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dentwy · 8 months

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number 7: here is greenwood

GREENWOOD!!!!!!!!! WOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! okay i'm cool. "here is greenwood" is a shoujo manga serialized in hana to yume from 1986 to 1991 written and drawn by nasu yukie. in 1991 until 1993 it got adapted into a 6 episode ova and this is kinda where it ends i feel. i wouldn't say it has had any kind of major impact in the medium, the genre or any major group of individuals, but god i do think it did stir something inside me.

i either tend to gravitate towards stuff that isn't particularly popular, because i'm trying to come off as cooler than i am or simply because it just happens naturally. couldn't tell you, but finding that one little thing you end up enjoying so much without anyone else seemingly caring about it is always fun regardless of your personality. turns out it's a lot easier to become the biggest fan of a thing no one has seen, you know. a bit like becoming the world record holder of a game no one has cared to speedrun, it's just funny.

picking out what consists of "my favorite shows of all time" isn't so easy once you've been watching media more seriously after a while, those starting years will definitely shape you up and become a major part of the main stuff you like. even if you fully know it's bad, you hold it close to yourself because it was there at the start, and it's always nice to think back on that. so, it often happens with me where i certainly enjoy something enough to think of it as "this could be a favorite, but does it deserve the spot?". not even sure right now if greenwood deserves it, but i don't know if it matters that much. i decided to make a list of "favorites that aren't favorites" because of greenwood and even if it doesn't stay there and goes up into the list, it sure means something.

ironically, i don't quite think this show came out as a surprise to me as i'd been hyping myself up before even getting into it. it did, though, take turns i wouldn't have seen coming and i'm glad for that. these days i honestly tend to watch anime based on the soundtrack and it's no different here. the soundtrack showed up in online platforms on september of last year, which is around where i found out about it since i already follow nagata shigeru (even if i haven't even seen ocean waves, he just makes good tracks). my first mention of it over discord was me getting mad at my bank while i was dealing with my phone insurance after i tried reading one piece and got my phone stolen 13 pages into the first chapter, but that's a story for another day. i just said "this is the soundtrack of me killing a man" with a link to shun's theme , which is honestly accurate for any man killing activities. in context however, there's a bit more to the story.

this is why, to anyone caring to read, i want to do the longest and probably only essay / analysis / backtrack / retrospective / whatever the hell for "here is greenwood" you will find online. i HAVE to be that guy. otherwise, what have i been obsessing over this thing for around a month? the show has 6 episodes while the manga has 11 volumes (although viz squished it into 9 which is better), so i'll be basing myself on the pacing of the anime in relation to the manga, back and forth between them so the chapters match up. the manga does, however, have more stuff to it throughout half of its runtime so it's gonna be a lot of that i suppose. although, and i'll get into it later, the anime seemingly ends up being the more enjoyable version of the two. otherwise, skip to the tldr in bold letters to avoid reading the long ramblings of a crazy man skimming through a show and manga you probably haven't seen and read.

we begin with the hero of our story. he doesn't really have anything that would actually make him a hero, he's just a teenage boy just starting his first year of highschool at ryokuto academy. his name is hasukawa kazuya and i don't blame people for making him the least popular of the 4 central characters on myanimelist, but he's still technically the main character. our dear boy kazuya is moving into the ryokuto dorms, because it turns out he's kinda the unluckiest guy you'll ever meet. his older brother just married the girl he had a crush on, and since they don't have any parents left, they're all living under the same roof, something he simply can't stand anymore. he took the entrance exam for this prestigious boys only school and managed to get in, but in the process he: almost got ran over by a car while he was visiting the school, barely managed to take the entrance exam since the trains were stopped by a blizzard, had his acceptance letter delayed in the mail, and got an ulcer the day of the entrance ceremony that forced him to stay hospitalized for a month. even if god is against him, he persevered, and finally got in.

kazuya is hot headed (almost literally since he's prone to getting nosebleeds), overly serious yet still a bit of a goofus. he's not particularly smart, but he proves himself with the sheer effort he can put into the things he wants to achieve. he often feels like he needs to be stronger and grow on his own, failing to rely on others, as he doesn't really like getting pampered either.

he is introduced to the dorm head, ikeda mitsuru, and the president of the student council, tezuka shinobu. the two most popular, best looking, and important members of the dorms, currently on their second year of highschool. these two are the ones that will introduce him to "greenwood", as they call the dorms, since the full name is kind of a mouthful.

inside room 210 rests his roommate, which he's quickly informed is, in fact, a girl. according to them, kisaragi shun was born a girl, it's just that her birth certificate and every record lists her gender as male. by this point, 8 minutes into the first episode i'm already clocking out. i understand we're talking about japan here and it's the 1980s (rest assured, this becomes more evident as it goes on), but i have the sneaking suspicion that gender identity can't be this series' forte. from my understanding, hibari-kun does tackle these topics in a proper manner and it was also a manga from the 80s, so perhaps it's not completely unheard of. besides, shoujo manga isn't known to be scared of tackling stuff the rest would never dare, but still. me, the audience, and the guy on screen, kazuya, are being informed that he absolutely must keep this fact a secret from the all the boys at the school. if he does not, there will be consequences. added to the fact this guy is seemingly pissed off at his brother for not being "manly enough" since he "works as a nurse" at this school (and also the fact he got married to the woman he liked, even if she's at least a decade older than him), we're not looking too hot. whatever, i'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

3 days go by for kazuya living with a girl in his room, often going outside to let her change, being uncomfortable at night and trying to ignore people's comments of his situation. he finds out, however, that it was nothing more than a farce. shun isn't a girl, he's just a cute guy with long hair. this dude got tricked into thinking otherwise only so everyone in the dorms could bet on how long it would take him to figure out. "damn! i lost... if only it took one more day..." you hear a guy in the background. greenwood, refers to "a nest for bandits and villains" which is all this place is. as much of a prestigious school as this may be, it doesn't speak for the people actually attending it.

there's the guy that sleeps with his motorcycle, the club used to devote their time to a made up religion, or the duo that rent out their room as an arcade. the main trio that will share their time with kazuya stand out as much as anyone else, if not more, so we should get into them.

shinobu (on the right) is the son of a prestigious family. he's calm and collected, devious and cunning. not a lot seems to change his expression, as he's swift and decisive yet his has his mischievous side as he often enjoys messing with people, and specially his roommate. mitsuru (left), is the handsome, aloof guy that simply loves giving kazuya as hard of a time as he can.

shun, aka the most popular character in the show, is a confident, assertive and strong willed young man. it just so happens he kinda looks like a girl. it is very often played for jokes, but not once does he mind it and finds enjoyment in it himself. he is, in fact, "a guy with a gender", as you could say. he leaves his hair long because he likes it, he dresses up however he feels like and often more feminine because he finds it fun, and he just knows who he is and what he wants to be, which is highly respectable. i was mentioning earlier about his theme and it's honestly pretty fitting for the guy, there's something magical and cheery about it that really sticks out, while having a tone of that seemingly feminine side.

these four are the rag tag greenwood team, getting into trouble, helping others and messing with each other. guys that maybe wouldn't usually be friends with each other, but it's always the time and place that will bring people together.

most of volume 1 isn't too dissimilar from episode 1, they change around the order of some scenes for it to make more sense and remove or add dialogue for it to flow better, but most of the main events stay intact. kazuya's main goal is to stay far from his home to avoid thinking about sumire, the woman he loves and his now sister in law. this is what he's in greenwood for. it's not as simple as "running away" from it and his feelings, but trying to come to terms with it, get distracted, and find himself. the main overarching theme of this series is moving past a love that was not meant to be. whether it's by moving away, making new friends or finding new love, the goal is the same. ironically, the people around him don't really allow him to move past so easily, since his brother is still around all the time, his friends kinda make fun of him for it (because it is funny) and sumire herself is so oblivious to it that it keeps stabbing him in the heart which, yeah, i get it.

vimeo

not sure if you, dear reader, has had the experience of being in a dorm with other people, or going through a moment of unrequited love, but it doesn't get any realer than this! for one, living with people close to you for a while is just a nice experience. always having people to rely on, to hang out with, to talk to, at any given moment. almost to the point you may start depending on it. as a matter of fact, the room i shared with other people for a bit was 211, the same one mitsuru and shinobu are in! for the other, trying to move past something like that isn't the easiest. in fact, it may just be the aftermath that's the hardest and that takes the longest, that is, finding the same feeling somewhere else. filling that spot with something new, or someone new. cannot really blame a guy for trying so hard to change his life around.

kazuya decides to stay in the dorms for summer vacation, as he insists he does not want to set foot home, and sumire decides to pay him a visit. not only her but his brother kazuhiro also plays fun with him at times simply because he likes to see his reaction. he's kind of a goat, but he does genuinely care for his brother. later he's informed he can't stay in the dorms for winter holidays, which is what forces him to go back home for once.

half of the first volume doesn't get adapted probably to improve the pacing, although the extra chapters also don't feel too substantial to the story overall. in one of them the lights go off at the dorms and a couple of girls get in, which they initially think are ghosts, only to turn out they're not. it's not that exciting of a chapter and the show does a better version of this a bit later on. besides, i believe that not showing as many female characters in the ovas works better for the series, as opposed to the manga which starts doing it more often from here.

after kazuya goes back home for the first time in a while, the boys meet up out in the city. here, they find a strange looking girl being tailed by men in suits. it only turns out this girl is "nitta mieko", an idol that simply wanted to get some free time for herself while her agency wouldn't let her. uh, she becomes a bit of a prominent character throughout the manga, while she doesn't really appear at all in the anime. to the actual plot itself, she doesn't do a whole lot, she just comes and goes from time to time. not much against her, it only feels like she's just there.

for another chapter, they're already on valentine's day, meaning they will get chocolate. shun mentions he's straight and he had a girlfriend already which the rest find strange, i suppose. both mitsuru and shinobu get all the girls from other schools to wait outside and throw chocolates at them, to which they run away from. kazuya has one girl that's a bit obsessed with him, yet he doesn't remember her name nor who she is. she mistakes shun for a girl, so she gives up on him quick, though. i'm a bit iffy with this chapter because even if it is supposed to be a well known fact that mitsuru is constantly getting girls to ask him out (and he's generally also unlucky with said girls) the anime doesn't actually show much of that, unlike the manga. i don't think this is bad though, it's more of a thing they just say but never really show as you're kind of invited to fill in the blanks for yourself. since it is only 6 episodes they obviously skip around a lot of parts of the year, and i don't think it's quite necessary to see everything they do, as getting a glimpse around their life is all you need to understand how they're doing and what a random day in greenwood can be like. the manga almost incessantly needs to show both mitsuru and shinobu as the popular guys and since we're talking about an all boys school, even if they are popular, it doesn't feel like it's something that should happen so often and at such a big scale, in my opinion.

kazuya also simply not knowing who the girl that has a crush on him seems off and a bit too early. i suppose his mind is still focused on sumire, sure. so, he's probably not ready to move on that quick? even then, the situation kind of presents itself in front of him and he simply fumbles it for no major reason, he simply does not know the girl from his previous school.

the final chapter sets up the next volume, where mitsuru gets abducted by none other than shinobu's big sister. the anime does a funny thing here on episode 2 where they kinda tell you "go read the chapter for context" but it doesn't really matter. the episode centers around shinobu's sister, nagisa, kidnapping shun's little brother, reina, who obviously looks like a little girl because feminine looking boys is a staple of the kisaragi household. this is, in turn, a direct sequel to the manga chapter.

nagisa hates her brother because he's kinda just better than her really. she's stuck up, pretentious, demanding and selfish. since they were little she always wanted to be seen as the superior one, and because shinobu doesn't give a damn about anything, he never really cared about whatever she tried doing to him. part of their father's favoritism towards shinobu must certainly come from the fact she's a woman, i will not deny that, and she has the right to be mad. she's still an awful person though and only wants her to be the one to inherit the family business. so, to "take revenge" on him, she decides to kidnap his friend. genius!

part of the volume is dedicated to them finding out it's her and then going to save him. in the process mitsuru tries to escape and makes fun of her. he ends up with only his underwear on to, uh, make it worse for him? i guess? in the process of escaping mitsuru gets his face cut which was supposed to be something they planned on doing to ruin how pretty he was or something, but apparently mitsuru has superpowers so the skin on his face simply fixes itself instantly. now, greenwood isn't scared of the supernatural, weird things will happen. but having his face regenerate is a bit too much in my opinion. i think it would be a really solid joke for him to "suddenly be fine the next page" instead of it actually and legitimately being superhuman. would play on the meta and sell the ridiculousness of it even more. which seems even weirder considering nasu loves to play with meta jokes. she will often draw herself commenting on facts or details that don't really make sense so she can address them herself, or have the characters directly refer to her or the manga as a whole. in this same chapter in fact, she mentions how it doesn't make sense that they're still in their first and second year of highschool if holidays are already over. i think some of these jokes are fine, but nasu loves doing it a little bit too much for my taste.

anyway, what the anime does instead, as i mentioned, is have shun's little brother be the victim. nagisa decided that she won't deal with boys anymore and only cares about girls now, so he picks up reina instead (unbeknownst to her that he's actually a boy). i think this take on it is better, since shinobu ends up knowing what the deal is way faster and manages to figure out a plan for the rest of the boys to follow. reina does, too, mess with her and her agents by asking for food and to take a shower, which gets weirder than it should! these guys kinda get really flustered about the supposed little girl they've kidnapped which is extremely weird (one of them even trying to peep while he's taking a shower!). nagisa is also really weird about it at the start but we know for a fact she's a terrible person so whatever. it tries to follow with the joke that people often mistake the kisaragi boys for girls, but it could've been something else, you know. specially when it's grown ass adults we're talking about, but whatever, it's still a fun episode. all of this ends with shinobu giving his sister a final warning, effectively pointing a gun at her and saying he was gonna take care of her this time for sure. only to turn out it's a toy gun. a little detail that stands out at the end of this episode, in a strange way, is mitsuru making fun of kazuya for developing a crush on igarashi miya, a girl from an all girls highschool that will become relevant later. it's a bit funny because by this point they have never shown the two of them interacting, and the first time that he will see her is later on in the anime. however i think it's mostly working as a little nod of foreshadowing, as the events in the ovas don't really seem to be in chronological order.

what is honestly surprising is the chapter that follows this, still on volume 2. a side story about two guys from the dorms in room 117 ending up as a couple and finding out they're gay. i'd honestly recommend just reading this chapter, as it's surprisingly good and i'm almost left wishing they had adapted it. they sure do the "but it can't be, he's a guy!" / "there's no way i'm a homosexual!" and sure, one of the two guys also does look like a girl, but it's cute and well handled in my opinion. throughout both the show and manga kazuya stays as the guy that like, simply doesn't know gay people exist, i think. he's not inherently homophobic, i'd say. he's always genuinely shocked as if he doesn't know what just happened, almost to the point it's funny. it simply does not process in his mind and he resets.

next chapter is about girls from another school taking pictures of mitsuru with his shirt off because it's too hot? and shinobu has diarrhea. the one after that, the boys go to the pool. everyone there thinks shun is a girl (as usual) so they ask him to go into the women's dressing room, and the lifeguard gets disappointed to find out he's a guy, but their outfits are sick so it's fine.

we continue to see kazuya being the one taking care of dorm head duty since mitsuru is away for the week. reina rolls up to the dorm and he's actually way more of an annoying brat than in the anime. kazuya lowkey bullies the kid and thinks shun should be rougher with him, or something. he still kinda has that thing of being disappointed that his brother isn't tough for whatever reason.

volume 3 starts school sports festival, not a thing we see in the anime. shun is dressed up as a cheerleader, kazuya is the fastest runner alive, shinobu set up bets for each team. typical stuff. later we see a girl show up at the school because her girlfriend was going there to see someone else. every single one of the boys absolutely loses their mind at the sight of a "real lesbian" who they thought was nothing more than a myth, and then it just turns out the her girlfriend saw mitsuru dressed up as a woman as part of the festival event (which they never even showed) and she was interested. rest of the volume is mieko showing up again asking for a favor because someone is trying to assassinate her, the boys celebrating new year's, a kid trying to figure out if shinobu is evil to get into the journalism club, and the motorcycle guy getting a real girlfriend.

a thing the manga definitely does better over the anime is showing the rest of the people in the dorms. although i barely even up remembering their names, they sure are there and have their own things going on. they do become more prevalent and they're part of greenwood as a whole. i just don't particularly feel like they stand out as characters themselves? some of their stories are fine and all but they serve as a bunch of background dudes that chip in at stuff most of the time. while it is cool to see the dorms more lived in, they're also not so important that it makes them feel like they actually matter, if it make sense.

as the manga goes on it starts feeling like a bit of a bottleneck. by no means is it not entertaining, it's simply that it jumps around between stuff that doesn't feel like it amounts to a lot. probably the reason why as i continue explaining things here i go over these chapters with stuff to say about them. next is volume 4 though! so almost halfway through!

this volume shows us the woman that shinobu's older brother (because it seems he has one) was supposed to marry. i believe, she doesn't really amount to much in the story, so i won't even go into detail about her. they go into a flashback with how shinobu and mitsuru met in their first year and fought, to then end up respecting each other. it's cool.

the rest of the volume is half a dragon quest parody and the other half a ghost story. both of these do, in fact, appear in the anime. however, they do so in a different way. in the manga, the fantasy manga parody is really just that, a sort of spin off that goes for a couple chapters. in the ova, the boys at the dorms plan on filming a movie to show at the festival, which is honestly such a cooler idea. they show them going around planning and filming stuff. shinobu and mitsuru even have to go pose for the self insert manga author that uses them as reference for her next manga so they can get the outfits they need. it's a whole process of them showing how they're doing this indie movie at their own school while cutting into the actual scenes of the supposed movie, real neat stuff.

in the other chapters, they go to a hotel shun's family just acquired and stay for the night. it just so turns out it's haunted and a bunch of girls try to get the boys to become ghosts as well so they can be together. mitsuru, however, manages to exorcise them since his family runs a shrine and he simply knows how to do that (?). ironically, he's the one that needs to get an exorcism in the ova.

this episode is one of my favorites by far. the lights go dark in greenwood, just like they did in volume 1 long ago. this time, mitsuru gets haunted by a girl he doesn't know. what's funny about this is that she is just a normal, cute girl and nothing else. she hangs around, talks to them, plays games, etc. fully visible to everyone, you simply can't touch her. mitsuru gets into trouble for bringing a girl into the dorms since he's clearly not allowed to, but it's not like he can do anything about it. he gets really stressed out and consistently asks her to leave him alone (which, wow. rude). i'm almost definitely biased here but this girl is actually voiced by the same woman that does my favorite character in the trails series, so, yeah. she's just really cute and fun and doesn't really hinder his daily activities in the slightest so seeing him get really pissed off about it is entertaining. the way the episode starts is also my current favorite thing ever:

this episode perfectly encapsulates the charm that has me tied to greenwood. the music, the characters, the wacky situations that get oddly real for short spans. by the end of the episode, she reveals that there isn't any major reason for her to be haunting mitsuru besides the fact that he's good looking. she simply hadn't ever kissed anyone before dying, and she wanted to do that. he strictly refuses because he's a little baby bitch and she leaves. instead, a day later, she tricks him by picking up the cat and having him kiss it. except that she's actually not done with him because she still likes him, so she brings a bunch of other ghost girls to mess with them. really funny. again, ironic, how he's the one getting haunted this time and he can't do anything about it.

the two final episodes of the anime are the most relevant arc of the series, which won't happen until much later in the manga. so we keep moving.

volume 5 takes place around the school festival, the one they made a movie for in the ova. kazuya gets tricked into a game of ping pong to see who would get the main role for the play they're doing, while shun does also take part of a different play. basically, we get 3 of the 4 main guys to dress up as women. shun's play is lupin's castle of cagliostro, which did also happen in the anime as an extra special segment at the end of that episode and it's really neat.

the rest of the volume has a new guy show up claiming that kazuhiro isn't worthy enough to be married to sumire. this guy is just her cousin, which is also in love with her, so let's leave it there. at the end they show a flashback into how the two of them met back in college, to then get introduced into the hasukawa household. this flashback is neat overall, it gives further information on how they've been doing as a family of two brothers, and a bit of insight into both kazuhiro and sumire's relationship.

sumire has been with them since kazuya was around 14, while she was in her early 20s, which i suppose isn't too terrible for him to fall in love? it obviously wouldn't work out regardless of the circumstance, but this isn't something they actually ever try to push for or imply it could've happened. not a lot more than teenage love, you know. what is actually fun is getting the news that sumire is pregnant with a boy. it doesn't really shape the story at all, but in the large scheme of things it does try to show the shift between their relationship and kazuya's feelings, which is great to see.

volume 6 has one chapter of shinobu meeting an alien that tells him he has a specimen that looks exactly like him who recently escaped containment. shinobu shoots him and doesn't flinch at the idea of killing someone that looks exactly like him, maybe because he's more of a robot than whatever this alien made could be, but we're still stretching the logic of this manga the more we go.

following chapter is the boys playing baseball against a friend of mitsuru's, fun chapter. the dorms move on to the next year, and they do actually start their second and third year of highschool. kazuya is the one becoming the dorm head this time, either because mitsuru likes to mess with him and / or because he does genuinely respect the guy. kazuya isn't too sure himself, though. some new students show up like the kid from singapore who they keep trying to explain things to as if he's some sort of otherworldly being, and he also shows signs of being completely clueless on how stuff works like not even knowing what a school trip is. i asked someone i know if this is true and they said that people in singapore do know what a school trip is (as i assumed), but sure. the school trip does happen, where they meet mieko once again and she asks mitsuru to do some modelling for a tv ad. this becomes a whole thing with mitsuru not being sure whether or not he wants to do it because like, his brother will think that he's only doing it to attract the attention of his "real parents" because actually he feels that he's not really part of his family since he's adopted? it's weird, the adoptive part will come into place later (although it's not that big either).

in volume 7 kazuya's nephew is born and they need to take care of him because sumire was gonna give them a couple of tickets for the ice ring. in the ice ring, two girls try to trick shinobu and mitsuru into becoming their partners because they need a couple to do competitive ice skating, or something. the conclusion is shinobu saying "why doesn't one of you get a sex change?" and they think it's genius and leave it at that. hooray for surgery. there's another three side stories with an edo era spin off, the boys going into the kisaragi onsen, and the duo in the arcade room getting cursed by an evil videogame you have to beat in one go.

it doesn't end with, but midway through we got the start of the main final arc, the one with igarashi miya. miya is a girl mitsuru used to know back on his previous school, she seems to be a bit of a delinquent that got into trouble with some girls over turf conflicts. she needs a place to stay for the night and tries to get help at greenwood. kazuya insists in helping her and offering his room even if it's strictly forbidden, because he sees something in her eyes. there's a certain sadness and uncertainty he's not sure about, so he wants to know more.

she explains to kazuya about her situation, and it turns out, she's not as tough as she seems. she doesn't like that people see her as a delinquent, she's not strong, she's a bit of a scaredy cat and is always trying to keep herself from crying. in the process of helping her and getting the girls from the other school to stop annoying her, kazuya realizes that, whoops! he kind of likes her! unfortunate for him, she already has a boyfriend. she does really insist that he's a good guy since he's always been there for him. on the other hand, kazuya wonders why was it because of him that she turned into a delinquent, or why doesn't she ever feel loved by him. she feels that he doesn't like her for who she is but rather he believes he likes her because they've always been together. not a lot he can do about it though, as he doesn't really have an excuse to see her again.

the anime doesn't change much here, the episode starts with kazuya already dwelling about her as they usually do with these episodes, starting with the aftermath of the events and recapping on what happened to them. i do like this, i'll say.

volume 8 is the last one before overlapping with the final episode, so it's mostly filled with extra chapters. there's one about a boy not going to class because he hates one of the teachers, another one with mitsuru getting tailed by a girl (again) who loves the made up version of mitsuru she imagined while seeing his commercial, devilwood again with the dragon quest fantasy manga parody, and the sports festival once more. the thing i like about the sequel to the sports festival is how kazuya gets into the track team to distract himself from thinking about miya, which seems to work for a bit. not essential, but realistic.

another one of the chapters is him falling off a ladder and landing in an alternate dimension where everyone is female, which is actually kinda fun, if not a little bit short. they call it "cherrywood" instead of greenwood, and there's actually a version of this they had the voice actors record as part of the drama cds. there are a couple of these mainly for the special chapters like the sports festival and stuff, they're neat. once kazuya comes back to his world the boys in the dorm keep dropping themselves off the ladder to see if they can go there as well so it's pretty funny.

i think the girl that was obsessed with mitsuru is somewhat a different version of the ghost girl from episode 4, although this one gets so mad at so many things he does that he legitimately cannot go around doing anything without having this girl break into tears, so it's funny i'll let it slide. i insist that having mitsuru be overwhelmed by girls all the time doesn't give the vibe of the "all boys dormitory life" that most of the series tries to push forward, but only some of them wouldn't hurt too much, i suppose.

we arrive to the final volume, as well as the last episode. had you been reading and watching these alongside, you would have a decent grasp of all the activities these people have gotten involved with. the thing is that, the 6 ova episodes released some time after the manga was already finished, meaning that it's not like anyone actually expected you to go back and forth between each other. it would be impractical to do so anyway without knowing what actually gets adapted and not. i've seen people mention that the way these episodes are formatted makes it so only a fan of the original manga would be able to enjoy it, with how much time is skipped between each one. i can't really agree with this point, as it is very much structured in the normal episodic anime way, only with some details here and there that probably don't end up being super clear since they weren't addressed but don't actually hinder the overarching narrative or actual character interactions. after all, these dynamics work well enough on their own to be used in whatever situation they get in. it's not that the manga does not do this, but it often feels like they're there to fill time rather than to simply entertain. more often than not, the chapters feel disorganized, same-y and as if they don't have any major purpose to be there than simply "what if x thing happened". it happens, and it's over. probably not inherently a bad thing, i guess it's a matter of presentation after all. ironically, the manga may just feel like more targeted towards fans than the adaptation, as it really takes a long while for these relationships to grow and develop. if i get too many details, it'll get stale and won't feel like i'm really learning much until something major happens. if i just get the core elements, i can build the gaps myself. less can definitely be more. dudes will be dudes, after all.

in that regard, the episode starts with kazuya helping out at mitsuru's house. the place used to be a bigger temple, but over time the land was reduced and the place isn't what it used to be. not a big deal for them though, as they still maintain the place. it's a nice family of 4. mother, father and siblings. sho, mitsuru's younger brother is only a few weeks younger than him, as by the time they found mitsuru outside their house, it had already been a little bit since he was born.

adoption is usually treated as a careful subject matter, but i don't really think it should be. throughout the manga, mitsuru has his moments of doubting himself, his past, where he comes from and his family. he cares about them and they care about him, specially his brother, but there's always a weird air to it. since he is the older son, he would be the one to take over the shrine, which he's not really sure if he wants to do himself. his mother makes sure to tell him that he doesn't need to worry about it, he should just do whatever he wants to do. his brother misses him, but he needs to focus on himself too. sho seems to be angry at him because mitsuru mentions how he is trying to go live on his own as soon as he can. this is where we get a little bit iffy.

from what i am able to gather, mitsuru feels indebted to his family. they aren't blood related, so sure, he loves them but he knows that they had no right to take him in and they did anyway. it's not that they actually show any sign of it being a pain on them or anything, he is just a son to them. i suppose he feels bad for taking his brother's spot for the shrine, but he doesn't even need to take the place if he doesn't want to. so, in the end, "wanting to leave home as soon as possible" is kinda just a normal thing i believe. i mean sure, deep down it's probably because he doesn't want to be more of a burden, and even if he's not he still wants to make their life easier. this is fine. he makes it such a bigger deal than it should ever be, though. his brother gets pissed at him and his response is "i'm not trying to be an outsider, i am an outsider" my guy what are you saying. kazuya goes as far as to ask him if he ever thinks of his blood related parents and he says no, so what is even his deal? mitsuru wonders to himself if you can still be family even if you aren't blood related, kazuya says that it's love that matters. unfortunately this is literally where this ends and it will never be brought up again or be concluded, because miya appears in front of them. it's unfortunate that it doesn't really get any closure, i feel exploring the meaning of family, specially with kazuya's situation being a thing, could be a really cool addition to the series. nevertheless, it doesn't happen. mitsuru just says that, he feels like he has to leave home as soon as he can, his brother doesn't like this mentality, and that is it. not even the manga chooses to explore this further, that's all there is.

they bump miya and his boyfriend tenma on their way back to the dorms, kazuya still sees that expression in her face, as if she's about to cry but she's holding back. now before getting ahead of ourselves this guy isn't abusing her or anything, he is kind of just a dude. not the best dude, but a dude nonetheless. miya has been wanting to say thanks to kazuya for a while, but she never gathered the courage to go visit him and say thanks. she would go nearby the school and then run away, never sure herself of why she was doing that. this time with the opportunity right in front of her, the only thing she manages to say is "i'm sorry". inevitably, this almost kills kazuya and gets him sick for a couple of days.

"sorry" doesn't really cut it. sorry for what? she didn't do anything. kazuya decides to give her a call after his brother convinced him to. his counseling is essentially: "you shouldn't care about the other guy, focus on yourself", which is fair enough i suppose, but i think a situation like this is very much gonna depend on who you're talking about. kazuya doesn't want to ask a girl with a boyfriend out, no one wants to be the guy that steals someone else's girlfriend really. but you know, there's something going on here too, as she doesn't seem particularly happy with him either. i think this brother bonding is a good moment for the two of them, although not the most particularly touching. kazuhiro is a fun guy, he is confident and he would do anything he needs to get the girl he loves (he did, after all, get the girl his own brother loved). it does come off as a little weird piece of advice from his part, but it works in context so that's all he needs to call her. she does, however, say sorry again and hang up instantly.

"i heard hasukawa got rejected by that delinquent girl", no! he hasn't even said anything to her! so the guy decides to wait outside her school to see her. he stays for a week until he finds out she was hospitalized, they find where she's staying and she's already gone. he sends her a letter but tenma grabs it before she can read it. luck is never on his side. persistence, however, never fails. a little bit of a bizarre thing here, tenma explains how "you need a special permission from their parents to date the girls from this school" which i don't - know, if it's a real thing or not in some japanese schools and honestly i don't even feel like looking it up right now. they both leave and run away from kazuya, leaving him alone.

then, on their way home:

vimeo

which is an excellent moment, although my favorite part of this is how loud the trains are it's so funny to me i can't even begin to explain. tenma is a bit of a self centered prick, he mostly shows off his nice side but he's the guy that wants things to go his way all the time, you know. he didn't particularly do anything wrong, he's just a bit of a toxic influence on miya. he's the reason she became a delinquent so maybe he would care about her more (or get scared and dump her), he's the reason why she doesn't feel loved or particularly pretty, he's the reason why she's so sheltered. having a guy like him that won't let you do the things you want, always holding your hand and trying to keep you "safe" isn't part of a healthy relationship. kazuya is the one that incites her into being herself, opening up, finding her strength and dealing with her weakness. "i'm with you", is what he replies to her once she tells him how he feels. it's about finding that person that will be there for you, the one that will always be around and, most of all, love you unconditionally.

the rest of the manga has a little bit of the aftermath and how the people at greenwood are doing. it, once more, doesn't stand out from the crowd. they're not bad chapters, they're fun. the story is already over, though. the final chapter is actually nasu drawing a bunch of reader requests she never got to do and kazuya inviting some of his friends over to show them around greenwood and work on a project (friends we have never ever seen nor have been mentioned before now, but whatever). here is greenwood in all its glory.

if you didn't care to read all of that, great. this is the tldr; greenwood is about finding that next opportunity. mainly in love, but in most things in life. the anime adaptation takes things in some fresher directions, streamlining the experience and focusing on what is important. in the span of 6 episodes we get to know these guys, what their deal is and how their relationship works and shapes who they are. some more than others, but meeting new people you care about and will be there for you when you need it (for better or for worse) is what makes us human, and what inevitably helps us grow as people. grow out of pains, grow into understanding others and what makes us who we are.

there's something special about the serenity behind it all that i can't quite put into words, hence why i didn't go into much detail. the backgrounds are often soft and share a clean palette with a watercolor texture to it that makes it feel like a never ending dream. compared to the manga in this case, nasu's art is nice and specially with the covers and colored pieces, but it does take a while for characters to particularly pop or look like themselves as they often suffer from the same face syndrome shoujo manga can be known for. color goes a long way into helping battle this. the manga does also often rely on jokes that maybe aren't as funny in the current age, so there's that too.

the music helps sell the impact of it all, with the magical orchestra that follows around the almost play like scenarios that overcome greenwood on a daily basis. as the subtitle reads "under the tree of memories", like looking back on the moments that mattered the most and shaped the future. the theme of greenwood echoing behind this feeling. some of the other songs they made for the show sell the fun of it all as well i'd strike a comparison with ocean waves considering it's the same director and the same guy doing the music, but i haven't actually seen that so there isn't anything i can mention.

in retrospect, 6 episodes isn't really a whole lot. there's 3 of them that center around some plot and then the other 3 are extra content that focus on whatever the hell they felt like. it's obviously not something for everyone, i'm not gonna come out and say this is a must watch or anything like that, only how i feel about things. stuff doesn't need to be deep, it can just be for self fulfillment. it's often the mindless things that get the most enjoyment out of me, being there to have a good time before anything else. exactly what they do here at any moment, picking out a day at random and making the most out of it. a day where any one of these bandits will get into trouble and they'll come out of it with a smile.

i could wish it was a bit longer. maybe add some of the chapters with the other boys at the dorms, add the part with kazuya's nephew and then him entering the track team and idk, maybe the one with mitsuru and his commercial to actually give an ending to his whole adoptive family thing. alas, this is what we get, and i will not complain.

had it been at a different point in my life i watched this, i probably wouldn't care as much. it speaks to a part of me i hadn't learned about years ago, and would probably only look back on fondly into the future. those things that happen and make you rethink stuff for a good while and, in turn, open your horizons. so, feeling identified with media and connecting with stuff is a bit of what we do this for, i think.

#here is greenwood #koko wa greenwood #anime #review #media analysis #anime and manga #90s anime

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literary-illuminati · 10 months

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Book Review 66 – Prophet, Volume 1: Remission by Brandon Graham (et al)

I am not, generally a big comics reader – like, I’m fairly sure you can count the number of comics I’ve read any real amount of on one hand, and exactly one of those was capefic/part of a shared universe – and that’s only one of several reasons why this isn’t a series I’m likely to have picke up on my own. But a good friend has relentlessly bullied me into trying it (up to and including physically shoving the entire run into my hands) and the alternative is pacifying him by reading more Malazan, so I’m giving this a try and approaching it with an open mind.

The book opens in the unimaginably distant future, on an earth where humanity and all its works seems less erased and more just forgotten, the ruins and wastes settled by a whole variety of different alien species. In this, an ancient crypod hisses open and John Prophet, vaguely superhuman soldier of the old Earth Empire, awakens with an itch in his brain urging him across the world towards the mission he was called upon to complete.

The first half of the volume is John’s adventures across the alien earth on his way to receive his mission and then complete it. Once he has, and the old Empire begins to awaken, things get weird – old Earth was really big into cloning and gene-editing, apparently, and there’s a lot of very variably recognizable other Johns buried and frozen across the Galaxy; the story takes some time to jump between a few of them and the worlds or spacecraft or artificial megastructures they find themselves on.

This is a very visual comic, significantly moreso than the others I’ve read – dialogue is sparse to nonexistent, with the detached narration providing the vast majority of the text in every issue so far. Which makes the overwhelming appeal of this visual – do you like looking at weird acid-trip aliens and sci fi vistas and lots of richly coloured violence and action with the bare minimum of text to make the narrative cohere? Then you will unironically adore this.

The later chapters are what start leaning into the actual plot of the series – John is either the original or a now-uniquely high caste clone, and was involved in the civil war that ruined the old empire on account of having or developing a conscience, I think, and with him having woken up the empire this will presumably be pretty key going forward. Despite that, I found myself enjoying the first few episodic chapters of him journeying across Earth rather more. The Jack Vance/Sword&Planet sci fi adventure is a genre I basically haven’t seen since my reading material expanded past the bookshelf my dad had in the basement as a child, so reading through them was oddly nostalgic. The tension between John wanting to get in trouble and help people and be a hero and the programming in his head pushing him to focus solely on The Mission could be a fun dynamic, too. Honestly slightly dissapointed they didn’t drag it out longer.

Anyway these things are incredibly bite-sized for something Goodreads classifies as a whole book, so it’s not like this was much of a time commitment. Which is good, because I’ve got four more to go.

#book review #prophet #Brandon Graham #sff #comics

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nhi-theuserof-this · 1 year

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COMBINING MY TWO BEST THINGS RN ONE PIECE + PUNKNOIR *not a crossover

ok so I’m in love with gear 5 but punknoir is my number one so what if I— *spits this out*

Mild OP spoilers excluding the crazy ass(exaggeration) Gear 5 stuff and some fun and deranged thought process coming from a place of love up ahead, although all this is centric on hobie and noir interacting with OP the media not actually a crossover

Also this is probably so niche in general just bear with me lmao

-Hobie would be showing noir around and introducing him to other spider people that are willing or able to help with the different time period whiplash which would then lead to eventually meeting someone that would want to update them on media like shows and books and such

-It obviously branches off into media from not america and when you mention manga or anime you have to bring up the big three, hence one piece, doesn’t really sound interesting to either of them at surface level

-noir wants to have something modern to talk about with new people though, so he briefly researches themes of books and shows he’s heard about and rabbit holes across one piece themes of freedom and the part where (haha) luffy is like legally a terrorist or something so now he *has* to check out one piece

-He reads the manga first because he likes reading at his own pace but watches any particularly interesting parts in the anime after reading it in the manga

-noir brings up one piece to hobie pretty soon and since hobie is from like early 2000s? Or a little before?(messy ahh timeline sorry guys) one piece is probably still relatively new in his universe(if it exists in his universe)

-Hobie checks it out himself via video and or written analysis people post online about it as well as checking out the first few chapters

-I’m not very good at getting hobie as a writer but he comes off to me that he would appreciate the story one piece is trying to tell combined with its lighter tone that keeps it from going on like a ‘dark tone’ the way more current / popular anime does

-Hobie starts to occasionally read one piece since it’s not as long as it is in the universe noir picks volumes up from so he slightly might not know the commitment he’s gotten into

-He still has plenty to say about it anyhow, and Noir loves to discuss with him about their own perceptions on the ideas as well was the story itself

-Noir is fucking enraptured by one piece

(Gear 5 content ahead!)

-Noir eventually catches up to one piece and starts reading each chapter as it comes out, and imagine how fucking wild he would go when he reads the gear 5 reveal?

-Noir is from a generally dark and quite gloomy universe, and I feel that this plays a large role in how much he’d care about something so ridiculous to his own universe

-freedom freedom freedom that is like such a big theme and noir would absolutely latch onto it right?

-Noir would absolutely be bothered by plenty of things in one piece due to again, timeline differences, so the sun god nika part would likely bother him simply because of his own silly spider god scenario—I can absolutely see himself relating to luffy with the coming back from the verge of or actual death without their own say-so via their powers/granter of power

-He’d probably try to compare his own attitude and world view to luffy’s in a combination of trying to better himself as well as it’s fun to relate to a character that deeply

-from that general point onwards noir would totally try to get hobie onto one piece by watching the show together

-at this point it’s like a special thing for them two to just enjoy one piece

-when gear 5 is animated and they watch it together noir has to pause the episode a couple of times because he is so happy with how it was animated and hobie is laughing his ass off at the smear frames they land on whenever it’s paused

-they both immediately rewatch the episode like three more times and keep noticing new things, it’s a blast

Ok ran out of things to say🔔🔔🔔🔔🛎️

Sorry my silly ass couldn’t handle the pressure of not combining these two things when I just had the power to make my sillies like my other little guy that I’ve been braining over for the past week

I’ll maybe make some art!!

#I’m literally going crazy #ap chemistry is on my ass and the creative class won’t get started for a hot minute #I drew luffy a bunch already but I want to draw spiderverse but luffy is so easy to draw #he’s just a little guy #punknoir #noirpunk #atsv hobie #itsv spider noir #noirpunk spiderverse #punknoir spiderverse #one piece #nhihashcs

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safyresky · 11 months

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Crystal Springs Chapter 23 now on ao3!

Would've been sooner but the uh. Season 2 premier broke my brain a bit? (Derogatory). I am still recovering. Both from that AND a lack of sleep thanks to a REALLY GOOD CRITICAL ROLE EPISODE. (looks at tsc series: I have hobbies outside of you)

Anyway, catch Chapter 23: Fae Brand HERE on ao3 (and here on ff dot net I suppose)

Chapter 23: Fae Brand

Heartfelt goodbyes are had at Frost Manor as Jack and Jacqueline head back to the North Pole to try to fix the Dome once and for all.

And a little sneak preview for you all (that was very hard to pick tbh)

"We're gonna be okay," she said. "Uh, duh," Jack nudged her gently. "We're Jack Frost! And there is not a force in this world that can keep us down for long," he shouted, tossing his apple core behind him. "They can try, but they'll be in for a nasty surprise soon enough," he finished with a smirk. Jacqueline laughed, swaying gently into his arm. "Thanks, Jack." "Any time," he replied, swaying back harder. She narrowed her eyes, swaying back just as hard. Jack raised an eyebrow, swaying back into her even harder. "You are fighting a losing battle, brother of mine," Jacqueline threatened, swaying back hard enough to nearly knock Jack sideways. "Am I?" he replied, swaying back hard enough that Jacqueline nearly toppled over. "Yeah! You really are!" And with a feral grin, she leaned back, palms out, and pushed him right into the pond. Jacqueline cackled, absolutely delighted when Jack belly flopped with a splash, the fish darting away from him. Her laughter echoed around them, bouncing between the rocky walls and up into the sky above them. "I win!" she said gleefully as Jack righted himself. The water wasn't deep at all; it sat just at his hips. He glanced up at Jacqueline, ready to retaliate with a splash, only to find her back on the ground, laughing. The thought of something much better than a splash occurred to him, then. Smirking, Jack carefully waded towards the bank, trying not to disturb the water too much. Crouching as he got closer, he carefully, carefully, reached out and grabbed Jacqueline's ankle. Before she could even fully shoot up and gasp, Jack pulled her in. "AH!" she screamed, as, with a strength they both didn't realize he possessed, she slid right into the water. She almost caught herself! Almost! Her bare feet touched the rocky ground ever so briefly before she lost her balance entirely, and fell over with her own splash, the rest of her scream lost in a stream of bubbles. "HA!" Jack shouted, pointing at her as she sprung up out of the water, steadying herself messily, arms sticking out widely. Jack laughed; she looked like a startled cat! Her hair was poofed up like a cat's tail and everything!

Hashtag siblings or whatever.

We've also got BLINTER INNUENDOS ft JACK GETTING EMBARRASSED! Fun sibling times!! TRAUMA for Lucy and Curtis and everyone up North! BUD'S HERE AND HE IS BUD-ING IT UP! (He's fun to write lmao)

All that and MORE in Crystal Springs Chapter 23: Fae Brand, right HERE on ao3 and HERE on fanfic dot net :D

Wanna start from the top? You can read the Prologue: An Encounter right HERE on ao3 and THERE on fanfic dot net.

Sounds fun, tumblr user safyresky! but what's it even about?

You can find that out with the STORY SUMMARY below the CUT :D

It's been almost a year since Jack Frost thawed and things are looking...well, not so great. Jack's powers are seemingly gone. Without them, the Dome that keeps the North Pole safe from the cold and its magic controlled is melting, putting everything and everyone magical at risk. Unable to hide his power shortage any longer, Jack is forced to admit the truth. Thankfully, there is a solution: enacting the Legate Law, bringing Jack and the sister that he hurt so many centuries ago back together again. But when Jacqueline starts experiencing destructive blackouts, the pair are forced to head back home to Crystal Springs, bringing Jack face to face with the rest of the family. Needless to say, between getting his powers back, helping his sister figure out what in the FROST those blackouts even were, reconciling with his parents, meeting the two even younger siblings he didn't even KNOW he had, NOT TO MENTION the ancient threat that's had it out for the ENTIRE Frost family finally making a move? Saving Christmas (regrettably) is looking to be a little bit...complicated.

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aspiring-holistic-otaku · 2 years

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Ramble#11

This month's episode we focus on Naoki Urasawa, a living manga legend, a true goat of the medium and my number 1 favourite mangaka. Ever since I started this podcast, at least one episode on him was inevitable and even if I don't stick the landing I hope this encourages someone to go check out and even support his brilliant pieces of art.

I'll be following the usual format of things read this month and then going over older reads, this time going from least to most favourite. Afterwards in what I'd call a part 2 I'll be doing a bit of off the cuff ranting.

So without further adieu, let's get into it!

Urasawa works read this month:

Asadora! (2018 - present with 37 english translated chapters):

A young girl named Asa has her home town destroyed by a Kaiju that only she saw. For those unfamiliar with the term Kaiju, it's basically the genre of film centered around giant monsters, think Godzilla. Anyways, years later, after training to be a pilot so she can track the monster down as she's its only living witness, she's approached by a certain organization that's been tracking the beast, so she can be trained to defend the country.

Not really a first time read but the first time I checked it out in 2020 there was only like 15/20 chapters out so with there being like twice that now I figured I could put it as new + bite me

Not much to say as again there's not that many chapters but it was my first time seeing a female lead from urasawa and I thought it was cool that the first page of the first chapter set the time frame for this world threatening disaster as 2020, which was when I picked it up and around the time COVID kicked off, even though that chapter itself came out in 2018.

Yawara! (1986 - 1993) 331 chapters total but only 92 in English:

Trained by her 8 time national judo champion grandad to get an Olympic gold, Yawara has been doing judo since she could walk. But as she enters the springtime of her youth, she just wants to be a regular, cute and fashionable girl.

Now I figure some of you may be wondering "What's the problem? Why can't she have both?". Well firstly, you know fiction, there's no story without conflict no matter how ridiculous. But as the mc would put it, judo just isn't cute!

She thinks she'll be unapproachable if she becomes known for grappling and throwing people around which tbh is fair but if you know anything about training to be an athlete, especially an Olympic level athlete, the time dedicated to training is no small thing. In the manga her grandad makes her train every day starting at 6am before she goes to school then after school they train again at 6pm.

Again not the very first time I read it, basically I started like a year ago but only read like 5 chapters then got upset that it wasn't fully translated. Cause I figured if it's been complete since 1993 and in 2022 there's only 92 chapters translated I'd be blue balling myself to hell with what I assumed would be another urasawa great (side note, more reason for learning Japanese so I can be a translator)

And I'm feeling bittersweet in being correct in my thinking because I really really dug it. Very neat aesthetic I've gotta say as urasawa plays up yawara trying to be cute and dressing up and so forth. It was also my first time seeing urasawa not doing mystery, as Yawara is a fun light-hearted slice of life but it still has a great cast of distinctive characters with brilliant dynamics just as I've come to expect from all of urasawa's works.

Master Keaton (1988 - 1994) 144ch:

I'm just gonna go with the final volume's description here as it's pretty spot on

When the wall that separated the East and West falls, the twentieth century comes to an end and brings radical changes to the world. During this turbulent time, Taichi Hiraga Keaton has difficulty finding a job in archaeology even though his long line of cases as an insurance investigator doesn't seem to end. As he navigates through dangerous adventures, Keaton encounters some bittersweet lives…

If you glazed over for a minute there, basically the mc loves archeology, wants to be a professor and have his own dig sites and such but because of skills he picked up in the army, he has much better luck being an investigator.

Great scenery, neat characters but pretty episodic to the point where I'd want to call it an anthology as characters don't really carry forward much. There's a lot of nitty gritty details about wars, factions and etc. around the world in that time period which can be a bit overbearing at times but that's what give the characters and situations the impact they would have gotten if they stuck around longer.

Also gotta say it's pretty educational, not just in the mc basically being macgyver and building self defense weapons out of whatever is on hand kinda way, but it takes a good look at Europe and how fucked it was during that cold war period as it indirectly and directly references many real world events. Maybe it's just my lack of exposure but I haven't seen that much media outside of documentaries really pinpoint Europe and the effects of war there and not on a large high level country scale, I mean like really looking at the lives of civilians and how they lived and died during that time.

Lots of variety, as I said it's very episodic as almost every chapter has a different subject ranging from finding a lost animal to settling spats between holocaust survivors or proving a statue is fake

I also have to mention something I've always appreciated about Urasawa's works that really stood out in Master Keaton for me and that's the diverse and well done racial representation. There's people from everywhere and it doesn't have that feel manga tends to have of like a Japanese person drawing what they think other people look like or something, it just looks like a person drawing other people, feel like I'm wording that weirdly but that's how I'm wording it.

Happy! (1993 - 1999) 254ch:

One day a high school girl, Miyuki Umino that takes care of her 3 younger siblings on her own, is approached by Yakuza who tell her that her older brother ran out on loans amounting to 250mill yen, approx. 1.8M USD) and now she needs to pay up or be sold into prostitution.

While wondering what to do she sees on the news a tennis player earned that amount in winnings so she decides that despite the difficulty she has to try.

Pretty dark premise and I'm telling you she goes through some dark shit but it's a great story, brilliant characters as usual, loveable idiots abound, antagonists that you can really really hate. You don't have to be a fan of tennis at all to appreciate the heartwarming n heart wrenching ups and downs. Teared up at least twice.

This was my favourite Naoki Urasawa work I read for the first time this month, this manga really showed me Urasawa really has THAT range fr.

Older Urasawa reads:

Monster (1994 - 2001) 162 chapters, this was my 3rd read:

A promising young doctor, Kenzo Tenma, ignores his superiors orders to operate on their mayor and instead operates on a young boy called Johan, that came in first, as he firmly believes all lives are equal. The mayor dies and the boy is saved but this leads to unfair treatment by his superiors and being left by his fiance. Soon after, not only does the young boy disappear but his superiors die from poisoning, leaving him, staff and ofc the police baffled.

10 years later during a string of serial killings, a key witness ends up being a patient of Tenma's but is killed for trying to reveal this by Johan, the real killer, now a young man who reappears in front of the doctor. Even more shockingly, he reveals himself as the one who killed Tenma's superiors all those years ago. Because of similarities in the murderers then and now, police pin it all on Tenma so he goes on the run across Europe to find the young man and clear his name.

Undeniably engaging from the jump, the ever building draw being who the fuck is this Johan dude? where'd he come from? why the fuck is he killing all these people? etc. etc.

Great side characters as usual with interactions that I can only call truly genuine whether they were sweet or sour.

There's a lot of nice interplay on the meanings of life and death, the notions of fear and hope, humanity and the inhumane, all weaved into every intricate thread of this story.

Not to be a hater but personally its relative popularity, as in relative to his other works, is a little upsetting. I get that it was his first critically acclaimed banger but he's done so much since then that isn't talked about enough for me. His later stuff not having anime adaptations doesn't help but if you've read and watched enough media adaptations in general you know that tends to mean diddly squat in terms of the quality of the source material . The industry unfortunately runs more and more on fan service every day.

Pluto (2003 - 2009) 65 chapters, read 3x:

The destruction of one of Earth's greatest robots and the murder of a leading figure in international robot rights seem unrelated at first, but both bodies were made into some bizarre collage with the central motif/pattern being a pair of horns placed by their heads, making them obviously related. The confusing thing is that the only thing that could destroy one of Earth's greatest robots is an even stronger robot, but could a robot really be related to the murder a human? Gesicht, a robot detective is put on the case and eventually comes to realize that all of Earth's greatest robots, himself included are being targeted.

As you can expect with any futuristic robot media there's an exploration of the concept of humanity vs the artificial but it's done so tenderly for lack of a better word and I'm not sure how often it's done that way in these noir type beats. Especially from the viewpoint of a robot mc.

I've probably said this for all his works so far but there's brilliant cast, great dialogue, great art that the context pretty much demanded and even though it's based on an arc in Osamu Tezuka's tetsuwan atom, better known as astro boy in the west, the greatest robot on earth arc to be specific, Urasawa really rose to and in my mind completely surpassed the challenge of adapting the work of he who is called the God of manga.

Also like man it's so crazy good for how short it is, please read this.

20th century boys (1999 - 2006) 249 chapters + 16 in the wrapup sequel 21st century boys, I've read both 2x:

The story follows a group of childhood friends, now adults who are trying to patch together their memories in an effort to uncover a conspiracy that seems to be based on games they used to play about saving the world from destruction.

It's pretty difficult to describe the events of the story further but it definitely stands out in my mind as the grandest scale of anything Naoki Urasawa has ever done though I wouldn't put it past him to go further.

As I said the story follows friends trying to patch together memories so the time period goes back and forth quite a bit. It can be pretty jarring trying to follow it strictly by year so I'd recommend just thinking about it in three tone periods, namely; childhood, present day and miscellaneous flashbacks. Separating childhood from miscellaneous flashbacks as their childhood remains within a constant range but as the story moves forward and present day changes so does the range of flashbacks they have.

That should hint a bit at the scale of this whole thing but outside of the breadth, there's a depth of characterization and dynamic that I haven't seen elsewhere.

Side note, if the length is frightening it's the type of read I'd recommend savouring anyways.

Billy Bat (2008 - 2016) 165chapters, this is my 4th time reading this:

A Japanese American mangaka/cartoonist, Kevin Yamagata, suddenly has his workspace taken over by police claiming they're investigating one of his neighbours for being a Soviet spy. In the middle of protesting this, one of the officers sees the comic he's working on, Billy Bat. He says he's seen it before in Japan, basically calling Kevin's work a copy. Kevin takes offence but admits he was stationed in Japan for some time and may have seen it and subconsciously copied it. As one of the lasting lessons his father taught him was that you can't steal people's stuff, he goes to Japan to seek out this potential original creator.

The story unfolds as he meets an artist that tells him the bat is actually something passed down throughout history, throwing him right into the middle of several conspiracies concerning real key incidents throughout modern history.

On top of everything, the bat starts talking to him, urging him to find a supposedly important and immensely powerful scroll.

My favourite piece from urasawa, brilliant in every respect, please please please please read this.

That's it for this first part, if you're still here, thanks for listening, please please read these, urasawa is a goat, a legend a phenomenon.

Just to share some resources before I go into the part 2 bit which may have spoilers irdk yet, there were two YouTube videos I really liked that I highly recommend.

The first was 'The greatest mangaka of all time' by the masked man and second was 'A guide to manga's greatest master' by the omnibus collector.

The first video is about 10 minutes long and uses the quality of Monster, 20th century boys, Pluto and Billy Bat as their rationale for why Naoki Urasawa is the greatest mangaka of all time.

youtube

The second is 20 minutes and pretty much covers Naoki's entire career and body of work, giving pretty rad descriptions of all his pieces, inspirations for them and a bunch of other really neat info. Bonus For those of you who are int that sort of thing, they also show the physicals they own off all the manga they talked about. really appreciated that. thank you omnibus collector.

youtube

Really appreciated these videos as most animanga fans and discussions focus on monster, sometimes 20th century boys and rarely anything past that unless they're ranking which I'm really not interested in.

There's also a third video I mention in part 2 of the episode I'll link here as well.

youtube

Anyways thanks again for listening, stay hydrated and listen in for some rambles if you're also into that kind of thing.

#just another day #mm..manga #naoki urasawa #asadora!#yawara!#master keaton #happy!#monster #pluto #20th century boys #billy bat #Youtube #writeup

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seishun-emergency · 2 years

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HELLO i heard you say you like pondering bizarre combos of characters and so i am BACK. in honor of one of my friends on discord: thoughts on reichia (rei/chiaki)? or perhaps the rinne/kanata/hiyori dorm? and maybe even ritsukasa?

i also love thinking about new combos of characters. this is why i ended up with a 13 chapter fic in the works for a npc/playable character that have never even been in the same country canonically. but that 1. requires so much context and 2. i dont even know if you know genshin

HELLO WELCOME BACK !!! i Do love pondering bizarre combos it's like a fun brain exercise. a challenge in how well i know each character and also if they've interacted in canon yk. anyways. ritsukasa and rinne/kanata/hiyori first because . well you'll see why i saved chiarei for last. i also know nearly nothing about genshin so unfortunately i probably would not understand your 13 chapter fic but in another world i would like to

ritsukasa - love them. silly guys. knights r all in love with tsukasa and tsukasa is in love with all of them. my ritsukasa chess fic is one of the silliest things ive written and i looove it i think ritsu has too much fun being an absolute Menace to tsukasa and tsukasa keeps getting made the fool of but its ok bc they are in Love

rinne/hiyori/kanata - they are so. god. what a dorm. i dont think they'd be a very stable relationship but they'd be a fun one !!! hiyori and rinne seem like they'd either be flirting or fighting or both and kanata stabilizes them somewhat by just being a calmer and more easygoing guy but honestly. hiyori tomoe the baddest bitch of ensquare and rinne amagi assigned troublemaker at birth would not be stopped by just kanata. unless he like picked them up or somethign i believe him. they would have the best date aesthetics tho hiyori's feed would be pinterest fodder with their date pics

chiarei - SO OKAY. STORY TIME. we're getting into some leo lore here. leore if you will. now when i started the game before i fell into ibara and toriP hell i was chiakiP along with mao and koga (the ryuseitai episode in the anime changed me + meteor impact was the first ! era story i read) (i know.) and i REALLY wanted chiaki's atoz card when that gacha banner was out. i did 110 pulls on the banner and this guy REFUSED to come home.

fast forward to around the start of november. in this time ive gotten my roommate into enstars and between the two of us we have three accounts: my phone, her phone, and her ipad. rei's bday rolls around and my roommate, who really likes rei, decides to do pulls on rei's birthday banner to try and get his initial 5* home.

we do the pulls. we get the rainbow lights. it isn't rei that comes home - it's date plan atoz chiaki. (not even his initial 5*! the specific shuffle unit chiaki that refused to come home for me!)

we do pulls on the collective ipad account, also on rei's birthday banner: date plan atoz chiaki comes home again.

now you can imagine how envious i am at this point. the envy isn't the point of this story though the POINT IS. because of the fact that chiaki came home two separate times on rei's banner i made a joke that chiaki's holding rei's hand and that's why he's on rei's bday banner. and then i kinda ran with it and chiarei is perhaps a rarepair i am Considering. spinning around in my brain like a microwave,

okay onto the actual. commentary. i think chiarei is really fun actually :3 contrasting imagery of demon/villain vs. hero plus also the mutual friends of kanata and kaoru. rei flirting with chiaki because he has a smooth fanservice demon persona to uphold and chiaki getting flustered but then responding earnestly bc he is In Love and then rei getting Even More Flustered back. yeah. holds them in my hands Consider Them

#leo composes #windypuddle #ask tag #chiarei #rinhiyokana #ritsukasa #the chiarei story is so funny 2 me. that time i started shipping a rarepair because of gacha luck #all ik abt genshin is that i get gender envy from kaeya and scaramouche is a war criminal but also babey

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bicsbec · 7 days

Text

Natural Melodies

Chapter 5: encore (ao3 link)

Raine had always swept Eda off her feet. With their poetry and serenades and all the game her dorky bard could carry. Even now, Raine continued to sweep her off her feet. On the mornings they looked like death and braced with her Luz and Hunter's irate humors. When they played with King or entertained him with magic, making Francois dance little jigs. When they were drunk and blushing and slurring the cheesiest pickup lines before passing out on the couch while the kids were at sleepovers. It made Eda swoon.

Even watching them shout at a game did things to Eda's heart.

"Look at that! He picked it up like it was nothing, I wish I could have taught him something like that," Raine was saying. "Are you listening, Owl Lady?"

"Hm? Yes, teaching. What about it?"

Raine smirked, seemingly knowing where her thoughts had been. "You're better at it than me," they said simply, shrugging and making King bounce on their shoulders. King was focused on the Flyer Derby tournament semifinals. The Emerald Entrails were well ahead in the scoring, most flags down.

Eda was mostly focused on Raine’s hand on her knee. They pulled it away, still expecting to carry out their conversation with her.

"What makes you say that?"

"Have you seen Hunter play?"

"Yeah, yes . Of course I have."

"Have you noticed how he applies wild magic to his plays?"

"What about it? The other kids have started using wild magic as well."

"He's innovative, thinks on his feet. Like you. You taught him that, through example and instruction. You should think about it."

"Think about what?"

" Teaching , love. You'd be great."

Eda almost recoiled at the thought. She must've made a face because Raine was laughing.

"You've been teaching Luz since she stepped foot on the Boiling Isles," they pointed out.

"I mean, sure, but Luz is—she isn't just a student, she's my kid."

"Yeah, she's your kid alright," Raine said, looking over to where Luz and Amity were cheering.

"GO, GUS, GOOO. AVENGE VINEY," Luz screamed as Amity watched with furious focus, shoulders tense. Luz froze and the whole stand held its breath.

Gus was closing in, Willow had cleared a path, Hunter swung around to block their exit, the opposing player had nowhere to go.

"Yes, yes, yes . YES. LET'S GO!"

Amity jumped up, Luz shaking her shoulders, both screaming with the crowd. King jumped off of Raine’s shoulders, climbing over to Luz's.

Eda was on her feet, too, cheering along, the excitement beyond contagious. " Those are my kids! "

She could see Raine’s point.

Luz and Amity ran into the field, crushing their friends in a hug. Hunter and Skara were lifting Gus up on their shoulders, Viney was pouring potion over Willow's shoulders; they were going to the finals. Eda loved the smile on their faces.

Hooty was away with Lily, doing Titan knows what at Lily's museum. King and Hunter were visiting the Human Realm, staying with Camila, Luz, and Vee. They had the Owl House to themselves and they were going to make good use of it.

"Eda, move ."

"I'm coming, give me a second."

"It's starting."

" Pause it. "

"I can't."

"Alright, alright," she finally plopped on the couch, apple blood in hand.

"Did you bring me any?"

"Uh, next commercial break."

"We're getting a streaming service."

"Are we, Poet Unemployed?"

Raine might as well have harrumphed, settling back onto the couch as the novella started.

With no kids home, they had monopoly over the crystal ball. Without King to make fun of the show, Eda could watch her crappy soaps in peace, free of judgment. She and Raine usually made quips of the show and its characters, anyway. It was a guilty pleasure. They knew it was terrible writing, but that's what made it fun.

"Wait, why is his cousin trying to kill her," Eda piped up, not recalling the events that led to the pursuit.

"She found out the cousin was responsible for the ghouls at the ball," Raine explained hurriedly.

" What? When?"

"Last episode."

"No, last episode was the hostage situation."

Raine was quiet, focused on the show, looking suspiciously nervous.

" Raine , last episode was the hostage situation, right?"

"Last week, yes."

"She doesn't find out then."

"No."

" Raine. "

It was remarkable how Raine had managed to keep their cover with Terra and her potion for so long when they were proving to be rather shit under the pressure of their girlfriend's gaze.

"There was a double showing this week! You were at the market! I couldn’t record it and I wasn't going to not see it," Raine cracked.

Eda scooted away from them dramatically. "You traitor. You watched an episode without me?"

"You would've done the same!"

"I would've rather chopped my other arm off. I won't stand this slander. " Eda curled up on the opposite end of the couch, decidedly distant from Raine. Admittedly, she would've done the same, but she wasn't about to admit that when she could lord this over them for weeks to come.

" I'm sorry. I wouldn't have even known if King hadn't been scrolling through channels," Raine pleaded, crawling closer to Eda.

Eda put out her foot to stop them. "Eh, eh, you don't get to blame this on King."

" Love, I'm sorry. How can I make it up to you?" Laughter bled into their voice.

Eda fought back a smile. This was a serious negotiation. Very serious. "You could fold the laundry."

Raine’s eyes narrowed. "I already do that."

" My laundry," Eda amended. "My arm gets tired and I don't have magic to help." Eda had already adapted well enough to living with just one arm, but laundry was still tricky and had always been annoying to deal with.

"Fine," they agreed, moving over her foot. "How long?"

"Two months."

" Two months? No, absolutely not," they pulled her out of her corner and into their arms, nuzzling her neck.

Eda shrieked a laugh, caught off balance. " Rainestorm! "

"A month."

Eda struggled to get out, still laughing. Raine was laughing, too.

" No! "

"Three weeks, then."

Unacceptable. Eda had to get the upper hand somehow. The harpy came out only a second later, surprising even herself with her ease of command.

"Woah," Raine was blushing under her, where they'd ended up pinned by her added weight. "This is hardly fair."

"A month and a half," she purred, her voice merging with the Owl Beast's growl.

"Five weeks," Raine said, still looking somewhat dazed by her appearance.

"Done deal, Whispers," she grinned. She picked up the smallest of sounds from Raine’s throat, not of fear but of nervous enthusiasm.

Eda dipped her head experimentally, just to see what they'd do. Raine reached up, almost instinctively, eyes on her lips. Their blush deepened when they realized she'd stopped moving closer.

"Are you teasing me right now?"

"You want to kiss me like this?"

They pulled her down with their hands, kissing her firmly, licking at her bottom lip. "Sure," they said, pulling away. "I'd want to do a few other things, too."

They had never messed around with Eda in her harpy form. Eda wasn't even sure how safe that would be. But Raine seemed eager and it sounded really fucking fun.

Eda grinned. "Then that's a done deal, too."

Raine honest-to-Titan shivered.

"Hey, Eda?"

"Hm?"

"Get me that apple blood, we're already in the next commercial break."

"Oh, shit. Already?" Eda sat up on the couch. She didn't even try to get out of her harpy form before going to the kitchen to get Raine’s drink and a bottle of elixir.

"We're getting a streaming service," she said as she plopped down again, this time making Raine bounce on the cushion. They crawled onto her lap as they took their drink from her hand, settling comfortably between her legs.

Cute.

"Thank Titan," they sighed, utterly content in their seat.

Eda knew this face. It was their I'd-rather-shit-in-my-hands-and-clap-twice-than-perform-tonight face. The only thing that had changed about it were the age lines around their mouth. But it was the same furrowed brow, same fidgeting hands swiping nervously under their nose and removing and replacing their glasses, the same squinting and pacing. The only thing missing was Raine saying—

"I'm nauseous. I don’t think I can do this."

Eda withheld the profound urge to cackle. She knew them so well.

"You've said that a thousand times."

"It's felt true a thousand times."

"You'll do great. Think of it as a retirement concert. One last performance."

"I'm going to be sick."

" Rainestorm , once you're up there, you're a natural."

Raine scrunched up their nose. "Hardly."

"We're gonna be right there, right at the front."

Raine took a steadying breath. It never worked to tell them that everything would be okay. It would be like lying. There had been times when Raine’s stage fright got the better of them, so Eda could never reassure them of a positive outcome.

"Alright, alright. One last performance."

Truth was, the performance wasn't until later that night, but Raine was always nervous from the very first day of the week the concert was due to the last second before starting the performance. They always functioned best when they were distracted for long periods of time. Which was exactly the plan.

"Hooty reporting for duty, hoot hoot," Hooty shrilled, popping up behind Raine and scaring them out of their skin. "Sorry, Raine."

"Hooty here will provide a distraction for you, so you stop thinking about tonight," Eda informed them. "King and I will pick up Luz from school and Hunter will come over with Camila after she gets out of work."

Raine still nervously quirked their mouth, their index wiping uselessly under their nose.

"Y'know, Hunter told me he'd be helping Camila with possums, can you believe it?" Eda added, mainly for their amusement, but also because she couldn't quite believe it herself. Raine raised their eyebrows at that.

"Those are real?"

"I don't think so."

"You'd think he'd post about it," Raine said, getting out their Penstagram. "Here, look."

Sure enough, there was a picture of Camila holding up a possum. The caption read Mamá has the coolest job #haterswillsayitsfake.

"I need to talk to Camila," Eda said, still staring incredulously at the screen.

"What you need to do is go pick up Luz," Raine said, managing to put away the scroll. "Go, don't keep her waiting."

"Yeah, alright."

"Now I shall regale you with the Hooty Stand Up Comedy Special, written by yours truly, Hooty," Hooty said, wrapping himself around Raine and dropping them on the couch.

"King, we gotta bounce!" Eda shouted up the stairs. She was not going to be subjected to whatever Hooty considered comedy. Luckily, King was speeding down the stairs and in a few moments they were flying through the door with a quick, "See ya, love you, byeee!" to Raine.

The Human Realm was as rowdy as ever, people bustling through and going about their day. Eda was certain she might've killed someone if she drove a car to pick up Luz and Owlbert was out of the question, so they had to walk.

The school wasn't too far from Luz's house, but it made for a decent walk. King had already been to the Human Realm a few times before, but never with Eda. He was excitedly telling her all the things Luz had shown him, some things she already knew, but others were new.

They were already reaching the stone walls that marked the school perimeter when King said, "Luz hates school, says she struggles too much with the subjects."

"What? That doesn't make any sense. She's the most enthusiastic kid in the world about school. We had fights over her enrolling at Hexside."

"Yeah, magic school. Human school is a drag, apparently."

Oh.

Well, that was something.

Just then, Luz was exiting the building walking alongside Vee. Vee spotted them first.

"Hi, Miss Eda," she greeted. "Hey, King."

"Eda!" Luz threw herself into Eda’s arms, hugging her tightly.

"Hey, kiddo. I'm here to pick you up for Raine’s concert tonight. Remember that your mom and Hunter will join us later."

"So, I have the house to myself? Sweet," Vee said, picking up King from the ground.

"You can come along if you want. Right, Eda?"

"'Course. As long as you're comfortable, Vee."

"I could peek in with Mom and Hunter, just to say hi," Vee said with a casual shrug, a very well put mask in Eda's opinion.

"Then let's get going," Eda said as the sisters led the way back home.

Eda loved how Luz was now surrounded by siblings and parents that look out for her best interests and encourage her to pursue the things she's curious and passionate about. She was glad Luz had the experience of Hexside, a positive association with formal education. She wanted Luz to have more, not just the wild magic lessons she could provide when prompted.

Maybe Raine had been on to something. Maybe Hexside and Glandus and St. Epiderm didn't need to be where magic education stopped.

Before she knew it, they were already back at the door back to the Demon Realm, King and Luz catching each other up on their weeks.

They came back to find Raine laughing their ass off as Hooty beamed, probably elated that Raine found him so entertaining.

"Eda! Eda! Have you heard the one about the owl and the road?"

"To hoot on the other side?"

Raine started laughing up a storm again.

What a dork . But Eda was smiling at them, entirely endeared.

"Hooty, you are a hoot," Raine managed after calming down, then seemed to hear themself and began to giggle. "Alright, I'm going to go get ready for the final rehearsal. Thank you for the distraction, to both of you."

They kissed Eda's cheek as they walked past her to make their way to the bedroom, where Eda had laid out their clothes on the edge of the nest.

Soon the house was in a frenzy as they all fought for the bathroom and got ready so they could leave. King wore his red bow, Luz wore her dress shirt and flared out skirt, the suit jacket a tad too fancy for the occasion, and Eda wore her black dress and red midriff jacket.

Raine was in their formal bard suit, a white dress shirt, a red vest lined in gold and a black suit with red piping and gold cuffs. Eda would've hated to admit that such an antiqued callback to the covens would've been any kind of tasteful. But Raine looked good. And their job was to be a bard that night. It was only fitting to wear the suit one last time.

The concert was being held at the Suburb Square, a quaint plaza similar to the one Eda had seen in Gravesfield. An improvised stage was set up in front of the rows of chairs that now lined the square. The Clawthornes and Nocedas filled up the first row, just as promised. The BATs and Raine were running through the last few kinks in their performance before the concert began.

Amber came hopping over, excitedly jumping into Eda’s arms.

"Mama Eda!"

"Amber! Are you guys ready for tonight?"

"As ready as we'll ever be. Raine just gets an upset stomach."

"They'll be fine and you guys are gonna be great."

"Thanks! I'll see you guys after the show, I've gotta go. Derwin likes to do one final tuning before starting."

She skipped her way back to Katya, who was patting Raine’s shoulder reassuringly. The show would start soon. The crowd was starting to settle into their chairs. With the curtain calls out of the way, the light posts in the square dimmed and the stage's floor lit up.

"Demons and witches of the Ulna Suburbs, welcome to tonight's concert," Derwin's voice echoed through the square. "Tonight is a special event for us as we are joined by the founder of our group and beloved mentor, Raine Whispers!" Raine took up the center stage with a wave and what could pass as a confident smile. The crowd cheered, but no louder than the front row, which made Raine smile for real. "Without further adieu, I give you, for the first time as a whole, the BATS!"

Derwin, Katya, and Amber appeared at Raine’s flanks. They all looked at each other for a second, like they couldn't quite believe they were playing together, like something electric was about to happen on that stage, and they all jumped right in; Eda had no idea who was driving.

Magic, for lack of a better word, exploded from the stage to the edges of the square, the lively tune creating an air of mischief and daring. It was all the exciting parts of being a rebel, the adrenaline, the thrill of going against the norm, the adventure.

Amber had been crafting a neat night of thrills for the residents of the Ulna, something Eda could only assume they lived vicariously through. Amber knew her audience.

Each member was weaving something into the atmosphere. Derwin built a steady and stable tension; Katya was the heartbeat, the escalation and rest; Raine and Amber were almost dancing circles around each other, one stealing the melody from the other and back again, sharing the push and pull of the fun, its pitfalls and lifts. It was about them, about how Amber saw the BATs and the fun she had with them. That was easy to see from Eda's point of view, but to the rest of the audience it was about playfulness and how to have some fucking fun.

It was no wonder they could live off of this type of performance, the people loved it.

And Raine was incredible. No one would've ever guessed that they'd been pacing a crater into the floor over how anxious they'd been earlier. Or that they had stage fright for that matter. They were having fun, moving around the stage with ease as they all kind of danced to their own conversation.

Then the melody shifted over to Derwin and Amber, then it moved around again, and after another shift, Eda had lost track of who was doing what. She was just in awe, carried away by the effect of their magic.

The piece left her a little breathless and craving a little more.

Raine wasn't the type to flaunt their talent, mostly because that meant an audience had to witness it. But when they took the stage, it made sense that they'd made Head Witch. They were just that good.

Raine was having fun now, as they played through the repertoire their smile grew and they even managed to wink at Eda when they neared the edge of the stage.

Eda was swept off her feet all over again. She'd never seen them so confident on stage. It had her standing up at the end of the concert, cheering them on as loudly as she could and she could only say, " Encore! "

It made Raine blush as they took their bow, trying to hide their smirk.

It took everything to not rush them while they were still on the stage. Raine was having a great night, Eda wasn't about to ruin it by embarrassing them.

Raine finally made their way over to their family, already taking off the suit jacket from the heat of the stage.

"Hey," they greeted with a timid smile. They were always bashful after a performance.

"Rainestorm! That was amazing!" Eda threw her arms around their neck. "You were incredible!"

Raine chuckled against her ear. "Thank you, love."

Eda pulled away so the other could greet Raine.

"Thanks for coming out, everyone," Raine said. "It, uh, it means a lot."

"You were fantastic," Camila said, the awe in her voice evident. "I had never seen anything like that before."

"Thank you, Mrs. Noceda. I'm sure it must've been…a lot."

King was climbing up Raine’s leg, asking to be held. Raine wrapped him up in their jacket before holding him against their side.

"No," Camila waved them away in a charming manner. "After the first time I came over here, this was a stroll in the park. Helps me see how Luz fell in love with the Demon Realm in the first place."

Raine blushed at that. "That's very flattering, thank you."

Amber tapped on Raine’s shoulder, startling them. She gave them a significant look, her eyes darting from the BATs to their little group.

" Oh , oh," Raine said with a start. "Yes, let me introduce you guys to the crew." Raine’s voice gained an air of theatricality; this show was only for Camila. "This is Amber, Katya, and Derwin; together we are the Bards Against the Throne…AKA…the BATs!"

Katya and Derwin descended on either side of Raine with their hiss, Amber popping up in front of them. They all started laughing, a reflection of the camaraderie they'd formed in the early days of fighting Belos.

"You guys already know Eda and King and Luz," Raine said, adjusting King's weight in their arms. "And you knew Hunter as the Golden Guard. This is Camila Noceda, Luz's mom."

"It's great to finally meet the poet's family under normal circumstances," Katya said with a somewhat smug look. "They never stop talking about you guys."

"I love the people in my life, sue me," Raine said playfully.

It was wonderful to see them like this, with friends they had banter with, relaxed and surrounded by those they loved.

Derwin seemed interested in Hunter's old job and kept asking him and Luz about Belos, which seemed odd, but mostly harmless; Eda was keeping an eye on Hunter's ticks, making sure the questions never made him too uncomfortable. King was falling asleep in Raine’s arms, all tuckered out from a long day. Raine was balancing a conversation between Camila, Amber, and Katya, mostly consisting of them and the latter two explaining how Bard magic works to Camila. Eda was happy to lean on Raine’s shoulder and listen to their voice, listen to the lively conversations, to the jokes and laughter.

Eda was happy.

Life was good. Her family was safe, happy, alive . Loved. She couldn't ask for more.

Eda was despondent. The Isles were a carcass, grotesque with the artifice of the Collector's mirth. Unnatural and dissonant with the Titan's magic. It was a literal waking nightmare. These days it was rare for Eda to not have feathers peeking out of her collar or forearms, the curse always on the cusp of being unleashed. It was also rare for her to see King. She missed him terribly and her stomach turned at the thought of him at the Collector's hands.

At least Raine kept her company, in a bizarre and morbid way. They hung there, silent, cold hands and dead eyes.

"Hey, Rainestorm," she started, as she always had. "Thought you could use the company, since these old kooks don't talk." She almost laughed at the irony of it, almost sobbed. She composed herself. "I'm going to break us out of here, as soon as you don't blast me the moment I step outside. I'm going to fix this. I'm getting my kids back and you, you hear? I'm getting you back, Rainestorm."

She reached for their hand but heard something. It was far away, just outside the archives. Kids talking.

"You think…is…there?" Luz? What the hell was Luz doing here? "...okay? Hunter? Stop!" She was in trouble. Screw this.

"I'm sorry, Rainestorm."

The harpy came out and she dashed out of the archive as fast as she could. She could feel the residual heat from the blasts being aimed at her. She rammed through the nearest wall, diving into the Titan's skull to see Luz and her friends.

Hunter was not okay. He was…in pain? He was covered in something green. Luz was shielding the others from him as she looked up.

"Eda! Eda, behind you!"

Just then, something heavy fell on her back, making her lose control and crash. It was Raine, eyes red instead of green. She kicked them off of her. The other Coven Heads were following closely, climbing down the archives.

Fuck.

"Rainestorm, stop it," she tried as Raine took aim again. They could hit Luz. Eda lunged at them, holding their arms against them. They thrashed in her arms and stilled, then thrashed and stilled again, an odd mechanical pattern.

"Titan, I hate this. Luz, are you alright?"

"Hunter isn't."

Eda turned to see Hunter throw up that green stuff. He seemed terrified, waving frantically for Flapjack to get away from him, the little bird already flying in a hobbled way. The green stuff started to pool and gather and grow. Hunter was still coughing it up. The Coven Heads were gathering, taking aim.

Luz held up her light glyph to get a better look and Raine stopped thrashing. Then started to panic like they normally would.

"Rainestorm?"

They stopped. "Eda? What the hell is going on?"

She let them go immediately, pushing them behind her. "Later."

"Hunter! Mi vida, get away from that!" It was an older woman that looked a lot like Luz. It was her mom.

The green stuff grew into a horned figure with a skeletal grin, barely held together by sinew and that foul slime.

"Belos," Luz said with so much certainty it made a chill run down Eda's spine.

Belos grabbed Hunter by the throat, lifting him up. Tears were welling up in his eyes. This was not happening. Her kids were not going to face this devil and she wasn't going to lose any of them to it. This was not going to happen.

She lunged, claws first, fangs second. It was a frail structure under the strength of the Owl Beast, Hunter dropping to the floor with a gasp, kicking away from them. She sank her teeth into his mushy throat, bile rising to her own, and ripped. She tore him apart until there was nothing but crushed bone and goop.

The Coven Heads hadn't blown her to bits yet, which was something. She looked to find half of them dazed and not puppets, the others were still aiming. Luz got closer with her light and they were released from the Collector's grip.

Light? That was it?

She felt contempt for all the times she'd extinguished her light before reaching Raine in her visits. She wanted to scream.

"Where's King?" Luz asked.

"I don't—"

"COLLECTOR, NO. LUZ, RUN!"

King usually didn't have that look in his eyes; in fact, the only time the Collector had ever seen that look was on the first day they played. Collector understood the look only later. King had been frightened, but that made sense. King had never floated like that before. Flying can be scary if you're not used to it!

But there was something different this time around. It was a look they'd only ever associated with the Archivists or Belos, it looked so foreign on King. King was angry.

But they had been having fun! Why was he so angry?

When that stupid human showed up, King got his head screwed on backwards. The Owl Beast had escaped and was covered in Belos, his unmistakable slime covering her feathers. They'd tagged him, though. Mashed goop against the skull of that jerk. Whatever. The Owl Beast tagged him again.

Now King looked angry and frightened and was shouting a dizzying Weh! And the Collector hadn't made him float once! Not since the last time.

The human had some silly paper spells that were starting to burn. Collector's head was starting to hurt.

The Head Witches were not guarding the Owl Beast, the human was playing with King, King was angry at the Collector, it all felt a lot like losing! Losing a game he didn't even know they were playing! That's no fair!

Collector didn't like this game. He didn't know the rules, no one was listening to him. They were getting bored.

"Well, this is no fun! We're starting over, new rules and all! I'm not losing to you, human, I'm not! I'M NOT!"

They snapped their fingers once and nothing happened. He tried again. Again. AGAIN.

That was more like it.

Surrounded by toys again. Puppets to play with just like he wanted them to. No ideas he didn't like or that were boring, like picking up the toys after he was done or not making more puppets. He had all the time in the world… all the quiet, too.

Just like in that stupid disk. Nothing new to play, just whatever they could think up. After the first couple hundred years, the idea well was all dried up!

No, no, no, no!

They were playing alone again! That was even more boring!

Uggghhhh.

Why was playing so hard?

They floated over to King, who was still and perfectly pleasant, and snapped him back. He took a deep breath and sat back hard, dazed. He had that look again like he was floating as his eyes darted back and forth around him. He whispered something like, " What did you do?" Curiously, there was water welling up in his eyes. Such a funny thing for eyes to do, water shouldn't be there.

Collector wiped it away; it had obviously been bothering King because he flinched as they removed it.

"Okay, let's try it your way, I don't want to play all alone. Then I'd be back stuck in that stone, twiddling my thumbs and rhyming all day."

"You mean that, Collector?"

Collector was almost proud of how they'd made King's eyes sparkle.

"I do."

"Let everyone go. Please. I want my family back."

Family? That didn't make sense at all. Family were a bunch of jerks that lied and played mean tricks and were uncles that destroyed nephews and—

King had water in his eyes again.

"Please. I miss my mom and my sister."

"Would that make you happy?"

"Yes, it would," he said quickly.

"What about our games?"

King's lip quivered. It'd never done that before. King mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"I said I'm tired! I'm tired of playing and trying to not upset you! I'm tired of never seeing my mom. I'm tired of being scared."

Scared? What was there to be scared of? Had King been lying to him? "Have you not liked our games? Have you been lying to me?"

"I've had to! I was too scared not to!"

Scared . They'd been lied to. Again! Why did this keep happening?

Collector felt… bad. They didn't like this feeling at all.

"Well, maybe I don't want to play here anymore."

Maybe he didn't know how to play at all.

The Collector was gone when Eda opened her eyes. King was in her arms before she even came to. King was okay, he'd somehow managed to set them free. She had her kid back.

Luz. Where was she?

"Eda! Eda, oh my gosh, I missed you!" Luz was running towards her, arms open, barely stopping and toppling them over.

"Luz! Oh, my good witch," Eda squeezed her tight. "Oh, my babies." She kissed them all over their sweet faces, making them giggle.

Hell was over. Eda had her kids and most of her limbs, she was willing to call that a win.

She held them tight for a long while, not ready to let go just yet. Luckily, neither were they.

A hand shook her shoulder, startling her. She'd been drifting, half conscious on Camila's couch. King had lost the battle with sleep long ago, curled up in her arms, Raine's jacket almost a snuggie in his paws. She heard Raine’s cackle, they were probably laughing at one of Amber's jokes.

Eda followed the hand on her shoulder, finding Luz at the end. "Sorry, thought you were more awake. Hunter said you and Raine could take his room for the night. He'll take the couch."

She was a vision, all smiles and kind eyes, Tassie happily perched on her shoulder.

"And Mamá says you have to stay. It's too late for either of you to fly Owlbert," she continued.

"Okay," Eda agreed easily. She didn't feel particularly keen on the idea of leaving Luz at that moment. "We'll stay. Are the BATs still here?"

"No, they went back a while ago. Mami and Raine got into the apple blood jug. Hunter's cutting them off."

"Where's King sleeping?"

"He usually sleeps with me."

"Will you take him up, please?" She handed over her little bundle of fur. "I'm gonna have to carry Raine upstairs."

"Yes, Mom. I mean—"

Eda's heart nearly stopped. Luz looked alarmed, blushing, maybe embarrassed. Eda would've squeezed the life out of her if it wouldn't have woken up King. Instead, she stood, pulling Luz to her side and peppered the top of her head with kisses.

"Mm, I love ya, kiddo."

Luz relaxed, leaning into her side. "I love you, too, Eda."

"Go to bed, it's late."

"Yes, Mom," she said, this time with a grin, leaning up to kiss her cheek.

Eda's heart was soaring, a little worn and wrung, knowing only hardships for so long, but still, soaring.

Mom. She'd never expected Luz to call her that. It was an unspoken sentiment, but they both knew it was there. Hearing it, though, had her eyes watering.

"Go on, you, get," Eda said with a watering chuckle, pushing her gently towards the stairs. Luz's smile was bright, a loving understanding in her eyes.

Eda made her way to the kitchen, where Hunter was hiding away the apple blood and Vee was wiping down the stove, leftovers in their containers waiting to be put away. Raine was leaning back in their chair, their eyes half lidded, wearing a big goofy smile and their cheeks red from drinking; Camila seemed more alert, smelling the drink in her glass and sitting up at the sight of Eda.

"Did Luz turn in already?"

Eda nodded as she placed her hand on Raine’s shoulder. "Yeah, just came by to tuck the lightweight in, too."

Camila nodded sagely, seeming more tired than drunk. Raine didn't even stir at the lightweight comment.

"Need help?"

"Nah, I got 'em," Eda said, harpy at hand. Camila jumped back in her chair.

" Ay, connnchole, " Camila readjusted. "I forgot you could do that."

"Sorry," Eda gave her a small smile. "Come on, Rainestorm. We're turning in."

Raine just raised their arms, knowing Eda would sling them over her shoulder. She covered them with her left wing as well, for good measure.

"It's dark," they slurred.

"I know, love," Eda smirked. "Good night, kids. Thank you for letting us stay, Camila."

Camila batted her hand as if to say it's no problem.

"Good night," the kids chorused.

" Que descansen, " Camila said.

Descansen. Rest.

Eda knew that one, Luz had taught her. She felt herself smile as she went up the steps to Hunter's room. Luz was probably a better teacher than she was, always patient and enthusiastic. Her eyes would light up, whether it was explaining glyph combos or how to roll an r properly. She'd really found herself a great kid.

Eda set Raine down on the bed and dressed them down enough for them to be comfortable. The harpy settled and Eda did the same, crawling into bed and spooning her bard. Raine’s breaths came softly, already asleep. Even like this, Raine was a small symphony, little hums and breaths that came and went, the harmonies of Raine’s unconscious. But the best part was the steady beat—their heartbeat—calm and wonderfully persistent. It was what tied together that perfect natural melody.

Eda had missed it. She would never have to miss it again.

prologue | < chapter 4

#natural melodies #the owl house #toh #eda clawthorne #raine whispers #writing #fanfiction #ao3fic #bicsbec

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starlight-time-machine · 4 months

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Week in Review

06/02/2024 – 06/08/2024

Sunday

Week 17 of missing Cipher Academy

Girl Meets Rock fine, just going through the motions as the band is entering its final form.

Undead Unluck is pretty fun, it’s great to get this glimpse into Fuuko’s parents and upbringing after all this time. Sean continues to be a favourite for how well he embodies the trope of a silly guy who’s still empathetic and in tune with other people’s needs. Also I’m really amused by that color page and how Tozuka envisions male idols to be LMAOO I can’t wait to see who gets to join Kaede’s backing band.

I checked out Dropout’s new show, Thousandaires, and it’s certainly…interesting. I saw an interview blurb where Sam Reich describes it as show-and-tell, which I’d have to agree with, but it’s just a bit odd to see it used in a “competitive” format. But of course, there isn’t actually any real competition – so the impression I get is like, aggressively positive as the contestants try to make their friends laugh. It’s an odd energy, but so far it’s still been decently fun to watch. Lisa’s was the most straight up comedic bit, but I also have to give kudos to Vic for commissioning a whole musical song for their sister. Jacob’s was cute for how he always looks to give back to the community, but I would have to say that Jiavani’s was my favourite for just how genuinely sweet and fun it was.

Monday

Watched two more episodes of Simpsons, and I’m sorry to say that they weren’t good ones… Homer really annoyed me in the mini-golf episode, and then Bart annoyed me in the subsequent Thanksgiving episode. They both had good endings, I suppose, but the journey to get there was frustrating.

I’m really excited for the Game Changer finale because I vaguely enjoyed the one season of The Circle I watched years ago, and I think the Dropout designers are smarter about how to create a fair game (the people who start at the beginning of The Circle have an insanely better chance at winning than anyone joining later, and the challenges feel really nonsensical), but somehow I think Ratfish has the opposite problem to The Circle. The main gameplay conceit is a lot more interesting and fair, where they all have a chance to deduce each other’s identities based on their intuition and social awareness, but because they filmed the episodes in one day, I didn’t get the build-up of friendships and alliances and other social dynamics that I liked seeing in The Circle. I know they wouldn’t’ve wanted to trap them in a hotel for even a week, but maybe three days would’ve been fun…the general chat and personal chat times just felt so short and inorganic because of the time micromanagement. I love all the characters the cast came up with, but my favourite has to be Zac and Granma Sweetie, he was just so so funny. I’m really sad that he got out first :( So now I’m rooting for Katie to win. And I’ve gotta say…I don’t care about Mr. Eric from Tim and Eric…it’s just a brand of humor I don’t care for at all LOL and the way he chatted was so cringe and “lol xd tacos are so quirky and funny right.” There would be no way for the cast members to guess who he is, so I assume he’s providing some other function in the game – perhaps he and Sam are the ones voting on who their favourite character is? But I’m sure the cast members will get a kick out of seeing him when he’s finally revealed. Anyway I think this format is fun, it just needs a little more room to breathe…I’d love to see it come back in the future like Survivor did.

Tuesday

I had to check out the latest Chainsaw Man chapter because Twitter was exploding about it, and all I can really say is lmao. As ever, we just have to wait and see where Fujimoto goes with this, I guess.

Wednesday

I’d been picking at it here and there over the past few weeks, but my library loan was quickly running out so I read through The Village of Eight Graves by Seishi Yokomizo in pretty much one sitting. Of the Kousuke Kindaichi stories I’ve read so far (Honjin Murders and Devil’s Flute Murders), I was surprised to find that this was my favourite. The premise didn’t seem to be all that gripping at first, but once I was entrenched in this rural town and watching the murders and paranoia spread throughout the community, I was fully hooked. I saw some reviews complaining about the lack of Kindaichi in this Kindaichi story, but I actually kind of really liked that we were getting the story from the perspective of someone who was deeply involved and had a lot of stakes riding on the situation. It made the mystery feel all the more personal and harrowing – and besides, one of the somewhat frustrating things about the other Kindaichi books was how Kindaichi could never really prevent most of the killings. Obviously he can’t get ahead of the killer before the book ends, but it’s a little sad and frustrating to watch as people drop like flies around him while this “great detective” is helpless to stop them. With Tatsuya as our protagonist, at least, it’s more understandable why he wouldn’t be able to do much, and the emotions run higher because it’s people he cares about/the murders seem to be implicating him specifically. I really liked this setting and its characters, too – there were a lot of them, but they felt distinct enough to me where I could imagine what they looked like and what the broader social web was between them all. I especially liked the female characters, of which there were quite a few who were written really interestingly. I also liked that this mystery wasn’t much of a “puzzle box” mystery as Honjin (because I can never really get the mechanics/geography straight in my mind enough for the solution to be satisfying), and the motives were more compelling than Devil’s Flute to me. And then there’s the added bonus of themes of mob mentality and how people in an insular community govern themselves, and the added spookiness of a curse and the dualities being revealed throughout the town…there was just a lot here that was really up my alley. I would have to think on it (and see what other books I want to buy), but this book has definitely become a strong contender for a book I enjoyed so much that I want to buy a physical copy (the first of its kind in my adult life, I think! So that’s fun). As such, I’ll give it a rating of 8/10.

Thursday

I was so productive I even forgot to watch DunMesh.

Friday

Productive again. Woe is me I’m getting a lot of work done.

Saturday

Went over to my friend’s house and made Italian wedding soup. We didn’t eat it while watching DunMesh, but I just had to let you know that we did a very DunMesh activity. The episode itself was fine, though the timing of everything is a little weird. I know we’re past the days of fiddling with the source material for fear of people yelling at you on Twitter, but it would’ve been nice if the Senshi backstory was all one episode and maybe even the season finale…but now there’s the awkward tonal shift of the deeply moving personal revelation with fun species-switching comedy hijinks. I think they didn’t get a new voice actor for Tallman!Chilchuck so now his voice actor is kind of struggling lol

#week in review #2024

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j0kers-light · 1 year

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His Lighthouse: Like I Want You (LedgerJoker x f!reader)

Like I Want You

series summary:

Y/n is an aspiring writer living in Gotham City and struggling to find her next muse. Her recent novel is getting all the buzz, earning her far more attention than she signed up for. But when a chance encounter results in her nursing The Joker back to health, will she find the time to write another best seller or will her own story become front page of the Gotham Gazette?

chapter summary:

Joker feared nothing in life except you. No matter if you said your warning in a fit of hysterics they hold meaning. Will you hold him accountable or will Joker have a chance to start over and finally learn more about his Light?

author's note:

Hello darkness my old friend!! I promise I’m not dead! I’m back with a long chapter to make up for the long wait! Fun fact it was even longer… hehe don’t you just love editing? The chapter was dragging on and it didn’t flow properly so I had to cut it. It’ll be included in the next chapter I promise kinda like a 'pick up where we left off' type deal.

Once again thank you all so much for waiting 😫😭😭 I don't deserve this much love and support!! Also please listen to Like I Want You by Givēon to enjoy this chapter to its fullest! I hope you enjoy!

A TRIGGER WARNING IS INCLUDED IN THIS CHAPTER REGARDING Y/N'S PAST WITH **** PLEASE SKIP IF THIS AFFECTS YOU!

taglist:

@blackreaderatrisk @twinkledinkle @clemdango04 @l3ejm @tears-of-amber @what-an-angel @darthjokerisyourfather @thatsnoteii @dollster @cheetahspy @kaidennnnn @urdariingdoll @motivation-idontknowher @ins0mniac-whack @spaghettificationandpretzels @reneisance @alittlesmartcookie @ninacutebee16 @carydorse

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

Last Chapter | Next Chapter

Sarai was the first one to react after your mini episode.

You were still not yourself and the meds she administered weren't helping things, however; your warning was heard loud and clear.

'You hurt my friends.. and I'll never.. forgive you.'

It was a bold statement, one that the dark clown wasn't handling very well.

Sarai glanced over at Joker who had yet to say anything. He was watching you sleep while you were completely unaware to the fact that you just flipped his world upside down. It was unnerving to see him at a loss for words.

Sarai cleared her throat and tapped your IV drip hanging from the bedpost. "This'll be empty in two hours. Call me when it does."

Joker remained unresponsive so she sighed and focused her attention on your friend in the room. If Sarai remembered correctly, her name was Morgana but just in case she heard it wrong, she didn't call it out directly.

"It's my day off 'n the Fashion District is just round the way. You come with me." She zipped her bag close and waved for Morgana to follow her.

It didn't take a cryogenist to know that Joker needed some time alone with you. His thoughts were plentiful and they weighed on him heavily. However Morgana didn't read the room. She eyed the doctor sideways and stood her ground.

She promised your mother she would watch over you. "I'm not going anywhere. Y/n needs me!"

Sarai was already at the door but turned on her heel to address Morgana.

"She's sedated and I doubt she'll need anything for a few hours. Now, grab ya shoes and ya purse, we're dropping a band. Is my payment ready? Joker?"

Sarai called his name two more times yet he didn't respond.

He was still frozen like a statue, still trying to process your words. It was only after Sarai walked up to him that he blinked out of his fog and glared at her. His body language was defensive and ready to maim. He was back to normal after all.

"My payment?" Sarai dragged out.

Joker waved Sarai off like a pest. "The usual."

She faced Morgana with a wide grin, "We rich! If you need me, send for me!" Sarai shouted over her shoulder at Joker.

She pulled Morgana out of the bedroom and eventually the apartment despite the florist pitching a fit the entire way. Then, Joker was finally alone with you.

So much had transpired during the week apart he felt like he was back to square one with you.

The weekend he spent with you in Martha's Vineyard felt like a dream and so far from reality. He could never forget your beautiful smile or your soft, hesitant touch making him feel like a man reborn. He'd seen the light and experienced its power and now that same light had been snuffed out.

It was disheartening and Joker would not let it stand.

Joker believed you were somewhere buried underneath the pain and trauma of your past.

His Light, an educated bookworm who stuttered under pressure yet quick to raise her voice if someone was in the wrong. That had to be your Blüdhaven upbringing at play. You were a little spitfire in hiding.

He longed for that Y/n, the one that was slowly coming out of her introverted shell. The version of you whom he had inevitably grown to love. Suddenly, a weight lifted from his chest.

Joker could say it now. Love. He loves you.

The very meaning of the word made him feel as if he was underwater fighting against a current.Saying the word up until now made him choke up.

For so long Joker wondered, how could a person blindly love another? To willingly sacrifice everything, their very life, all to please their beloved? It didn't make any sense to him. Then Joker met you and it was sooo easy to risk it all, he questioned how he didn't believe sooner.

He thought people were stupid when they said, 'I found my person.'

He'd been around the world and seen the worst of humanity, but when he looked at you, he was humbled beyond words. If Joker was evil incarnate, then you were a goddess walking on Earth.

And woe, to whoever caused you this pain.

Your Dark Prince would burn cities in your honor. You need not worry about the misdeeds that Joker committed in order to keep you happy. All you needed to do was enjoy the spoils of war.

If keeping you in the dark kept you by his side, then so be it. It didn't soothe his conscience though. Joker thought his shady actions were just but you and your naïve view of the world, would not see things his way.

He would always be the villain in your story even if he paraded around in the sheep's clothing.

Joker could lie till the sun turned blue, but in this moment while you slept blissfully unaware, he would show his hand. Only then would he have the strength to deceive you and remain by your side. But first he needed proof that you were sound asleep.

Joker leaned forward to run his fingers down your cheek. You didn't move a muscle.

Color was coming back to your complexion in the short amount of time that Sarai administered fluids. Your body was struggling to keep up with your emotional outbursts and Joker knew that this was only the beginning to a long process of healing.

He knew you had your demons but you were so secretive about them.

Anytime your past was brought up in conversation, you found a way to dodge the subject. It was frustrating but it piqued his interest.

He deserved to know every aspect of you since he was fully invested now.

Joker felt like he should be the only one mentally unstable in this relationship. He accepted that his mind was ruined a loooong time ago but you? You didn't deserve this. You were a beacon of light, a motivation to so many, (Joker included) and without that natural source of light, he felt off kilter.

Slowly but surely, you and your inner light was changing Joker for the better and he was feeling the side effects now that you were temporarily out of commission. He didn't want to go back to the life he led before meeting you. Life had no meaning, no spark. He was just an empty shell of destruction searching for something worthwhile.

Joker couldn't go back to that. He needed his Light back.

Sarai stated it would take two hours for your IV bag to empty. That gave Joker plenty of time to confess.

He grabbed one of the accent chairs from the fireplace area and brought it over to the side of the bed. He settled into it with a sigh while his eyes roamed over your slumbing form. Morgana had tucked you back under the covers before Sarai all but dragged her out of the apartment.

Joker made a mental note to wire the doctor more funds.

The woman was a nuisance but she proved herself useful time and time again. Joker was glad to have someone like her on his payroll. She acknowledged that he needed time alone with you and got Morgana to leave the premises without drawing attention to his dilemma.

Speaking of which...

Joker cleared his throat. He had so much to say and not a lot of time left to say it in.

"I've done so much that I'll never uhh, atone for but your words Bunny.. They haunt me. I think I already broke my promise to ya, doll." He looked at your closed eyelids.

You looked so peaceful fast asleep; he felt like a coward for speaking on deaf ears. Yet his conscience would be clear if he got this off his chest.

"I-I didn't mean to but.. Florence she's.." Joker swallowed thickly.

You were asleep but in a way, he felt ashamed for what he'd done. Deep down Joker knew you would never forgive him. This would be a confession he'd take to the grave.

"I did it because I had to, Y/n. I'll do any-thing to keep you safe. To keep us safe. That's all I want. Us. T-Together. But I fear if—" Joker stopped and snorted to himself.

"No. My bunny is smart. There's no if. I fear when you find out about all the horrors I've done and uh, will do– you'll leave me. And I... I can't have thaT. Not when I just got ya."

Joker looked down at his hands and grimaced at the invisible blood staining them.

How could you stand them?

You swore up and down that you loved Joker's hands and more importantly, his touch, but the level of trust you willingly gave away troubled him. Everything Joker touched, he destroyed. How were you any different? He left nothing but pain in his wake and he didn't want to hurt you again.

You were a delicate creature in his eyes, a goddess gracing him with just your mere presence. He had no right to touch something so pure.

His hands were forever dirty. Joker's palms were calloused and he had flecks of red and white makeup near his fingers. Joker noticed his nails were getting a bit long and smirked.

If you were awake and in better spirits, you would attack them with nail clippers, making them pretty and worthy to hold, but even then, Joker still didn't see what you saw every time you reached out to hold them.

What made him worthy of your affection?

You would hold his hands as if they were precious gems and kiss each finger with the faintest brush of your lips, that it stole Joker's breath every time.

He didn't deserve such reverence on such tools of mass destruction and especially not from someone like you.

The feeling of your delicate hands slotting into his much rougher ones should be illegal but you would simply scoff at J's tsundere ways and hold them whenever you had the chance. In your eyes, you were the one unworthy to touch him.

You were the only person that touched him without a shred of malicious intent.

A literal angel came down from above with the sole purpose to torture his wicked soul with love and kindness. Joker could never fathom a way to repay you but he could guarantee that he would break your heart.

It was the kind of person he was. History always repeats itself.

He could only hope you would look past his many, many flaws and remain by his side for he would do the same for you.

So what if he was being selfish? Joker knew you were way out of his league but that wouldn't stop him from wanting you all for himself. He would do anything to change fate's design to keep the girl and live happily ever after.

As if such a thing were possible for a corrupted man like him. Did he even deserve a happy ending with the life he lived? No harm in finding out.

Joker reached out and held your hand with one of his own.

He dropped his unique speech pattern and spoke straight from the heart. He leaned down so his words could fall straight into your ear.

"Florence threatened to expose us both and they would have taken you from me. I couldn't bear being separated from you so I..." Joker squeezed your hand tighter.

It was right on the tip of his tongue yet he could say it aloud. Perhaps speaking it into existence made it real and he wasn't ready for you to know the truth just yet. J dropped his head with a bitter smile.

"You may think me a monster and that's okay. I am. But know this. No matter how much you hate me, no matter how hard you try to leave— in the end, this monster will always be by your side because.. I-I have nowhere else to go. You own me my Light. You've won."

Joker scanned your face for a flicker of alertness, but you stayed asleep. His smile was bittersweet before he kissed you softly. A monster kissing his sleeping beauty.

And oh how the mighty have fallen.

Your IV bag was half empty but Joker would wait until you opened your eyes to talk to you then. There was no other place he'd rather be so he settled in and took vigil, protecting his Light.

Joker heard you whimper just shy of the two hour mark. He set down his journal and waited for you to stir awake but much to his disappointment, nothing happened so he returned to his work.

He was underlining a great idea for a heist when you whimpered again. Joker looked over and saw that a heavy weight had settled on your brow that wasn't there before.

He watched you shift under the covers and thought maybe you were waking up but instead you mumbled something inaudible and flinched away from an unknown entity. It took him a minute but Joker knew all too well what was happening. You were having a nightmare and watching it unfold tore him apart.

He tossed his work down and reached over to shake you awake.

"Y/n. Hey, hey... bunny." His efforts proved to be counterproductive since you openly sobbed and curled into a fetal position.

As a result, your IV line stretched too far and pulled taunt on your forearm. Joker was worried that the needle would come out so he tried to help you lie back down but you had other plans. Whatever nightmare you were experiencing was traumatic and you reacted accordingly.

It came out of nowhere. One minute you were curled up like a ball, the next, you were fighting him with all your might.

Joker had to admit– you had hands, but you were causing more harm to yourself than him and somehow you were still asleep during the scuffle. He had to put an end to this.

"Wake up Y/n!" Joker shouted as he dodged your fists.

He grunted when your knee collided with his groin. Joker's pain tolerance was high but he was still a man. He grimaced through the pain and missed your eyes flying open in a state of panic.

Your head was still foggy from the pain meds but you quickly acknowledged that a male was pinning you down.

You couldn't tell what was real and what was just your nightmare; the only thing you could do was react the same way you did well over a year ago.

"G-Get off of me, Ty! Stop it!"

Joker froze the moment you yelled another man's name.

He quickly flipped the two of you over so you were the one in control but he didn't let you go.

He couldn't let you fight this alone. Although he didn't know what to do, he decided that talking you through it was somewhat of a good idea.

"Shhh shhh doll. Hey, uh.. do ya remember when I took you to the uh beach? You wanted to err— 'hear the dark ocean waves crashing onto the shore and feel the stillness of the night embrace you.' Buh-lieve me, it sounded wayy better comin' from you. I thoughT you were crazy for wanting to go at nighT but you madeit sound so.. normal. I wanted to experience something normal with you."

Joker noticed that you stopped fighting him so he kept going.

"You were uh, happy just dancing in the moonlight, so carefree and beautiful. I never took my eyes off ya and how could I? You're perfect, my light in the darkness, my.. everything. I'd do anything for you, don't ya know that doll? Say the woo~oord and it's yours, remember?"

Joker cradled the back of your head and you could hear his heartbeat while lying on his chest. He was just as nervous as you were. You clung to Joker's shirt tighter and whimpered.

Joker saw that he was winning you over and took things a step further.

"I'm gonna rub your back in uhh, circular motions mkay? Tell me to stop and I will."

You were afraid that Joker would make fun of your fragile situation but instead he took the time to alert you of his intentions. That had to count for something yet the doubt still lingered.

You squeezed your eyes shut and tried to clear them away. This was Joker, he wouldn't hurt you.. right? There were so many unknowns floating inside your head but Joker called out your name in that unique tone of his dragged you out of the fray.

His hands gently landed on your back, making you tense on reflex. "This okay?" He asked.

A man who never asked for permission a day in his life, offered you that courtesy. With a shaky nod, you allowed it.

"Yeah? All-rightY then. I'll go slow buT... ya gotta talk to me. What's goin' on in that pretty head of yours, bun?"

He left a kiss on the crown of your head and rubbed your back in soothing figure eights. The rhythm made your eyes fall half mast but Joker stopped before you could fall under.

He drummed his fingers against your spine and it startled you awake. "Use your words, pretty girl. Tell me."

"Please, don't make me relive that." You begged.

The finger drumming stopped and you risked a peek at Joker. His shriveled up heart tore into two seeing a river of diamonds running down your bronze cheeks.

Someone hurt his Light and they would pay but first he would do his best to dry your tears. He can't bear it whenever you cry. Your tears would be his undoing.

"Relive what, Y/n? I never know what's going on with you. Who's this Ty person, hmm? I can kill him for you.."

You froze. You couldn't believe that you uttered that name for J to hear. Maybe if you backtracked Joker would forget and move on.

"N-No one. Just forge—"

"Stop. Dodging. The. Question! Morgana told me what happ-ened last night and now you're reacting like this?! You can't hide from me anymore. I neeeeeeeeed to know what happened.."

Joker shifted a bit so he could catch one of your tears with his index finger. There was genuine concern etched on his face that left you speechless. You never wanted Joker to know but he wasn't going to let this go. He was just as stubborn as you are.

He started to list off your drawbacks.

"You fear a man's touch. You have anxiety and social triggers. You run away from anything stressful, and d__n it Y/n! Just tell me what happened. I won't jud—"

"NO!"

Joker arched an eyebrow at your sudden outcry. He'd only known you a few months but you weren't a person to raise your voice at others.

"Nooo no no... no, you'll h-hate me if I told you!" You choked out a sob and Joker was quick to pull you back into a hug. His warm embrace was the perfect remedy despite the circumstances at hand.

"I could never hate you! What makes you think that Y/n?" He vowed while squeezing you tighter.

Joker had his suspicions on what happened to you but he kept it to himself. Morgana offered to spill the beans but he felt he should hear the truth directly from you. For so long Joker questioned your odd tics and mannerisms and today they finally held meaning.

You created some space from him with a sigh and Joker knew whatever you were about to say would change everything. You couldn't look him in the eye anymore.

With tears dotting your lashes, you finally broke down and told Joker about your past.

"Because why would you want someone's leftovers?"

"Uh leftovers?" J echoed. You sat up in Joker's lap and sniffled.

You never told anyone what truly happened that fateful night– not even when your parents begged you to make a police report, but the moment you started talking, you just couldn't stop. The truth was finally coming out and you felt indifferent to it all.

You wrapped your arms around yourself and began.

"His birthday was coming up and I didn't want him to be more upset with me. He was already mad because I didn't get him anything so we decided last minute on a movie. Some trashy romance flick that I couldn't tell you the title of to save my life. In hindsight, I realize that he practically threatened me to go. He knew what he wanted from me."

"The movie was fine until he got handsy halfway through. I said no. I said no all night... He slapped me, called me a f__king cocktease when I refused to suck him off– so I left. It should've been simple.. Give Ty a day or two to cool off but he always apologizes. He had a temper but he never meant to take it out on me. He always apologized because he... loved me. Or so I thought." You shivered.

"That night was different though. He was so angry that I made a scene walking out and we had already fought the day before about me moving to Gotham to kick off my writing career. He wanted me to be a stay at home wife. Heh, marriage was never brought up in a conversation he just... assumed that I would be with him forever. If only I had known just how controlling he really was. By the time he showed me his true colors—"

You chuckled while blinking back your tears. Joker wanted to reach out and wipe them away, do anything really to comfort you, but your next sentence stopped him in his tracks.

[ Do NOT read further if sexual assault/rape affects you. The end of this section is marked if you wish to skip it.]

*** TRIGGER WARNING STARTS NOW ***

"He followed me out into the alley behind the theater. I made it to the sidewalk, but he grabbed my hair and dragged me back into the darkness. He s-slammed my head so hard into the brick wall, I lost consciousness. I came to and scratched at his face so he broke my arm. And the b-broken jaw was because I-I was too loud. If I had kept my mouth shut like a good girlfriend, he wouldn't have to be so rough, he said. It still aches when it rains, which is all the time, but it's whatever I guess."

Joker's gaze fell to your jaw as if he could find evidence to your assault well over a year later. He did notice on heavy rainy days that you would rub your jaw in pain.

He thought nothing of it until now.

It also explained why you were so quiet during sex. You were punished for being too loud then and feared making a sound now.

The puzzle pieces were slowly snapping into place and Joker felt sick to his stomach for being so blind.

"W-When you love someone, you trust them not to h-hurt you." You didn't see Joker's guilt torn face as you said that. You carried on unawares. "He broke that trust so I made the decision to escape from the pain he was inflicting."

"You dissociated while he..." Joker whispered.

How long had you bottled this up? Months? Years? Joker didn't want to know the answer.

He inflicted pain on others simply because it was amusing; nothing bothered him, but hearing the accounts of a traumatic assault from an innocent creature like you, it truly broke his heart.

Now he understood why you always ran when things got too dicey. It was your coping mechanism. Running kept you safe and you couldn't break old habits.

Joker regretted asking you about the past. Some things were best left in the dark.

"I'll never get his voice out of my head. He praised me for being so tight. I was choking on my own blood and b-bleeding internally from each agonizing thrust, and he.. thanked.. me for being... He knew I loved praise and used it against me! I lost a piece of myself that I'll never get back all because he thanked me. C-Can you even call it rape if you cum? How could my own body betray me and enjoy something so barbaric?"

You fought back tears and furiously wiped away any that emerged. When you felt strong enough, you continued.

"It took months to physically mend myself back together but my mental wounds will never heal. I tried to move on and start dating again but..... he was always there. Every date, every hookup, every attempt at sex, was ruined with the thought of him and his touch. Eventually I stopped trying. I accepted the fact I was broken and focused on my work and nothing else. I lost friends but I didn't care. I moved to Gotham City to start anew and haven't looked back. I was existing but not living– that is until you came along."

*** TRIGGER WARNING HAS ENDED ***

Joker looked up in shock. He had been quiet for the most part but hearing his name during your story was a shock. "M-Me?" He pointed to himself.

You exhaled sharply and grabbed Joker's hand.

He watched as you played with his calloused fingers and frowned when you noticed the length of his nails. You picked at a jagged edge as you replied.

"Yeah.. you. You aren't normal and after what I've been through, I craved your um.. brand of different I guess? You don't care that I'm someone else's leftovers— a girl who's afraid of being touched. When I'm with you.. I-I can be the Y/n I was before I was r-r.. um assaulted."

You intertwined your fingers with Joker's and glanced up at him. He immediately returned your stare. "Please tell me you won't leave m-me. N-Now that you know."

Now Joker knew where your separation anxiety originated from.

So many fools before him left you high and dry while you were trying to heal and they unknowingly scarred you further. Joker saw the sheer desperation in your e/c eyes and vowed to be different.

He would not make the same mistake they did.

Joker didn't say a word as he leaned forward to grab a hold of your face.

You jumped at the unexpected contact but his eyes are what scared you the most. They weren't filled with pity or disgust; Joker's vivid green eyes glowed with nothing but acceptance.

Joker's clown makeup took away from the sight but his genuine smile was still a sight for sore eyes. It made yours widen in shock.

"Where else would I go, hmm?" Then he heard his favorite sound in the world. Your laugh.

It wasn't the light and airy bell like tone he was used to, but it'll do given the circumstances. You leaned into Joker's calloused hand that cradled your face with a half smile.

"There she issssss, there's my Light! You thought that would scare me off? Nah, that's nothing. Pfft. I've done far worse sweetheart." Joker thought the joke came out well but he felt the moment you tensed up.

He wanted to kick himself when you leaned away. "What?"

Joker's brain was working in overdrive on how to retract that statement.

In your fragile state, the last thing you needed was to discover just how much of a monster Joker truly was. Thankfully the sound of your stomach growling saved the day. He sighed in relief when you became flustered and covered your belly.

The last thing you ate was a plate of sweets and now your body was craving real food. You filed Joker's eerie words away for later to focus on your body's needs.

"I doubt Dick left any food but it won't hurt to check." You flung the covers away to stand but you were literally yanked back by your IV line.

You glared at it in shock. It was then you noticed that you were tied to the bedpost.

You prayed that you were just reading too much into things. There was no way that Joker would deliberately tie you to the bed. He had no reason to yet your heart started to race when he remained silent.

'I've done far worse sweetheart.' Was this Joker's way of showing you his true colors?

"J, what the..."

He smacked his lips and began the tedious task of untying your line from the headboard.

He tried to ignore your bugged out eyes watching his every move. You had just finished explaining that your rapist ex was controlling only to find out your current lover tied you to the bed.

He'd kill Sarai for her dumb idea. Who ties a medical IV bag to a bedpost anyways?!

It didn't matter who was truly at fault, in your eyes, Joker was to blame. He was making mistake after mistake and really setting himself up for a trip to the doggie house or worse. You just might kick him out of your life for good.

Once the line was loose, he focused on removing the IV needle. Sarai advised him to call her but Joker wanted as much privacy with you as possible. He just hoped he was removing it correctly. At least it didn't bleed as much when he took out the needle. You grimaced more from his touch than the removal process.

He wondered how long it would take for you to trust him again. He missed touching you so freely already.

Joker slapped a band-aid that matched your skin tone on the entry point and stood up.

"You're uh wel-come to join me in the errr kitchen. Do ya need help gettin' there?" Joker ideally wanted to carry you to the kitchen or at least spot you along the way but you were still wary of him.

He would be stuck asking for your permission and doing frequent check-ins for the unforeseeable future.

Not that he minded but it would become repetitious after a while. Just because you and Joker were on the same page again didn't mean he was out of the neck of the woods. He didn't want to overstep any boundaries and risk starting things over from the beginning.

It took too long for Joker to craft the trust he formed with you and he would not let your ex ruin his hard work.

Maybe some food would do you some good. The fluids and pain meds could only do so much to get you back healthy. Although Joker now knew that your mental health was an issue there was no way he could help you there.

"N-No. I think I'll be fine. Um, can you fix me a plate while I'm in the bathroom?" You weren't quite sure why you turned down Joker's assistance but watching his shoulders deflate made you feel ten times more guilty.

Joker was trying to help in the only way he knew how.

You didn't move from the bed and Joker got the message. You wanted some privacy and so with a mute nod, he made himself scarce.

You waited until Joker left the bedroom to breathe a sigh of relief. You quite literally got something off your chest. You'd been bottling your trauma for a year now and parading around like everything was fine was not good for your mental health.

Joker was the only soul who knew the severity of your assault and he didn't leave like so many partners did before him.

He was okay with you being a mess and that alone made you crack a smile that quickly faded away. Being a mess was not something to celebrate. You were tired of pretending. Maybe it was high time to stop joking about it and actually schedule a therapy appointment.

Your mother was probably giving Him all the Glory if she knew you were serious about seeking professional help this time.

If you remembered correctly, Mom gave you a list of psychologists from Blüdhaven and another list that practiced here in Gotham City after you moved. You nodded to yourself and set about getting up so you could go to your room to search for it. Then you could make a quick stop in the bathroom on the trip back.

The covers were still flung back so you swung your legs over the bed and stood up, only to stagger back onto the bed when your balance failed you.

Perhaps you should've taken Joker's offer to help. You'd been bed ridden all day and your equilibrium was completely out of whack but you suffered through worse.

You toughened through it and walked down the hallway to your bedroom, quickly closing the door behind you.

Joker heard the door echo in the apartment and sighed. It was a distinct sound that rattled his nerves. You were in your room and there was no telling if you would emerge.

For now, all he could do was prepare a plate of food and hope you joined him in the kitchen.

In the meantime, he called Mac and Frost and took care of some business. You walked into the kitchen right as he was finishing up a phone call with Mac.

"I don'T care. Follow her so we don't have another repeat occurrence. Uhh she's with Sarai, find her on your own."

Joker spotted you hesitating in the archway and hurried Mac off the phone. "Yeah yeah just do your job and have fun."

Joker hung up and grabbed a small pot off the stove. He pointed at the island counter and you obeyed the silent request.

Your kitchen remained the same as you remembered it but now Joker was buzzing around it and doing a great job of fixing you a plate. He found your causal china from the cupboard and loaded a plate up with a generous helping of baked beans, a generous slice of Dad's BBQ meat, and he was currently raking some warmed up greens onto the plate. You doubted you'd eat all of it but the gesture was there.

Joker was concerned about you.

He set the pot back on the stove before pushing the plate across the island counter towards you. "Eat." He spun around to yank the silverware drawer open. "Uh hold on.."

A fork was presented to you along with a napkin or two.

You arched an eyebrow at Joker being so at ease in your kitchen but dug into your food with gusto. The flavors had time to set overnight and it was a literal party in your mouth. You felt the energy recharging your body and you did a small happy dance in your seat.

You looked up when you heard Joker snort.

He was leaning back on the sink with his arms crossed, staring at you. There was a softness in his eyes that you never seen before. He looked like a lovesick puppy and sported a dopey smile on his lips.

It sent butterflies stirring in your stomach but you pushed down the feeling and slowly ate under his watch. You were blowing on a forkful of food when he suddenly spoke.

"We should go out."

The beans on your fork dripped back onto your plate. Surely he was kidding. You downplayed the obvious. "Out? Like o-outside on the balcony?"

Joker fixed you with a deadpan glare. He grabbed a fork of his own and stole a bite of your greens. You looked on in disbelief at the amount he took and definitely not at the juices running down his chin provocatively.

He was making a show of chewing them, "Mmm that's good but uhh.. no. Out as in... I take ya out on a date." He smirked at your jaw dropping open. He felt cheeky so he scooped up some beans and fed them to you.

You jumped back last minute and had no other choice but to chew them as Joker spoke.

"Lemme spoil my Light rotten so you can see what I see. A beautiful goddess walkin' amongst us. Whaddya say pretty girl? Wanna go on a date with me?" Joker flashed you a smile.

"I.. but you.." You stuttered. Joker played along with your lack of excuses.

He twirled his hands in a circle, "But whaT, Bunny?"

"You seem to forget you're a wanted criminal with the entire city on the hunt for you! We can't just go out! I mean... what if you get caught or um.." You stared at the concrete poured countertops as if they held the answers you needed.

Joker laughed and propped his elbow up on the surface. He was glad to know your only reservations were about his safety and not about being in a foul mood to go out.

He drummed his fingers on the counter and shrugged his shoulders.

"So? I wanna take my girl out. That's a uhh, risk, I'm willin to take. If you don't wanna go just say so. Orrrr is it something else holding you back? Don't wanna be seen with me? Is that it?"

You were quick to deny, "NO! That's not it! I-I.. it's the other way round! I'm not worth all the fuss, Joker."

Joker growled and smacked his hands down, causing the plate and other items on the counter to rattle briefly. You flinched when he rounded the counter to tip your chin back.

Joker knew you were still skittish with physical touch but he couldn't help himself. He brushed his lips against yours so you could feel the honesty dripping from his lips.

"An author I know once penned. 'Let it be known all across Greece, that I, a lowly human, cherish and bow before the feet of a goddess. Should she smite me here and now, I will undoubtedly perish as a satisfied man.'"

Hearing Joker quote your books was like a shot of tequila without a lime.

It spoke to how much he valued you as a person and as an author while still paying homage to his burning desire for you.

His shaky sigh fanned over your face and you closed your eyes from the intimate contact. Your instincts were screaming at you to run run run, however you were a woman and a very attractive man was declaring his devotion to you. You stayed rooted in place.

Your heart skipped and you licked your lips, unknowingly swiping Joker's.

"Happy." Joker was confused until you finished your sentence by correcting the book quote. "Sebastian said he'd perish a happy man, not satisfied."

You panted in the space between Joker's mouth and yours. He was so close it hurt.

"Same thing." Joker shortened the distance and captured your lips with a groan. How long had he starved himself of this pleasure? A week too long.

You tasted so sweet and felt so soft– a literal treat for a man touch starved. He couldn't stop himself from grabbing you by the waist and hoisting you up on the counter. Joker didn't part for air and you clung to him tighter.

Your legs naturally parted to allow Joker room to step in between them and you wrapped your arms around his neck to deepen the kiss.

Where everyone else was closed off, somehow it felt right to let Joker in. Despite your fears and unresolved trauma, you could trust Joker with your body.

You could tell he was holding back (you swooned at his self-restraint) and a part of you was grateful when he pulled back. It was too much too soon.

He leveled his breathing and rested his forehead against yours, "Y/n, you're worth everything. Let me do this, hm?"

You gazed into Joker's eyes. This meant a lot to him although your current level of confidence couldn't grasp why. You just had to blindly trust that Joker had your best interests at heart.

"Okay."

"Okay... what?" He pressed. He never broke eye contact with you which didn't help you think straight. You could drown in his sea of moss green.

"Um, y-yes I wanna go on a d-date with.. with you."

Joker looked like a kid in a candy store. He couldn't stop smiling and almost kissed you again but backed away at the last minute. He saw you breathe a sigh of relief and knew he made the right decision.

"Ya won't regret it. Now! Let's spoil my Bunny rotten shall we?" Joker bopped you on the nose.

Just what did you sign up for?

It was impossible for someone with your skin color to truly blush but you could feel your skin boiling with all the attention Joker bestowed you.

He encouraged you to wash up and change into something that was easy to get in and out of before ushering you out of the apartment. You ended up in a pair of beat up sweats and one of his shirts. You were giving bum city realness and felt like it too.

Joker also changed to blend in better– if being disguised as a sexy mafia boss was his definition of 'blending in.'

Every female in a fifty mile radius eyed Joker like the piece of meat he was. The sad part, he knew he looked fine and fed off the energy.

He wore another delicious all black suit with gold cufflinks and a matching watch on his arm. He walked with a purpose and kept you safely tucked in the crook of his arm.

Male and females glared at you in envy as this mysterious male guided you into Gotham City's elite boutique. You were embarrassed to say the least.

You only been in here once to browse around for your American GreatRead's award dress before Cindy hooked you up with a custom designer.

Only celebrities and the upper echelon of Gotham City dared to step foot into Tashio and Joker dragged you in here in your beat up house clothes.

You and Joker hadn't made it a foot into the store when a woman with beautiful ebony skin strutted over. "May I help you two?"

Joker took off his shades to inspect her more closely. He was forced to keep his mask on lest everyone see his scars but his presence still commanded respect. You were amazed at how he slicked his hair back so the green streaks didn't show. It was slowly fading and he didn't bother dying it back since he knew you loved his natural hair color.

Just another way he was changing himself for you.

"Yes. My girl and I are going out tonight. Black tie. There's no limit and don't listen to her suggestions, she's errr modest." He nudged you forward so the saleswoman could take a look at you.

You almost snapped your neck to glare at Joker.

"What's that supposed to mean?" You gritted.

The woman got straight to business. "Understood. Any preference of designers sir and will the two of you be matching? Oh, and what's your size?" She spoke to you directly at the end but Joker replied on your behalf. "No, yessss, and she's a...."

Joker paused to look you over. You bashfully looked away as his eyes roamed over your curves.

If anyone else stared at you in such a way you'd be disgusted, but Joker's lustful gaze made you feel desired and a touch confident. He locked eyes with you as he spoke.

"She's a (insert dress size)." You knew he was smiling underneath his face mask. The cocky clown was right..

"Will you be staying for the fitting? Sir?" The saleswoman cleared her throat to get his attention. "Excuse me sir?"

J's gaze was still on you when he replied, "Mhm." He didn't catch the saleswoman's smile.

"Very well.. Please, come with me." She waved the two of you further into the store and asked for your name. You complimented her bantu knots and her striking blue eyeliner and she in turn admired your work in literature.

And of course that launched a discussion about your novels. You could talk for hours about your work.

By the time the three of you reached the actual showroom, you were perfectly at ease. Joker noted how your demeanor mellowed out around women and decided to fall back to give you some space.

You hardly noticed his absence. You still had no clue where Joker was taking you tonight except that it was a black tie event.

Kendra, your styling consultant, sat you down and asked you questions while her assistant ran around to stock a private room with the choices that you unknowingly made so far.

You ruled out anything short and in your least favorite color and Kendra listened attentively while making mental notes of your preferences based on your answers.

You were surprised by how seamless the whole process was especially when Kendra informed you she already had some ensembles picked out for you to try on. You passed by a gorgeous pair of shoes on the way to the fitting room and she assured you that she would also assist in picking out any accessories and shoes to go with your final selection.

Joker was making due on his promise to spoil you.

Speaking of the clown, you finally acknowledged that he wasn't with you. He must've disappeared while you weren't looking. Hopefully he stayed out of trouble while you shopped around.

Kendra was explaining the store's wide collection of designers when a commotion on the floor gained her attention.

"Sir! Can you please return that to its original display?!"

Both you and Kendra turned to spot a redhead running behind Joker, who was carrying an entire mannequin over his shoulder like it was a normal occurrence.

You facepalmed as Kendra chuckled at the sight. She waved her co-worker off. The redhead was miffed but stormed off with a grumble under her breath. This is why she liked when men left the store.

Joker set the mannequin down once he reached your side. "I li-ke this one." He said.

Kendra didn't have the heart to tell the man this design was a display only. Her fingers were crossed that they had your size still in stock.

"Good choice sir, she'll look amazing in Valentino. Would you like to try it on, Y/n?"

You glared at Joker for his lack of manners and studied the gown. You were worried about your chest behaving, or rather, not in the off the shoulder gown.

"Uh it's beautiful but.."

Joker hummed and tugged the material down. You gasped the same time Kendra fixed her mouth to scold him.

"It has a built-in bra Bunny. The uh.. girls won't go anywhere you don't want em' to." He let go of the gown and shooed you towards your private room. "Go try it on."

Your ears were redder than the dress and Kendra did her best to stifle her laugh while following you back to the fitting room. She excused herself to go check inventory (thank the gods they had your size left!) and returned to help you in it.

Just like Joker said, your cleavage wasn't a problem. You stared at your reflection in the mirror and twirled absentmindedly.

"Your boyfriend has good taste."

You stopped twirling to stare at Kendra. She was smiling and didn't know the weight of her words.

"Not many partners stay for the fittings let alone make good selections. He's a keeper." She fixed the seam around your arm as you stared off in thought.

Is that what you and Joker looked like to outsiders? Like a couple? You bit your lip to stop your smile.

"He's not my boyfriend." You denied. Kendra scoffed.

"With the way he looks at you? The devil is a lie and denial is a river in Africa. You may be delulu, but that man is down bad for you. You look good girl. Do you want to show him this one?"

You were most definitely in denial. There was no way that Joker would commit to anyone let alone you— especially now since he knew about your past, but you begrudgingly nodded at Kendra.

However a knock on the door interrupted you. The same redhead from before poked her head through the door.

"Sorry Kendra but your client asked me to send these two in. Said something about his goddess needed to try them on. He's not feeling the red anymore." She rolled her eyes before handing your consultant two more gowns for you to try.

It's like Joker read your mind; you were a bit indecisive and needed more options.

Kendra thanked her colleague and unzipped the dress bag open to reveal a high collar teal gown. It was a pencil silhouette and looked very chic on the hanger.

You were hesitant but stepped into the dress only to turn your nose up as the fabric accented your curves a little too much.

You saw Joker's vision here but you weren't feeling confident in it. Kendra noticed your displeasure and didn't bother fastening the buttons near the neck. "Let's try the next one shall we?" She politely deflected.

She knew you too well for someone you just met. You let out a heavy sigh and stripped to your bra and panties again.

Joker meant well but what if you didn't find anything to wear to his surprise date? You probably tried on a dozen gowns, each one more gorgeous than the last, but none of them felt right.

Kendra carefully held a deep indigo number for you to step into. The second it glided over your skin, you broke out in goosebumps. The rich color looked divine on your darker skin and once Kendra zipped it up and you saw the dramatic ruffles, you knew.

She had a feeling this was the one too and smiled as she smoothed and tucked the gown a certain way to earn your approval.

You had yet to stop smiling at your reflection in the mirror. It was dramatic and elegant and you felt glamorous while wearing it. It would stand up perfectly with Joker's dark suit tonight.

"I-I wanna show him this one." You murmured. Kendra agreed and gave you a pair of sample heels to walk in.

The door opened and you walked down the short hallway and turned the corner to find Joker sitting on a couch, fiddling with his watch. He was blowing a raspberry but felt a presence in the room. His jade eyes immediately locked on you and then his heart stopped.

He was utterly speechless. You played with your fingers before clearing your throat.

"D-Do you like it, J?" Nervous was an understatement as Joker stood up without a word.

He came to a stop in front you and pulled his mask down far enough to kiss you right there on the showroom floor.

You jumped at the initial contact but let his lips dance across yours. Joker's lips were like satin to the touch despite his scars and you firmly believed he kissed you differently every time you lips met his.

You forgot you were in public when he licked the root of your mouth with his tongue.

You shoved him away none too gently. "J, stop!" You hid your shaking hands behind your back and glanced around.

Kendra had her back turned– pretending to straighten a display dress on its hanger better and no one else was in the nearby vicinity. Joker pulled you right back in his embrace. He felt you trembling but pursued his goal.

"So? Let them.." He kissed your cheek, "Mmm, let them see.. just how much.. you're wanted." He said in between pecking your face.

It was light and innocent, nothing heavy to rattle your nerves but you still grimaced each time Joker's lips came in contact with your skin. You hated how quickly your mood changed.

Joker was always mindful of your body language and pulled away to fix his mask back over his mouth.

You didn't shy away from Joker as a person per se, but rather at the fact he was wasting his passion on damaged goods. You still felt lesser than. That would change by the end of the night.

Joker sighed to himself before waving Kendra and her assistant over. If they saw anything, their poker faces were stone cold.

Joker shoved his fists into his pockets and nodded over at you.

"Get my Light some uh proper heels to wear and drown her in jewels. Gold she uhh, looks the best in gold.."

Joker watched you rub the back of your neck. "I want her hair and makeup done too. Uh, I'll be back."

Once Joker issued his requests, he stepped away, leaving you with a smug Kendra and a clueless assistant calling the inhouse hair and makeup crew so they could expect your arrival.

Kendra offered you a napkin to wipe your face. Did the man have to slobber all over it? At least he wasn't wearing his clown makeup.

"I thought he wasn't your boyfriend Y/n?" Kendra snickered.

You snatched the napkin out of her hands. "Oh shut up." The both of you shared a laugh.

Joker stepped outside to make some calls to ensure his plans for the night went off without a hitch.

It was a bit of a risk to be out in public– especially where he was taking you, yet one he was willing to take if it helped boost your confidence. Your self esteem was at an all time low and you were having thoughts that weren't befitting the new nickname he wanted to test out.

He wasn't lying when he said you were a goddess meant to be cherished and worshipped.

Tonight would be a mere glimpse of what he would do for the rest of your life— if you'll have him.

He lit up a few cigs in between calls and before he knew it, time had gotten away from him. Joker stepped back inside to check on you.

A lady on the showroom floor said you were finishing up with makeup so he took care of the bill while he waited. You wouldn't let him hear the end of it if he didn't actually pay.

He was eyeing a display case of designer handbags when an employee cleared her throat to get his attention. Joker sent her a sharp glare over his shoulder.

Something about those abnormally green eyes frightened her. "Ahh uh.. she's.. your date is ready s-sir."

He loved scaring people, that would never change no matter how closely he embraced the light.

Joker followed the associate to a waiting room although he didn't have to wait for long, you were already walking in like the ethereal deity you are.

The dress by itself was stunning but in his absence you donned a pair of drop earrings, your wrist was adorned with gold, and the hair team did a phenomenal job in taming your curls. Your hair was beautiful on a normal day but they combed out any knots and let it cascade down in its natural curl pattern. It was elegantly styled but pinned back to allow your jewelry and natural beauty to be the main focus.

If you wore makeup they did an outstanding job highlighting your natural features.

If you preferred a more natural approach, Joker smirked at the subtle lip gloss on your plump lips. He wanted to kiss it off but all in good time. The next time he claimed your lips he wanted you to be a willing participant.

You declined a handbag since you left the penthouse with only your keys and phone in hand and Joker was currently carrying both for you. Imagine your surprise when you discovered your evening gown had pockets. It was a blessing from above that it was the one for you.

All in all, you looked breathtaking and you had an ounce of confidence to yourself.

You walked over, smiling faintly at Joker. He was ever the gentleman, bowing at the waist and kissing the back of your hand before offering you his arm.

The employees who were gathered looked on in awe. It was something out of a fairy tale, the two of you looked so perfect together! If only they knew it was the infamous Joker who was spoiling you and not some average guy.

As if you wanted a normal man after being with Joker.

You giggled to yourself as J escorted you out of Tashio's and towards a car waiting on the curb.

A driver held the door open and you slid inside with Joker following behind you. "Are ya hungry, Bunny?" He asked as you got settled.

You urged him to put his seatbelt on and he did so with a dramatic roll of his eyes. The things he did for you.. First he legally pays for a service, the next he wears a seatbelt. Would you somehow convince him to file his taxes next?

If you asked, he'd consider it.

A few hours had passed since leaving the apartment and it was nearing dinner time. You had worked up an appetite after shopping and then sitting in a hair stylist chair for so long.

"Yeah dinner sounds good."

Joker played with your chain bracelet as the car drove off to his plans for the night. His special surprise burned inside of his pocket but he would wait until a better time arose to present it to you. He didn't like your prolonged silence though.

He hoped you weren't thinking negatively and digging yourself into a funk. "Hey," Joker called your name.

You tore your eyes from the traffic outside the window and met endless pools of green "Hm?"

"You ok?" He asked.

You grabbed Joker's hand, intertwining it with your own and admired the color contrast. Joker didn't care that his tan skin clashed with your darker brown, he was too busy celebrating this mini victory.

You initiated physical contact with him. He was overjoyed when he kissed your hand and you didn't flinch.

"I will be." 'Now that I have you.' You thought the last bit to yourself.

His gaze never left your face until the driver announced the two of you had arrived. You were curious and excited to see why Joker had you all dressed up. He stepped out of the car first and turned around to help you out.

Your heels clicked as they settled on the sideway in front of a tall stone building alit from within.

Then it all made sense why you were dressed to the nines.

You heard about the place but never knew where it was located. Another Michelin star restaurant hidden in the heart of The Bowery district with a ridiculously long wait list and allegedly, a menu well worth the wait.

You had no doubt that Joker threatened someone, (or worse) to get a table on such short notice.

Joker watched your eyes sparkle in awe as he guided you inside the restaurant. He stopped at the hostess booth to whisper something in their ear but you were distracted by the ambiance.

You were quick to notice that the space used to be an old ballroom but was converted over time into a restaurant.

The ceiling still had its picturesque artwork and elaborate crown molding but the pièces de résistance was the live tree growing in the middle of the room. Its branches provided a much needed element of greenery amidst all the glamor and acted as a natural privacy divider for the surrounding tables.

It defied all logic by thriving amongst marble and stone and a massive two story chandelier hung above it, casting an ethereal glow on the healthy leaves and the people seated below it. The place was filled with magic.

You turned your head when a male appeared and addressed you and Joker.

"Ahem, your table is waiting."

He patiently waited for you and J to follow him. On the far side of the room, a giant spiral staircase winded up so close to the chandelier, you could reach out and touch the glass beads. Joker grabbed your wrist before you could.

He didn't want you reaching too far over the railing and risk hurting yourself. You were way too clumsy for your own good.

The second story of the ballroom overlooked the restaurant below and you were stunned by the more intimate seating available up here.

Unlike downstairs, each table was spread further out from the others by vine dividers, giving a guest the feeling of a space all to themselves. Joker made sure his table was well off from the others so he could remove his mask in peace.

Not like anyone could see him with the soft candlelight casting shadows everywhere but he wasn't about to take any chances.

The waiter presented the private area with a flourish of his arms. The tablecloth was stark white and fine china sat overtop along with candles, fresh flora, and silverware– ready to enjoy. There was a perfect blend of elegance and greenery that matched the restaurant's overall aesthetic.

Joker glared at the waiter who tried to hold a chair out for you. Joker waited until he was gone before removing his mask. Then you finally got to see his scarred lips tugging up in a smile.

You sat down and let Joker push you towards the table however; you jumped when he left a kiss on the back of your neck. Joker mumbled out a sorry right as another water approached the table with a pitcher of water.

He poured you a glass and handed you and Joker menus, "Welcome to Eden. I will be your only server tonight."

He nodded at Joker and you surmised that J paid him off.

Not many people could stomach seeing Joker and his scars or turn a blind eye to a known fugitive being out in public. The NDA check must be huge.

You opened the menu and scanned it over. Everything sounded delicious but you couldn't decide what to get even after the waiter walked off to give you some time.

You glanced over the top of your menu at Joker. He had yet to look at tonight's selection. He couldn't take his eyes off of you and sent a lazy smile your way when you caught him staring.

Your ears were burning with how much he made you flustered. You fiddled with your earrings and focused back on the menu until Joker spoke up.

"Get whatever ya want, Bunny. If you don't li-ke it.. I'll uhh, give it to your security." You tilted your head in confusion so he elaborated. "You can't see them but four men are guarding us right now sooooo order whatever you wanT."

You shifted in your seat and coyly glanced around the room.

No one looked out of place in the posh atmosphere but you knew Joker wouldn't lie about something so serious. You hadn't forgotten about that mysterious envelope from the beach house.

Someone had Joker spooked and he wasn't about to mess around with your safety. It meant everything to him. Unfortunately it was another thing to worry about. As if you needed more stress on your plate.

You shook your head and read a promising entree but your attention was distracted by Joker's fingers playfully walking around the white tablecloth getting closer and closer to you.

You bit back a smile and glanced at J who was having a grand time playing around. The candlelight cast a glow on his tanned skin that made him more handsome than usual. You rested your hand on the table and he wasted no time brushing his pinky finger against yours.

Joker's jade eyes darted up to your e/c eyes. "Whatcha gettin?"

"Huh?" You were expecting him to ask you something else, not that. "Oh.. uh I don't know yet."

In seconds, Joker snatched your hand up into his hold and fixed you with a heated stare. "Need some help, doll?"

How was his hand so warm or maybe why were yours so cold? You barely nodded but you saw Joker grin. Nothing got past his perceptive eye.

He leaned over and pointed out some good choices and really sold you on what to order.

For all you knew, Joker was the head chef with how he explained each entree and he painted a clear picture of what you'd get if you ordered it. You decided on an appetizer while your main course cooked and Joker ordered something you couldn't even pronounce with a glass of dark liquor.

You didn't know Joker drank but he polished off the glass– not once letting go of your hand.

He never let go, even when the first course arrived. Joker surprised you yet again by dragging your chair closer to his.

"This okay?" He asked after seeing you tense up in your seat.

You were fine being across from Joker but now you sat side by side. Your bare leg brushed up against his suit and it made goosebumps break out over your skin. This was Joker, not your ex. You had to trust J and give him a chance. He didn't deserve to be iced out for someone else's mistakes.

That was the mantra you told yourself as the waiter returned to refill the glasses with water.

You and Joker shared the appetizer over light banter and he caught you up on what he did for the last few days. He was leading up to his trip to the jewelers and what he purchased, when the main entree arrived at the table.

You missed Joker's irritated growl but the night was still young. He had plenty of time to show off the gift he bought you.

You were about to start eating but Joker took your utensils and cut up your main entree for you. It was an odd gesture but Joker wasn't deterred by your confusion. He just patiently waited until you opened your mouth to feed you.

"How does it taste?" He asked in between bites with that raspy tone you knew all too well.

It stirred up butterflies in your stomach and made you feel wanted but it was neither the time nor the place for such emotions.

The food lived up to its coveted reviews. No wonder people waited months to a year for a reservation. Each morsel melted in your mouth and had you craving for more.

You didn't know how Joker fed you and still had the time to eat himself but he was not playing around with his whole, spoil you rotten agenda.

Who knew being fed could be so hot? If anyone else tried such a thing, you would be insulted but because Joker was the one doing it, it was sensual and thrilling. He watched your lips each time you accepted a bite and the little hums you made were driving him insane.

And when he (purposefully) missed and got a bit of sauce on your face, he groaned watching your tongue dart out to lick it clean.

He wanted to do that but he didn't know if he was allowed to.

You let him hold your hand all night but there was still a wary gleam lingering in your eye. He kissed you back at your apartment with no issues but when he kissed the back of your neck at the dinner table, you jumped. Your mood changed like the wind. Joker honestly didn't know how to approach you after discovering the truth.

He didn't want to scare you but he wanted you so bad. How could he seduce you when you were hardly in the mood?

"J? D-Did you hear me? I asked if I could order dessert." you called his name again to get his attention.

He must've lost track of time while thinking. You were gazing up into his candlelit emeralds waiting for an answer. All the plates were clear of food and Joker wondered how he failed to notice such a crucial detail..

You said his name again and squeezed his hand. J was quick to reply. "Uh yeah. Do ya know–"

You cut him off, "I want the Gotham City style cheesecake with a raspberry compote and um c-can you get the tiramisu? I wanna try it and.. the macaroons." If only you were this decisive when it came to picking dinner.

He chuckled to himself but flagged down the waiter to put in the order. "Say the woo~ord and it's yours, Goddess."

The new nickname punched you straight in the gut.

Joker was distracted but you still stared at him in disbelief. He didn't use a nickname that he didn't think was befitting of you and that fact made you tear up. Even after knowing the truth, he still held you in such high regard.

Joker was finishing up ordering your trio of desserts when he heard the one sound that could bring him to his knees. The sound of you crying.

The candlelight highlighted a tear rolling down your cheek and he quickly wiped it away to preserve your beauty. He was about to ask what was bothering you when you spoke up.

"D-Don't say it if you don't m-mean it.." You shook your head. "I can't take it if you don't mean it."

So you heard his new nickname for you. Joker felt now was the right time as any.

Joker kept silent as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. It was wrapped in your favorite color with a big white bow on top.

"What... is this for me?"

Joker nodded mutely and pushed it closer to you.

He wasn't giving you anything to go on so you were left to grab the box and tear it open. An official Jacob and Co. box was inside and you popped open the lid only to gasp seeing the custom jewelry inside.

"J..." You marveled at the tiny gold lighthouse with a real diamond serving as the beam of light cushioned on black velvet. You were going to read out the inscription along the base but Joker beat you to it.

"My Light in a sea of darkness.' You can doubt all you want but there's no mistaking what you are to me. You're my Light, my goddess. What more could I ever need?"

You were at a loss for words, staring into Joker's sincere gaze. He didn't stumble or stress any syllables; his words were raw and meant to soothe your soul with their honesty.

His smile was faint when he stood up to fasten your new necklace on. It was cold at first but it settled perfectly on the swallow of your collarbone. He nodded to himself seeing it on you and his fond grin caused more tears to form.

You probably looked ridiculous crying in the middle of a ritzy restaurant but it was all you could do after such a declaration.

Right as you were parting your lips to speak, an orchestra on the main floor let a few test notes float through the air. The last thing you were expecting was live music and Joker smirked at your bewildered face.

"Would ya like to dance?" Joker asked, changing the subject.

It took you a few seconds to recover. "I-I... I didn't see a dance floor."

The orchestra began playing a sultry instrumental and you noticed a few couples making their way down to the main floor to dance. You were cross on if you wanted to go although Joker was already reaching for his mask to cover back up.

"Sweetheart, we're in a ballroom you can dance anywhere buuut my question is.... Do you want to?" He stood up and straightened his suit. Who was this dapper man? It couldn't be the same Joker that terrorized Gotham City daily.

Joker really transformed into a different person when he was with you. You were the only soul who would see him this way. He put so much trust in you; it was high time you returned the favor.

Your dessert was soon forgotten as you placed your hand in Joker's.

He guided you down the stairs towards the main floor where a designated area was cleared away. The musicians were mid song when Joker led you into the crowd.

You stumbled in your heels as Joker swept you up into his embrace. You were nearly eye level with the madman with the added height and Joker loved the newfound connection more than anything. However there was a mischievous gleam in his eye that gave you pause.

A new song began, one you quickly recognized. Your head shot up to stare at the musicians playing. There was a mixture of ethnicities so it was plausible they were current with various genres and artists but still..

It wouldn't be hard for Joker to put in a request when you weren't looking.

Joker paid you no mind as he swayed you gently in between the other couples. You were speechless when Joker began to hum the lyrics with confidence.

You didn't know that Joker could sing. He didn't look the type yet he constantly surprised you. His voice reminded you of the old crooners that your uncle used to play on his record when you used to visit.

"They don't make music like this no mo Y/n/n!" Uncle Cedrick obviously never heard Givēon before. New artists were making classic tunes sound more and more popular these days.

Somewhere in between the intro and the first verse, Joker decided to sing along and let the lyrics take hold. He looked so sure of himself yet he stumbled on a line when he noticed that you were staring.

He spun you further away from the crowd so you could hear him serenade you better. His voice floated into your ear like honey.

But I can't make a scene, but I can't make it seem

Like I want you...

Even if it's true...

Even if it's true.

You panicked when Joker let out a shaky sigh and dropped his head in the crook of your neck. There was no way you were mistaken here. "Joker?"

"Shhh. Just..." He moved your hand to rest above his heart. More tears blurred your vision when you felt Joker's heartbeat.

It was beating like a drum.

Sometimes he wished you knew but he could disguise the truth for as long as it takes. Were you really so blind to Joker's feelings? And you called yourself a romance writer. Your radar was supposed to be impeccable on picking up love!

The chandelier overhead twinkled down on the two of you like diamonds and it felt as if no one else was in the room except you and Joker.

You were broken, damaged goods and Joker originally believed he was incapable of love, yet he found the will when it came to you. He waited so long for something good to come his way and finally– he had it.

You might think otherwise but Joker knew you were absolute perfection in his eyes. You were worth the wait. In time you would open up and love him unconditionally. He knew that now.

It was selfish and wrong of him to pressure you into anything. If he did then he'd be no better than your ex. The last thing you needed was history to repeat itself. What you needed was time and space to heal.

Joker nodded to himself and regrettably let you go. You were confused when he stopped dancing and looked away.

"Mm, your dessert is probably at the uh table. Let's head back."

He was shutting you out and that would not do. You put your foot down and tugged on Joker's wrist. He looked at you with an arched brow.

You didn't care that you were in the middle of the ballroom.

You were tired of Joker changing the subject at the drop of a hat! You were tired of being sheltered from your pain. It was time you accepted it and finally moved on– moved onto someone better. You were not going to let Joker walk away.

It was time you threw caution to the wind. The song was ending and your heart echoed the lyrics Givēon sang.

But if you really love me, say it now.

You shortened the distance and cupped Joker's face. He hated that he shied away from your touch. He didn't want to get his hopes up if you were just reacting to mend his hurt feelings. He wanted you to be sincere with your affection.

"T-Take me home, tell me in the space we created– but. Please don't give up on me when I need you more than ever. I-I.. I need you, J. I do."

You clung onto the back of his neck and urged him to bend down. You couldn't rest your forehead against his until he leaned down to your height. He did and you locked eyes with him right there on the ballroom floor.

Your eyes pleaded with Joker. They spoke a thousand words you were so afraid to speak aloud. He searched your colored eyes for a glimmer of hope and found so much more.

It was then you had the pleasure of seeing a man like Joker break.

His eyes fluttered closed and it took everything in his power not to fall to his knees in front of all these people. All in due time, but first he had to get you home.

He made an odd motion with his hands and in seconds, he was whisking you towards the exit. You squeaked in shock and you barely kept up with Joker's long strides.

"J, w-what about the bill?! M-My dessert!"

He growled and pushed the restaurant doors open. The temperature had dropped the past hour or two that you and Joker were indoors and your bare arms shivered once exposed to the elements.

Joker shrugged off his suit jacket and gave it to you. He had a crazed look in his eyes as he waited on the curb.

"Don't care. I'm takin' ya home." He shot you a heated glare, "You'll get your dessert, Princess."

You couldn't recall the last time he used that nickname but it made a smile break out over your face and a liquid fire seep into your core.

It had been too long since you felt a burning desire spread all over. You couldn't lie. You were a little scared but this was Joker. He wouldn't do anything you didn't want. And you wanted him.

A black unmarked car screeched to a halt near the curb. It was hardly in park when Joker yanked the door open for you. "Get in, Bunny."

You knew once you got inside there would be no turning back. You could do this and so with a deep breath, you embraced the unknown.

There was enough sexual tension brewing in the elevator to fuel a bomb.

Surprisingly, Joker behaved himself during the ride back to your apartment yet he practically chased you to the main elevator the second the car arrived at the lobby drop off.

You could only run so fast in heels yet you beat Joker inside.

You broke out into a smile as the elevator doors began to trap you inside with the clown. He tossed a lecherous grin your way and was seconds away from jumping your bones, when the doors slid back open and one of your neighbors walked in.

She did a double take at Joker but quickly recovered to smile at you. Her eyes widened even more after taking in your elegant ball gown.

"Oh wow Y/n! That dress looked stunning on you! I hope you enjoyed your night."

She mashed the button for the ninth floor and brought attention to the time glowing on the panel. It was nearing eleven pm. You hardly noticed that it was so late.

The elevator lights glinted against your jewelry and caught her eye. "Aww that's so cute! It's a little lighthouse. Do you like the beach or something?" She gestured to your necklace.

You laughed awkwardly, "Oh I've only been once but I loved it."

Joker chuckled under his breath and gained your neighbor's attention.

She eyed him up and down but kept her thots to herself. She'd never seen you around with a partner before but sheesh, you knew how to pick em. The man was so fine, he should be illegal.

She dragged her eyes away from Joker and back over to you. "Really? Just once? What was your favorite part? I love sunbathing myself."

Of all the neighbors in the building, why did miss blabbermouth known for her lengthy mindless chats have to board the elevator tonight?

You knew Joker was probably thinking a million and one ways to kill the poor lady. Hopefully he could steady his hands for a few more levels.

You thought back to her question and frowned. You couldn't remember anything remarkable about the beach. You loved it for different reasons.

Mainly the way Joker took you so passionately in the sand or how the light from the rotating coastal structure illuminated his raw beauty for only you to see. You couldn't tell her you didn't visit the beach during the day like a normal person.

Your visit to the beach was memorable because of your carnal escapade with Joker under the stars.

Joker declared you as his Light, the same namesake that now proudly hung from your neck. You couldn't tell her any of that so you made something up on the spot.

"I um, I liked the heat? It was... hot. Sweltering."

Joker failed to stifle his laughter and your neighbor glared at the both of you sideways. Such an odd answer..

Thankfully the lift arrived at the ninth floor and she ended the idle chat. "Alright then, well enjoy the rest of your night, Y/n. Oh and don't forget! We have the next tenant meeting coming up this week! Bring your friend."

She winked at Joker but he could care less. His eyes were glued on you.

The elevator doors closed and resumed its ascent to your private floor. It was so quiet in the metal box, you could hear your uneven breathing.

You glanced at Joker out of the corner of your eye but he was frozen like a statue. You honestly expected him to jump you the second your neighbor was gone but since when was Joker predictable?

Your focus was on the floor indicator as it displayed the tenth floor. Almost there..

Joker waited until you least expected it to make his move.

It was concerning yet electrifying to know you were alone with Joker, completely at his mercy. The lift was passing the maintenance floor when Joker stepped behind you to inhale your unique scent.

His nose faintly brushed the sensitive skin along the nape of your neck and you shivered. Then his hot exhale disturbed the hairs on your neck. He was doing all of this on purpose.

He wanted to torture you, it was the only explanation for the tumultuous tease that was Joker kissing you right where the clasp of your necklace met your skin. You swore his teeth tugged the chain a bit, when the doors dinged open.

The air was getting way too stuffy so you stumbled out as quickly as you could.

Joker's chuckle echoed in the short hallway to your front door. He took his time strolling behind you like a predator and patiently waited as you fumbled with the keys. He lost count how many times you dropped them or missed the keyhole entirely.

Eventually you unlocked the door, however you didn't venture inside. There was an unspoken command in the air not to. Joker was glad that you heeded the warning.

Joker's hand covered yours atop the doorknob. You were frozen in place as he bent down to whisper in your ear.

"When you walk through that door.. you're mine. There's. No. Going. Back. Anything you want, I'll give it to ya but you have to ask for it. If it's uh, too much, say the woo~oord and I'll give you more. Tonight's about you, only you.. buT, I gotta warn ya. I will be selfish and take and take... and take."

You whimpered when Joker nipped the curve of your ear.

The sting was nothing compared to the heat pooling in your core. You surprised yourself with how aroused you were and Joker had yet to begin. It was as if he could tell just how antsy you were. His sudden burst of laughter was strained by his lust.

"Are ya ready for that Y/n? I won't hold back. I uh... well I don't think I can." He pressed you further into the door with his body and you felt his erection dig into your lower back.

"Do you want me?" He asked while kissing your shoulder.

You could do this. All you had to do was open the door.

No more pretending, no more running away when things got too intense. You had to fully participate this time and not drift off into a headspace. Tonight you would give all of yourself over to a man known for his maddening greed. It was scary; however, you were oddly enthusiastic.

You wanted him to have it all. To have you.

You turned the doorknob and walked into your foyer with a madman hot on your heels.

#ledger joker x reader #ledger joker #joker x y/n #black!fem!reader #reader insert #joker x reader #heath joker #romance #heath ledger #cross posted on wattpad #cross posted on ao3 #soft!joker #yandere joker #angst #long reads #trigger warnings #Spotify #dark knight joker #his lighthouse

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cconstant-ccraving · 3 years

Text

God Only Knows

Chapter Six

Episode: S03xEp20 & S04xEp01

Pairing: slow burn Aaron Hotchner x fem!OC.

Summary: The team fly to New York for a case involving a serial shooter. They reunite with Y/n, who is assisting them in the investigation, and soon uncover a terrorist plot. Can Hotch and Y/n both make it out alive?

Warnings: Mentions of shootings+blood.

Word Count: 3. 6k

(a/n: lmao it’s chapter six and they haven’t even hugged)

one two three four five six seven

New York had a serial killer. At least, that’s what the current evidence suggested. The team had boarded the jet and headed to assist in the investigation, the pilot taking off as they discussed the case.

Once they finished the brief and settled into their seats, Reid spoke up, “Do you think we’ll see Y/n? She’s been in New York for, what, four months now?”

Hotch suddenly seemed very interested in the files in front of him. He and y/n had kept in contact. About a week after she left, a letter sealed in a crinkled envelope with her name on it had found its way onto her desk. He’d written her a letter. She’d opened it quickly, but was careful not to tear it. It was mostly about the team, their cases and how they were. He spoke a little about his son Jack and had asked how she was getting on in her new city. He made sure to write ‘temporary city,’ not letting her get any ideas about staying.

She planned on writing him back but wanted to tease him a little and so she texted him.

Y/n: You wrote me a letter.

A few moments went by before her phone buzzed and she picked it up eagerly.

Hotch: I did.

Y/n: You know, you could just text me?

Hotch: A letter is more personal.

Y/n: Is that something you want from me, Aaron? To be personal?

Y/n smirked to herself and pressed the tip of her pen to her cheek, biding her time until Hotch responded. She thought she had the upper-hand. She was always able to make him flustered.

Hotch: Yes.

Suddenly she was the one blushing.

On the jet, Hotch smiled at the memory of their messages. A letter had, in fact, found its way onto his desk in Washington a few days later. It included a Polaroid of the Empire State building and one of Y/n holding up a hot dog in front of a food stand and a random sign post. She had obviously taken it herself, turning the camera around and just managed to catch her smile in the frame, her chin not appearing in the picture. He wouldn’t admit to anyone that he kept the latter in his brief case. He felt slightly ridiculous about it, they weren’t dating, he’d never even touched her with the exception of a pinky finger that had grazed the back of her hand at Rossi’s.

“Hotch?”

The man quickly tuned back into the conversation, seeing his team all looking at him, Garcia smiling cheekily from her seat.

“Do you know if she’s working on this?” Emily asked him.

“Um, no. I’m not sure,” He responded.

“Well, I hope she is. It’d be great to see her. Such a lovely girl,” Rossi subtly jabbed with a smile.

The team quietly laughed, trying not to make fun of their boss too much. Hotch simply rolled his eyes, a soft smile on his face.

---

“Aaron,” Kate spoke as she shook hands with him.

“How have you been?” He asked, mostly out of courtesy.

“Well, thank you.”

“This is my team,” He said, going around and introducing everyone.

“Have you two worked together before?” JJ asked.

“Yes we lia-”

Before he could finish speaking, he heard footsteps coming around the corner and in his peripheral, there was his Captain.

She hadn’t spotted him yet, her attention focused on a clipboard. She pointed to something on it before handing it off to the man she was walking with. And then she looked up. And there he was.

She held eye contact with him for a moment, almost as if trying to figure out if he was actually stood there. Then she smiled and started walking towards the group.

“Hotchner,” She grinned.

“Hey trouble,” He responded before he could help himself, a discrete smile making its way onto his face.

“Trouble? I don’t know what you mean,” She teased.

The team stood smiling behind the two before Rossi cleared his throat, “Good to see you too, kid.”

Hotch stepped slightly to the side so she could see the team. She was about to respond but Agent Joyner butted in, “I see you’ve already met Agent Miller?”

“Um, yes, we’re acquainted,” Hotch said quickly, having forgotten Joyner was stood with them.

“They’re acquainted alright,” JJ whispered to Garcia, who had to bite her lip to refrain from giggling.

“Well, there will be time to play catch-up later,” Kate dove into an explanation of the surveillance system to Garcia and soon the two detectives that caught the first shooting walked in.

Joyner took a large step closer to Hotch, standing far too close to him for Y/n’s liking, and asked, “Can I have a word with you in private?”

“Sure,” He responded, stealing a glance at Y/n before walking away.

“Do they...know each other?” Y/n asked as she turned back to the group.

“They did some work together when she was at Scotland Yard,” Prentiss told her.

Y/n ‘hmmed’ to herself as she cast a glance into Kate’s office. It was safe to say her new boss wasn’t overly fond of her, or any of her employees. Everyone in the New York office had heard that she was getting some heat from her superiors and that they may even be looking for a replacement.

When she turned back around to speak to the team they were stood smiling at her, “What?”

“Is that a little jealously we hear in your voice, Captain Miller?” Rossi teased.

“And what exactly would I be jealous of?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe that another woman seems very interested in your little boyfriend over there,” Morgan grinned, walking closer to her.

“Well, lucky for you, hot stuff, I am very much single so when are you gonna take me out on a date?” She teased right back. Was she trying to avoid confessing that she was, in fact, a little jealous? Absolutely.

“I will take you out any time baby girl, just let me know when your heart’s not occupied by another man and I’m yours,” He retorted, shooting a wink at her.

“Shut up, Morgan,” She whacked him lightly on his chest, him stumbling back as though he was in pain.

Another agent walked up and said something to Y/n, handing her a file before she spoke again, “We should get to work.”

---

The team had taken the day to construct a profile, delivering it to the NYPD and the F.B.I New York office. The next morning came quickly and Hotch was more than aware of the fact he had barely seen Y/n. Soon, another day had flown by without them having the chance to talk properly.

It was 8AM when Y/n was stood at her desk, strapping an F.B.I bullet proof vest on. She had her button down and suit jacket slung over the desk chair, just stood in a white cami. She needed to look enough like a civilian to not attract attention when walking around.

“Hi.”

She smiled, hearing the deep voice behind her. She looked behind her and then turned around, “Hey, stranger.”

Hotch let a sheepish smile come to his face, “I’m sorry, we’ve not really had too much time to talk.”

“That’s okay,” She said, “We’re working the same case, Hotch. I know how important it is we catch them.”

Y/n grabbed the shirt from her desk chair and started buttoning it on. Hotch watched her nervously as she did so before speaking, “Are you going somewhere?”

“Yeah, I’m patrolling the street with Prentiss and Detective Cooper. Figure you can’t be too careful with these guys,” She smiled as she picked up the suit jacket.

“Hold on,” Hotch interrupted as he stepped closer to her. He raised his hand to her shoulder and picked up the velcro strap of her vest and fastened it in place properly, it had been poking out the side of her collar. He let his hand linger for a second before snapping out of it and placing it back at his side. His eyes flickered to her and he found her already looking at him.

“Thanks,” She spoke softly.

“Be careful. We don’t know where they’re going to hit next,” Hotch replied, speaking as softly.

“I’m a big girl Hotchner, I’ll be okay.”

“I-”

“Aaron,” Kate interrupted as she strutted through the office, raising an eyebrow at the lack of distance between the two.

“You ready to review? I want to get as far ahead of these blokes as possible,” She continued and gestured for him to follow her.

“Of course, give me a minute?” He responded, not paying too much attention to her. The Agent humphed to herself before turning and walking away.

Y/n crossed her arms across her chest, “Emily said you two liased?”

Hotch smirked at her, raising an eyebrow, “Now, that wouldn’t be jealousy in your tone would it?”

She leant further back on her desk and averted her gaze, “Nope.”

“Because,” He stepped closer again with a smirk, “If it were, I would have to tell you our relationship is, and has always been, professional.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes.”

“And ours?”

Hotch smiled and went to respond-

“Anyone seen Miller?”

Damn it, Emily.

Hotch cleared his throat and stepped back from her, a discrete blush rising to his cheeks.

Y/n laughed a little before standing up straight and putting her blazer on, “I’m just coming!”

She shot Hotch a quick wink before she retreated, walking up to Emily with a smile, “Let’s go.”

The pair stepped into the elevator before Y/n spoke again, “Where’s Detective Cooper?”

“He’s waiting for us outside,” Emily replied. A moment of quiet hovered in the air, the two trying to hold in their smiles.

“I’m just saying, but I think if Hotch got any closer to you he would have been mounting you,” Emily finally spoke.

“Emily Prentiss!!” Y/n spat out in shock.

The dark haired woman laughed, “What! I’m just saying what I saw!”

---

Y/n, Emily and Detective Cooper were all stood on the street, having just exited the subway station. Out of nowhere a loud gunshot echoed through the street, Y/n’s head snapping up and looking around for any sign of where it came from.

“Garcia!” Emily spoke into her comms.

“I’m on it,” The analyst spoke back, stress lacing her voice, “16th and Broadway! He’s running East on 16th!”

“He’s headed our way,” Y/n spoke and they took off.

They rounded the corner and slowed, taking in the street. Suddenly a black male, approximately 20-30 years old wearing a dark grey hoodie turned and started running away. The group drew their guns and started chasing him down, pedestrians flying out of their way, pushing themselves against the wall to avoid being hit.

“Move! Move!” Cooper shouted, narrowly pulling in front of Emily and Y/n.

“Out of the way!” Y/n shouted, following quickly behind him.

The unsub quickly glanced round, checking if he was still being followed and fired his gun. The bullet hit the wall beside Y/n’s head, pieces of brick and dust fell on her skin, cutting her cheek open. She hissed in pain but kept running, she’d be damned if she let this guy get away.

She saw Cooper round the corner seconds before her and a gun shot sounded. She quickly followed him but before she could pull the trigger on her own gun, she was shot in the abdomen. The impact of the shot pushed her down, falling with a crash against the asphalt. In her peripheral, she saw Emily catch up and shoot the unsub twice in the chest.

Panicked, Emily ran over to Y/n who only wheezed, “I’m okay, I’m okay! I’m wearing a vest, go help him!”

Prentiss let out a huge sigh of relief, thankful that her friend hadn’t actually been hit, and ran over to cooper, “Garcia! We’ve got an officer down 16th West of Union Square!”

Y/n was temporarily winded from the hit so she spent a second catching her breath. Her eye started stinging as the blood from her cheek started to run. She sat up slowly as an ambulance pulled up, the medics jumping out to help Cooper.

One ran over to her but she quickly spoke, “I’m okay, just a flesh wound. Help him.”

She pushed herself to her feet and stumbled over to Emily, still feeling a little woozy. She looked down at Cooper, assessing the hits he’d taken. They were both in his upper abdomen but he was still awake and still breathing so that was something.

Emily turned to face her, her hands still bloody, “Are you okay? I could have sworn he shot you!”

“He did,” She paused, still breathing fast as she popped open her shirt and showed the vest, one bullet sitting directly over her heart.

Emily laughed, partly because she was in shock and partly at the sheer luck of her friend, and pulled her in to a tight hug.

“Oh, ow. Too tight,” Y/n said, patting her friends back.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” She laughed, “Go take that off, let me see if there’s any bruising.”

Prentiss helped undo the straps and, as predicted, a large bruise spanned from under her shirt across her left shoulder.

Y/n winced assessing the damage and laughed ironically, “Well, it could have been worse.”

“Yeah,” Emily smiled, her eyes still wide, “Let’s get you checked over.”

“I’m fine-”

“Y/n! You’re not fine, he almost killed you. Please, just see the damn paramedic,” Prentiss interrupted with a stern voice.

She sighed, ultimately giving in, and let Emily put her arm around her for support. As they were walking to the second ambulance JJ and Morgan were running up.

“Oh my god!” JJ spoke as they reached the pair, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine-”

“She’s not fine! She was wearing a vest but you were still shot. And your face needs cleaning too,” Emily rattled off.

“Alright,” Morgan started, “You’re coming with me.”

Morgan quickly took her from Emily’s hold, letting Y/n lean on him as they walked over to the ambulance. A medic was already there with a tray of supplies and started cleaning her face right away.

“You’re one lucky son of a bitch, you know that right?” Derek said, a deep frown etched on his features.

“I know,” She spoke timidly. Morgan clapped his hand on her shoulder before walking back over to JJ and Emily.

For the next five minutes all she could hear were the sounds of pedestrians walking by; sirens ringing a couple of blocks away; police tape being stretched and cut to map out the scene.

“Y/n!” She heard distantly.

“Y/n!” There is was again, closer this time.

The sound of police tape stretching caught her attention and she looked to her left. Hotch came running through. He quickly caught her eye and ran over, assessing her from head to toe.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, really. He shot me but it hit my vest,” She explained.

“But your face-”

“Just a flesh wound. Right, Doc?” She smirked at the medic who just nodded at the pair. The medic finished cleaning her up and let her stand, telling her to check in at the hospital if it gets worse.

“You must be freezing,” Hotch muttered, noticing she was only wearing a vest, “Take this.”

“Hotch-”

“Take. It.” He said firmly, clearly not taking no for an answer. She stood still as he draped the fabric over her shoulders. It was far too long and the sleeves came over her arms, but it was warm and it smelt like him.

Laughing, she held her arms out in front of her face, “Why are your arms so freakishly long?”

“They’re not,” He grumbled, “Just roll up your sleeves.”

He took her arm in his hands and started rolling up the sleeves for her, his eyes glancing at the vest that was resting against the ambulance. Y/n took a brief glance at what he was looking at before going back to watching his frowning face as he concentrated on rolling the sleeves of his suit jacket.

“Y’know, I might get that made into a necklace. Remind me of the fragility of life,” She jested quietly.

“Don’t remind me,” He muttered, cuffing the other sleeve higher on her arm.

His frown had deepened and her smile dropped from her face, “Hotch.”

He paused, his fingers lingering on the base of her wrist.

“I’m okay,” She spoke, looking in his eyes.

“I know.”

“Let’s go find out what’s going on,” Y/n said, and Hotch nodded before the pair walked over to where Rossi, Reid and Joyner were stood.

“We think we might have a serious problem,” Rossi spoke as he saw them approaching.

“What is it?” Hotch asked.

“We have multiple unsubs. They’re disciplined, they’re using counter-surveillance, they know the F.B.I movements, there’s a hierarchy. What does that usually equal?” Dave continued.

“Terrorism,” Y/n breathed out.

---

“So, how does this work?” Morgan asked, perched on a desk.

The group had traveled back to the office quickly, wanting to get ahead of the potential attack. Everyone was stood around being briefed on what was to come.

“The murders simulate a bombing,” Spencer said, “From there they station someone to watch and gauge police response time.”

Derek nodded, “At which point they know when to bring in a second bomb.”

“The goal is always to take out the first round of civilians, followed by a second wave of emergency responders,” Y/n spoke. She was stood next to Hotch who towered over her. She was still wearing his jacket despite it being plenty warm in the office.

“It’s crazy but it’s ingenious. They get a practice run and if someone catches the shooter they think they just have a murderer,” Reid says.

“It’s lo-fi,” Kate added, “Smartest way to plan for a terrorist event.”

“Creating panic ensures that they see the most urgent response times short of a bombing,” Hotch said, his arm brushing up against Y/n’s.

JJ frowned, “So, there’s been seven different shooters?”

“Having followers do the shootings would ensure they’re willing to kill or be killed for the cause,” Rossi said.

“It fits the profile,” Prentiss nodded, “There is something larger at play. It’s similar to a gang initiation.”

“Especially if they’re home grown, they haven’t had the chance to prove themselves,” Hotch observed.

The shootings took place near points of entry into the city. If a bombing were to happen the emergency protocols would shut down any way in or out. Garcia had told the group that the unsubs had also hacked into the security cameras and had footage of every crime scene.

“They hacked into one camera at every crime scene,” Garcia said before Morgan hung up the call.

“So much for a theory,” Y/n said as she gazed up at Hotch, their expressions mirroring each others.

“We need to hit the ground running,” Kate quickly stood up from her place.

“I’m gonna head to the hospital. I’ll check on Cooper and brief Detective Brustin,” Emily said.

Y/n quickly stood from her place, “I’ll come with you.”

Emily nodded and Y/n quickly picked her gun up from the desk and slotted it back into the holster clipped to her waist. She started to leave but felt a soft grip on her arm.

Looking back she saw Hotch looking at her with a frown, “Be careful.”

“You too,” She said before turning and running to catch up with Prentiss.

---

Y/n was stood outside the hospital after they’d checked in on Cooper. He had lost a lot of blood and was going to be in a bit of pain for a while, but he’d be okay.

“Y/n!” Emily shouted, running out of the hospital. She looked a little frantic and was followed by Detective Brustin who was running to his cop car.

“What? What’s going on?”

“There’s been an explosion outside of the F.B.I building! A black SUV!” Emily shouted, approaching her quickly.

Y/n turned and unlocked the car, jumping into the drivers seat and Emily followed into the passenger side. She quickly pulled out after the cop car and started following him as Emily said, “Just follow Brustin.”

“Have you heard from anyone?” Y/n asked frantically as she switched on the sirens.

And just like that, Emily’s phone rung, and she put it on speaker, “Is everyone okay?��

“I’ve spoken to Rossi and Reid and Morgan’s on the line,” Garcia spoke.

“Emily, where are you?” He asked.

“We’re following Detective Brustin to one of the NYPD’s critical incident command posts!”

“We? Is Y/n still with you?” Garcia asked quickly.

“I’m right here, baby. I’m okay,” She responded, stepping on the gas.

“Okay,” Garcia let out a relieved breath before continuing, “Has anyone heard from JJ?”

“She was headed back to the hotel,” Emily replied.

“In an SUV?”

“I think so!”

“Stay with me a minute, I’ll dial her mobile,” The blonde spoke.

The number rung out for a moment but there was no answer.

“What was that? What happened?” Morgan asked.

“Try her again, she’s probably back at the hotel already,” Emily said frantically.

“Garcia, have you heard from Hotch?” Y/n asked, the fear suddenly catching up to her.

There was no response.

“Garcia! Where’s Hotch?” Y/n repeated, her voice catching as she spoke. She couldn’t let herself be overwhelmed, she still had a job to do but she felt almost powerless in that moment.

The line suddenly cut out, Emily’s cell making a beep before she snapped it shut.

“Fuck,” Y/n ran a hand through her hair before slamming it back down on the wheel.

---

next chapter

---

Tag list:

@kneelforloki @yougottalovefandoms @star-stuff-in-the-cosmos @lovesammikinzz @bestillmystuckyheart @thedancingnerdmermaid @kishie8

#aaron hotchner fanfic #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner imagine #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner angst #hotch imagine #hotch x reader #criminal minds #criminal minds imagine #bau #bau imagine #angst imagine #constantcravingwrites

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thefanficmonster · 3 years

Text

It’s Only Fair

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing, Minor Spoilers for RE8: Village

Genre: FLUFF, Humor, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: It’s all fun and games while Corpse is simping over Lady Dimitrescu, seeing as how Y/N herself isn’t immune to that woman’s charms. However, things get ‘serious’ when Corpse has to deal with his girlfriend making heart eyes at the hammer wielding final lord - Heisenberg.

Requested by Anon. Hi darling! Thank you so much for this incredible request - it hit close to home, not gonna lie hehe. Thank you so much for the opportunity you gave me with this request, I had a ton of fun turning it into a fic and I hope you have at least half as much fun reading it! Love, Vy ❤

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Heisenberg remind you of Lucas from the seventh game? I don’t know, all this speakers communication is giving me flashbacks I’m not too fond of. That guy traumatized me.“ Y/N shudders in her seat from where she’s observing Corpse’s gameplay while keeping tabs on the speeding chat, answering as many of the comments as she can.

“No idea. Never played the game.“ Corpse wheezes out, feeling the pressure’s on and working up a little bit of a sweat seeing as how this is the last lord he’ll have to battle before probably having to square up with Mother Miranda. The fact he’s running low on ammo has been stressing him out but luckily he has Y/N there to comfort him every time. She doesn’t even need to use words to do so or even ask him what’s wrong - just placing her hand on his knee allows him to feel relaxed and as though everything will be alright even though it probably won’t be if he doesn’t collect some money, ammo or supplies for making ammo soon.

“Wooow, fake fan, huh?“ Y/N pokes his side teasingly, “No, nevermind, I know exactly why you chose to play this, skipping all the previous ones in the process.“ She prods on, continuing to mess with Corpse who gives her a side-smile after having held on a still face for such a long time, features frozen in his focused and on-edge state.

He rolls his eyes, deciding to play her game, “Oh yeah? Why do you think that is?”

She scoffs, “Maybe cause thee other games don’t have 9ft tall vampire ladies? I don’t know, I’m just shooting in the dark here.” She delivers another poke to his side, giggling devilishly as she does so.

Corpse quickly takes hold of her hand, murmuring: “Maybe...” under his breath before bringing it to his lips and giving her knuckles a kiss.

Y/N wiggles her hand free from his grasp, mock-offended by his words, “Knew it! I freaking- Whoa, hello there, sir.” She cuts herself off as the game enters into a scripted cutscene, showing off the final lord in all his glory. “Who is you?”

“Y/N, Heisenberg. Heisenberg, Y/N.” Corpse laughs, “I forgot you missed the episode where he was first introduced.”

“Damn do I regret that now.“ She whispers, eyes glued to the game instead of the screen of her laptop where she’s been fetching comments flying by. No one can blame the girl, she’s got a justified reason to be distracted. “Wish we met sooner, Mr. Heisenberg.“

Corpse finds his jaw on the floor in an instant as his head snaps to face his girlfriend, “Excuse me, what’s that supposed to mean?!”

Y/N frowns, narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend as she finally brings herself to tear her eyes off the screen where now the game has been paused. “What? You now get to complain? After I didn’t say shit about you drooling all over Lady Dimitrescu? It’s only fair I get my own simp-worthy subject, don’t you think?”

Corpse rolls his eyes, “This deal doesn’t seem like it’ll benefit you much - I get a hot, classy and rich vampire lady and you get...” he motions at the screen, his face twisting in a displeased expression, “...him.”

“Oh trust me, I’ll be perfectly benefited, don’t ya worry.“ She shoots him a wink, cackling quietly yet evilly at the shock-disappointment het comment is met with on her boyfriend’s part. “What?“ She asks though laughter, “He’s hella hot!“

“Ok, that’s it.“ Corpse gets up, pushing the desk chair Y/N’s sitting in forward, rolling it on its wheels towards the door, “You’ll be in exile until this chapter’s done with. I can’t have you simping all over the place, it’s bad for business. I mean, if you fall for guys who look like him, God knows what people will think I look like.“

“Well, you do need a shower but...“ Y/N comments through a fit of giggles, kicking her legs as to get up and off the chair but by the time she’s able to react, he’s already rolled her out in the hallway and shut the door of the recording room behind himself as though she can’t just open it and walk back in. Which is exactly what she does, much to his dismay - but she only pokes her head inside, “You’re right, it’s bad for your image, so I’ll clarify.“ She clears her throat, raising her voice as for it to be picked up by Corpse’s mic from across the room, “The two men in question don’t look at all alike, folks! Heisenberg is way hotter than Corpse!“

“OUT!“ Corpse shouts, sounding as threatening as he can while laughing his ass off alongside Y/N who has followed his ‘order‘ and stepped out in the hallway where her laughter can still be heard. “Guess the longer I don’t shower, the hotter I’ll appear to Y/N. Remind me to buy myself a cape as well. Wonder how much factories cost around the West Coast...“

“COPYCAT!“ Comes Y/N’s shout from outside the door, causing Corpse to break out in another fit of laughter.

Never did Corpse think he’d be trying to cop the ranks of a video game villain but here he is, actually googling the price of cape coats and he’s never felt more bemused with himself - ok, that may or may not be a lie considering he’s really digging the coats he finds for sale online.

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grogusmum · 3 years

Text

A Galaxy Far Far Away part 6.5

Halloween at Juniper Cottage part 2: Trick or Treat

DIN X F!READER

WARNINGS None to speak of, more fluff, the usual Halloween festivities. A Dumb Supper, oh and here comes the smoochies.

(If there is something I missed please message me, I'll gladly add them)

WORD COUNT: 3500ish

SUMMARY: In an effort to keep Din’s son safe from Imps and bounty hunters, he sets a course for a faraway galaxy.

On Earth, Din and Grogu have been taken in by gentle reader- its Halloween and Din and Grogu carve pumpkins and go trick or treating.

NOTES: okay so in honor of Summerween, here is some lovely self-indulgence (okay all of it is self-indulgence, but this is a super-sized helping) I have broken Halloween up into two chapters because Halloween deserves a double episode special!

The living room glowed with the flickering light of the fireplace, your pumpkins sitting on the big wooden coffee table along with a bowl of popcorn, what was left of the apple cider donuts, and mugs of spiced cider. You were still in the long white dress, though your boots and faux hair lay abandoned. Since Din had to take his armor off anyway, he changed into sweats, a thermal shirt, and warm socks, helmet in place. Grogu had been bathed and was in jammies, you had found him footie pajamas with chickens on them, when you gave it to him he insisted on going out the Chicken coop to show the girls, immediately.

You, Din and Grogu, who was desperately trying to stay awake, plopped yourselves down on the couch to watch It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

“Why are all the adults giving Charlie Brown rocks?”

“I don’t know, Din.”

After Din had shared his name with you, the pair of you didn’t say much more on the subject or talk about the afternoon in the pumpkin patch, except to talk about how beautiful the pumpkins were and the fun you all had. The warmth in the words and occasional hand on each other was enough, and every time you called the Mandalorian by his given name, he melted a little hearing it from your lips. When the show ended, Grogu was pretending he wasn’t tired, clambering for more time.

The rest of the week leading to Halloween was one of the best weeks you could remember in a long time. It felt so good to share it with Grogu and Din, like family. Friday night had been the Halloween Parade on Main Street, there had been some incredible costumes and though people had seen your costumes by now, you, Din, Grogu, and Seamus, especially Grogu and Seamus had stolen the show! You had made a costume with design help from Din for Seamus. Grogu had gotten to ride him, and he was ecstatic, like he had no greater wish in all the universe. He proceeded to try riding Seamus everywhere, and the sweet-natured dog didn’t seem to mind at all.

Finally, the big day arrived, it was sunny and bright, crisp but not cold, so you decided to carve the pumpkins outside. Din had helped gut them and roast the seeds, in the morning, while Grogu had slept. The excitement was catching up with him. You laid out newspaper, tools, markers, and last, the pumpkins. Din and Grogu watched as you took your pumpkin and demonstrated, giving a pumpkin carving lesson. As with the kindling making, you were concise and only drifting when giving examples of things that are traditionally carved, but assuring them to make whatever they like.

You picked up your phone, opened your music app and put on some silly Halloween songs.

“Will we do a Dumb Supper?” Din asked.

“Din,” you were flattered he remembered, “if you would like to. Grogu is probably a little small, but we could after he goes to bed after Trick or Treating.”

Grogu was patting his pumpkin, ready to get started.

“Here, buddy.” Din handed him a marker, “you draw it, and I’ll carve it.”

Din looked at your pumpkin, and the detailed owl and moon you were carving with the tiny saws and chisels you had.

“I’ll try anyway”, He amended.

“Please, it really only takes a bit of practice, it’s mostly the tools. I remember as a kid, we just used kitchen knives, these changed the game!”

Grogu drew a large frog with a witch hat on it, the frog consisted of a large oval, with stick legs and circles on top for eyes, the hat a simple triangle. Grogu was explaining the whole thing with animated gestures.

“Good job, kid,” Din gave Grogu a rub on the back.

“Mrrrah!” he said proudly.

Seamus sniffed the discarded pumpkin bits, giving an exploratory lick. You watched Din take his little boy’s pumpkin and follow his lines carefully. The sun was as high as it was going to get, it flashed off his helmet as he moved, you could see so much in it, the metal was quite remarkable. The dome of it was almost bisected cornflower blue of the sky on one side, a smear of the ruddy red of the maple on the other. there was even a reflection across the lower part where his chin was hidden, of the large orange pumpkin he was working so diligently on. You chuckled as a tiny, perfect red maple leaf fell, landing on it sticking there. You reached across the table and took it gently.

Soon Grogu was toddling around the yard, a variety of animals in his wake, picking up leaves and giving them to you. You decided to incorporate them in your pumpkin, making little holes to slip the stems in. Din turned the pumpkin around to show Grogu. The little one clapped, and hustled over to his dad, first hugging Din’s leg then climbed up it to hug the frog-witch on his pumpkin.

“Very nice”, you said.

“Yeah, it’s not bad.”

Grogu, as usual, felt these were understatements and told everyone so, in his own way.

“You are right, bub, these are the most fantastic pumpkins that have ever graced Juniper Cottage! Nana would be so pleased. She was partial to witch frogs!”

Grogu, closed his eyes in satisfaction, giving a small nod.

“Well, I still need to do mine,” Din said.

“You two work on that, and I’ll get a little early supper made for Grogu, the shadows are getting long. Almost time to Trick or Treat!”

Grogu clapped and cheering with a Brrap.

“Do many people come here asking for food?”

“Trick or Treaters, Din!" You corrected with a laugh, “No, not really. Not enough light, or sidewalks, the houses are too far apart. Pretty much everyone goes down the hill, to the neighborhood behind the main street, it’s great, really… such a festive atmosphere. I’m glad to have a trick or treater to take around,” you trailed off at the end, but recovered and smiled. “Let me make Grogu’s dinner.”

You went inside, Din watched you go.

“Alright, buddy. Let’s get this pumpkin carved", he said, looking down at Grogu.

As you heat up the soup you made earlier in the week, you looked out the front window in the kitchen. You could see them sitting at the picnic table. Din in his flannel, jeans, boots, and helmet… Grogu on his lap, drawing on the pumpkin. You couldn’t hear them, but you could see Din's shoulders shake like he was laughing, Grogu getting marker on the pumpkin, himself, and occasionally on Din.

You came out and shivered, the temperature was dropping.

“How are we doing?”

“Good”, Din said, turning the tall narrow pumpkin, it looked like a rhinoceros with a huge horn.

“It’s a mudhorn, it is the symbol of our clan,” Din explained, as Grogu looked at it with pride. Your face broke into a delighted smile.

“How perfect, let’s get them in the windows.”

Din carried two of the pumpkins, you took the last one and you set them in the big front windows.

Grogu ate quickly excited to get to the festivities. Din got him cleaned up and then changed into his beskar. You changed into the white dress again, as you did your hair, attaching the buns, you looked in the mirror and smiled, thinking back to the hayride. You really couldn’t believe how the house, your life, felt so perfectly filled since the arrival of Din and Grogu, after feeling empty for so long. You came out of the bathroom and got Seamus’ costume on. You were told it was a Bantha, it reminded you of a wooly mammoth, with no trunk.

When everyone was ready, the sunset was giving way to twilight, you turned on the electric candles that give off a nice faux flickering glow and placed them inside the pumpkins. Once you were outside you look your phone out and directed your boys to stand by the window, with the pumpkins.

Din walked Seamus on his leash, Grogu on Seamus’ back, they stood beside the glowing Jack O’lanterns.

Din and Grogu looked around the streets that made up the residential neighborhood on the high street behind the shops on Main Street. The houses were lit up and decorated some spooky, some quaint, large groups of children with parents and caregivers walked in the streets. It seemed official or not; cars were off the road for the night. Clusters of teens laughed and joked, with their pillowcases ready to fill. You had given Grogu a plastic pumpkin to fill.

“So, there are some choice houses, that are a must. The big kids will go to every house that’s lit, but we will just trick or treat until Grogu’s, pumpkin is filled.”

“What about the dark houses?” Din asked.

“That means they are either not home, not giving out candy, or have run out of candy. With the big kids, that sometimes means tricks!” You explained.

“How do you mean?”

“Well, some people take the trick or treat very seriously, if you don’t treat them, you get a trick from them. Which usually means throwing eggs at the house or throwing toilet paper in their trees, stuff like that.”

"Not at your cottage, though," Din said.

"No," you assured, " not to worry."

Grogu’s eyes had gotten big and his mouth fell open.

“I know Grogu, it’s not cool!” You said, then poked his belly, “And I’m guessing you are sad about the waste of perfectly good eggs.”

He nodded, solemnly.

You came to the first house, a beautiful Victorian, with a wrap-around porch decked out with a lovely autumn display, a scarecrow, haybales, mums of gold, purple and russet, there were tricolor corn cobs and gourdes. By the door was a large carafe of cider, a plate of donut holes, and full-size candy bars.

“This is Pandy’s house. Beautiful and all, but for trick or treating? This is why we are here,” you murmured to Din, indicating the large chocolate bars.

“Hi, Pandy! Hi Jakob!” You smiled, "Happy Halloween!”

“Happy Halloween, my dear!” Jakob greeted.

“Look, Jakob, this is what I was telling you about!” Pandy said, pointing at Grogu, “Oh, and look at Seamus! What you come up with, girl.”

“Thank you, Pandy. What do you say Grogu?” You smiled knowing it was going to make her day.

“Mrrah be pato,” Grogu held out his pumpkin, with a big smile.

The elderly couple clapped and laughed, dropping a candy bar into his pumpkin.

“I know it’s not real, but I want to just pinch those cheeks!”

“Don’t pinch his cheeks, ma’am,” Din said.

You laughed, Grogu ignored the slight it seemed, as he was looking at the candy.

“Donut holes and hot cider for the grown-up, would you like some?”

“No thank you,” you said looking at Din's helmet, adding to be courteous, “maybe we will swing around later.”

You said your thank-yous and waved, moving on to the next house.

The next house was a spooky one, all bats, skulls, and cobwebs.

“These folks are really nice, and when they see little ones they don’t do the jump scares… but since no one thinks Grogu is a kid…” You bit your lip, thinking about what to do, “Maybe we should skip it.”

“ The kid’s seen plenty, he’ll be fine,” Din said, he then dropped down to one knee next to Grogu, “There are going to be some scary stuff, maybe something that jumps out at us. It’ll be okay, Buddy, I’m here, and it’s just pretend, like in the Charlie Brown story- but no one is giving you rocks.”

You were smiling at the sweet exchanging and then let out a laugh when he got to the Charlie Brown thing.

“The rocks always bothered me too,” You assured.

Din stayed close to Grogu, and as Grogu was sitting atop Seamus, Din could reach him, to keep a reassuring hand on the back of his head. Just you suspected because it's seemed no small children were in the group but rather a dog with a cool toy or something on him, the eldest son dressed as a vampire, popped out of a black pine casket. Grogu handled it like a champ, held out his pumpkin bucket to the vampire, and said his version of Trick or Treat.

The kid laughed, taking his teeth out.

“That’s so cool,” he exclaimed, dropping a hefty handful of candy into the bucket.

You all called your thanks, and Happy Halloween as you left, and the teen popped the teeth back in and got ready for his next victim.

Up and down the street you went, you could see Grogu drooping, Din noticed too and handed you Seamus’ lease and picked his little boy up and rested him on his shoulder, Grogu nuzzled his face between his neck and pauldron, using Din’s cape as a pillow.

“I’m thinking we are done,” you said with a smile.

“Yep,” Din agreed.

“Fun?” you asked, as you made your way to the car, calling greetings and waving at folx you recognized, as you passed them.

“Fun,” Din assured.

Grogu made a muffled sound of agreement into Din cowl.

Grogu had been put to bed without incident, Din changed out of his beskar and into more comfortable clothes while you laid out the meal. The Dumb Supper was adjusted so Din could sit with you. You had been thinking about how to share a meal with Din without him in a separate room for a while, and after some deep digging in the attic, you found an antique room screen, a dark trifold, spindle wood frame with fabric panels. So, for the first time, you sat together in the kitchen and ate. You had placed framed photos of your dearly departed loved ones by the empty setting at the end of the table, an empty chair draped in black. You had explained the tradition and invited Din to add whatever might represent those who are dear to him. He had placed a piece of red fabric on the table, and when he was settled, and behind the screen, he placed his helm there too.

You shared a blessing and then in silence, you ate your fall harvest meal.

The fire crackled merrily as you stood together at the hearth, almost mockingly romantic as there you were trying to fight off awkwardness creeping into the room, but if you were being honest, you just were not sure what was next. Din wasn’t fairing much better. Finally, he took the tea towel still in your hand from doing the dishes and draped it on the rocker that sat by the hearth, then took your face in his hands. To say your heart felt like it was beating out of your chest, would be an understatement, that Grogu would not abide. You chuckled at that thought, but Din brought you back, taking your chin gently, you looked up into the black visor you had come to know so well, you weren’t distracted by the reflection of the firelight flickering on it.

“You find my eyes.”

“hmm?”

“Every time. Every single time. Close your eyes. Please.”

“Close my-”, you began, then stopped. You slowly shut them, and you waited. Din took a moment, looking at your face, your sweet face. He wanted to keep looking into your eyes, but he still had some things to think about, to work out in his mind, but he could not wait any longer. Your lips parted softly as you heard the telltale sound of Din unlocking the helmet and taking it off- you had heard it before sharing a meal so many times. He placed it on the rocker. The fire snapped and sputtered, his feet shifted and stepped closer, one gloveless hand rested warm on your cheek, the other snaked around your waist. You rested one hand on the arm holding your waist.

“I really, like, your costume, Mesh’la.”

You laughed, as you stepped into him.

“Thank you. You looked very impressive in your armor.”

“Thank you.”

“Din?” You asked in an undertone.

“Mhm,” Din hummed quietly, reveling in you saying his name.

Are you going to kiss me? Or not?” You whispered back.

You heard him huff a laugh.

“Yes, I am,” Din whispered, and he did. He came into your space, nudging your nose with his, his lips to yours gently, like he was testing the water. You leaned in, caught in his gravitational pull, opening your mouth slightly, bring both arms to wrap around Din’s neck, as he brought his other hand to your waist pulling you in with both strong arms. You sighed, and he smiled at the sound, it was both content and wanting. How he wanted to make you sigh more, he wanted so much more. But he still had things to figure out, he would think about them later. Your hands went into his hair, soft curls. It was Din’s turn to sigh, and like him, it was music to your ears. You carded your fingers through his hair, seeing what he wants. The kiss deepened, you brought your tongue to his lips, asking for entrance. Din startled but recovered with even more enthusiasm. After thoroughly tasting your mouth, his lips and tongue, slid down the column of your neck, you lifted you head to give full access, he reached the hollow of your neck and a guttural sound escaped him and went straight through you.

Soon, without a plan or untangling from one another, Din brought you down to his lap as he dropped into the worn overstuffed chair on the other side of the fire. You let out a small squeal of surprise, but you kept your head and did not open your eyes. He nuzzled into your neck, kissing, tasting. He pulled the neck of your costume down enough to test what a little nip on your collarbone might be like. You nosed at the shell of his ear, and kissed the lob, then down to the sensitive spot on the neck right under the ear. He hummed, then to your surprise he asked you to sing.

“What?”

“Would- would you sing one of your songs?” Din asked shyly.

You weren’t privy to what it was to be a Mandalorian, you did not know the stories, you didn’t know what it was to be protecting a small child gifted with powers from what was left of formerly galaxy-wide fascist government desperate to regain power, you didn’t know what it was to live in a galaxy that sounded like the “wild west” to you. What you did know, is he and his son deserve to have someone help soften the edges of their lives.

“Of course, Din. What would you like to hear?” You murmured, head on his shoulder.

“A new one… if you, if that’s okay?”

You smiled into the crook of his neck.

“Okay, hmm,” you thought for a moment.

Din sighed, he had listened to you sing around the house while doing chores, or while you worked on some project, to the kid, in the car, and he finally had the courage to ask you to sing to him. You lifted your head a little, eyes closed, and began to sing softly and slowly in his ear, finding your voice.

(Link to Our House)

I’ll light the fire

While you place the flowers in the vase

That you bought today

Staring at the fire

For hours and hours

While I listen to you

Play your love songs all night long

For me

Only for me

Come to me now

And rest you’re your head for just five minutes

Everything is done

Din watched you, half-convinced you were writing the song as you went, other than taking in your sweet voice singing these lyrics that were like secret wishes, reveling in the feel of your breath fanning over him, the only thought he could form of his own, ‘can this be us?’

He caressed your arm and shoulder. Peppering your neck with kisses...

Such a cozy room

The windows are illuminated

By the evening sunshine through them

Fiery gems for you

Only for you

Our house is a very, very, very fine house

With two cats in the yard

Life used to be so hard

Now everything is easy ‘cause of you

Din, he put his head on your shoulder, listening. His eyes closed, thinking ‘this is us.’

As he listened he traced lazy circles on your thigh.

La-la, la-la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la

La-la la-la-la-la-la

You sang the ‘la-las’ sweetly, but playfully, giving little kisses. When the chorus came Din quietly hummed and murmured it along with you, making your voice hitch for the tiniest of seconds.

Our house is a very, very, very fine house

With two cats in the yard

Life used to be so hard

Now everything is easy ‘cause of you

And I’ll light the fire

While you place the flowers in the vase

That you bought

Today

Part 7

If you are interested in Grogu’s PoV of this chapter, you can find it here

THANK YOU FOR READING!

Please consider commenting and reblogging. I love to hear from folx!

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