of inspirational historical quotes lined the walls, pictures and signatures of past and possibly current students covered one single wall. You inspected closely trying to catch a glimpse of who the teacher you were substituting for. One person in particular caught your eye, and he was hot. With a capital H. But before you could look at the other pictures to confirm Giyu called you over.

"Miss [last name], can you come up to the front and introduce yourself."

You sighed as you approached the front of the classroom and watched as the students all stood up. As their whispers got louder, you had to resist the urge to roll your eyes.

"Good morning class. I'm going to be your substitute teacher for the day as Mr.--"You glanced over at the desk and moved the plaque in your direction. "--Renguko is out sick today."

As the class bowed in respect getting their good morning greetings, some of the children could't help but show their disappointment. You noticed most of them girls.

"I'll leave them to you." Giyu stated, and then looked at the class. "And be good to your substitute. I don't want to hear anyone misbehaving."

They bowed as he exited the room and now all eyes were on you. You sighed to yourself.

I really gotta learn to say no sometimes.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

To say you were exhausted was an understatement. It’s not that you hated kids or anything, but they always just see to have so much energy and well, you didn’t. Not even a cup of coffee could save you right now. You watched as the clock above your desk ticked and felt yourself getting more and more sleepier by the moment. Your consciousness fleeting as you lie under your warm blankets.

The image of that fiery haired man popped into your head and your eyes shot open.

You totally forgot to ask Giyu about that hot guy!

You let out a loud groan, knowing that your timing was off because now he would most definitely be suspicious if you asked him tomorrow. The curiosity of knowing that man itched at your skin. You absolutely had to know who he was.

What if he was a high school student, or worse a middle school student who looked very grown.

You outwardly icked at the thought, closing your eyes and scrunching your face in disgusted.

No way. He definitely had to be an adult. Maybe even a teacher.

“The history teacher!” You exclaimed out loud, shooting your whole body up.

It had to be him. You smiled victoriously to yourself, mentally patting yourself in the back.

And you had the perfect plan set up to find out.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You had to have looked in the mirror for about three hours to make sure you looked absolutely stunning. Hair curled to frame your face perfectly, and make up subtle but very much enhancing your natural features. You rubbed your lips one more time in the mirror before smacking your hands to your face to wake yourself up. Giyu was not going to be happy.

The morning bells chimed and you were seated at the desk welcoming students as they walked in. You discreetly checked your make up in your compact mirror under the desk to make sure nothing was running and not a hair was out of place.

“Perfect.” You whispered to yourself, running a hand through your blow out. All this work for a man that probably wasn’t even a teacher here.

“Miss [last name], what are you doing here.”

You froze at the voice. Nothing could prepare you for the icy glare that Giyu shot down at you. It sent a shiver down your spine. But his glare melted right off of you as you glanced over to the man next to him. Your mystery man finally come true!

“Oh hello, Mr. Tomioka. It’s pleasure seeing you.” You smiled, standing up. You looked right over to the handsome man right next to him. His hair like rays of sunlight with eyes to match. You could barely contain your excitement. “And you must be Mr. Renguko.”

His smile as big as the sun. Scratch that. He was the sun.

Bright, beautiful and fiery. He physically made you warmer just being in his very presence. You could’ve sworn you heard simultaneous female sighs in admiration, but you were way too distracted by how utterly gorgeous he was.

“Yes, I am.” He cheerfully stated. “And you must be the substitute that was in for me yesterday.”

He took your hand in his and you could’ve sworn you melted at his touch. Finely calloused hands, indicating that he worked with his hands a lot. Not that his physique couldn’t already tell you how absolutely fit he was.

“Yes, I am. Your class was wonderful. I didn’t have any problems with them whatsoever.” You couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. This really was the man and it took every ounce of you not to pinch yourself to see if you were awake or not.

“So are you going to tell me why exactly you’re here today.” Giyu chimed in. This time his icy glare had no effect.

“Oh yes, I thought I was still scheduled for today. I never heard anything back from Mr.Tomioka so I assumed that I would head back in.” You lied right through your teeth and Giyu could see right through it.

He narrowed his eyes at you. “And I remember emailing you last night confirming that Mr. Renguko was fully recovered and ready to work again.”

You couldn’t see it but Giyu was totally spitting out venom with every single word he spoke. It was almost terrifying, but you were way too distracted by the glow of the man that was the literal sun right beside you.

As if the smile on your face couldn’t get any bigger.

“That’s odd. I don’t remember getting an email.” You innocently put a finger to your lip, and looked upward as if you were searching your head for the memory of the email confirmation that you definitely recall getting.

Giyu’s went from you to Mr.Renguko. And then it finally clicked for him. His shoulder dropped in defeat. He did not have the strength required to dealing with your shenanigans today. He turned around heading out the classroom, raising a hand to dismissively.

“Just don’t burn the place down.”

You gave him two big thumbs up. “You got it!”

"So would you like to observe the class since you're already here?" Mr.Renguko interjected. He motioned to the empty seat right beside his desk and chair.

You beamed at him. "Only if that's okay with your class, of course."

"Oh trust me, they are more than okay with that." He grinned at the students. Most of them smiled and blushed looking away from your direction. You sat there in confusion, but before you could inquire about what he said, he shot out of his seat and grabbed the stack of papers on his desk.

"Alright, class we are going to go over your classwork from yesterday and finish the rest of chapter six."

☆彡

It seemed like forever until Mr.Renguko had settled into his seat while he let his students work together on their classwork.

"I can see why my students are such big fans of you." He mused. You looked up from your phone and saw him warmly grinning at your face. This time you didn't fight the blood rushing to the surface of your cheeks.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well," He pulled out a stack of notecards and began shuffling through them. "I always have my students write their own evaluations of my substitutes and yours were outstanding. Lots of compliments about your appearance and how you carried the class."

Evaluation? Appearance?

Your jaw went slightly aslack at his words. The only thing that left your lips: "Evaluations...?"

His grin grew. Mr.Rengoku knew that this had caught you off guard but he continued. "Yes, I like to know what substitutes are doing their job and keeping my students in line and comfortable."

You were almost speechless. "Wow, you must really care about your students."

He smiled softly this time, and fondly looked over at his students working diligently and quietly together. "Yes, I do. They're kind of like my own kids. I want the very best for them."

Just when you thought you couldn't admire him anymore that you already did. Hot and caring? It had to be too good to be true. You pointed to the best teacher of the year awards on his desk. "I guess you didn't get those just based off your looks alone then."

He visibly blushed and chuckled at you statement as he rubbed the back of his head. "Nah, I don't think so."

You raised an eyebrow at him and pointed at the wall of photos and signatures that lined his wall. "That wall definitely says otherwise."

He laughed a hearty laugh this time. "I don't really think that's the case. Like I said I just look after my students like their my own. They really are my pride and joy."

It really was incredibly hard to not let yourself melt into a puddle in his presence alone. But before you could collect your thoughts, the lunch bell rang and students filed out to their homeroom's and handing in their assignments on their way out. Most of the girls shot you dirty looks before heading out as a way of showing their contempt towards you before the smiled at Mr.Rengoku who was collecting papers at the doorway. At this point, you literally couldn't blame them. Their teacher was a total hottie and you were practically stealing him right under their noses.

As the last student handed in their assignment, Mr. Rengoku closed the door behind them and approached his desk to set aside the stack of papers. He pulled put a box of tissues, picking one out and sneezed rather loudly into it. Cheeks were now a hue of vermillion and he slighted groaned while holding his head.

"You don't look so good, Mr. Renguko." You stated worriedly.

He waved you off. "Nonsense, I'm fine. And you can drop the formalities when were not in front of students. Call me Kyojuro."

You sighed as you fumbled through your bag handing him some cold and flu pills and a packet of vitamin c. "Ok, Kyojuro. You can call me [first name], but I'm going to need you to take these for me and get on home."

He blew loudly into his tissue before tossing into the trash revealing his very red nose. "I-I'm fine, Miss [last name]-- I mean [first name]. Really, I'm ok." He stuttered as he tried to collect himself and get up. Unfortunately, he couldn't hold himself up for more than ten seconds before collapsing and luckily you were there to catch him. He seemed to have been mumbled incoherent words as he laid heavily in your arms. You sighed as you slowly laid him down on the ground and reached for your cellphone to dial the one person you knew could handle this situation the best.

"You didn't actually burn the place down did you?"

You rolled your eyes. "No, idiot. Teacher down."

"Ah, fuck."

242 notes · View notes

sly-merlin · 3 years

Text

KILLING ME- 14

pairing : law student!reader + yuta

genre : (fluff) angst , mafia au/ arranged marriage au.

warnings of this chapter : cursing, mention of drugs, character death.

words : ~4k

summary :

“life’s never fair y/n. realise it as soon as you can . it is the only secret for living a regretless life.”

“ curiousity got the cat hitched”

K.M masterlist

K.M 13

TAGLIST : @kpop-choco @moon-yuta @kawaiiayasan @btm-taeyong @exfolitae @lanadreamie @cheersskznct @hyuckiesgf @theworld-accordingtocasey @simplybree

@yiyi4657 @sorrywonwoo @sillywinnergladiator @minejungwoo @leesalts @mal-nakamoto23 @ro2424 @itlittlefangirl @nctzens-world @bl–ankhaeji @jeaneteflo @nuoyii @bralessmermaid @minhoseyeliner @tyongpoetry @swimmingkpopblog @jkjkseo @orphicmoon @floralescapes

A/N : this chapter marks the celebration of this blog surpassing 600 followers! thank you so much for all the support! also for minor readers, the sfw versions of nsfw chapters are given at the end of the masterlist so check those properly before reading.

•••••••••••••

y/n! Are you sleeping?”

Registering his words, you replied in a groggy voice,“What the fuck do you want?”

“Your phone. I left mine in the medical room. I need to call Mark right now.” with some authority, he spoke.

Whining loudly, you fell back on the bed. It was only due but flailing your arms and legs like a kid in a toy store, you let out a screech full of annoyance, cursing your fate.

Were you really going to babysit him now?

"Have you suddenly lost your hearing? Stop with this sick attitude and open the door."

A puff of air left your nose, your chest moved rhythmically with your stomach and you relaxed your arms beneath your head, eyes fixed at the fan above and ears ringing with his voice. He kept calling you and after a number of shouts, you started humming to distract yourself, afraid that you'd end up helping him otherwise. That was something, naturally, you were not interested in. Last time he had ignored your voice and now nature had presented you with an opportunity to return the favour. Just with a bit less flavour.

"Are you dead?"

"Hmmm. To you, yes I am." Mumbling, you yawned and pushed yourself up to reach your side table and fishing out your earphones from the bottom drawer, you untangled them and fixed them comfortably in your ear, hiding yourself underneath the sheets.

Sonata no.14 instantly transported you away from the noise and the stress that was your unwanted husband, yuta. The smile playing on your lips widened as you realised that you were his only mode of communication at the moment.

But You were going for a nap. Until then, he could wait. And thrash. And cry. Or die.

Rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you rotated the handle of the door to walk outside but your little trip was interrupted when your body collided straight into a wall. No. The obstruction was too soft for a wall.

Opening your eyes properly, you saw yuta standing stiff. Surprised at the sudden appearance, you immediately stumbled back and in hurry, hit your spine on the wooden door. The glare of his eyes, that always spoke more than you could comprehend, coupled with a clenched jaw, was not a very pleasant sight for sure yet you found it harder to dart your own eyes away from him.

"Your phone" he seethed, breathing deeply.

"Huh?" You croaked out.

He raised his brow and in an instant, the previous scenario played like a short movie in your head. Snapping your head down, you regarded his leg with pity. He obviously noticed it immediately but seemed to ignore it and refrained from saying anything. Good for you, you thought.

"Are you deaf?"

Your furrowed brows met his eyes and with a roll of his own, he picked up his finger to force his demand but you managed to walk back inside your room before he could've done that.

Your back faced him as you contemplated your options while slowly stretching your arm to reach for your phone on the other side of the bed.

should you even be giving him your phone?

You had more trust in Taeyong than the man you shared a roof with so there was no way you were doing that.

Unbeknownst to you, yuta was watching your movements intently and the way you bobbed your head, he knew you were scheming something so he decided to be polite for a moment. Only until you were needed. Or your phone was needed.

Once the phone was in your hand, another thought crossed your mind.

"Wait. Where is the house phone?" Crossing your arms, you asked him slyly, already knowing the answer

"You fucking never got it installed. It's still in its stupid package" he seemed rather impatient.

"And you could've called reception through the door telecom. He would have phoned Mark for you. These rich apartments certainly have more hospitality tha-

"I CAN'T GO AROUND DISTRIBUTING AN UNDERGROUND CRIMINAL'S CONTACT NUMBER TO EVERYONE"

He inhaled and exhaled and you just watched until he opened his eyes again, hand reaching out to you.

"Chill. I've every right to be sceptic especially when you are the one asking for it."

Finding Mark's number on your phone, you called him.

Yuta's hand threaded through his rough hair as he noticed what you were trying to do.

"Hey mark!" Your chirpy voice resounded in the room and yuta was sure this was some different spirit speaking. You sounded too bubbly for the way you were investigating him just a second ago.

"Yes yes. His phone exactly.i don't trust him enough to hand over my phone so that's why I'm calling you myself. Just hurry up if you can or you might have to clean up a dead body in the next few hours."

With that you cut the phone. Without meeting yuta's gaze and resting your hand on the handle, you mumbled,

"He'll be here in an hour."

You were about to close the door when he stopped it with the palm of his hand, alerting you with the force.

"Tell him to get some food too."

And limping, he retired back, to the couches.

Sighing, you messaged mark. Had it been for something else, you'd have ignored but your own stomach had signalled you that it needed some good food so you chose not to fight against your own body.

Now, only the taste of the food could decide how many days you were going to tolerate that barbaric human.

"Are you still going to that stupid internship?" Johnny hesitantly murmured from your desk chair while taking big bites from the plate.

"It's not stupid please! I’m just waiting for them to actually pay attention to my awesome capabilities so they can transfer me to the main branch. This is not bad either but”, you stopped to lick your forefinger and tasting the sauce, continued, “but I really wanna go into the criminal unit. That’s where the actual fun is. As long as i’m being paid decently, i’ll suffer with the stupid research work here.”

“With the tongue as sharp as yours, I think you should be getting ready for a demotion instead” he laughed, showing you his fake bunny teeth in the most annoying and childish way.

“Ha ha ha ha. Some well wisher you are! Thank you so much for looking out for me but I'll be fine. Who knows the gatekeeper’s pay package is more than me. So it’d be a win-win in that case too I guess?” when you did a drum roll with your chopsticks to stress upon your point, he laughed harder.

"So being broke is the new black?" Rolling his eyes, he dragged out, "I swear you kids don't know how this world works."

"And you, grandpa of the century, knows?"

"I'm aware of what I need for my survival and from what I've learnt, you can either take risks or look for job security. In your case, " he fake coughed, "where the proportions of risk taking have already exceeded the acceptable limit, a job security is the best and safest option to choose."

"And that would justify my greed and desire to work for the biggest company of this city."

"Kun. The security you need and the independence you seek would be given by kun. Chois are hmm how to say? Cheap? Yeh cheap. They have no work ethics. "

"Have you worked with them, johnny?"

"No. I'm ju-

"Then was your ex a choi?" You saw his eyes comically and cutely widening at your remark.

"No. My ex wasn't a choi and that's not what I'm saying and you know that."

"Oh. So your ex wasn't a choi. Then a lee? Kim? Im? Oh my god! Look at your cheeks seo!" You dragged out. He shook his head as you kept wiggling your brows at him.

"She was a kim but that doesn't mean I would hate all kims dude. That's baseless and stop ignoring the topic. I want you to apply in Kuns. It's the best option. Do it as soon as you-

"Yeah yeah we'll see about that. First take that bitch back. I can't even nap in his presence. "

"Umm. Yeah. You gotta tolerate him. And besides he's injured. Injured yuta is like a gun without a bullet. He's gonna shout for a day or two and then peace out. He'll be sleeping and reading in his room and you won't even know if he's alive or not."

"Now that's bullshit. What is he going to do here anyway? I hope he can hop himself on one leg because even if the sun rises from the north, I am not going to do a single task for him. He can die hungry , for all I care.”

“Do you think you can endure him for some tasty dinners?”

Clicking your tongue, you quipped, “Do you really think you can buy me with a few homemade meals?”

Day 1

Yes. you were sold. The moment the tasty noodles had melted in your mouth, you knew you had no dignity. And you were indeed ashamed of yourself.

Earlier, Renjun had called you to inform you that he had delivered the food and medicines for yuta and had left your dinner box but he had failed to mention the special and endearing note that was pasted on the glass box. In the curvy letters, it read bitchy piglet and you swore the only person you’d be killing before yuta would be jaehyun. But you were going to use jaehyun to build up your tolerance instead.

When you went out to clean your dishes, he was playing some game on his phone, excitement evident from the way he was laughing every other second. Maybe if he remained occupied, he would not be so insufferable.

Day 3

"Oyii! Oyii!"

No. You were wrong. He was very very much insufferable.

At midnight, his voice echoed, disturbing your sleep. You cursed at the cool atmosphere that had prevented you from using the air con which otherwise would have blocked his annoying screeches. But it seemed like bad luck wanted to change its name to y/n instead. With your name being called like a broken record, it was a fight between you and him that you were not going to lose. Shuffling to your side, you covered your ears with the other pillow and tried to drown out the annoyingly demanding and hoarse voice. There was no way you were giving him the satisfaction of having any power over you. He could cry for all he liked!

“What the fuck do you want at this hour?”

Attempting a glare at him through sleepy lids, you spewed with irritation. Unlike you, he was very much awake, breathing with the sole purpose of making you question your whole existence.

“Pillow” scratching his non-existent beard, he mumbled.

Your nostrils flared and jaw clenched at such inconvenient command.

“You summoned me for a pillow? A pillow that can normally be found on a person’s bed? Can you please rectify your demand or did I just simply hear something wrong?”

The opened curtains and the moonlight that drenched the room was the only source that illuminated his face for you and even with drooping eyes, you could see how serious he was and yet you couldn't hold your tongue back because he simply deserved every shit you bestowed him with.

“Turn the lights on and count the pillows on my bed! And when you are done, get me some pillows from your room.” he simply stated.

“Why should i give you my pillow? I need them!”

“Because I don't use a pillow and I need it asap!”

“Then why do you suddenly need one? To disturb my sleep? Oh that makes sense.” and suddenly, your eyes had synced with your body to side with your fight mode.

“I need them for elevating my leg. The bandage is too tight and it’s not comfortable.”

“Then why don't you walk out of the room and get some cushions for yourself!” you raised your volume.

“Because my leg is in pain and i’m unable to get up? What makes you think I'm dying to see your ugly face at this time of the night. I dont wanna have nightmares of you as well but i can't help it ok!”

“you should have kept them near you. And who are you calling ugly hmm? You poop fac-

“Okay scream for all you want! But get me a pillow when your battery dies down!”

“What the fuck d- are you covering your ears? Wow ways to be generous!”

Stomping your foot, you left the room to get the hardest cushion on the couch.

“Here! Next time call Mark if you want anything. Don’t raise your voice ever again to call me because unlike you, i have work in the morning and hence I need some sleep..”

Just when you were about to leave after shoving the cushion in his hand, he spoke up again,

“This is damn hard! I asked for your pillow specifically and not th- AHH!”

A scream left him as you harshly removed the support , leaving his leg to painfully meet the mattress.

“How about you fix your attitude before fixing your leg?” suggesting, you dropped the cushion on the floor and left.

He didn't call you after that. Nor that you cared. However, the sleep in your eyes somehow vanished. Dancing on your sides didn’t help. Neither did drinking a glass of water. So, with a groan, you listened to your conscience and picked up your extra pillow that was sadly too perfect for your enemy.

Padding to his room, you tried your best to scrutinise and hearing his heavy snores, you placed the pillow right under his thigh and the cushion under his calf. Scoffing at his sleeping figure, you internally groaned to remind yourself that you hadn't done it for him. It was just a debt. For the blanket he had once covered you with. Nothing more and nothing less.

Day 5

You just wanted him out of your hair. He was just being a load on your head. At first, only the work was kicking your ass, then jungwoo was kicking you like a punching bag for an hour straight and adding to your distress was yuta.

"I'm not your maid! Stop piling up the dishes for me. I've had enough mercy on you. From today onwards, get a cleaner for yourself or buy disposable cutlery. I'm not going to clean after you!"

With a roll of his eyes, he had ignored you.

And so did you. Pasting a warning note on the sink tap, you had left for the library with a dying hope that maybe the kitchen would be spotless on your arrival or you'd be dialing some numbers in the evening.

For someone who despised the solemn atmosphere of libraries, you had successfully spent 11 hours in the said hellish room. It was 11 p.m and you wanted to sleep, more than anything but here you were, waiting for yugyeom so he'd just pick you up for a good drinking session that you were dying to have.

Fortunately, you weren't the only one who had missed living these past days. Everyone, for different reasons, was suffering so you felt a little less bad for yourself even though you knew your troubles were far more grave than their academic burdens.

"Wake up shorts" someone whispered in your ear. Squirming on your seat, you whipped your head in your sleepy state and found jungkook caressing your head, goofily smiling at you.

"I thought you wanted to hang out till the next morning" air quoting the last words, he picked up your bag.

"Yeah. Let's go. I'm all ready for a night full of vodkas." You yawned out.

"Definitely. No. You are going home. We can have a small get together me and yuggy are done with our final project." He dragged you out into the parking lot.

" I feel like it's been years since we got drunk together. You are never here anymore!" You whined at him, complaining your heart out.

"I will be. Soon. Then we can celebrate your little choi job as well."

"Oh please. Don't even mention it. If I had penny for every time they rolled their eyes at me, I'd be richer than your parents kook." You huffed out and as his gentle laugh surrounded you, you closed your eyes resting your back against the seat, expecting to be up by the time he'd park.

But the next day, you woke up tangled in the sheets of your bed, unaware of the events of the previous night.

When you had warned yuta about the dirty dishes, you hadn't expected him to fill the corners of the kitchen with disposable containers. It looked like you had missed a whole drama while sleeping in the library. The kitchen was shining except for the new utensils. But as long as you were not babysitting him, you were fine with anything. You didn't want to jinx your relief, however, you were glad you would be able to get some work done. finally.

You had spoken too early for your own good. Just when you sat down to write your paper, passionate and enthusiastic howls of that man pierced through your earphones and once again, you opened the window and hopped outside, in the balcony, ready to drown him out. Sipping on your lemonade, you gaped at the scenery the not so distant traffic provided you with and somehow, your thoughts wandered to the only person these horns reminded you of. Johnny.

What are you doing? Your fingers hovered over the text but once again, you deleted the message, declaring it to be too childish for someone as mature as him. Maybe you were just being silly. Maybe you were not. But who was going to put a stamp on your maybe?

Tears pricked your eyes as the harsh words of your senior thundered in the room. He kept shouting and you had no option than to consume each and every word he directed at you. Even if you were being insulted in front of your twenty other co-workers, staying quiet was the best option, you ascertained. so along with your saliva, you gulped your explanations down your throat.

Howsoever unconscious, you were still in the wrong. There was no excuse as to why you had mailed the wrong bills, apart from the headache that was caused by the person possibly lying on the sofa and watching t.v back home. No matter how much you tried to run away from his existence, he had somehow managed to let himself inside your head.

Glaring at the kid who asked for his turn on the park swing, you pushed yourself a little higher, letting the wind greet your stinging eyes as it hit your face in waves. Your phone buzzed in your pocket and you chose to ignore jungwoo for a day as it was the time, you decided, to let all the lessons that the past few months had taught you sink into your mind, to bleed into your soul so you won’t ever be able to deviate from them. Ever.

Only if that was so easy. You knew blaming others for your problems was no solution but trivialising them by not paying heed wasn't a smart move either.

When you reached home, your frustrations had died down. So when yuta simpered and pointed towards your empty container, telling you how he had already finished your supposed dinner, you simply rolled your eyes at him, robbing him of whatever he wanted to achieve by riling you up. Heating up the water, you were about to open the noodles packet when yeong called you.

You stared at the shattered phone screen in disbelief as the endless tears ran down your cheeks. As you verbalised the words to yourself again, your body met the floor with a thud.

Jungkook. Drugs. No more.

Three words had silenced the screeches in your head and your mind busied itself in rejecting what you had heard for it had to be a lie. But what how were you going to ignore the heart wrenching screams that yeong had let out. How were you going to dismiss the truth.

How were you all going to accept it?

••••••••••••••••

next update: Some day between 5-7 June.

#nct-writers #neowritingsnet #cznnet #kafenetwork #nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct fluff #nct x reader #nct smut #nct angst #nct mafia #nct reactions #yuta scenarios #yuta imagines #yuta smut #nct arrange marriage #yuta angst #yuta mafia #johnny scenarios

174 notes · View notes

rosiehunterwolf · 3 years

Text

rainy days

Prompts: Storm

Word Count: 10,561 (i KNOW i'm sorry)

Characters: Jay, Nya, and Lloyd

Timeline: Snapshots throughout the series

Trigger Warnings: Brief mentions of nightmares, brief PTSD, Grief/Mourning

Summary: There are many reasons why people may dislike storms. Maybe, like Kai, they find few things worse than being cold and wet. Or maybe, they dislike the eerie sounds of the whistling wind and booming thunder, like Cole. Or maybe, like Zane, they are concerned about the safety hazards. But for the other three members of the ninja team, storms offer a much more pleasant experience.

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Jay should have been sleeping.

He didn’t know what time it was, but it was late. The rest of his team had gone to sleep hours ago. He could tell by the sounds of their breath- Zane’s clear and even, Kai’s with a rougher edge that came from years of breathing in smoke at the forge, and Cole’s deep with a light snore to it.

The sounds brought him comfort, and Jay felt the tension in his shoulders from hunting down Serpentine all day ease up. It was funny, how, less than a year ago, he had slept in a trailer home in the middle of the desert, no one but his parents for miles around, and even then he had slept in his own room. But now, he was crammed in a small bedroom on the Destiny’s Bounty with three other teenage boys, and he couldn’t imagine life any other way.

Although, that life also included waking up early every morning and spending the better part of the day training and hunting Serpentine, meaning one ought to get a full night’s rest.

It wasn’t that Jay didn’t want to sleep. It had been a long day, and he was tired.

But he couldn’t. It was one of those nights where the wind whistled in the trees and the rain pattered against the windows. There was a dull ache in his left shoulder, the one that usually alluded to-

A flash of light illuminated the room, casting long shadows across the wall for an instant before it grew dark again.

Jay smiled. Lightning storm. Never failed.

Now he was even more awake though, the hair along his arm standing up. He sighed, pushing himself into a sitting position and dangling his feet over the edge of the bed. Groaning, he rolled his shoulders, and they popped. Making his way over to the ladder, he climbed down and tiptoed across the room, easing the door of their room shut behind him.

Thunder rumbled from outside, and as Jay reached a window, lightning lit up the dark ship again. He smiled, feeling excitement bubble in his chest. Storms had always given him an odd elation- although he guessed it wasn’t so weird now, knowing he was the Master of Lightning.

Not that he had succeeded in summoning any lightning without the Golden Nunchucks yet, but the point still stood. This was his element. This was where he was meant to be.

Peering out the window, he saw the rain looked to be fairly light, and decided to go outside. I’m already awake, why not?

As he walked down the hallway towards the doors leading out to the deck, he paused as voices filtered towards him. Curiously, he stepped forward, and froze at the sight of two figures.

Nya had a bath towel in her hands, wrapping it around Lloyd as she tried to dry him off. The kid was scowling, attempting to pull away from her and grumbling something about buzzkills.

“What are you guys doing up so late?”

“Jay!” Nya jumped, dropping the towel and giving Lloyd the opportunity to slip out of her grasp. “You scared me.”

“Sorry. I couldn’t sleep, ‘cause of the…” he waved his hand at the window, “‘cause of the storm.”

She smiled. “Me neither. And apparently,” she added with a grimace, “not this little guy either. Found him standing out in the rain looking like a drowned rat.”

“I did not look like a rat!” Lloyd insisted, stomping his foot.

“Oh, so the drowned part was right then?” Jay snickered. Lloyd shot him a hot glare, and Jay held up his hands. “Geez kid, I’m just joking.”

Lloyd huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I just wanted to be out in the storm. I like watching them.”

“I get that,” Jay told him. “I love watching the storms too. Especially when there’s some killer lightning bolts. I’ve got some great lightning pictures I’ll have to show you sometime.”

Lloyd’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“He can show you tomorrow,” Nya insisted. “It’s two am, and it’s way past your bedtime.”

Jay winced. Geez, he really was going to be tired tomorrow morning, wasn’t he?

“But I didn’t even get to see the storm!” Lloyd whined. Turning to Jay, he added, “You’ll let me watch it with you, won’t you?”

Jay laughed nervously. Great, now the kid was trying to rope him into this to gain an advantage on Nya. No thanks.

…He did have a point, though. From the sounds of it, this was a big storm, and Jay wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep until it passed.

Nya must’ve guessed what he was thinking, because she sighed loudly. “I’ll let you stay up for half an hour more if you watch it from inside.”

“It’s not the same!” Jay and Lloyd burst out at the same time, then froze, glancing at each other. Jay broke into laughter at the look on the kid’s face, and, after a moment, Lloyd tentatively joined in too.

“C’mon, Nya, I’ll be with him. The Bounty is mostly sheltered, anyway. We’re not even flying! Let him out for a little while.”

Nya glared at him. “I don’t know how you talk me into these things.”

“Alright!” Jay whooped, high-fiving Lloyd.

“If he comes down with a cold, I am never forgiving you,” Nya muttered, reaching for her rain poncho. She handed Lloyd a spare one of theirs. “At least wear this.”

Lloyd wrinkled his nose at her, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Wear it, or don’t go at all.”

Lloyd sighed, slipping it on, and Jay had to bite back a laugh. The poncho was much too big on him, coming down to his ankles like some sort of strange dress. Lloyd didn’t look very happy about it though, so Jay refrained from the teasing.

As the three of them trekked out onto the deck, gentle rainfall pattered across their ponchos, and Jay immediately felt himself relax, the stiffness in his shoulders easing. Lloyd perked up too, skipping over to the railing to peer over the side, trying to spot lightning in the distance. Even Nya began to smile, tilting her face up towards the rain.

“See?” Jay teased, elbowing her. “You like it too!”

“I like the rain,” she told him. “It doesn’t mean I have the sense to stand out in the middle of a thunderstorm.”

“I told you, we’ll be fine! It’s perfectly safe here! Stop being such a grouch and come on!” Hooking her by the elbow, he pulled her over to where Lloyd was standing at the railing.

“See any cool bolts, Lloydster?” Jay asked, leaning his elbows on the railing next to him.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes. “Not yet.”

“Well, keep looking. It’s when you’re not watching carefully that you miss all the cool ones.”

Lloyd’s eyebrows furrowed as he squinted at the sky, almost as if he was commanding it to do something. Jay laughed. “You have to be patient, Lloyd.”

“Lloyd doesn’t know what that is,” Nya snorted.

Lloyd bristled at that. “Hey!” he snapped as Jay burst into laughter. He elbowed Nya, hard, and she flinched back with a whine.

“Ow! Kid, that hurt!”

“Hey, don’t think just because I’m smaller than you, I’m not strong!”

“Duly noted,” Nya muttered, rubbing her side.

Lightning crackled down not too far off, leaping across the sky in spindly strands, the flash blazing across the sky. Lloyd’s eyes widened, but he didn’t flinch, not even as thunder boomed loudly, practically shaking the Bounty.

“Never seen a big storm like this, bud?” he asked, grinning up in awe at the light blazing in the sky.

“We weren’t allowed to go out without permission at Darkley’s. And the teachers never let us go at night. Some of the older boys snuck out anyway, but they never let me come with them.” Lloyd sighed, resting his chin on his hands. “I missed all the best storms.”

“Well, you’re in luck, bud, because I come out here to watch storms all the time! And you can join me anytime!” Nya shot him a look, and he quickly amended, “Well, before a reasonable hour, at least. This is a special occasion.”

Lloyd had an odd look on his face, but he smiled tentatively. “Thanks, Jay.”

“You’re pretty brave, out here in the storm like this. When I was your age, I remember always running to Kai’s room every time there was a storm.” She smiled, but her eyes were sad as she gazed off into the distance.

Lloyd shrugged. “I dunno, some of the other young kids at Darkley’s were scared of storms and tried to hide it… but I don’t think that’s me. I’ve never been afraid of them. I can’t really explain it, I just feel a connection.”

Something odd tingled in Jay’s chest, and he sensed a spark coming from the boy, a warm glow, like a soft, green-

Jay blinked, and the sensation passed. He must’ve just been imagining things again. Maybe it was his supposed “elemental powers” reacting to the storm. Jay didn’t understand what the point of feeling them was if he still couldn’t use them without his Golden Weapon.

“It’s dumb,” Lloyd muttered, kicking the ground sullenly.

“Hey, it’s not! I feel some sort of pull to the storm too!” Jay assured him.

“But you’re the Elemental Master of Lightning! That makes sense for you.”

“What about Nya?”

Lloyd turned to look at her, gaze questioning. “You feel it too?”

Nya closed her eyes. “The rain- it calms me. It patters across my skin, wiping all my thoughts and worries away, leaving just me and the storm, the gentle rumbles of thunder filling my mind.”

Lloyd smiled shyly at her. “You do get it.”

“I never thought it was an elemental thing, anyway,” Jay told him. “I’ve always felt this way- long before I found out I was an elemental master. Granted, we didn’t get many thunderstorms in the middle of the desert, more dust storms than anything… but when we did, it always felt special. Every time it stormed, I would always run to sit on the steps of our trailer- my mom wouldn’t let me go any further- and watch the lightning. I had a notebook, where I would sketch it, and once I got a little older my mom got me a camera and I started taking pictures. By the time I was seven, I could name pretty much every type of lightning formation and storm there was.”

Nya smiled. “I remember being pretty intrigued as well. Like I said, when I was young I was scared, but after a little while I realized that the things I feared were the things I didn’t understand. I checked out like, pretty much every book from the library on storms. And I made those little raincatcher things to measure rainfall, and placed them all over the place whenever we travelled to the city. Kai got annoyed whenever I dragged him all the way down there again the next day to check them all. He never understood my “experiments.” I mean, technically it was more of an analytical study, but… tell that to him.”

Lloyd looked out at the storm again as another lightning bolt flashed. “I wish someone had taken me out to see the storms when I was little.”

Nya elbowed him lightly. “You’re still little, silly.”

Lloyd puffed out his chest. “Am not! I’m getting taller and taller every day, and-”

“Okay, okay,” Nya laughed. “Cool it, big shot.”

Shortstack, Jay mouthed above his head, but apparently Lloyd still caught it, he realized quickly, as he was delivered a kick to the shin.

“Ow,” Jay whined. “Will you stop doing that? It’s a good thing you’re not a ninja, sheesh, or you’d be pummeling all our enemies before we could even get them to speak.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, I’d be a great ninja!”

“Let’s not put that idea into his head,” Nya said hastily. “What I was trying to say was, your childhood isn’t over yet, Lloyd. We can take you out to see storms now.”

“Really?” He perked. “Like, all the time?”

“Well…” Nya hesitated. “A good night’s sleep is important. But it’s okay to stay up late once in a while.”

“Aww, I’m gonna get to watch so many cool storms from here! It’s a way better view than my tiny window back at Darkley’s. Or trapped in the Serpentine tombs, I couldn’t even see the sky then. Or when I was alone in the city streets-”

Nya and Jay exchanged a glance of horror. Jay swallowed. “Hey, um, Lloyd, maybe now isn’t the best time to discuss, uh… childhood trauma?”

Nya facepalmed, and Jay shot her a glare. Like you can do better. Sure, he knew he had all the tact of Kai high on Venomari venom, but what else was he supposed to say? ‘Sorry your childhood sucked so bad?’ Somehow, he didn’t think Lloyd would appreciate that.

Lloyd didn’t seem to be listening to them anyway, still babbling on even after Jay and Nya finished their intense glaring match. “D’you think Kai would like to watch the storm with us?”

Jay snorted. “Hard no, bud.”

Nya grinned. “He hates getting wet, Lloyd. You couldn’t lure him out here with the green ninja gi itself.” She paused. “Well, maybe you could with that. But not with anything else! He wouldn’t like it. And he would complain about it until you wanted to chop your ears off.”

“The others aren’t too big on storms,” Jay told him. “Kai’s a hydrophobe, Zane would just spend all his time harping about ‘safety’ and ‘taking proper shelter’ during a storm, and Cole complains that they’re too loud and throw off his focus, although- and you didn’t hear this from me- I think he’s just a big ‘fraidy cat.”

“In short, they think we’re weirdos. It’s their loss though, they’re missing all the cool views from out here.” She waved her hand at the sky as a barrage of lightning bolts showered down across the horizon, paling the sky as Lloyd gasped in amazement.

“Oh, that’s a sweet one!” Jay whooped, raising his phone and snapping a picture with it.

Nya eyed him. “Jay, if you keep that out in the rain, you’re going to end up wrecking it.”

“If I put it in my pocket I might miss all the cool pictures!”

Nya rolled her eyes. “Okay, but I’m not buying you a new one.”

“Can you show me all your lightning pictures when we go back inside, Jay?” Lloyd asked, dangling his arms over the edge of the railing.

“Can I? Oh man, I’ve got hundreds in there to show you-”

Nya cleared her throat, and Jay glanced down at the time on his phone. 3:12? Had they really been out here for over an hour already? He grinned sheepishly at Lloyd. “Maybe just a couple photos tonight. We can look at more tomorrow.”

“Alright, but you hafta promise to show me all the good-” Lloyd broke off in a big yawn, revealing his small, gleaming fangs, and Nya smiled softly at him.

“Think that’s our signal for bed, kid.”

“No! No, I’m not tired at all-” Lloyd slapped his hand over his mouth before he could yawn again.

“Hey, we let you stay up way past your bedtime, mister. You don’t get to complain now.”

“But I’m gonna miss the storm,” Lloyd whined, although he let Nya drag him back towards the doors by the arm.

“The storm’s beginning to pass now, anyway,” Jay assured, stretching a hand out as the raindrops began to lighten. “It’ll be back though, eventually.”

Lloyd grinned at him. “And we’ll be ready to watch it?”

“That we will, bud.” Jay reached forward, ruffling Lloyd’s hair. “That we will.”

---

After long days of stifling, dry heat, the evening rain came as a relief to everyone. Lloyd sat on the roof of the Brookstone residence, watching and feeling the rain pour down. He hoped Mr. Brookstone wouldn’t mind him sitting up here, he had been kind enough to let them stay with him until the repairs to the Destiny’s Bounty were complete, and Lloyd didn’t want to overstep his boundaries.

Lloyd felt like this cool summer storm was just what the city needed, not only because of the dryness, but because of the darkness that had scoured the streets here only nights before. The Overlord was gone- he had made sure of it- but he couldn’t shake the feeling of grime left in the city, and hoped the rain would be enough to cleanse it.

“We thought we’d find you up here.”

Lloyd glanced behind him to see Jay and Nya gingerly picking their way across the rooftop behind him, before plopping down into a sitting position beside him.

“See any cool lightning?” Jay asked.

“Not yet. All I’ve heard is a little thunder. It seems to be mostly rain.”

“Good,” Nya sighed, turning her face up to the sky as rivulets streamed down her face. “We need it.”

“How you doing, bud?”

It took Lloyd a moment to process that Jay was talking to him, and he turned to him, blinking. “What?”

Jay grinned. “Y’know, great and mighty ‘Master of Gold’ and all that- or have you already gotten over that? Too insignificant for you?”

“It’s ‘Golden Ninja,’ not ‘Master of Gold,’” Lloyd grumbled.

“Yeah, whatever. How you doin’? You just fought like, the biggest battle of your life a few days ago. You can’t tell me you’re not at least a little tired.”

“Speaking of which,” Nya frowned, tapping lightly at his bandaged leg, “You’re still supposed to be resting that for another two weeks. You shouldn’t be climbing up here. Or letting the cast sit out in the rain.”

“Here.” Jay pulled off his jacket, tossing it over Lloyd’s cast to keep it dry. “That’ll help. That way, you can stay out here for a little longer.”

Lloyd shot him a weak smile. “Thanks, Jay.”

Jay didn’t return it, watching him carefully. “You sure you’re okay?”

Lloyd lowered his head. “I’m fine. It’s just a lot to take in.”

“Sure is,” Jay whistled, rubbing at the gold silk of Lloyd’s gi. “It seems like just yesterday you were a little bratty, messy haired kid we were dragging, kicking and screaming, onto our ship.”

Lloyd rested his chin in his hands. “Feels both like yesterday, and a million years ago. So much has changed since then. I feel like a completely different Lloyd, now.”

“One thing hasn’t though.”

He looked up at Nya. “What’s that?”

“You’re still our heart-of-gold little brother.” She slung an arm around his shoulder. “Nothing, not some prophecy, not the tea, not the Overlord, not even your special, shiny new powers are going to change that. Ever.”

“I know,” he whispered, leaning into her. He felt Jay wrap a hand around his other side, and, for a moment, just let himself be held.

“We’re proud of you,” Nya murmured after a moment. “I know it hasn’t been easy getting this far, but now, thanks to you, all of Ninjago is safe.”

He leaned back slightly, elbowing both of them. “Yeah, well I couldn’t have done any of it without you guys.”

“You big sap,” Jay laughed, ruffling his hair.

Lloyd felt a grin split his face, shoving Jay’s hand off. “Well, it’s true! If it weren’t for you guys, I’d probably be in Pythor’s stomach right now.”

Nya choked a laugh. “Thanks for that grim reminder.”

“What, you forgot about Pythor?” Jay teased.

Nya shrugged. “I didn’t forget, just… compared to the Overlord, Pythor seems much less intimidating, now.”

“That could partially be due to the fact that he’s probably half-digested inside the gut of a giant, dead snake.”

“Ewww!” Nya jabbed him, hard. “Lloyd, that’s disgusting. Ugh, now I’m not going to be able to get that image out of my head all night.”

“Hey, better him there than here,” Jay said, leaning back to lay on the roof, letting raindrops sprinkle his face. “After all the training and fighting we’ve done over the last few months, I just want a break from villains.”

Lloyd shot him a glare. “We’ve done? Last time I checked, it was me doing most of the training.”

Jay sat up again, sputtering. “Hey! The rest of us weren’t exactly sitting on our bums, were we? Back when you were just a little sprout, we were the ones busy saving Ninjago! And who taught you everything you know, hmmm? You weren’t an easy student, you know that, right?”

Lloyd laughed. “Okay, buddy.”

“Don’t you ‘okay, buddy’ me! If it weren’t for me, you’d still be shattering all our lightbulbs! Remember who taught you to control the lightning!”

Lloyd blinked at him, pretending to look thoughtful. “I thought that was Nya.”

“Nya?! I’m the Elemental Master of lightning!”

Nya laughed, knocking her leg gently against his. “Stop messing with him, dude. Let him have this one.”

Lloyd mockingly rolled his eyes. “Yeah, alright.”

Silence fell between them, but it was a comfortable one. Lloyd closed his eyes, cherishing the feeling of rain dripping through his hair and the warmth of his friends at his side.

It was funny how something so horrible had brought him to these people, this moment- something he would never give up for the world.

“Do you think the Overlord’s really gone?”

That remark earned him two very shocked glances.

“Where did that come from?” Nya spluttered.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Jay agreed. “You defeated him. We all saw it.”

Lloyd shook his head. “Yeah, I know, it’s just… if the Overlord’s dead… my father is cleansed of the venom… and the Serpentine are good now… where does that leave us?”

Jay and Nya exchanged a glance. “What do you mean?”

“Things are so different, now. I’m not even the green ninja anymore. I’m wearing-” he tugged at his golden gi, “this. Being a ninja is the one place I’ve felt like I really belong, but if the world is at peace now, where are a bunch of ninja and a Samurai supposed to fit into it? It’s crazy, how we’ve spent the last months- the rest of you guys, over a year- training for this one big moment. And now it’s over. What happens next? What happens to us?”

“There’s no way to tell the future, Lloyd,” Jay murmured. “We won’t know until it’s here. The world is going to change around us- people will change, circumstances will change, our lives will change. But do you know what won’t change? Us. We might look different in the future. Act different, live different, I don’t know. But this group- this family- is never going to change. This-” he gestured at the sky above them, “is never going to change. Do you remember how, before your green ninja training got so intense and demanding, we would always go out to watch storms together? And yet, even after all those months, your first instinct was to come back to it again. Those kinds of things don’t just go away.”

“Jay’s right,” Nya agreed. “This is always going to be our special thing. Just like we are your special people. Time can’t erode memories. It can’t erode love.”

Lloyd smiled, as lightning cracked across the sky in the distance. “You’re right. The future is open to us. No matter what happens next, nothing can change who we are.”

---

Nya flopped over on the armchair, sighing.

It had been a long night.

After a villain had been defeated, Nya always looked forward to coming home, back to the Bounty, and just sleeping for about fourteen hours straight.

That hadn’t happened this time.

Even just coming home to the Bounty hadn’t been as warm and welcoming as it usually was. The hallways had felt empty, desolate, the rooms lifeless, and their bedroom bare except for the few things her and Lloyd had left behind- the rest of the guys’ beds made unnaturally neat and spotless, as if no one had slept in them for months.

Which, they hadn’t.

As the guys had filed in, she had tried to focus on the fact that they were here now, not the emptiness they had left behind in those months after Zane had died. Even Lloyd, who had been the only one to stay with her, had felt distant and standoffish in those days, hardly speaking to her or anyone else.

Ushering everyone off to bed had been a whole other fiasco. All the guys that had left had taken a moment to adjust back into the Bounty again, but Zane had been the worst. He had spent a long time just walking around the ship, staring at things and saying nothing. Poor Lloyd had been shaken about losing his father- after a while, Cole had insisted on sitting with him instead so that she could go check on Kai- who had still been trembling from Chen’s staff. It had taken her hours to get him to drift off.

She knew that she better head to her bed soon- if she didn’t sleep herself, Cole would come to chew her out- but she wanted to make sure everyone was staying asleep before she did. It would be just like them to get out of bed as soon as she was asleep.

She must have drifted off at some point though, because when she blinked open her eyes again, the gentle patter of rain sounded against the side of the Bounty. Lightning illuminated the room, and she stretched, getting out of the chair and walking over to the window.

As she reached out to close the curtains, though, she noticed the deck lights of the Bounty were on. Frowning, she pulled open the doors and walked outside.

Jay and Lloyd were leaning on the railing, staring at the sky. Neither of them spoke, but their elbows bumped together comfortingly. Nya felt a flash of frustration that Lloyd had managed to sneak out of bed already.

“Hey, I can’t believe you guys came out here without me,” she teased, walking over to stand on the other side of Lloyd. “This is our thing.”

Lloyd shrugged. “Sorry. You were sleeping.”

Nya narrowed her eyes. “You were supposed to be, too.”

“I was-” he yelped at the glare Nya shot him. “I swear! I was! But the storm woke me up.”

She sighed, letting it drop. For now.

“What are you guys thinking about?”

Lloyd shifted on his feet. “My dad-”

“Griffin Turner,” Jay said at the same time.

Nya and Lloyd looked at him. “...What?”

Jay blushed slightly. “The Elemental Master of Speed? From the Tournament?”

Lloyd snorted, and Nya rolled her eyes. “We know who he is, Jay. Why are you thinking about him?”

“Speed is a dumb element. Y’know, I wouldn’t even really consider it an element. Like- he can run fast. So what? The elements are supposed to help you create stuff. Speed isn’t a tangible thing you can make.”

Lloyd laughed. “You’re still upset about that, Jay?”

“What? It doesn’t make any sense! Like, speed isn’t an element, it’s an ability. Like, you know how Cole’s the Elemental Master of Earth and has super strength, right? Makes sense. So, shouldn’t, say, an Elemental Master of Lightning, be super fast?”

“Oh, I see what this is about,” Nya grinned, leaning over to poke Jay in the arm as Lloyd dissolved into giggles. “Someone’s jealous.”

“I am not jealous! I just think that it makes a lot more sense that an elemental master who possesses the power of lightning, which is made of light, literally the fastest thing in the universe, should be the fast one, not some random dude who claims his element is ‘speed.’ Like, that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard! He’s not a true elemental master if you ask me.”

“Someone’s still upset about my father saying he wasn’t special,” Lloyd whispered loudly into Nya’s ear, and she slapped a hand over her mouth, trying to contain her laughter, as Jay kicked Lloyd’s ankle.

“It is interesting, though,” she admitted after they had all calmed down a little bit. “That there are others like you. I thought you five were the only ones in the world with powers like this… but elemental masters of Shadow? Metal? Nature? It’s crazy to think how many people there were that were just like you guys living in Ninjago with us, and we never even noticed.”

“Well, not just like us,” Jay muttered. “We are the four elements of creation… and Lloyd’s the Elemental Master of Energy, so we’re hardly comparable to their sub-par elements…”

Lloyd elbowed Jay in the ribs, and he yelped. “Yeah, it is kind of crazy… and it makes me wonder. Did every elemental master in existence decide to come to the tournament? What if there were more, ones that saw through Chen’s tricks and didn’t attend?”

Jay’s eyes widened. “Oh, I’m sure there aren’t more-”

Nya grinned, winking at Lloyd. “Oh yeah, wouldn’t that be awesome? What do you think they could be? Maybe Master of Space? Wood?”

“Maybe Silver! Or Plasma! Water?” He paused, frowning. “Actually, I’m surprised there wasn’t a Master of-”

“Let’s not get outrageous, here,” Jay insisted. “What do you need those for? Lightning is plasma, and frankly those others just sound useless-”

Nya snapped her fingers. “What about a Master of Crystal? Or, I know, a Master of Thunder!”

“Okaaaay, people, now we’re just laying it on me!” Jay snapped. “Thunder is stupid! Storms are my thing!”

“I dunno, Jay, I think it could be cool. What do you think, Lloyd?”

“Oh yeah, that would be awesome-”

He was interrupted by a loud bang of thunder, and Lloyd and Nya burst into laughter.

“Looks like the universe agrees with us, Jay!”

“Are you kidding? If anything, that was showing that it disagrees with you!”

Lloyd smiled, slinging an arm around his shoulders. “Relax, big shot, we’re kidding. No one could ever replace you.”

“Hey, you don’t get to call me that! Only we can call you big shot.”

Lloyd looked at Nya, and she nodded. “He’s right. You’re the only big shot around here.”

Lloyd whined. “You guys keep saying that like it’s a good thing but I feel like it’s supposed to be offensive.”

Nya laughed, and Jay ruffled his hair. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, big shot.”

Lloyd narrowed his eyes at him. “Stop that.”

“Make me.”

Nya pushed the two apart as they broke into a scuffle, rolling her eyes. “Guys, stoppit, you’re going to miss the lighting.”

They stopped at that, turning their gazes up to the sky as a bolt shot across the night, fizzling out at the end. Smiling, the three of them leaned forward on the railing, watching as the light show commenced.

---

Nya loved the rain.

The rain was carefree, playful- it took away a need for words, for thoughts, for worries. The rain didn’t bother with such frivolous things. It just was.

She hadn’t understood the tingle under her skin, however, every time rain was about to come, the slight ache in her bones leading up to every storm. These things had finally been made clear when she had found out that she was the next Elemental Master of Water- but everything else had become foggier.

Now she didn’t know who she was, what she was meant to be, what was supposed to become of Samurai X, if she would ever be able to truly fit in with the ninja group-

And most of all, she didn’t know how she was going to get her little brother back.

Right now, she hated the rain.

It was cold and heavy and grim- it only served as a reminder that she had failed. Her element was the one thing that could get Lloyd back, and she couldn’t even control it.

“Hey. I’ve been looking for you.”

Nya jumped nearly a foot in the air at Jay’s voice, and he put a hand on her shoulder, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” The smile quickly faded as he got a better look at her. “Geez, Nya, you’re trembling.”

“Am I?” She hadn’t even noticed.

“Here.” Slipping off his jacket, he wrapped it tightly around her, before pulling her into a hug. For a moment, Nya let herself relax against him, the steady beat of his heart soothing her.

“How’s Cole doing?” she asked after a moment. She had hoped her talk with him earlier had helped- although the Earth Ninja had still seemed to be upset about his new, ghostly form. Not that she blamed him.

Jay was quiet for a moment. “He’s hanging in there.”

Nya squeezed her eyes shut. Wasn’t one teammate to worry about more than enough? Why did destiny seem to throw everything on them all at once?

“Hey, you’re wearing your gi.”

“Huh?” Nya blinked her eyes open, glancing down at the maroon and blue garment she was wearing. “Oh. Yeah. Sensei said I should wear it now.”

Jay grinned. “I take it your training is going well, then?”

Nya shrugged, looking away.

“Hey.” Jay took her hand. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s going okay, I guess. I’m a lot better than I was. But I’m still nowhere near the level of you guys.”

“Are you kidding? We wouldn’t expect you to be! Nya, it’s only been a few weeks since you started training. Me and the guys have been at it for years, and were training for several months before we even got a decent handle on our powers. You’re doing great so far.”

“Yeah, but, it’s not enough. And we don’t have months. I need to be a good Master of Water now.”

Jay’s expression softened. “Nya… we’ll find a way to save him. With or without your powers.”

“I just…” she stopped, gulping back a sob. “I just wish I could be more useful.”

“Me too.”

Lightning spit the sky overhead, followed by a mighty rumble of thunder. They watched it, but there was no joy in it this time around.

It wasn’t the same without Lloyd.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Jay wrapped an arm around her, murmuring, “Nya, you’re freezing. Let’s get you inside.”

She went without any protest. After all, the storm had nothing to offer her, anymore.

---

The storm that night was gentle, which Lloyd was grateful for.

Nya and Jay had assured that they’d be perfectly fine not going out- in fact, they didn’t want to- a lie, they just didn’t want Lloyd to feel left out.

They thought he didn’t want to go out. They thought he was forcing himself to go just because he wanted them to go and he wanted to go with them. But that wasn’t the case. Lloyd really did want to go outside. Morro had stolen so much from him- his family, his mind, his control, his own body- he wasn’t about to allow him to take his love for the storms, too.

So what if storms were filled with the same howling winds that reminded Lloyd of him, the sensation of the breeze reminding him of the chill across his spine as the ghost slipped into his body?

Lloyd wanted to do this. He really did.

He was just… scared.

“You sure you wanna do this, green machine?” Nya’s voice, a hand on his shoulder.

Lloyd nodded stiffly. “If I don’t step out of these doors now, I never will.” Without giving himself any time to change his mind, he leaned forward and pulled open the doors.

Immediately, he was sprinkled with rain, and stepped further out, letting the droplets wash over him.

Then a breeze hit him, and he clenched his teeth, curling his fists into balls.

It’s okay. You’re in the rain. The rain will protect you from ghosts. Jay and Nya are here, too. They will protect you from ghosts.

As if to solidify his point, Nya slipped her hand into his, and he squeezed it back, forcing himself to take long, slow breaths- in and out, in and out, in and out.

“Bud?” Jay put a hand on his back. “You good? You don’t have to do this. We can go inside. Try another time.”

Lloyd shook his head. Breathing out slowly, he took a shaky step forward- then another, and another. Winds tickled past him as he walked, but he ignored them, every step his confidence building until he stopped in front of the railing of the Bounty.

He watched the dark sky, holding his breath, waiting.

Nothing came.

He bit his lip. He needed this. He needed to know that the spark was still there, that Morro hadn’t taken it away-

Suddenly, a blazing warmth glowed in his chest, and Lloyd smiled- just as a mighty burst of lightning shattered the night sky.

He still had it.

A warm weight pressed in on either side of him as Jay and Nya joined him at the railing, the lightning illuminating their faces so that they almost seemed to glow.

They were here now. They would keep him safe.

Things weren’t okay, not yet. Far from it. But he had taken a step today. And he would continue to take steps until things were okay again, and his family was going to be beside him every step of the way.

Morro was gone now. It was about time Lloyd stopped letting him win.

---

Lightning flashed.

Nya, in his arms, limp and weak, the light fading in her eyes. The green venom splashed across her dress.

Thunder boomed.

Nadakhan, standing over him, laughing as he waved the Djinn Blade at him- the one that had trapped all his friends, the one that had left him all alone. He was the last one left.

No, he reminded himself firmly, squeezing Nya’s hand tighter. I’m not alone. Nya’s not dead. She’s right here next to me. All the others are safely sleeping inside the Bounty. I stopped him. He’s gone now.

Nya glanced at him. “You okay?”

He sniffed, wiping at his nose with the hand that wasn’t firmly gripping Nya’s. “Honestly? Not really.”

Nya looked up at the sky. “Me neither.”

“I’d thought I’d lost you.”

She turned back, letting her fingers skirt his jawline. “I know. I’m sorry. But you didn’t. I’m here now. It’s all over.”

Jay breathed out, leaning his head on her shoulder. For a long time, they just stood there, staring out at the storm, saying nothing.

“Beautiful night for a stargaze, isn’t it?”

He turned to see Lloyd walking towards them, grinning as he gestured at the stormy skies above them.

Nya rolled her eyes at him, and Lloyd tossed his head in her direction, his sopping wet hair spattering her with water. Not that it made a difference in all the rain.

“Normally I’m the one who has insomnia-inducing nightmares and doesn’t sleep,” he teased, pushing his way between them to lean on the railing.

Jay caught Nya muttering something about “joking about childhood trauma” and “we should all go see a therapist,” and the alarmingly cheerful grin Lloyd shot her made Jay think she might have a point.

“Who told you we had nightmares?” Jay asked.

“Jay, most people don’t come outside in the pouring rain, in the middle of a thunderstorm no less, at three am in the morning just for the fun of it.”

Jay grinned. “Yeah, well we’re not ‘most people.’”

Lloyd shook his head, smiling. “It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it. I just thought I would join you.”

“What about you,” Nya probed. “Why are you up this late?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” he said simply, his lips popping on the p. When they stared at him, he blinked. “What? It’s because of the storm!”

Nya rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Hey, If you don’t have to talk about it, I don’t either. Besides, that wasn’t a complete lie. Look.” Lloyd held out his arm for them both to see. It looked like a perfectly normal arm to Jay, but Lloyd was looking at them expectantly. “Feel it.”

Nya raised an eyebrow at him.

“Just do it,” he insisted.

Jay reached forward, pressing his fingers against Lloyd’s forearm-

And promptly jerked back as it vibrated beneath his touch.

“Woah.”

Seeing the look on his face, Nya quickly reached forward, her eyes widening as she pulled back. “What is that? Why are you buzzing?”

“I think it’s the storm,” Lloyd said. “My powers must be reacting to it. Sensing the lightning.”

“Does it hurt?” Jay asked.

He shook his head. “No, just tingles a little bit.”

“I didn’t even know you could do that,” Nya whispered, running her fingers along his arm again.

“I couldn’t. Not up until recently. This only just started happening.”

“Woah. Like a built-in storm sensor. Now you’re like us! I can feel a bit of a tingle when there’s a lightning storm on the way, and I know Nya can feel the rain coming. Ours aren’t quite as obvious as yours, though.” He gestured to Lloyd’s arm.

Lloyd examined his arm. “That’s awesome.”

Nya snorts. “Not so awesome when it wakes you up every time there’s a thunderstorm.”

Lloyd gave her a gentle shove. “Stop trying to blame it on that. I know you were already awake anyway.”

Nya snorted, looking away.

Lloyd frowned. “You guys sure you’re okay?”

Jay nudged him. “We’ll be fine, green bean. We always are.”

Jay watched him, wondering if he would probe further. But he simply nodded. “Okay. I trust you.”

Jay smiled. That was one of the things he liked best about Lloyd.

Sometimes, silence said more than words.

---

Rain pattered against the glass doors. Lloyd glanced up from where he was sitting on the too-large bed.

The royal family’s hospitality was greatly appreciated, but the room was so big. Lloyd wasn’t used to having so much space, or such fancy things- he wasn’t even used to having his own room. The six of them crowded into the little cabin on the Destiny’s Bounty was the only thing he had known for a long time.

He wanted to get out.

Walking over to the balcony doors, Lloyd pushed them open, quickly pulling them closed again behind him, so as not to let the rain in.

Walking over to the railing, he hopped up, sitting on it and letting his feet dangle over the edge. The bedroom might not have been his taste, but the view of the city from here was absolutely breathtaking. Lights were scattered throughout the dark landscape like reflections of the stars above, and the rain created a light, pooling mist that shrouded the city in an air of mystery and wonder.

He couldn’t have been sitting there for more than half an hour when Jay and Nya suddenly dropped in next to him from seemingly out of nowhere. Lloyd jumped, gripping the railing below him tightly as he narrowly avoided falling the very long drop to the city streets below.

“Geez, guys, don’t sneak up on me like that. How did you even get here?”

Nya winked at him. “It’s a ninja’s secret.”

Lloyd felt his nose wrinkle. That doesn’t make any sense. “I’m a ninja, too. Doesn’t that mean I should get to know the secret, too?”

Nya shook her head. “Sorry, green machine, that’s not how it works.”

Lloyd sputtered at her. “What do you mean that’s not how it works? How else would it work?”

“That part’s a secret.”

He threw up his hands. “You’re impossible.” “Nya Smith,” she grinned, shouldering him playfully. “Tormenting brothers since the day I was born.”

“I’ll say.”

“Hey, you weren’t even there for most of it! Kai had it way worse than you.”

“Trust me, you’ve more than made up for it.”

“Oh, come on, I know I’m actually your favorite sister.”

“You’re my only sister.”

“Ouch. Hit it where it hurts, why don’t ya?”

“You walked right into that one, and you know it.”

The three of them burst into laughter, and even as the sounds faded, they still sat with massive grins on their faces, swinging their legs back and forth gently, occasionally kicking at someone else if their feet accidentally knocked against each other. Jay got a little too aggressive in one of his attempts and nearly knocked Lloyd off the balcony for the second time that night. Lloyd shot him a glare, and Jay at least had the sense to look sheepish.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve done this,” Jay murmured after a while. “Just the three of us, standing out in the rain, watching the storm.”

Lloyd sighed. “Yeah, well, it’s been a long couple of years.”

“You can say that again,” Nya agreed.

They fell silent again, and Lloyd felt bad for pitching the air into a grim mood. He was struggling to think of something more lighthearted to say, when Jay suddenly spoke up.

“So… about the princess…”

Lloyd immediately changed his mind. The grim mood was fine.

“What about her,” he mumbled, even as he felt his face turn cherry red.

“Oh, he totally likes her,” Jay gushed, reaching a hand behind his back to give Nya a gentle shove in the shoulder. “I told you!”

Nya snorted. “Have you even talked to her yet?”

“A bit,” he insisted, indignantly. Then, realizing he had answered too defensively, he quickly amended, “But it’s not like that.”

“Suuure,” Jay laughed. “That’s what they all say at the beginning.”

“She’s the princess! Even if I did have feelings for her, it’s not like something could ever work between us.”

“Yeah,” Nya agreed. “The stuffy, rich type? Not a fan. She’s probably not good enough for you. You can do better.”

“What?” Lloyd sputtered. “No, that’s not what I meant- not like that! I mean, she’s not like that!”

Jay snickered at how flustered he was getting, and Lloyd elbowed him in the ribs.

“How do you know? You’ve known her for like, what, a day?”

“Ooh, she got you there, green machine.”

Jay’s remark earned him another jab in the ribs, and he yelped. “Would you stop doing that?”

Lloyd ignored him. “It’s not like you’ve known her any longer than I have. You have no more idea what she’s like than I do.”

Nya shrugged. “All I’m saying is that she’d have to be one hell of a girl to even come close to being worthy of you.”

“Nya!” Lloyd cried, ducking his head as both of his friends went for a hair ruffle. “Stop it, you guys! I’m not a little kid anymore!”

“You’re right, you’re not,” Nya sighed. “I could hardly believe my eyes when I got back from searching for Master Wu. You were a good two inches taller than the last time I saw you, at least, and your hair was longer, done differently-” “Don’t forget his deep, manly voice,” Jay chimed in. “I’m so upset I missed the voice cracking phase!”

“I’m not,” Lloyd muttered.

“Jay, look at this boy,” Nya gushed, grabbing Lloyd’s face between her hands. “Can you believe this is the nine-year-old we snatched up off the street all those years ago?” “Never in a million years,” Jay laughed. “Look how handsome he’s gotten.”

“Guys!” Lloyd cried, pulling away from them. “Stop being embarrassing!”

“Lloyd, you’re our baby brother,” Jay teased. “It’s our job to embarrass you.”

Both of his friends leaned against him, laughing- only to jerk back a moment later with a yelp.

“Lloyd!” Jay shrieked. “What was that?”

Lloyd blinked at him. “What was what?”

“Didn’t you feel that?” Nya stared at him with wide eyes. “It was like we were shocked or something!”

“Oh.” Lloyd lifted his hands up from where they were resting on the railing, holding them up for Jay and Nya to see- revealing the small zaps of green energy sparking from them, occasionally arcing between his fingers. “I guess that was me. Sorry.”

Jay blinked owlishly at his hands. “What the… you’re not doing that on purpose, are you?”

Lloyd shook his head. “It’s happened before, while you guys were gone. I think it has to do with the storm.”

“Your powers really are getting stronger,” Jay murmured, taking one of Lloyd’s hands- prepared for the small shock this time- and examining it.

“And your eyes,” Nya breathed.

They both looked at her. “What about them?” Lloyd asked.

“They’re flickering.”

“What?”

“Lemme see.” Lloyd turned his head to look at Jay, and the blue ninja sucked in his breath. “They are.”

Lloyd frowned. “That is new.”

“It’s cool,” Jay gushed. “I wish I could do that.”

Lloyd shrugged. “I’m not sure it’s really that great. Now I can accidentally shock all my friends, hooray.”

“But think of using it on enemies! You’d be like, a human taser!”

“Jay, you’re our human taser.”

He grinned. “Oh. Right.”

“It does look pretty cool,” Nya admitted. “Kind of like those glow-in-the-dark star things you would stick on your ceiling as a kid.”

“I had some of those!” Jay yelped. “They were awesome.”

“Of course you did.” Nya rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “I wanted some, but we never really had a budget for it, so I checked out some star atlases from the library instead.”

“When did your eyes turn green, by the way,” Jay asked. “I had gotten so used to them being red.”

Lloyd shrugged. “I dunno, sometime while you were gone, I guess. I wasn’t really keeping track of the days.”

“How convenient for you.” Jay poked a finger near his eye. “Are you sure these aren’t just colored contacts? Is someone trying to bluff about his powers?”

“Jay!” Lloyd suddenly tried to lurch towards him, but he felt something grab him from behind.

“Run, Jay! I can’t hold him back forever!” “No one’s holding me back!” he muttered at her, but Jay was already vanishing over the roof’s peak, nothing but a blur of blue on the dark night sky.

“This isn’t over, Jay! No one calls me a fraud and gets away with it!”

“Settle down, Killer,” Nya giggled. “You know when you’ve been bested.”

“But I’m the green ninja,” Lloyd pouted.

“Yes, and you’re also the baby.”

“Am not!”

“Are so! Now, get to bed. It’s late, and you don’t want to be too tired to guard the princess tomorrow.”

Lloyd narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m too old for bedtimes. You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Maybe not, but you’re going to listen to me anyway.” Darting forward, she snuck in a quick hair ruffle before darting up onto the roof.

“That’s only because I care about the princess’s safety!” he called after her.

“Sure, keep telling yourself that.”

Before Lloyd could reply, the thunder boomed loudly, drowning him out, and by the time it passed, she was gone.

“Traitor storm,” Lloyd muttered, and the sky rumbled cheerily back at him.

---

The rain was heavy that night, so much so that Nya was soaked within seconds, her long, black strands of hair sopping wet, the dampness causing the ends to curl. Her dirty, worn, battle-stained gi was plastered to her skin, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

After all, how could such a small discomfort even hold a candle to the scalding pain in her chest?

How could any of this had happened? How could she just have gotten Lloyd back from the icy grips of death, only to lose everyone else to those same, prying hands?

She hadn’t wanted to believe it. When Lloyd had come back, soaking wet and shivering from the rain, the most defeated look on his face Nya had ever seen in her life-

She had been angry with him, at first. How could he tell her something like that? How could he send her whole world crashing down with a single sentence? How could he have watched as everything had gone so wrong? She had known that it wasn’t his fault, not at all. But she hadn’t known what she was feeling or how she had been supposed to handle it.

And as quickly as it had come, the anger had vanished, giving in to horrible, nauseating despair. They were gone. They were really gone.

She had hugged Lloyd tight, crying into him until Misako and Pixal had dragged them away, bringing them to a small, abandoned warehouse where they had spent the night. And the next night. And the next.

Not that time really felt to be passing anymore. It was so quiet, with only her, Lloyd, Pixal, Misako, and Dareth- and Pixal and Lloyd had hardly spoken a word, to her or anyone, since that night.

She knew they were grieving too- but maybe the thing they all needed most right now was someone to talk to.

She tilted her face up slightly, letting the raindrops slip down her face and mingle with her tears, washing them away.

“You shouldn’t be up here.”

Nya glanced over her shoulder, letting out her breath. “Lloyd.”

“We’re trying to stay hidden, remember? We can’t risk standing up here and being spotted by the Colossus or the Sons of Garmadon. You should come inside.”

“I will in a minute.”

They stood there in silence for a moment, nothing but the sound of rain splashing against the concrete and the distant rumble of thunder between them.

“Come here,” Nya waved at the empty space beside her. “Watch the storm with me.”

Lloyd hugged his arms over his chest. “Nya, we really shouldn’t be up here.”

“Just do it for a minute. Then we’ll go inside, I promise.”

Lloyd sighed, before reluctantly walking over to join her, resting his elbows on the railing of the rooftop terrace. The view of the storm wasn’t anything special from here- in fact, it was rather poor, with several tall buildings blotting out the view of the sky- but they weren’t really in a situation to be picky.

She liked this better, anyway- looking directly at the storm would be too painful.

“How can you do it?”

Lloyd’s voice startled her- based on the way the last couple days had been going, she hadn’t expected him to speak to her unless absolutely necessary.

“What?”

Lloyd grimaced, as if he was anxious to elaborate. “Why do you still want to be out here? Why do you still want to watch the storm?” He dropped his gaze, carefully avoiding her as his voice faded to a soft whisper. “Everything just reminds me of them.”

Nya turned her gaze back towards the city. “Exactly, it reminds me of him.” Softer, she added, “It’s all I have left.”

Lloyd was quiet for a long time after that, and when she finally turned her gaze back to him, his eyes were hard. Pushing back from the railing and blinking back tears, he snapped, “Jay’s gone. Forever. They all are.”

Before she could respond, he was darting back inside, and Nya put her head down, sighing.

Jay, I wish you were here. You would know how to make him feel better.

But he wasn’t. Lloyd was right, they were gone. All he had right now was Nya, and, standing there, drenched and shivering and pathetic, she wasn’t sure how much help she could really be to anyone.

Thunder rumbled overhead, and Nya glanced up. She hoped, if he wouldn’t listen to anyone else, he would at least listen to the storm.

---

Three pairs of footsteps drummed against the deck of the Destiny’s Bounty. Jay leaned his head over, letting the wind blow his wet curls, as he whooped happily, his cry echoing in the night air.

“Aww, girl, it’s so good to have you back,” he sighed dreamily, brushing the side of the ship with his hand.

Lloyd grinned at him, rolling his eyes. “Alright, Jay, we’re as happy as you are to have the Bounty back, but don’t make this weird.”

“He’s just anxious for the next repair,” Nya laughed. “He’s been driving me crazy trying to fix random things around the Monastery. The training bots, the mechs, even the toaster. And nothing’s even broken! He’s just making it worse.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault there’s nothing for me to do! I’m not just going to sit around and do nothing.”

“Well, hopefully, she won’t need any fixing for a long, long time,” Lloyd said. “The Bounty’s been damaged enough to last a lifetime. After the Colossus, I thought she was gone for good.”

“I know,” Nya agreed. “I’m so impressed that the city was able to rebuild it exactly the same!”

“Well, I’m sure it’s not exactly the same,” Jay argued. “There’s gotta be some issue somewhere, right? Something I can fix?” Nya waved a hand at him, laughing. “Don’t worry, Jay. We’ll find something for you to do.”

“Well, it will have to wait until later,” Lloyd announced, pointing towards the clouds in the distance that were sparking with lightning. “We’ve almost arrived at the storm!”

As they got closer, Nya locked in the steering, and the three of them headed towards the front of the ship as the Bounty sailed deeper into the storm.

Quickly, the rain began falling harder, and thunder echoed in their ears.

“Now this is how you stormgaze right!” Jay cried, laughing as rain fell on his face and lightning illuminated his bright blue eyes, his powers sparking between his fingers.

Glancing back at Lloyd and Nya, he saw both were sporting large grins. Lloyd was also sparking, his green eyes glowing, and as Nya reached her arms out, raindrops swirled around her.

After a bit of the adrenaline had worn off, Lloyd leaned against the railing of the Bounty, throwing his head back to toss the strands of wet hair out of his face.

“The others are not going to be happy about us taking the Bounty for a joyride right through a storm when they’re trying to sleep,” he laughed.

“It’ll be the last time they sleep in the Bounty for a while,” Nya agreed. “I bet they’re wishing they decided to stay back at the much more peaceful Monastery right about now.”

Jay put a hand over his mouth, sniggering. “I bet we only have like five minutes before Kai comes storming out here, demanding that we turn the ship around this instant.”

Lloyd shot him a sharp grin. “No, he’d never want to come out here and get all wet.”

Nya giggled. “Yeah, he’ll just stare at us through the windows, giving us death glares.”

Lloyd choked so violently that he doubled over, grabbing onto Nya’s shoulder for support. The water ninja tried to help him, but she was laughing hard herself. Jay grinned at them, struggling to breathe in between laughs.

“Can… you… imagine… the look on his face?” he wheezed, wiping tears from his eyes.

The hair standing up on the back of his neck was the only warning Jay had before a lightning bolt whizzed down less than ten feet away from him.

Shrieks sounded from the others as they leapt back, just as the edge of the Bounty burst into flames. Nya quickly directed two jets of water at the fire as Lloyd and Jay scrambled out of her way. When the last spark was gone, she stopped, breathing heavy, staring at the burnt area in shock.

Suddenly, she whipped around, glaring at him. “What the heck, Jay? You were supposed to be warding off the lightning!”

“It’s not my fault!” he shrieked. “You’re the one who distracted me!”

While the two of them shot each other smoldering glares, Lloyd walked over to one of the storage crates being kept on the deck, and pushed it over to the burned area, trying to cover up the charred floor the lightning had left.

“If one of us gets struck by lightning,” Nya warned, “Zane will never let us outside again.”

Jay waved her off. “It’s fine. I’m probably like, immune to lightning or something, and I’m willing to bet Lloyd is too, since he’s shown connections to my powers and the storms in the past. So long as you don’t get struck, we’re probably fine.”

Nya rolled her eyes. “Well, that’s reassuring.”

“Yeah, Jay,” Lloyd agreed, scratching the back of his neck. “There’s a few too many ‘probablys’ in that statement for my liking.”

“Oh, come on,” he grinned. “I’ve already got Zane and Cole on my back about everything 24/7. You guys are supposed to be the fun ones!”

“Hey,” Nya said, “I’m not making you do anything. You’re a young man. You can do what you want. Just don’t blame me if you end up comatose in the medbay because your brain got fried by lightning.”

“That would be ironic,” Lloyd snorted, and Jay elbowed him.

“You’d at least visit me, right?”

Nya shrugged. “Maybe. If you were stupid enough to get struck by lightning, I don’t know if you’d deserve that.”

Lloyd laughed. “Better luck next time, buddy.”

“You shut up. You could jump off the side of the ship right now, and she’d spend a week crying over you.”

Nya bit back a smile. “Maybe. But don’t,” she added quickly, pointing a finger at Lloyd.

He stared at her incredulously. “How dumb do you think I am?”

“Mmm… depends on the day.”

Jay burst into laughter, and Lloyd shot him a glare. “Thanks, Nya. That was a rhetorical question, by the way.”

“If you didn’t want an answer, you shouldn’t have asked the question.”

Lloyd stuck his tongue out at her, and Nya stuck hers back. Jay laughed, elbowing her. “Real mature. I’d expect that kind of thing from Lloyd-”

“Hey!”

“But you?”

“Like you’re any better yourself, sparky. Don’t you still sleep with that weird zebra thing-”

“His name is Mister Cuddlywomp, and he’s a bear-”

“Guys!”

“What, Lloyd?” Jay snapped, turning towards him. “Can’t you see- woah.”

Lloyd was pointing towards the horizon. Dark clouds formed in swirling shapes, gently disturbed by the winds of the storm. Arcs of lightning flashed between them in an almost rhythmic fashion, casting a gentle light on the clouds that made them appear to glow. It was like something out of a fantasy.

“Holy crap,” Nya breathed. “It’s beautiful. How lucky is it that we get to see this?”

“It’s because we’re willing to come out so late,” Lloyd smiled, bumping against her shoulder lightly. “The others may be warm, dry, and cozy in their beds, but they’re missing out on this natural beauty.”

“Their loss,” Jay said. “It’s the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen. And we’ve been all around Ninjago- even in different realms- so that’s saying a lot.”

“That’s okay,” Lloyd murmured. “I like doing this, just the three of us.” He glanced at them. “It’s our thing, y’know?”

“Aww, Lloyd,” Nya smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Yeah. It’s our thing.”

“It’s special, in a way the others wouldn’t understand.” Jay beamed at him, throwing an arm around his shoulder. “I wouldn’t trade these moments for the world.”

#ninjago #ninbingo #my fic #rosie writes #ninjago lloyd #ninjago nya #ninjago jay #im really vibing with the tone/mood of this one #also jay and lloyd are such a mood #and so fun to write #love their dynamic #hope you guys enjoyed it too #reblogs greatly appreciated!#as are comments!#thanks for reading!

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