#now that i think about it she just sounds like a regular pharmacist

[uss-bigsurprise]

"...You'll need a prescription for that, sir."

Sanderstober day 27: Depict any classic Halloween monster in a conventionally mundane job that they would actually be very good at. — Inspired by AJ!

It's a witch as a pharmacist! Is she a little overqualified? Maybe. Does she somehow always immediately know which medications you can or cannot combine (and will she provide you with some helpful tips and tricks on how to battle a cold with just some herbs and boiling water)? Absolutely.

[ga-yuu]

~Kurama~Main Story Chapter 1~

I know there are not many who are a fan of Kurama, but I swear he’s an angel. Also WARNING!!! The whole route has sexual content, gore, violence, murder, torture, and also spooky horror scenes involving demons all the way through. Now that I’ve cleared everything, I don’t have to put warnings in every chapter.

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——-PART 1——-

(I’m going to collect the mystical powers that are required to cancel my pact with Tamamo….and I will definitely open my own pharmacy!)

While thinking about my ordinary lovely life, I looked straight with all the courage I could muster.

Yoshino: “Please take care of me, everyone!”

Shigehira:”......You’re already being noisy.”

Yoshino: “So-Sorry.”

Morinaga: “I think it’s nice to be cheerful, right?”

Yoritomo: “After nearly getting killed, I agree. So as a newcomer to the Shogunate, you will be standing at the frontlines of tomorrow’s war.”

Yoshino: “Eh?”

Yoritomo-sama grins and places a hand on my right shoulder.

As soon as I was about to reply to the words in a hurry, Tamamo placed his hand on my left shoulder.

Tamamo: “Don’t underestimate the power of the woman who is bound to me. I’m sure she can take at least the head of an enemy general.”

Morinaga: “Pharmacists are strong these days, aren’t they?”

Yoshino: “No...you’re exaggerating...”

Kagetoki: “If you don’t meet our expectations, you will be flogged, imprisoned and torture, understood?”

Yoshino: “DON’T YOU DARE!”

I panicked and shouted, but----

(Huh? Why are everyone’s shoulders are shaking slightly...)

Yoritomo; “Not a bad reaction.”

Kagetoki: “Yeah, passable.”

Tamamo: “Are those glasses for decoration? We got a perfect reaction, no matter how you look at it.”

Morinaga: “Yeah, she’s so cheerful, honest, and cute. I have no words to say.”

Shigehira: “.....Sorry about that.”🠀(daily victim of these teasing adults)

(What’s with this flow?)

Yoshino: “Did you all just team up just to tease me?”

Yoritomo: “What are you talking about? Well, it’s half of that is true.”

Tamamo: “We were having a bit of fun. Forgive me, Yoshino.”

Yoshino: “How can Tamamo, blend in so easily....?”

(I don’t understand, he’s a newcomer to the Shogunate like me!)

Morinaga: “Aside from Tamamo’s appearance, he doesn’t sound too much like a demon when he’s talking like this.”

Kagetoki: “I’m not sure what it means to be a ‘demon’,”

Shigehira: “If you ask like that, maybe Kurama would be an example of how demons usually act...”

(Oh yeah...)

-----FLASHBACK------

Kurama: “That’s not the point! You’re the one who’s been taking advantage of an ordinary person. Just look at her. As I expected, she’s just a boring little puss.”

------FLASHBACK END-----

A shiver runs down my spine as I remember those red eyes with their out-of-the-world glow.

Yoshino: “I felt like I was looked down upon.”

Tamamo: “Exactly, He’s the most selfish and unreasonable of all the demons. The most annoying part is, he always challenges me because I’m equal to him, in terms of power.”

------Part 2-----

Tamamo: “He’s the most selfish and unreasonable of all the demons. The most annoying part is, he always challenges me because I’m equal to him, in terms of power.”

Yoshino: “He’s that powerful....”

I shiver a little as I feel the night wind grow colder.

(I know the fight is still a long way off and there’s no point dwelling on it now.)

Shigehira: “Why don’t you just go into the palace and get some sleep? Seeing you wander around the palace with dark circles under your eyes is going to be a hassle.”

Yoshino: “Wander...?”

Kagetoki: “As expected of the man who goes to bed early and gets up early, has a different mindset.”

Morinaga: “Yes, they say that sleeping early makes children grow faster.”

Shigehira: “You both, stop making fun of me!”

Yoshino: “Hehe....you all seem to be friendly with each other.”

Yoritomo: “Friendly...well, what can I say...”

Tamamo: “I envy you.”

Shigehira: “Bullshit!” 

-----I’m going to live in the midst of all these personalities tomorrow.

(I don’t know what kind of day it will be.)

(If we’re going to live an unfamiliar life until we’ve achieved our goal, let’s make it a meaningful one.)

.....................................

A few days later-----

Tamamo: “Oh, where are you going, Yoshino?”

Yoshino: “Ah, Tamamo. Good morning.”

Early in the morning, I was walking down the corridor when I bumped into Tamamo.

Yoshino: “I’m thinking of going to the mountains outside of town to pick up some herbs.”

Tamamo: “Herbs? As long as we are under the protection of the Shogunate, I don’t think you need to work hard as pharmacist.”

(It’s true that there’s good food at every meal, the room is too comfortable, and it’s a heavenly life...but....)

Yoshino: “I’m uncomfortable living such a good life even though I haven’t done anything. I won’t use my fox powers until the battle, and I hope I can contribute as a pharmacist first.”

Tamamo: “I see. As the home of the samurai, a pharmacist would be of great value here. Perhaps it’s not such a bad idea to ingratiate yourself with them on a regular basis?”

Yoshino: “No, I didn’t mean to do it that way.”

It is true, however, I hoped it would help him to fit in with the Shogunate.

Tamamo: “But it’s not easy picking herbs, is it? Why don’t I come with you to the mountains?”

Yoshino: “Eh?”

I was delighted by the unexpected offer but...

(Yikes, no matter how you look at it, mountain trails don’t suit Tamamo.)

Yoshino: “Thank you, but I’ll be fine. I’d like to go into town this afternoon. If you don’t mind, will you join me?”

Tamamo: “That’s an excellent suggestion. You can leave the guidance to me.”

------Part 3------

Yoshino: “Thank you, but I’ll be fine. I’d like to go into town this afternoon. If you don’t mind, will you join me?”

Tamamo: “That’s an excellent suggestion. You can leave the guidance to me.”

.............

I parted ways with the happy Tamamo and made my way to the outskirts of town.

Yoshino: “Okay! I wonder if this is enough.”

After gathering the necessary herbs, I take my basket and start walking along the mountain path.

After a while----

(The surroundings are getting foggy...)

(I have to be careful.)

At the same point, the temperature drops, and goosebumps appear on my arms.

Yoshino: “This is the direction I came, right?”

(I don’t know what it was, I can’t be sure of it but I have a bad feeling about it.)

I can feel the hair on the nape of my neck stand.

At that time, sudden anxiety attacks me....

There was a faint sound of wet earth being trodden on.

(eh?)

(Who is there?)

When I looked back, there was no one.

(Maybe it’s just my imagination.)

While convincing myself, I started walking fast.

(I can’t see my feet.)

At that time---

*tap tap tap tap tap tap tap*

Yoshino: “.......!”

I was sure I could hear it and it made my whole body go all hairy.

As I quickened my pace, the sound of footsteps followed behind me.

Yoshino: “.....Who is there?”

Voice: “Hehehehe...”

The sound of laughter coming from behind the fog gives me a strange chill.

Voice: “Who is there? Who is there? Hehehe...”

A voice with the lisp of a young child and the lisp of a grown woman imitated my words.

(What the hell is that.....?)

Voice: “Is there someone? Someone? Hehehehe.....Hehehe....”

Yoshino:” Go away!”

I raise my voice and I feel my legs trembling.

Unable to resist, my feet tangled as I ran and I nearly plowed over the bumps in the ground, obscured by the fog.

Voice: “Go away.....go away.....go away.....? I’m going catch you....”

Yoshino: “Kyaaa!”

I threw the basket at the voice and stood back on my feet and started running.

(Why is this demon....following me?)

I struggled to escape the sound of footsteps and laughter chasing me from behind.

Finally, when I can’t hear the voice anymore, I started breathing normally.

(Looks like I ended up in the deepest part of the mountains.)

Yoshino: “...I hate this. Why did this have to happen to me?”

(What should I do now?)

Rubbing the tears from my eyes, I walked on fearfully not wanting to go back.

Then a faint sound of water can be heard through the mist.

Yoshino: “Is there a river nearby?”

As I stared, I could see a faint spring through the slow-moving mist.

As we walked cautiously, a strong wind blew just ahead of me and it quickly lifted the mist.

(......! Someone’s there.)

-------Part 4------

As we walked cautiously, a strong wind blew just ahead of us and quickly lifted the mist.

(......! Someone’s there.)

This time I approached, squealing with relief at the sight of a definite figure.

Yoshino: “Excuse me! Um....”

------The first thing I saw was a jet-black spread of wings.

Droplets of morning light glisten from their glossy wet feathers.

(No way....)

The eyes of this person whose feet are immersed in the shallows and whose well-built body is generously exposed----

Those unforgettable glowing red eyes.

Kurama: “................”

Yoshino: “Karasu Tengu.....Kurama.”

It’s out of this world beautiful and for a moment my thoughts stopped.

Kurama: “----What an ‘unpleasant surprise.”

(Ah......)

His voice rang with contempt and my breath caught in my throat at the intimidation.

Kurama: “Who gave you the permission to be in my sight?”

(-----I have to run!)

I decided so and started running with my back towards him.

(I’m still wondering about the demon from earlier but there’s no time to get lost in other things!)

Kurama: “Stop right there!”

Yoshino: “Kyaa!”

An invisible blade gouges out the soil underfoot.

(It’s a wind blade!)

With a careless wave of his hand, Kurama let fear take over my movements.

The black feathers just flutter and splash once.

Kurama: “I said it was an unpleasant sight, but I didn’t give you the permission to run away. The only thing you are allowed to do is to answer my questions sincerely, without trembling like a fool.”

(I....must calm down, I have the power of the nine tail fox. But....)

I squeezed my fingertips which were hard as stone.

(I’m scared.)

(My legs are shaking even though I’ve been threatened only once.)

Kurama came out of the water quickly.

I tugged my sleeve in fear while thinking about how to get away from him.

Kurama: “Now.”

Every step he takes brings a cold sweat behind my neck.

My instincts told me that I was in the presence of a superhuman being.

Yoshino: “Ah!”

Kurama: “Little puss, why have you come to this mountain?”

He pulls me close and our breaths touch as he looks at me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Nothing.(+4/+4)

2. I don’t know.(+4/+4)

3. Please let go.(+4/+4)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoshino: “For nothing....”

I shook my head, which had gone completely blank.

Kurama: “Only a lowly animal will move without a purpose.”

Yoshino: “Argh, I just came to pick some herbs, okay! What are you doing here?”

Kurama: “Don’t you see? I was having a bath.”

Yoshino: ‘Bath?......In the enemy’s territory?”

Kurama: “No matter where I am, I do what I want and whenever I want.”

------Part 5------

Kurama: “No matter where I am, I do what I want and whenever I want.”

(Eeehhhh)

Yoshino: “But you didn’t come here just for a dip....right?”

I asked him fearfully.

Kurama: “Of course, I’m here to see Tamamo.”

Yoshino: “Tamamo...”

Kurama: “I thought I would see how the nine-tail-fox was faring in the Shogunate. Since he’s spending so much time in vain, I might as well give him a light fight. But before I went to see him, I saw this nice spring and stopped by.”

(Going into enemy territory doesn’t seem to be something that makes Kurama nervous at all.)

(I wonder if demons have different senses from humans?)

Kurama scratched his wet hair annoyingly.

Despite this situation, my eyes are drawn to the picture-like gesture.

(What are you thinking? I want to know even if he’s an enemy.)

Yoshino: “Um....were you the one making those strange footsteps and voices? Did you do that to lure me here?”

Kurama: “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

When Kurama was about to continue his words....

Yoshino: “.....! Wait.”

(That sound.)

*Tap*

The familiar sloppy sound of footsteps makes my shoulders quiver

*tap tap tap tap tap*

Kurama: “..................”

(At a time like this......)

Voice: “Found you!....Hehehehe, found you found you!”

Yoshino: “No.....way.....”

The hem of a red kimono and the feet of a pair of sandals loomed mysteriously out from under the mist.

The next moment....

(What the hell!?)

A plume of black smoke came from somewhere, tinting the mist.....

Demon: “Found you! Found you! Found you! Found you! “

Yoshino: “Kyaaa.....”

I can’t breathe properly because of the fear that crawls up from under my feet.

The outline of the huge demon distorted and stretched its arms wide towards us.

(No more.)

Kurama: “Don’t you dare interrupt me!.”

As I opened my eyes in despair, I heard a voice above me, which was the most sullen voice I’ve ever heard.

Demon: “Gyaaaaa!”

Yoshino: “Nghh.....”

The invisible wind blades sliced the limbs of the demon brutally.

The demon collapsed struggled violently on the ground in a black mass.

Kurama: “Crushed like a bug.”

(Why.)

I looked back, ducking my eyes against the strong wind blowing. Kurama pulls a fan from his waist and gives it a big flash.

Kurama: “I won’t allow a fly like you to interrupt me, so be  ready for what’s coming to you.”

Chapter 2

[imaginewarehouse]

Tate Staskiewicz x Reader || Oneshot

Plot: 

Inspired by ‘Something That We’re Not’ by Demi Lovato. Basically, you and Tate hooked up one night… for the second time… and you’re content with that just being a wrap (That’s that! That was good, that’s enough- why push it?). You aren’t a relationship person, you don’t like the commitment. But… Tate has other plans.

Warnings: Hmmm, I don’t think so. Commitment issues?

🔆  🔆  🔆

“Hey, Y/N?”

“Hm?” I look up from my - fucking bottom, - locker and to the table Sarah and Justine are at eating their lunch. Sarah, the talker, is staring at her phone; A deep frown plastered to her lips that causes my eyebrows to knit together in confusion. Justine notices, too, and leans over to see what’s on the phone- and when she does see, her brows promptly shoot up. Oh, boy. That’s not good to see. What’s happened? “Yeah?”

“Did you and Tate really hit it off the other night??”

… w h y? My heart just about stops beating in fear. Why. Why mention Tate. Any mention of a one night stand in that tone is not going to be good. I get up from the floor and rush into the empty seat beside Sarah, looing expectantly for her to explain but she just looks right back. Looking for an answer to her question. “Uhh? Yeah, I guess?? We had a good time. Why! ?” Oh good god, tell me the whole store doesn’t know. What is it?? A video, pictures, a running gag!? Good god, I thought we were beyond slut shaming but I guess not-

Sarah’s face scrunches up in confusion. “Are you dating then, now??”

Now that really causes my heart to feel like it’s skipped a beat. Or two. “What!? No! Why would you say that? It was just sex- Oh.” I look sheepishly to Justine, waiting for the high five or the ‘Heyo!’ that’s classic from her at the word ‘sex’… but receive nothing but an awkward look- her gaze turning to the wall as she takes a nervous sip of her coffee instead of talking. Realisation that this is really not good dawns on me. Jesus christ- Justine skipping the chance to talk sex? Its like a sign of the apocalypse. What’s next? The river Nile turning to blood? “Show me the phone, please.”

Sarah glances at Justine, before letting out a sigh and revealing the screen of her iPhone to me. It’s Tate’s Instagram profile- and it says, ‘In a Relationship’, at the top. I look up, deeply confused to Sarah and Justine.

“It didn’t say that before Saturday night.” Justine explains. The night Tate and I were at the bar and hooked up. “Trust me, I keep a close eye on those kinda status’.” She grins, proudly, before sobering again and adding lowly, “And Tate is pretty anal about how his social media looks, so… “She shrugs, meaningfully. So, he knows that that incriminating, incorrect phrase is printed there in his bio. 

Sarah vocalises my assessment. “We can’t see him putting that kind of thing down willy nilly… Also, it says that on all his other profiles, too. Snap Chat, Twitter, even Facebook.”

“Yeah, and I mean,” Justine’s cute little nose scrunches up and her eyebrows knit together as she looks at Sarah who mouths ‘I know, right?’, back.  “Who even uses Facebook anymore?? Ugh.”  

I’m running through the night in my head, wondering if there was any point that I might have hinted to the pharmacist that I was looking for anything more then casual sex, at all. And I find nothing! I did not treat him any differently to how I would usually treat a person in his position- and that treatment has been carefully strung together and thought out so confusions like this do not occur. And it has nothing to do with us working together, I know that much seeing as Isaac understood just fine!

… well actually, honestly, mayyyybe I shouldn’t have slept with him at all this weekend… seeing as this was not our first time… that might have given him the wrong idea...

But god fucking damn it, Tate’s handsomeness obscured my rational and interesting conversation distracted me. I’m a fucking idiot!

I am not a relationship kinda person! I can’t be in a relationship with, fuck I don’t know… Channing Tatum- much less Tate the Pharmacist! Commitment is not for me; No, no, no-no, no. Fuck, fuck, fuck… I have to talk to Tate.

“I should go talk to him,” I say, excusing myself from the table with a polite smile but freaking out inside as I get out of the chair, kneel down and lock my locker back up, then rush out of the room leaving the girls behind in my dust. As I’m passing Grocery, I’m stopped by Cheyanne and Marcus who have their phones out, and show me a picture of me on Tate’s Twitter w i t h  a  h e a r t emoji and the tag #bae. My eyes bulge nearly out of my head as I look in horror at it over Cheyanne’s shoulder. 

“You know, now that I’m seeing it- you two are a cute couple.” Marcus’ words cause a tsunami in my brain- all the little Inside Out-type emotions are drowning and struggling- and Fear is screaming.

“Yeah you do, but- I didn’t think you ‘did’ commitment, Y/N?” Cheyanne adds, sceptical.

“Uh, I do- “Damn. I slam my mouth shut again. I can’t talk to her about this before I talk to Tate. So instead, I just toothlessly smile, and shrug at the two- For lack of any appropriate words. “Anyway! I gotta go- see y’all later!”

And then I’m off again.

~

I find Tate exactly where, and in what position, I thought he would be; Sitting behind the lonely pharmacy desk with his feet up on the register bench and his nose buried in his phone rather then working. I approach with caution, but confidence also, and knock on the desk surface by his feet to get his attention- and watch his eyes light up when he sees me.

Oh dear god.

“Hey, love bug.” - Oh god, oh god! - “Nice of you to visit me at work!”

Oh… is it? Is it really? Nerves swallow me whole and I nearly shrink back down because to just go with this relationship for the rest of our lives until we get married and have 4 children together and raise them and send them all off to community college instead of having an awkward conversation, sounds really good. How dare he look so soft- this T a t e. Tate is narcissist and an asshole. This isn’t how the world is supposed to work-

“Hey… “My voice cracks like pubescent teenage boy, and I avoid eye contact like a criminal. “Tate, um- So! I think that… maybe, possibly… we might have gotten our signals crossed the other night?”

Tate tilts his head to the side and sets his phone down- all attention on me. “How so?”

“Well,” Why is my voice so high??? I cough into my fist, trying to clear it and return it to its regular register, but fail. The show must go on, though. “Um, I-I was under the impression, that… what we were doing, was, uh… a one-time thing? I guess?” Tate’s eyebrows begin to knit together. “A-and, I think you might have interpreted it a different way?”

“So… you’re saying, that you were just using me, for sex. And somehow that’s my fault?”

My eyes blow wide open and I rush to amend his reiteration as he gets up from his chair and stands, looking down on me now. And… I… oop. That’s just great “No no! Not your fault, at all Tate!! I was just at that bar looking for… err, well, sex! And I thought you were too, but apparently not, and… do you understand?”

“I understand.” For a millisecond, I begin to relax- before Tate’s eyes narrow so much so that they’re nothing but sparkly, black-lashed slits of death. I wish I was at that bar now- I would order a Long Island Iced Tea and black out. “You’re screwing me.”

“What- No!”

“Yes! You want the rig, but not the rest of the machine.” Does he know what a rig is?- Either way, I solemnly, apologetically, shake my head. Well, yes, he’s correct, but I also don’t want to lose the, uh, machine! I really like talking to him when I’m stuck stocking shelves in the pharmacy! I don’t want to lose that? Then, suddenly like the changing wind, Tate’s eyes widen and a ghost of a smirk flickers across his face. “Oh, or- its more than that.” Hold on what. “Cuz Y/N, this isn’t the first time this has happened, you know? The first time, fine. I get it, you need a release. We all do- especially working a lowly job like you do, unlike mine. Heh. But you came back. To me. You could’ve approached anyone else at that bar and gotten the same results… but you came back to this one.”  

Now I narrow my eyes and furrow my brows, leaning back from the self-absorbed chemist. “… what are suggesting, Tate?”

He lets the smirk come out, now, and the only comprehensive thought that passes through my brain is: ‘shittttt’. 

“You just can’t get enough of me.”

“What!?” I gape, jaw dropped. Ridiculous!-

“I’m Y/N-Nip.” Oh sweet jesus. The thought genuinely seems to please him. Of course, it does. Ugh… No way. This cannot be right. I do not want a relationship! No way no how! “So it doesn't really matter if you don’t want me right now- because you will. We both know you will.” 

“I- Tate! You’re cracked!” 

He chuckles, dipping hands into the pockets of his lab coat and shaking his head slowly. “Love you too, babe.” 

“TATE!” 

“Yeah... you keep screaming my name like that. Good practise.” 

“Oh my god!” I exclaim, covering the bottom of my face and closing my eyes, a grin hidden behind my hands at how ridiculous this is. He’s too cute, oh my god! “How have you twisted this, you insane person. I do not have feelings for you!- Well, romantic feelings.” I cross my arms across my chest. “I do not have the romantic feelings, for you. All the feelings that I have for you can be simply summed up by whatever insane, terrible illness that kept putting Lorelai and Christopher together.” 

“Gilmore girls?” He grimaces. 

“Yes.” 

His eyebrows shoot up his forehead and his eyes light up even more, despite his apparent aversion towards my chosen American favourite, and I immediately regret my analogy. “So, you admit there are feelings there?” 

“Yeah- raw, animal sex-drive! That’s it!” I try to explain, looking away to avoid his eyes and feeling my cheeks warm up. 

“But you like talking to me, too, don’t you.” Its not a question, its a statement. He knows! And... it is not totally wrong. I do like to talk to him. He’s a narcissist and he’s smug but I happen to find that funny on all but bad days, and he keeps up with my antics like no one else. But so does Sarah. So does Jonah. So do Mateo and the guy on Echat so charmingly called ‘B1gHairyDucksRunTheW8rld’- long story short; I’m darling and lots of people like to talk to me! 

“Oh, Tate. Since when has an amusement by intelligent conversation been considered a for sure indication of desire for a romantic relationship?” 

“Oh, its not. But combined with the ‘raw, animal sex-drive’ that you so aptly named, it kinda does.” He leans closer a little bit over the desk towards me. “Also, you’ve said my name no less then six times while you’ve been here.” 

I laugh out loud- a definite sense of nervousness laced through the sound. “That means nothing!” 

“No, no-no. It means... “ He raises his eyebrows again at me and sets me with a wise look, like somehow he knows the deep secrets that hide out in the recesses of my mind. “Something.” 

Maybe he’s right.

“No!” 

“Oh, believe what you want, love bug.” 

“This is crazy, Tate. We are not in any kind of relationship and I do not have feelings for you!” 

“So I’ll see you tonight?” 

“No?” 

“My place? 7?” 

“You will not see me tonight!” 

“Do you think you’ll end up staying over? Just because, man of riches and luxury that I am, I need to change the sheets if you are to set the right mood.” 

My jaw drops. He’s lost his mind... and maybe I am too a little bit, because for some reason I’m leaning towards agreeing and going to his place tonight. Is there anything that I can say to him to dissuade him from these delusions of me being in love with him? Because I don’t! 

But... I wont lie. This is the most stimulating conversation I’ve had in forever, it feels good. It always does, with Tate. But again still, I am not commitment girl. He is commitment guy. He may not seem like it, in fact he has the complete guide and tool set to be a grade-A douchebag, but he isn’t and he apparently somehow likes me which is not a horrible feeling and I do not want to let him down. I... really don’t. 

Sighing, I collapse against the register and roll my eyes back. “Tate... I might like you. A lot.” 

“Oh. Shocker.” He rolls his own eyes, pressing some buttons on the register. Oh, he thinks that he’s funny. Hm. 

“... but I want you to hear me now. Okay? Listen.” Thankfully he looks up and focuses on me, blue eyes meeting mine. “I am not relationship compatible. I cant do it. I’ve tried it before and I couldn't hack it. Its not in my genetic make-up!- please don’t push this and make me ruin what we have.” 

He takes a deep breath, and sighs it out... before reaching over and holding my hand on top of the desk. He sets me with a reassuring look. “... I’m a Pharmacist. We don’t ruin things.” 

BONUS: 

“... Jesus Christ you’re self absorbed.” 

“Maybe you can work on that with me at my place at 7. Now I have to get back to work, pharmaceutical business waits for no man.”

“Oh boy.” I’m dating this guy... 

[oldguardhc]

Old Guard hc #56

Prompt number: 17 - “Give me a minute or an hour”

Fandom: The Old Guard

Rating: PG-13

Warnings/Tags: joe x nicky, fluff

AN: @flamingbluepanda encouraged me to write a Psych AU for this prompt

Joe cranes his neck to get a better look at the body. The puncture wounds are interesting, each one spaced at least four inches apart, all at differing angles, both in entrance and position meaning whatever killed this man wasn’t just a random attack. If they were closer, Joe would have thought they were bite marks and maybe they are, but the last time he checked, there were no animals in the ocean or on land with a bite-radius that large and teeth spaced that far apart. At least, there’s nothing alive today that has a 34-inch bite-radius.

“You getting something, Mr. Kaysani?” Chief Freeman asks.

Can it be? The bite marks are looking to be more of a match the longer he stares at them. “I’m…getting something,” Joe says, snatching the yellow pad and a pen from Andy and ignoring the small huff of irritation she lets out.

He starts with a brief outline, it’s been a while since he’s drawn one of these and he has to use small strokes to get the head right.

“Wait, I think this is a boating accident,” Andy says, and Joe briefly looks up to see her point at the body. “Head trauma from…from falling off the boat. Hit a motor maybe?”

The eyes are tricky. Should they be looking straight or at the viewer? Joe decides the viewer for a more startling effect.

“The wounds on his back, they were caused by a…by an industrial crab trap. Yes, a crab trap. Or a whale. A lonely whale that got lost from its pod and traveled East, West. Saw our floating guy from below, thought it was a seal and…you know, had a little chomp.”

The teeth are definitely not his best work. The teeth to mouth ratio are way off and they’re definitely not as uniform in real life like he drew them. It’ll have to do for now. He adds a little shading to the drawing, giving it a more realistic appearance.  

“A whale?” Booker slowly asks, when it seems like Andy is finally done with her explanation.

“What’s your guy got?” Nicky immediately shoots back, coming to his partner’s defense.

Joe can practically hear Booker’s smug look, “Watch and learn, Genova. Watch and learn.”

“Alright Kaysani, show me what you got,” Chief Freeman says.

Joe blows on paper and holds the pad to his chest, hiding his drawing from a peaking Andy. “First of all, I would like to say that this is not my best work. It’s a very rough sketch, the shading isn’t finished, the torso is a little plump and the teeth are…they’re not completely accurate. If I had more time, I would’ve definitely given them more shape, more individual characteristics. If I had my druthers, I'd have done this in charcoal.” Booker gives him an understanding nod and Joe would high-five him if he was standing right next to him, “You know what I’m talking about! Almost nothing beats a good charcoal drawing-“

“Mr. Kaysani!” Chief Freeman interrupts, crossing her arms and tapping her feet. “The verdict?”

Joe dips his head in apology, “Yes! Look, the key was in the puncture wounds,” Joe says, using his pen to point at said wounds. “They’re very unique puncture wounds. So unique in fact, that I was able to draw a semi-accurate profile of our attacker.” Chief Freeman gives him the look that says ‘Well? Get on with it’ and Joe turns the pad around and smirks at Andy.

Both Andy and Chief Freeman do a double-take and lean forward to get a better look. He resists the urge to flinch. It’s really not his best work and it shows. After a second of intense scrutiny, Chief Freeman shakes her head with a slight scoff and stalks off.

“Chief? Where are you going?” Joe calls out, still holding his drawing up. The culprit is right here! Well, not here here but here on paper. She’s halfway up the beach already and doesn’t even turn around to acknowledge he spoke. Great.

“Nice work, Kaysani,” Andy says, snatching her pen and pad back, a pleased look on her face, and runs to catch up to the Chief.

“A dinosaur?” Booker asks, mouth downturned, fingers working the buttons in his sleeves to roll them back down to a more professional length. No, we were supposed to get fish tacos after this. “Jesus, Joe. You couldn’t have shot for something in the last million years?”

Joe places his hands on his friend’s chest and steps in his way, “Give me a minute, or an hour to prove it was a Tyrannosaurus rex.” Booker shakes his head, the disappointed look doing funny things to Joe’s stomach, pats Joe on the shoulder, and steps around him to leave.

Great, just great. Even his best friend didn’t believe him. Joe rubs his temples, he can feel a faint throb and he hopes that it’s just a regular throb and not a foreshadow for a migraine.  

“I thought the drawing was pretty good.”

Joe drops his hand and turns around. Nicky has that faint smile on his lips that Joe’s still trying to figure out if it means he likes Joe or likes likes Joe. He’s already made it obvious on multiple occasions how he feels about Nicky.

With Nicky’s looking at him like that, it’s so easy to smile. “Thanks!” And because no one else is here to witness his humiliation, he makes his smile a little more flirty. “You know, I can always use a live model.”

Nicky cocks an eyebrow at him, the faint smile still there, maybe even a little wider if Joe’s not delusional. “I’m going to go calm Andy.”

“Don’t die, I’d hate to miss your pretty face.” A light blush creeps up Nicky’s neck as he nods and jogs back up the beach.

Joe doesn’t stare at Nicky’s ass. He doesn’t, because that would be rude and Nicky is more than a beautiful body.

It’s a good thing the only witness is a dead body.

Joe turns back to the dead body. “Definitely not a boating accident.”

—

Joe slumps against the growing mound of dirt. He’s exhausted. He feels like he completed an Iron Man and climbed Mount Everest twenty times. Who knew being shot at could be so draining? To make matters worse, the throb from this morning was a foreshadow. His eyeballs are going to explode any second now with how strong his head is pounding. He digs his knuckle into the valley between his eyes until it hurts, it’s a different hurt than the one going on behind his eyes though, that it feels strangely good.

Joe sighs, at least one good thing happened today; he was right about the body. It’s a real shame he doesn’t have ‘Use a 20-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex model built by a 9-year-old Booker to solve a murder case’ on his bingo card. He would’ve been the only one to mark it down.

A bottle of water is placed on his lap and Joe opens his eyes, a ‘thanks, Booker’ on his tongue. Except, it’s not Booker standing above him, it’s Nicky.

Joe musters up the best smile he can despite feeling like death has crawled its way inside him through his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“Your head’s been hurting all day,” Nicky says, crouching down, a small frown on his face. He pulls two packets out of his pocket and holds them out to Joe. One’s red and the other’s green. “I didn’t know if it was a regular headache or a migraine, so, I got both.”

Joe stares at the two packets. Nicky bought him medicine. Nicky saw that he was hurting and brought him something to feel better. Joe swallows the lump in his throat, reaches out for the red packet. “Thank you,” Joe says, brushing his fingers with Nicky’s.

The corners of Nicky’s lips tick upwards, “No problem.”

Joe tears the packet open and dumps both pills in his hands before tossing them into his mouth. Nicky has the bottle of water open and held out for him and Joe takes it with a grateful nod. Even though he swallows the pills on the first gulp, he finishes the whole bottle. Only when he’s done, does he remember that Booker might want some too.

“I gave him a bottle too,” Nicky says and that’s a sign, right? That has to be a sign of how amazing they would be together. “The pharmacist said those pills should work in 15 minutes.” Joe nods, he’s intimately familiar with the wonders of Excedrin. He would’ve taken one around lunch if they hadn’t been following another lead at the time.

“Thank you,” Joe repeats, closing his eyes again even though he wants nothing more than to stare into Nicky’s gorgeous blue eyes. He hears and then feels Nicky settle beside him, no doubt getting his suit all dirty, and he’s doing that for Joe.

“Is there anything else I can do?”

Joe shakes his head, “You’ve helped a lot already. We just have to wait now.” Joe resumes his earlier ministrations, digging into that spot that hurt but was a better hurt than the one inside.

Cold fingers slide over his own, “Don’t press too hard, you’ll hurt yourself,” Nicky chides.  

Joe grabs Nicky’s wrist and guides those cold fingers until they’re covering his eyes. Relief instantly hits and Joe presses those cold fingers harder against his eyes.

“Should’ve gotten an ice pack,” Nicky mutters to himself.

“S’fine, your hands are working.”

They sit in silence as they wait for the pills to kick in. Every few minutes, Nicky switches hands and Joe doesn’t even have to hold his wrist anymore. He knows how hard to press and it’s nice. It’s really nice. He can almost ignore Booker digging in the background and the occasional splash of dirt that rains down on both of them.

“Never thought my poor circulation would come in handy,” Nicky jokes when the migraine finally subsides.

Joe grins and reaches out to press a kiss to both palms. “They were lovely.”

“Please tell me I’m not going to have to listen to you two flirt the entire night,” Booker calls out from the hole. “I don’t want you two ruining my discovery.”

Excuse me?  

“Your discovery?” Joe asks, crawling over the mound to look down at Booker. He’s made an impressive amount of progress. Probably only six more feet before they hit the skull.

Booker stabs the shovel into the dirt, both of his hands coming up to rest on his waist. “I’m digging, so yes, my discovery.”

Joe makes an outraged sound, “I found the right hole!”

“It wasn’t a hole! I’m making it a hole!” To prove his point, Booker picks up the shovel and tosses the next scoop at Joe.

Joe should’ve seen that one coming.

“Alright, I’m going to go home. Have fun digging, boys,” Nicky says and when Joe turns around, he’s brushing dirt off himself. “I’ll see you later?”

Joe nods his head probably a little too enthusiastically, “Definitely. Thank you again for the pills. I’d still be dying if you hadn’t have come back.”

Nicky smiles, the small one, and one day Joe’s going to see if he can get him to grin ear-to-ear, lips stretched so wide his cheeks will hurt. But not today. Today, he’s going to make history by being the first Psychic Paleontologist.

Nicky dips his head again and yeah, Joe hates to see him go but he sure as hell loves to watch him leave.

That ass is definitely better than a charcoal drawing.

A new spray of dirt rains down on him and that’s it.

It’s a shame no one is there to hear Booker’s loud yelp as Joe tackles him to the floor. Oh well, it’ll live rent-free in Joe’s mind forever.

[authenticcadence18]

ok so. I’m gonna talk about a certain non-canon PnF ship I dislike for a bit.

(and by a bit. I mean for far longer than I intended.) 

And. Ok. I’m just gonna preface this by saying:  I am not seeking to tear down the ship in question. If you ship it, if it makes you happy, I am not trying to step on your toes and make you feel bad at all!!! I’m sure there are plenty of great reasons to ship these two characters, I just don’t agree. And that’s fine! 

I simply want to talk through a certain scene in Phineas and Ferb that fans of this ship usually point to as a pivotal moment between the two, point out another scene between a DIFFERENT ship that is often overlooked, and compare the two. 

analysis/rant will be below the cut

(this post is about Ferb*lla, btw. in case you hadn’t guessed.)

Ok so. Recently I watched a video where someone talked about shipping Ferb and Isabella and why they did so. (I’ll also say I did NOT seek out a video about this specific ship, it just happened to be a brief topic of discussion in it. And I stopped watching the video after this.). I don’t want to say which video it was because I’m not trying to attack any given person here! But I wanted to give y’all context for why I’m writing this. 

Anyway. The infamous “hand-holding” scene from “When Worlds Collide” was used as the main evidence for this ship. The person in the video claimed that “Isabella instinctively grabbed Ferb’s hand” and that they looked at each other and “had a moment” and went on about how they shipped Ferb and Isabella because Phineas was just “so oblivious.” 

Now. I understand being frustrated with Phineas’s obliviousness. Been there, done that. And I understand how some would want Isabella to be paired romantically with someone who registers and reciprocates her feelings.

But this take on that scene is just, well, not right. (I suspect the maker of this video had not viewed said scene in quite some time and it was just a vague memory.) In this post, I’m going to go over what actually happens in that scene, compare it to a Phinabella scene with a similar vibe, and then just talk about Phineas’s treatment of Isabella in general and how their dynamic is so much more than “pining girl/oblivious to a fault boy.”

PART 1: “When Worlds Collide” 

(you can run! wait...wrong show) 

Ok so. In this episode, there is a scene towards the end where Isabella reaches out for Phineas’s hand but ends up grabbing Ferb’s instead. Ferb pats her hand and assures her that everything will be alright, and Isabella immediately pulls her hand back and curiously glances over at an aloof Phineas. 

In the video in question, the speaker claimed that Isabella “instinctively” reached out for Ferb. 

But that’s not what happened. 

Isabella deliberately reached out for Phineas’s hand. You can tell by the way the shot prior to the handholding bit is staged. 

Phineas is clearly on Isabella’s left while Ferb is on her right. (From our perspective as audience members.)

In the very next shot, Isabella smiles and reaches out to the left, where Phineas should be

In any world other than that of a cartoon, she’d have grabbed Phineas’s hand. But because of cartoon shenanigans, Ferb is inexplicably standing directly to her left in the next shot, so she grabs his hand instead.

As SOON as Isabella realizes she’s holding Ferb’s hand and not Phineas’s, her smile disappears and she pulls her hand away before glancing over at Phineas, confused.

CLEARLY this scene is just a gag. Isabella wants to hold Phineas’s hand, but whoops! she holds Ferb’s instead. Phineas being oblivious isn’t even a part of the joke, it’s just 100% the universe being against Isabella 🙃. And Isabella shows no romantic affection towards Ferb whatsoever in this scene.

Now, one could say Ferb’s reaction to Isabella holding his hand indicates at least a one-sided crush on his part. But I disagree. From Ferb’s perspective, Isabella grabbed his hand because she was worried, and he reassured her like any good friend would do before returning to his former position once Isabella pulled her hand away. He wasn’t offended by her pulling her hand away, and he didn’t make a lovestruck/disappointed face when she pulled away.

And Ferb also misread her gesture. Because Isabella wasn’t worried. She was awestruck, amazed, and wanted to share the moment with the boy she has feelings for. I suspect if she’d grabbed Phineas’s hand, he wouldn’t have misread her gesture.

(Well. Ok. He WOULD have misread it but in a different way. Isabella and Phineas hold hands a lot in the show, so it wouldn’t have been unusual to him. In his mind, Isabella’s his best friend and sometimes they hold hands! I suspect he might have glanced at her for a moment before returning his gaze to the sky, smile never faltering, because who better to share such a special moment with than his best friend?)

I also personally like to think of Ferb and Isabella as having a sibling-like relationship. Ferb teases her about her crush on Phineas AND acts as her wingman on multiple occasions, which are 100% things a sibling would do. And they genuinely are friends! I love their friendship. And so that’s how I characterize this scene, as Isabella being confused and Ferb just trying to be a good friend. It’s not romantic: it’s first and foremost a joke. And on a deeper level, it’s a moment of Ferb expressing platonic affection towards a close friend.

Part 2: “The Klimpaloon Ultimatum”

This episode came out a little less than two years after “When Worlds Collide,” when Phineas and Ferb was a bit on the decline in terms of popularity. Neither episode is a mainstream one, but this one is definitely the less well-known of the two. 

This is a shame. Because it’s a fantastic episode. AND because it contains one of my favorite Phinabella moments. 

Just to set up the scene: the kiddos have been captured and learn of Mittington Random’s nefarious deeds. He’s been conducting inhumane experiments and trying to create “living” swimwear with no success and plans to take Klimpaloon--the magical old timey bathing suit that lives in the Himalayas himself--apart to do so. Isabella expresses distress at his evildoings before they even come across Klimpaloon, and when they DO come across Klimpaloon and learn the extent of Random’s plan, Phineas is right there....

and they REACH OUT FOR EACH OTHER. INSTINCTIVELY. LOOK AT THIS.

They don’t even have to LOOK at one another. Phineas can just SENSE Isabella’s distress, and Isabella reaches out for him to comfort her without even thinking about it and he DOES.

I mean!! LOOK AT THEM. This is Isabella realizing what’s happened! She didn’t reach out for Phineas intentionally, it just happened!! They were totally in sync!

and LOOK HOW CONTENT SHE IS NOW. even amidst the horror of the villain’s plan, just being close to Phineas comforts her. Or at least momentarily cheers her up. (And ok I know this moment is also primarily a gag but IT’S IN ISABELLA’S FAVOR THIS TIME. Instead of leaving her confused and without Phineas, it leaves her with a dreamy grin on her face and in his arms. Bless Season 4.)

And AND. The next shot is of Random speaking for a few seconds, and then we get a shot of all the characters...

AND ISABELLA AND PHINEAS ARE STILL HOLDING ONE ANOTHER. Although it looks like they’ve gone from hugging  to just holding hands, which means even if they didn’t want to keep hugging they DID WANT TO KEEP HOLDING ONE ANOTHER I JUST AHHHH. 

So. Let’s review. 

In the first scene, Isabella accidentally holds Ferb’s hand. She doesn’t need to be comforted, she just wants to share a moment with Phineas and is confused when she realizes she isn’t holding his hand. Ferb comforts her because he’s being a good friend and thinks she is concerned. He misreads her needs. So like, he means well, he’s her friend! But it’s not romantic. And they hardly hold hands at all. (And, come on, this scene is mostly meant to be a gag.) 

In the second scene, Isabella is definitely distressed, and without a word (or even having to make eye contact), she and Phineas reach out to hold one another without thinking about it. Somehow, Phineas knows Isabella needs to be comforted and Isabella knows Phineas will be there for her. And they STAY HOLDING HANDS into the next shot. 

Isabella does not instinctively reach out for Ferb’s hand in the first clip. 

Isabella and Phineas instinctively reach out for one another in the second.

Need I say more? 

Part 3: In Defense of Phineas and the Phinabella Dynamic

So. Yes. Phineas is oblivious to Isabella’s romantic feelings for him. Painfully, painfully oblivious to them. (And he’s painfully oblivious to his own feelings for her because COME ON. “Night of the Living Pharmacists” alone proves he almost certainly had feelings for her when they were kids, he just had no idea.)

But. He can’t be blamed for this. He is a CHILD, for goodness sake. When I was younger his obliviousness definitely got on my nerves, but like....he IS just a kid. He was never obligated to return Isabella’s feelings (...that should sound familiar to some of y’all). Phineas just wasn’t thinking about romance relating to himself when he was younger. He was oblivious to it, and that’s okay.

And you know what he’s not oblivious to in the show proper? How much he cares for Isabella as his friend. 

Phineas LOVES being Isabella’s friend. Like. She’s his best friend. (Vincent Martella himself said so!!) 

He goes out of his way to help her earn patches and overcome other problems (like an incurable case of the hiccups!). 

He consistently compliments her athleticism and skills and cuteness (in his own unique way, of course😂). 

Although he expresses distress when Baljeet expects him to go a day without inventing in “Bully Bromance Breakup,” he is more than happy to spend the day alone with Isabella and suggests having a regular ol’ picnic when she mentions being hungry in “It’s No Picnic.” AND he is excited to take that picnic and make it even better for Isabella once Ferb returns (because Phineas probably thinks Isabella would rather have a big picnic as opposed to a small one! He’s doing that for himself but also for her!).

He partners up with her for inventions over Ferb sometimes and is willing to put big ideas for the day on hold if she can’t participate. 

He planned surprise after surprise for her birthday (and presumably for her birthdays before that!) and felt the need to “make it up to her” when the final surprise didn’t go as planned.  

He was DEVASTATED when separated from her in “Night of the Living Pharmacists” and claimed he’d “never forgive himself” if she was infected, and once being reunited with her, he didn’t leave her side and held her hand and made sure she was alright. And he SACRIFICED HIMSELF FOR HER IN THE END. Like. At that point Phineas could’ve let Isabella get infected and stopped the invasion himself. BUT HE DIDN’T. HE SACRIFICED HIMSELF FOR HER. He both cared enough to give himself up and TRUSTED her to save him. LIKE. LIKE. 

Come on. Maybe Phineas doesn’t know Isabella has a crush on him in the show proper. But GOSH. He cares so, so, SO much about her. 

To claim Ferb is a better match for Isabella simply because he’s more aware of romance in general is just a disservice to the close friendship she and Phineas share. 

Did Isabella deserve better during the show? I mean. Yeah. (I wrote a whole fic because of that, lol.) But it isn’t really Phineas’s fault that he never found out about her feelings. So many times, Isabella’s plans to confess or spend time with Phineas were ruined by circumstances totally out of her control (aka: the b-plot’s inator of the day. aka: the writers maintaining the status quo.) If it weren’t for Doofenshmirtz, Isabella would’ve confessed to him in the main summer the show takes place in. 

And you’ll notice! Even in episodes where Isabella is frustrated with Phineas’s obliviousness, their friendship remains in tact. Isabella is TICKED at Phineas during the “do I know romance or what?” scene in “That Sinking Feeling.” But then in the next scene they’re both in, Isabella is at Phineas’s side and smiling! His obliviousness hurts her sometimes, but it doesn’t outweigh the friendship and sweet moments they share. It doesn’t define their dynamic.

Phineas is oblivious. But he still loves Isabella in his own unique way. And Isabella loves him and loves being his friend even though he’s oblivious. 

(And also FERB SHIPS PHINABELLA. He steps away to let them spend time together, he sends them off to get ice cream together at the end of “Happy Birthday Isabella”. He 100% supports Isabella and Phineas and wants them to be together. And there’s no jealousy there either! He’s just supportive and awesome and I LOVE FERB OKAY.) 

So. In Conclusion.

If you ship Ferb and Isabella. That’s great! I do not want to step on your toes, and I’m sure you’ve got your own reasons for doing so. I know firsthand just how wonderful a favorite ship can make one feel, so I’d never want to take that from anyone. 

But just. Please. PLEAAASE. Please don’t belittle Phineas in shipping them. And don’t disregard the moments he and Isabella share. 

Phineas cares for Isabella. So very much. In his own unique, wonderful way. And there is so much more to meaningful relationships than romance. 

Thank you. 

[mrsmarymorstan]

Now Furuba S2 is over, what now?

I’m already seeing a lot of people asking for recommendations now the S2 Sub is over; so this is a list of series that I think you’ll enjoy if you like Furuba! 

All platforms listed are true for the UK, but might not be for other residences. More viewing options may be available in other territories. 

Unless specified, All Manga/Comic recs are available from regular bookstores and EBook Stores. If you’re in the UK I’ll suggest checking out Hive, which is an online store where a potion of each sale goes towards a Local Independent Bookstroe of your choice! They also have flat-rate free shipping! 

Okay, so the actual recs! (I got lazy in some places and used the official synopisis) 

Romance

Convenience Store Boyfriends Funimation (Dub) Crunchyroll (Sub) 12 Eps Total 

“Six high school boys hang out at a local convenience store where they talk about their daily lives. Haruki Mishima and Towa Honda are first year students looking forward to the high school experience. Alongside them, there’s Nasa Sanagi, the only member of the cooking research club. Natsu Asumi is a loner but has third year students, Mikado Nakajima and Masamune Sakurakoji, looking out for him.“

Kaguya-sama: Love is War S1 - Crunchyroll, Funimation (Sub) S2 Funimation (Sub/Dub) 24 eps - Ongoing Manga: 18/20 volumes available in English 

“Known for being both brilliant and powerful, Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya lead the illustrious Shuchiin Academy as near equals. And everyone thinks they’d make a great couple. Pride and arrogance are in ample supply, so the only logical move is to trick the other into instigating a date! Who will come out on top in this psychological war where the first move is the only one that matters?”

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun Netflix (Dub/Sub), Crunchyroll (Sub) 12 Eps Total Manga: 12/12 volumes available in English 

“High school student Chiyo Sakura has a crush on schoolmate Umetarou Nozaki. When she confesses her love to him, he mistakes her for a fan and gives her an autograph. When she says she wants to be with him, he invites her to his house and has her help on some drawings. Sakura discovers that Nozaki is actually a renowned shōjo manga artist working under the pen name Sakiko Yumeno. She agrees to be his assistant in order to get closer to him. As they work on his manga Let's Fall in Love they encounter other schoolmates, who assist them and serve as inspirations for the story.”

Snow White With the Red Hair Funimation (Dub/Sub) 24 Eps Total Manga: 9/22+ volumes available in English. Anime ends Vol. 8 

“In the kingdom of Tanbarun lives an independent young pharmacist named Shirayuki. Shirayuki is a plain girl, save for her shock of beautiful apple-red hair. Her stunning mane gets her noticed by the prince, but instead of romancing her, he demands she be his concubine. Shirayuki chops off her lovely locks, and runs away to the neighboring kingdom where she befriends a handsome stranger.”

Tsuruedure Children Funimation (Dub), Crunchyroll (Sub) 12 Eps Total Manga (Ebook only) 12/12 Volumes available in English

“Short and charming comedic vignettes offer a quick glimpse into the unique and funny situations, misunderstandings, and all around confusion that can happen in a high school romance. For starters, there’s a story about a delinquent girl and the student council president, and one about a stoic boy confused about an emotional girl. Relive the charm of high school romance!”

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku Amazon Prime (Sub) 11 Eps Total Manga: 4/9 volumes available in english 

Looking for a slice of life romance but you’re an actual adult now and don’t want to read about teenagers? Try Wotakoi! It combines office romance with childhood friends-to-lovers. Narumi is a Fujoshi who doesn’t want anyone to find out the truth of her ways, Hirotaka is a Game Otaku who doesn’t care what anyone says about it, together they go about the ins-and-outs of dating as an adult. 

Coming of Age

BOFURI: I don’t want to get hurt, so I’ll max out my defence Funimation (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Ongoing 

“She may be new to gaming, but Maple has found the secret to invincibility! Just put all your skill points into defense until you can't even move. That works, right? She doesn't want to experience any pain in the VRMMO game she started playing, and somehow it works better than anyone expected. Now she's got followers??”

Brand New Animal Netflix (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total 

“Set in a world where humanoid animals (known as beastmen) inhabit Earth, the series centers on Michiru Kagemori, a young teenage girl who one day suddenly starts turning into a tanuki beastman. Running away, she seeks refuge in Anima City, a city built for beastmen to be able to live peacefully as themselves, and ends up meeting a wolf beastman named Shirou Ogami. Together, they investigate how and why Michiru became a beastman, becoming mixed up in even stranger events in the process.”

Hyouka Funimation (Dub/Sub) 23 Eps Total 

“A worthy addition to any animation fan's collection, Hyouka is a stunning masterwork that spins a charming tale of high school romance and mystery. After disenchanted student Hotaro Oreki joins his school’s Classic Lit Club, he meets Eru Chitanda, a kindhearted and inquisitive girl with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting him caught up in all sorts of trouble.”

Koto Oto Tomara! Sounds of Life Funimation (Dub/Sub) 24 Eps Total 

“Down to its last member, the koto club will accept anyone who is interested in the traditional Japanese instrument. But when a delinquent and a prodigy player sign up, finding harmony isn’t going to be easy—especially not with ensemble competitions looming around the corner. With enough time and some incredible skill at the strings, perhaps this motley crew can strike a chord with the judges.“

O Maidens in your Savage Season HIDIVE (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total Manga: 7/8 volumes available in English (8th available for pre-order) 

The series follows a High School Literature club as they make their nervous first foray into the nature of sexuality. What is the difference between sexual attraction and romantic attraction? Does watching porn mean wanting to have sex? What are these strange feelings I am having down below? Why are boys so gross and girls so pretty? Each girl undergoes their own journey and finds their own destination, a brutally honest yet heart warming look at teenage female sexuality. 

CW: Sexual Assault, pedophilia (both portrayed as BAD AND TERRIBLE things) 

Our Dreams at Dusk Manga: 4/4 volumes available in English 

IF YOU ONLY CONSUME ONE THING ON THIS LIST MAKE IT THIS!!!!! The series is the VERY DEFINITION of “It Gets Better”. 

After his classmates discover some gay pornography on his phone, Tasuku Kaname contemplates committing suicide. Just as he’s about to jump, he spots a mysterious figure parkouring down a mountain. Shocked out of his moment, he decides to go and investigate what’s happening and finds an LGBT+ Drop In Centre. The series follows the lives of the people in the drop in centre, from Haruko who wishes to marry her closeted girlfriend, to Misora who is still trying to figure out what their gender is but has the threat of puberty hovering of their shoulder. 

It’s very clear that Kamatani-sensei has written this story FOR the Queer Community. It’s a truly beautiful story. Please give it your money if you can, so that Kamatani-sensei can actually earn some money, and so that Seven Seas know that there is a viable audience for these stories! So that we may get more content!

Reverse Harem 

Fruits Basket is NOT a reverse Harem, but i figure there’ll be some fan crossover. 

Kiss Him, Not Me Cruncyroll (sub) Funimation Dub available on DVD etc. 12 Eps Total Manga 14/14 volumes available in English

“Kae Serinuma believes one thing—princes belong together! As an avid boy’s love fan, she loves nothing more than fantasizing about faux relationships between the boys at her school. But when she loses weight due to the stress of her favorite anime character dying suddenly the boys want…her?! From pretty average to prettiest girl, Kae just wants these boys to date each other, not her!”

Sub uses an irritating “Silly Fat Person” voice that the Dub doesn’t. CW for Sexual Assult, though it is depicted as a BAD thing and used for Kae to question why she is so into it when reading BL, when IRL it is terrifying? 

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom Crunchyroll (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total 

A TRULY Bisexual harem! After bumping her head, young Katarina Claes awakens with all the memories of her past life... and promptly realises she’s been re-incarnated as the antagonist of her favourite Otome Game! Determined this time to live past the age of 17, Katarina starts to make plans to turn all her enemies into allies through the power of kindness and understanding! Throughout the series, she tries harder and harder to avoid her doom flags... without realising that she’s turned those doom flags into romance flags! 

Katarina lives out the fantasy of going to magic school and eating cake as all the pretty people fall head over heels for her. A pity she’s too dim to notice.

Ouran High School Host Club Funimation (Dub/Sub) 24 eps total Manga: 18/18 volumes available in english 

Set in the high class elite private school of Ouran High, the Host Club exist to provide entertainment for the ladies of the school. Looking for a quiet place to study, Haruhi Fujioka, stumbles across the Host Club and in their haste to leave they knock over an ¥8,000,000 vase. Now she must earn that money back by working for the Host Club, all the while disguising the fact that she’s a girl. Not that she ever felt much like a girl before hand anyway. Along the way, she gets to know better the Cool Kyoya, the flamboyant Tamaki, the Mischievous Hikaru & Kaoru, the Strong and Silent Mori-senpai and the adorable Honey-senpai. Comedic Hijinks ensue! 

Slice of Life

The Emperor and I Manga: 4/4 volumes available in English on Shonen Jump App 

One day Kaho returns home from school to find an Emperor Penguin in her fridge. He quickly becomes a beloved part of the family, but a secret to the rest of the world who would want to take him away from them. Hijinks ensue. 

Kakushigoto Funimation (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total 

Doting single father, Kakushi Goto, is determined to hide the fact that he writes echhi humour manga for a living. He couldn’t bare it if his daughter were to ever find out the truth, the shame of his profession only alienating her. A laugh out loud series that will suddenly cut you deep as it explores the nature of grief and familial love. 

My Brother’s Husband Manga: 2/2 volumes available in English 

“Yaichi, a stay-at-home single father, lives with his daughter Kana in suburban Tokyo. They are visited by Mike Flanagan, the widower of Yaichi's estranged twin brother Ryōji, who has traveled from his native Canada for three weeks to learn about Ryōji's past. Kana is fascinated by Mike and is immediately accepting of him, though Yaichi is hesitant to accept Mike as family.

While Yaichi is not overtly homophobic, Mike suggests that his tacit discomfort over his brother's sexuality drove a wedge between them that led to their estrangement. Mike's interactions with the family and neighborhood over the subsequent three weeks prompt Yaichi to confront his own prejudices around sex and sexuality, as his growing tolerance and eventual acceptance of Mike parallel his overcoming of his own homophobia.”

Whilst the trope of “the gay brother dies and the heterosexual brother learns not to be homophobic” might be over done in western media, the same is not true for Japan. It’s a heartfelt and honest look at grief and acceptance, as well as how the nature of family is changing all around the world... but attitudes are maybe conservative attitudes aren’t as quick to catch up. 

Nichijou: My Ordinary Life Funimation (Dub/Sub) 

So apparently everyone went “this show is undubbable! It relies too much on puns and untranslatable humour!” and then Howard Wang said “hold my beer” and did it. A bizarre comedy series set in a high school. It’s probably best known for the ongoing fight between the deer and the principal.  

Way of the Househusband Manga: 4/5+ (ongoing) volumes available in English  

After he meets and marries the career driven Miku, Tatsu AKA The Immortal Dragon decides to give up his life of crime to commit to being the worlds’ best husband. You’d be surprised at the transferable skills between a Yakuza enforcer and a house husband. From knowing how to efficiently cut up a slice of meat, to how to perfectly clean a bathroom of all evidence. Hilarious and heartwarming, Taki and Kyoko would be best bros. 

Slice of Life + Supernatural 

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K S1 Funimation (Dub/Sub) 24 episodes Netflix S1 (Dub/Sub) S2 & 3 (Sub) 50 episodes total 

“Saiki Kusuo is a typical 16-year-old high school student… except he has psychic powers. He can use them to get whatever he wants, but he also knows everything that people are thinking. Everything. No surprises, no secrets, no normal human experiences. He’s kept his powers in check since childhood, but with the temptations of high school now on his mind, he’s bending the rules—and spoons.“

Sabrina The Teenage Witch (2019)

Writer Kelly Thompson wears her magical girl influences on her sleeve in this new take on the Archie Classic. Sabrina is your regular teenager, except she is also a witch and so are her aunts. Hijinks (and Card Captor Sakura References) ensue. 

Toilet Bound Hanako-kun Funimation (Dub/Sub) 12 eps total Manga 13/13 Volumes available in English 

“Kamome Academy is rumored to have many mysteries, the strangest of which involves the mischievous ghost of Hanako-kun. When occult-loving high schooler Nene Yashiro accidentally becomes bonded to him, she uncovers a hidden world of supernatural beings. Now the two of them are conspiring to keep the peace between student and supernatural—that is, if they can only stay out of trouble themselves.“

Jughead (2015) 4 Volumes total

Bought to you in various parts by the creators of Squirrel Girl, Jughead combines slice of life with spy thriller, time travel and the joy of a good burger. Hilarious and heart warming, this run holds a special place in my heart as the one where Jughead was confirmed as canonically asexual and continues to express various aro/ace moods throughout the series. There’s a REASON my friends say I’m a Real Life Jughead.... 

Weathering With You - available digitally/physically 28th Sep. 2019

In June 2021, first year high schooler Hodaka Morishima leaves Kōzu-shima in order to get to Tokyo. When his ferry to the city is hit by a rainstorm, he is saved by Keisuke Suga, who runs a small occult magazine that’s looking for an assistant. As Hodaka becomes broke and struggles to find work, he meets Hina Amano, an employee of a McDonald’s restaurant. She takes pity on him and gives him food. After agreeing to work with Suga, Hodaka learns about the legend of the “sunshine girl” who can control the weather! It turns out that the newly unemployed Hina is a sunshine girl! And with her little brother, they start up their own business to bring sunshine to the never-ending rain of Tokyo. 

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches Crunchyroll (Dub/Sub) 12 Episodes Total Manga: 22/28 volumes available in English 

After tripping on the stairs, School Bad Boy Ryu Yamada and Top Student Urara Shiraishi discover they can swap bodies with a kiss! They then learn that they’re not the only ones with magic powers in the school, and with the help of the Supernatural Studies Club they begin to track down the identities of the 7 witches of Suzaku High. 

This series really stretches my limits on fan service, but at least it does proceed to get a little even in terms of gender. It’s still a really rather sweet and romantic series, once you get past the boobs and panties. 

Your Name Netflix (Dub/Sub) Spin Off Manga “Your Name: Another Side: Earthbound” - 2/2 volumes available in English 

A modern take on the Red Sting of Fate mythos, Mitsuha and Taki are two teenagers tied together. Three times a week, Mitsuha will wake up in Taki’s body and live the life of a Tokyo School boy. In turn, Taki will wake up in Mitsuha’s body and learn what it is to be a Rural Shrine Maiden. A look at the bonds that tie us, and how fate won’t let two young people fall apart before they can meet. 

Also the animation is BEAUTIFUL and it made me cry. Like a lot. There’s a spin off manga called “Your Name: Another Side” that follows the same story but from the POV of Mitsuha’s friends and family. It really brings new light to the events and made me very emotional.

Mental Health 

Green Lanterns: Rebirth (2018)

Jessica Cruz suffers from PTSD and severer anxiety, seeing her utalising her will power to overcome those problems and harness that energy to help save the universe is so incredibly powerful and moving. 

Hawkeye (2012-2015) 4 Volumes 

The Fraction/Aja/Wu/Hollingworth Hawkeye run is widely considered one of the best superhero runs of all time. Fraction and Aja perfectly capture “functional depression” at its finest, and we watch as Clint Barton slowly burns all his bridges before being forced by his friends to sort his shit out and put them back together again. There’s also a whole issue that’s primarily written in sign language too. 

My Roomate is a Cat Funimation (Dub) Crunchyroll (Sub) 12 eps total 

“Mystery author Mikazuki would rather live in total isolation than deal with others. Getting a roommate is the last thing he’d ever do, until a stray cat sparks an idea for his next novel. After plucking the little killer off the streets, this four-legged muse inspires Mikazuki in ways he would have never expected. And for the street-wise cat, this human just opened the door to a whole new world.”

A Silent Voice (Manga/Movie) Movie: Netflix (Dub/Sub) 

“A former class bully reaches out to the deaf girl he’d tormented in grade school. He feels unworthy of redemption but tries to make things right.”

CW Attempted Suicide, bullying

Please watch the dub. Lexi Marman Cowden, who voices Shoko, is an ACTUAL hard-of-hearing actress. It makes for a more real and vulnerable performance that avoids the mild ableism of the Sub hiring a Hearing Actress and robot-ising her voice. 

Yuri!!! On ICE Crunchyroll (Sub) Funimation (Dub) 12 eps total 

“Yuri Katsuki makes his way to the Grand Prix ice skating competition as Japan’s top representative with his eyes on the prize. However, instead of celebrating, Yuri walks away defeated and ready to retire for good. But a run-in with champion Viktor Nikiforov and rising star Yuri Plisetsky ignites a new fire within him. With the two of them close by his side, Yuri will take to the ice once more.”

Yuri’s defeat sends him into a very relatable spiral of lack of self belief that he slowly starts to regain thanks to the help of Viktor. Part sports anime, part love story, all full of feels. 

The Dub is considered hit or miss depending on whether you like accents or not, but honestly it’s worth it for Sabat’s Christophe giacometti. Ayame walked, so Christophe could strut. 

Generic 

I’m gonna start by recommending the Shonen Jump App, it’s £1.99/month and gives you access to all their recent publications as well as their back catalogue in English! So you can read all of Boys Over Flowers, Nisekoi, Naruto, One Piece, Haikyuu, Assassination Classroom, My Hero Academia etc. for a fraction of the cost of buying the physicals! SO much manga at your finger tips! No, they don’t sponsor me but i wish they would. 

Astra Lost in Space Funimation (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total Manga: 5/5 volumes available in english, available on the Shonen Jump App

A group of teenagers on a school trip become Lost In Space and quickly discover a conspiracy is a foot. Part thriller, part comedy, saying anything more about this series would count as a spoiler given the number of plot twists throughout. 

Radiant Funimation (Dub) Crunchyroll (Sub) 42 eps total Manga: 13/13+ volumes available in english (ongoing series)

A french manga turned into a Japanese Anime.

“Seth, a sorcerer destined to find Radiant, sets his sights on Caislean Merlin for answers. He’s desperate to find out what the Knight Sorcerers know, but can he trust them? In the wake of all that is unknown, he digs deep within himself for the wisdom and confidence to control his powers. And as the world around him continues to grow with more magic and power, he gains strong new allies.”

The series has BIG Saturday Morning cartoon vibes. My 12 year-old self would have been ALL OVER this.

Batman Ninja (Netflix)  

What if a Japanese animation studio asked DC if they could make a batman movie? And then just threw a Japanese history book at it? What if there was time travel? What if the main batman villains were all feudal lords in Japan? What if everyone were Samari? What if Damian had a small animal companion he could communicate with using a flue? What if Jason’s hood was made out of wicker? What if Penguin had a penguin shaped mecha? 

A wild ride from start to finish that makes no sense but really, do you care? 

[extremelynormalblog]

Okay so

Obviously Andy/Quynh is The Angst OTP of DOOM here, but also--Andy/the pharmacist! It could be a romance thing or maybe Andy could Make a Friend, or they could slowly develop a nice, simple friends-with-benefits thing on the side of whatever crazy thing Andy’s got going on.

[SPOILERS BELOW]

Or read it on AO3!

Like, imagine how many times Andy is going to visit that pharmacy now that she has to take care of her body/health for the first time in millenia. The last time she had to seek a cure for something, the prevailing medical theory was all about balancing the humours, and she hasn’t really kept track since. Other things were on her mind.

Also? Andy is OLD.

The first time she goes back, Andy wanders aimlessly in the aisles for a while because the pharmacist is busy with a client, and then she keeps idly browsing after the client leaves, glaring at the pharmacist until she FINALLY takes notice and comes over.

“Hi! I thought it was you, from the stab wound, no?”

Andy nods.

“Did it heal okay? Are you safe, do you need something?”

Andy mumbles something. She hasn’t been embarrassed for centuries, and she knows it’s idiotic, but. Nothing really *new* has happened in centuries for her to be embarrassed about, either.

“What?” the pharmacist asks.

“My back.”

“Oh! Did something happen? Should I take a look, are you bleeding, do you need me to call someone?”

She’s starting to look worried, so Andy has to swallow her pride and say: “Nobody hurt me, okay? I didn’t do anything. I just woke up like that, I don’t-- I don’t know what’s wrong.”

And then the pharmacist’s face relaxes and she nods understandingly, and guides Andy towards the anti-inflammatory creams and heated patches, and explains that she should try to get a physical therapy appointment perhaps and also think about doing regular stretches or taking up yoga.

“--back pain is very common at your age,” she’s saying, and Andy startles, but the woman continues, like, “--I mean, you must be, what, late thirties, early fourties? Oh god, I hope that wasn’t--I mean, not that you look--I mean, you look--really good, whatever your age is.”

Andy relaxes again -- as much as the twinge in her lower back allows her to, at least, and the pharmacist’s blush doesn’t escape her notice. Interesting.

And so she takes all the stuff the pharmacist recommends and leaves, but the next time something undignified happens to her body that isn’t caused by like, people trying to actively kill her, she goes back.

“I have this ringing in my ear.”

“Ah? That happens sometimes. Do you know what caused it?”

“C4.”

“Is that a band?” At Andy’s blank look, she continues: “Anyway, it’s probably tinnitus, it’s fairly common after being exposed to loud noises but it should go away on its own in a few days.”

Andy comes back a few more times with similarly mortifyingly mundane complaints -- she has a burn that blistered and she’s not sure what to do about it (”Here’s another cream for your collection! Just make sure it doesn’t start swelling and go see your doctor immediately if you get a fever!”); the back of her throat has been itchy for a week and she feels like she’s slowly going mad with it (”Pollen allergy, you too, huh?” the pharmacist says, pointing at her own face. Her nose is red and her eyes are slightly glassy. “Did your script expire? Here are some anti-histamines to tide you over until you can get it renewed! Or I could give your family doctor a call for you?”); she caught a cold, which was annoying enough but nothing she needed medical advice about, until she sneezed and now she can’t turn her head all the way (”All I can do is give you some more anti-inflammatories, I’m afraid,” the pharmacist--Celeste--says. Andy finally found out her name by accident when she overheard her make a phone call; she wouldn’t have asked, obviously. ”I can’t give out muscle relaxants over the counter anymore, but if it doesn’t go away...” “Yeah, see my doctor, I know.”)

Obviously Andy doesn’t have a doctor, or scripts, or a “Carte Vitale,” whatever that is.

(It’s the French insurance card, Celeste explains patiently, though she frowns a little the way she does whenever she says asks something and Andy blanks -- no, she doesn’t have a French social security number, or a European Health Insurance Card; yes, she knows she could get it all covered but she will pay it out of pocket, yes, in cash please, thank you.)

There’s something appealing about the way Celeste just listens to Andy talk about what’s bothering her this week, without judgement and without ever pushing for details.

(And there’s mostly always something, now, a pain somewhere or some bodily process that isn’t doing what it should, which is insufferable frankly, how do regular humans stand it?

“No choice, mostly,” Celeste says, matter-of-fact, the day Andy voices the thought half to herself as she pays for the latest haul of painkillers. “But as my grandfather used to say: if I wake up someday with nothing wrong with me, that’ll mean I’m dead.”

She shrugs, like pain and illness and death are just facts of life, which for her they probably are, Andy knows. She doesn’t know if she hopes to have time to get used to it, or not.)

And then one day Andy finds herself pushing the door of the pharmacy when nothing is wrong, just because she thinks it would be nice to have a chat with Celeste for a minute after the crazy month she’s had, just fifteen minutes of normalcy, and Celeste is about to finish her shift so she invites Andy for a drink, like “Oh hey, by the way,” smooth in a way that’s obviously taking effort on her part, and Andy sees right through it but it’s really quite cute.

Andy doesn’t find many things cute.

So they go for a drink, and then Celeste says, “Listen, you obviously have some--stuff going on with your life, but I thnk I’m reading this right, and so maybe you’d like to come home with me? It doesn’t have to be complicated.”

“Uncomplicated sounds really good right now,” Andy says.

She follows Celeste to her place, and just as Celeste is about to open the door, she turns and says: “Er, this is awkard but you’re not a serial killer, right?”

And Andy laughs, startled, and threads her hand into Celeste’s hair and kisses her, right there on the doorstep, and then she whispers “I promise” into Celeste’s ear, even though technically the definition probably suits her pretty well.

And after, once they’re both breathing hard from the fourth round and Celeste’s bed is a complete mess and Celeste’s eyeliner is smudged all over her face and also Andy’s, she looks to Andy for a second before bursting into laughter & wheezing out: “Now there’s an itch I can always take care off!”

And Andy went off puns somewhere in BC times so she just rolls her eyes, but once Celeste’s head is on her shoulder, she lets herself smile anyway, like, ugh, humans. They’re so dumb but sometimes they are quite good.

Hmpf.

The end!

[badsext]

Sunshine and Possibilities: Diego x Reader x Klaus

This one is for @chipster-21 💜 Sorry it took me so long. I hope you like it. Special thank you to @moorehollandplz for helping me with plot stuff!!! 🤗

Author’s Note: Since the show takes place in a world without cellphones and internet, I thought it would be interesting to stay true to that for this fic. Reader has an old-timey phone and answering machine.

Warnings: Just fluff, a tiny bit of blood, and maybe a naughty word or two. ————————————————————

Your job at the pharmacy is good for people watching. You have the quirky old regulars coming in to pick up their blood pressure meds and insulin, couples buying cheap candy to sneak into the movie theater down the street, rushed people buying last minute gifts and greeting cards, anxious people buying condoms or pregnancy tests, and some just seeking something over the counter for their cold, flu, allergies, etc.

You are changing the receipt tape, a task that always takes a bit longer than you need it to, when someone steps into your peripheral vision.

“I’ll be with you in a second.”

“Ok, no problem. Take your time.”

You look up, closing the lid on the printer. He is really cute, hispanic, nice body, handsome face and a scar on the side of his head that looks like it just missed his ear. He is dressed all in black and his arms are filled with first aid supplies: peroxide, gauze and antibiotic ointment.

“Wow, look at all this. Did someone get shot or something?”

He is quiet, staring at you. It was only a joke. Maybe you offended him. You should have learned by now not to make embarrassing comments. Ugh, why can’t I keep my mouth shut, you think to yourself. That’s when you notice a drop of blood on the counter, then another. They appeared to be coming out of the man’s sleeve.

“Holy shit! Are you okay?”

“Oh!” He looks down and notices the blood for himself. “You got some paper towels back there?”

You tear several off the roll and hand them to him.

He wipes the blood off the counter, then holds the wad of towels up to the part of his sleeve that is dripping. “It’s just a scratch.” He can tell by your expression that he failed to convince you. “Occupational hazard. I’m fine with blood. It’s just needles I can’t stand.”

“Are you a cop?”

“Not exactly.”

“A criminal? Is that why you’re bandaging yourself?”

“You’re full of nosy questions.” He says with a grin. “Not a cop, not a criminal…I’m Diego. What’s your name?”

You respond in a daze, lost in his eyes for a moment.

“Nice to meet you, Y/N. How about you give me your number before I bleed out here.”

“Yeah. Okay.” You write it out on the back of his receipt.

“I’ll call you!” He kisses the receipt then flies out the door.

You can’t keep the smile off your face, even through the monotony of the next few hours, customers shuffling in and out: the diabetics, the candy smugglers, the gifters, and the snifflers, all like clockwork. Your mind keeps wandering back to Diego.

That’s why it catches you off guard, the strange man making a scene with the pharmacist. From what you can gather, he is trying to pass off a bogus prescription for pain meds. The pharmacist is trained to look for this. When you are caught it is best to go quietly, but this guy is being very dramatic about it.

“Fine, I’ll just have to take my business elsewhere!,” he exclaims. Then he turns with a flourish, his long coat flaring out around him. You are watching all this from the other end of the pharmacy. Then he starts walking toward you. The more he comes into focus the more you realize how attractive he is.

He begins lining his pockets with candy and snacks, looking deviously in your direction. He teases you with each item he plans to steal, bringing a finger to his lips to keep you quiet. You struggle to hold back your laughter. He winks and heads out the door with his coat bulging and making crinkling noises. Your manager runs up to the register a few seconds too late. When he asks you if you saw anything you just shrug.

That was a very odd chain of events, you think as you drive home. Your roommate will, of course, be staying at her boyfriend’s place again so you have the apartment to yourself. You order lo mein from your favorite Chinese takeout and play your voicemail as soon as you get home just in case. There are no messages from Diego, but it’s just as well. He probably doesn’t want to sound too eager. You have a few drinks and fall asleep in front of the TV.

———–Meanwhile, at the Hargreeves Mansion———–

“You gotta just do it. Rip it off like a band-aid.” Klaus mimes the action for emphasis.

“You know I’m not good on the phone. Sh-sh-she’ll hear m-m-my stutter. I wish I’d asked her out right then and there.” Diego tilts his head back in frustration.

“Well, man you’re gonna just have to relax. Do you want some weed?”

“No, man. I don’t put that shit in my body.”

“Chamomile tea? Guided meditation? Aromatherapy?” Diego’s face remains skeptical with each suggestion. “Okay, what do you do to relax?”

Diego thinks for a moment. “I hit stuff.”

Klaus grabs a pillow from Diego’s bed and holds it flat against his stomach. “Punch me in the gut.”

“No, man.”

“Come on, tough guy. Show me what you got.” Diego rolls his eyes and hits him square in the middle of the pillow. Klaus staggers back. “Damn, Diego.”

“You ready to call now?”

“Yeah, actually. I think I am. Thanks, man.”

Klaus tosses the pillow and groans. He leaves the room clutching his stomach. “Yeah, don’t mention it.”

————-Back at your apartment—————

The phone wakes you out of a dream. “Hello?”

“Hey, Y/N. This is Diego. We met at the pharmacy yesterday.”

You block the receiver to clear the sleep out of your throat. “Oh, yeah. What’s up? How’s your arm?”

“The arm is…fine. How do you feel about a date…with me?”

You block the receiver again, this time to temper your excitement. “Sure. When were you thinking?”

“Wanna get some coffee on Saturday at 11:00? I know a doughnut place with decent coffee.”

“Griddy’s. Yeah, I know the place. I’ll meet you there.”

“So, it’s a date?”

“It’s a date.”

It fells good to have something official, something to justify your optimism. You go back to bed with sweet dreams. Tomorrow will be Thursday. Only two more days until your date with sexy and mysterious Diego.

For the next few days it’s hard to focus at work. It’s April and all the flowers and bunnies and bright, happy imagery only highlight your good mood. You are restocking all the shelves where that wacko shoplifted a third of the stores peanut butter cups and cheese curls. Suddenly, you feel a presence behind you. It’s him. The wacko. Gone is his long black coat. He wears a colorful sleeveless shirt. He is surprisingly fit with arms tattooed. In his hand he holds one of those chocolate roses from aisle four.

You look at him quizzically. “You’re back.”

“Yep. I forgot something…Y/N.” He says, reading your name tag.

“You forgot to steal that chocolate rose?”

“No. I’ve got cash.” He reaches into his pocket for two wadded up bills. You ring him up for the purchase. He is staring at you. His green eyes sparkle.

“You need a bag?”

“Nope.” You try to hand him the rose. A few seconds pass and he hasn’t moved.

“So what was it you forgot?”

“Sorry, you’re so cute, I lost my train of thought. I came back to see if you’d like to hang out. My name’s Klaus. He leans forward and kisses your hand. "And that’s for you.” He motions to the rose in your hand. You smile and blush at the gesture.

“Yeah, okay. I’d like to…hang out.”

“Saturday…early…Say 11:00?”

“Sure.”

“You like doughnuts?”

“Yeah.”

“Saturday - 11:00 - Griddy’s doughnuts!” Then in a flash, just as before, he is gone.

The bell on the door brings you back to reality. ‘Saturday 11:00 at Griddy’s’ - Why did that sound so familiar? “Oh, fuck!,” you realize aloud. Then you peel the red foil off the chocolate rose, snatching the whole thing off the plastic stem in one giant bite.

That night you can’t sleep. You think of calling one them to cancel, but it is impossible to choose and even if you could, you didn’t get either of their numbers, not even a last name to look them up. You’ll just have to face the music in the morning.

You dress for the best case scenario, wearing your favorite sundress, the blue one with tiny white flowers on it. You put your hair up so you can let it down at some point in the date…assuming there is going to be a date. It’s your secret weapon, guaranteed to kick things up a notch.

When you arrive, your eyes find Diego sitting alone at a table, flagging you down. He gets up to greet you. Klaus walks in the door a split second later. Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God!

“Y/N. It’s good to see you.” Diego comes near. You watch his expression change as he spots Klaus over your shoulder.

“What are you doing here?” The boys shout simultaneously.

“She’s my date.” Diego confirms.

“Wait, you guys know each other?”

“He’s my brother.” They grumble in unison. Suddenly aware of the scene you are making, you shush them and get them to sit down.

The waitress comes over to your table. “Hi, I’m Agnes, can I get your -”

“Wait, sorry, Agnes.” Diego turns to Klaus. “Is this the girl you were calling Wednesday night?” Klaus is incredulous.

“I’ll just give you folks a few minutes to decide.” Agnes says, walking away.

“Yes, we met at the pharmacy. I went to get first aid supplies for my arm. Tell him, Y/N.”

“That’s right.” You reply awkwardly.

“Wait a minute.” Klaus looks at you. WE met at the pharmacy on…I’m not great at remembering what day it is, but I think it was Wednesday.“

"Yep.” You cringe.

All eyes are on you now. Your cheeks are red with embarrassment.

“You met both of us on the same day.” Diego throws up his hands.

“When did Klaus ask you out?”

“Yes…ter…day - but that’s really not relevant here.” You hate the idea of them fighting. They both look so disappointed. And honestly, you don’t know who you like better, they are both so different. Then a risky thought suddenly pops into your head. Now is no time to be shy, you have two gorgeous boys vying for your company.

You get up, take a deep breath, and let your hair down. “It’s a beautiful day out there, boys! Let’s not waste it.” Klaus and Diego look at each other and after some consideration, stand up and follow you out the door. You hook arms with Klaus on one side and Diego on the other. The three of you walk off into the sunshine and a world of possibilities.

@moorehollandplz @bubblyani @helena-way07 @bi-satanist @dandycandy75 @renegadesheehan @bitch4bagels @zombiedixon89 @zoemassingale @renegadesheehan @yeetskeetbuddy @klaushollandyoung @diegoh4rgreeves @elliethesuperfruitlover @marvelnerd18 @punknatch @siriuslynore @deadlynyghtshayde @vinawyatt @klaus-hargreeves-energy

[ficsnroses]

Friends With Benefits Part 3 - Keanu Reeves x Reader

Chapter 3 ~ The Calm Before The Storm.

Part 1 Part 2

I got sick of looking at the previous series cover lol

Word Count : 2503

Warnings : blowjob ahead, proceed with caution. Emergency contraceptive use. Fluff. 18+.

Summary : What happens when two, lonely friends start seeing and confiding in each other for sex? A tricky friends with benefits love story, when feelings get in the way.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, friends 🖤

Fluttering your eyelids open to the dewy morning sun, you blinked open and away the sleep of the night. You found yourself in Keanu’s bedroom, where you’d been many times before, but never first thing in the morning. You felt a small smile creep onto your honey dripped lips, grinning at the remembrance of last night’s past.

With a slight shift and a pull of the shared duvet, you winced lightly at the tension between your legs. The sex was amazing last night, and although it was supposed to be focused on pleasing Keanu and easing his stress from training, he made sure to take care of you real well towards the end. That’s the type of lover he was, he always made sure to pay extra attention in pleasing his partner, in all the right ways.

You felt the spot beside you still weighted, Keanu nonchalantly dozing off still, with the escape of small snores off his lips filling the serene room. Turns out, he does snore a little, unbeknownst to him. But, it wasn’t a loud or annoying snore, it was calm. The type that lulls you to sleep as white noise, letting you know you’re not alone as you lie awake into the dark hours of the night. The type that provides assurance and company, lets you know you’re not alone.

Propping yourself up with a yawn, you debate on whether to wake Keanu, or not. He looks so at ease. Its nice to see him like this – you normally don’t get to see him this vulnerable and at peace. A close second may be the way his eyes close in ecstasy when he first feels your tight core wrap around his member each time you find yourselves getting intimate, however. But that was different. This peacefulness seemed different, more carefree.

He’s sprawled on his back, with the duvet coming just up to his mid. He has an arm draped over his forehead, resting to block out light, with his other arm rest beside him on the bed. You divert your gaze lower, down to a slight rise in the duvet just below his waist.

           Morning wood.

Your eyes widen slightly; you weren’t expecting to see that first thing in the morning. Although, there was nothing weird about it, per say, its just a thing that happens to guys. Of all people, you were probably the one that shouldn’t think much of it. You literally had sex with him all the time.

Grinning slightly, an idea sprung in your mind.

Licking your lips, you move the duvet off of yourself, before crawling closer to Keanu. He’s still snoring away, completely unknown to your awakening. You lift the duvet off him, gathering it near the rear of the bed, before positioning yourself on your knees to his side.

In nothing but a pair of boxers, his length looks absolutely delicious, stretching the fabric, the outline of his cock prominent on the seams. So appetizing. Your lips practically dripped sap.

You were never really one for tasting men. Sucking someone’s dick seemed rather…silly? to you in your previous flings.

But with Keanu, something inside you clicked and change your perspective on the topic. You loved knowing you were making him feel so good. You loved knowing how you made all his sensitive nerves tingle, sending piercing shocks of pleasure through his body.

You loved the way he fit and filled inside your mouth, you unable to speak, your every thought & feeling obstructed with him jammed in your mouth whole, leaving you so vulnerable, nothing but the sole purpose of making him forget all his worries darkening your mind. The way you could feel his delicate skin, each vein in his girthy cock, all stored away in your inviting, alluring mouth. To make him feel good. To make him at ease. That was all it was about.

Tucking a few strands of hair behind your ear, you palm his clothed length. With a slip of your fingers into the waistband of his boxers, you swallow in anticipation. Leaning down, you graze your lips over the bulge of the fabric, lightly nipping, tugging with your teeth. Your hot breath over the lump clearly made his cock rise bigger.

Keanu’s lips part, and he stirs blithely in his slumber. You pull down the band of his boxers, watching his cock spring out in release. Seeing him erect still surprises you, despite how many times you’ve had him. It baffled you that he even fits inside you.

Groping his balls, you run your warm tongue from the base to his shaft, swirling it around his tip before diving back down an inch of the way, lips wrapped around him. As mentioned, he’s quite big. You can’t take him in whole yet, although you have been training yourself to, and you’ve sure made progress. Keanu’s quite encouraging actually, he’s always been patient and won’t try to make you do anything you can’t.

Sinking him deeper into your mouth, you swirl your tongue around the circumference of his cock. You start with shallow bobs, loosening your jaw. As he grows fully erect, you take more and more of him, hallowing your cheeks, occasionally letting him out of your mouth with a “pop” sound.

Keanu’s eyes blink open as the feeling of you sucking him off becomes too much for his tranquil state. He props himself up on his elbows, still laying on his back, and catches the striking view of you, his pre cum drenched cock shoved deep into your mouth.

With a soft moan, he brings his left hand to tangle in your hair, pushing it back out of your face.

“Y/N….oh god.” He whimpers, fighting the urge to close his eyes and lean his head back in delight.

           “That’s it, baby, just like that.” He groans, as you bob up and down faster now. He lightly pushes your head down on him, just enough to guide you, but not hurt you, or make you take more than you can.

With doe eyes, you stare up into his eyes, cheeks hallowed.

He watches you suck on his member, incoherent gags falling out of your mouth, the sound of throaty slickness bobbing him.

           ‘”Oh…Y/N…..I’m not gonna last long, hun.” You hear him just above a whisper, his morning voice course and gruff. Taking him deeper and deeper, you use your hand to pump the remaining length, twisting. Within seconds, a few particularly robust moans evacuate Keanu’s mouth.

           “Y/N…oh Y/N…fuck baby. You’re so good to me, baby.” You hear Keanu praise. “Fuck, oh god…” he grunts, eyes shutting tight as his grasp on your hair stiffens. You feel his warm, creamy release into your mouth, shooting ribbons cascading down your throat.

Licking up each and every drop of the velvety cum off his shaft, swallowing, you finish with a wipe of your mouth.

“Good morning,” you smile up at him, still on your knees.

“Good fucking morning it is, that may have been the best I’ve ever woke up.” He chuckles. Creeping up off his back into a sitting position, he pulls you close by the wrist. “You have to let me return the favour, darling.” He says, smirking, eyes fixated on your bottoms.

           “I’d love to, but I really wanna get a hold of the pill. The faster you take it, the better it works.” You sigh, raising up, off the bed. Keanu had came inside you the night before, and unfortunately that was still a problem you had to deal with this otherwise lovely morning.

           “Of course.” He says, running his hand through his hair, yawning. “I’ll leave you to get dressed. I’ll make us some coffee.” He says, lifting the duvet and planting his feet onto the wooden floor.

He walks up to you on the way out, and places a warm kiss to your cheek.

“You really didn’t have to, princess.” He brings his lips closer to your ear. “I’ll be returning the favour. Soon.” He whispers, before walking out of the room.

•

After some freshly pressed dark roast, Keanu and you venture off to the drugstore. You take his car, him in the driver’s seat. With the radio playing 70’s hits in the background, Keanu breaks the comfortable silence.

           “Work today?” he asks, eyes on the road.

           “No, was planning to work from home actually.” You reply, looking out the window.

           “Wanna watch a movie or something after?” he proposes. “Maybe go out for some brunch?”

You ponder for a moment. Many of the times, you found yourself pondering your relationship. What were you two? You weren’t dating, but you were intimate. You were friends, you guessed, but what friends sleep together on a regular basis, and still hang out and go normal friend things? It confused you. But you were going along with it – because you cared for Keanu genuinely, and your relationship, no matter what it was, meant to you. It really meant to you.

           “Yeah, I guess. Wooden Spoon?” you propose.

           “I was literally thinking that.” He laughs lightly.

Walking into the drugstore after getting parked, Keanu stays close by your side as you lead the way. Thankfully, you didn’t need a prescription for plan B. Just a series of uncomfortable questions with the local pharmacist.

           “When was your last menstrual period, ma’am?” she asks you. You’re leaning on the counter, Keanu by your side, looking into the distance, glancing around. It wasn’t that these things made him uncomfortable, its just that…he wasn’t your “boyfriend”. He wasn’t sure if he should walk away, or stay beside you.

           “Uhm..about 3 weeks ago.” You reply, quietly.

           “When most recently did you engage in unprotected sexual intercourse?” the pharmacist asks, taking notes.

           “Last night. Around 11:00pm.” You say. The pharmacist looks Keanu’s way as he awkwardly smiles. It made you sort of uncomfortable that she knew you & Keanu had had sex. It’s more of a private thing, you felt.

           “Have you used emergency contraceptive in the last month, and are you using any other forms of birth control?” she asks.

           “No, and yes. Condoms.” You say, quietly again.

           “Okaaay miss, and finally, do you have any allergies, and are you currently taking any other medications?”

           “No, and no.” you say. The pharmacist hands you a box contained in a small paper bag. “There you go, ma’am. $45.50.” she says, punching it in the till.

           “Debit.” Keanu says, lightly nudging you to move a little so he can pay.

           “Hey, its okay.” You say, taking some cash out of your purse.

           “No way, I got it.” He says, swiping his card. Picking up the bag off the counter, he places his hand on the small of your back. “Shall we head out then?” he asks.

•

You stopped for brunch at The Wooden Spoon, sharing some laughs and having a good time. To be honest, you often found yourself enjoying this side of him the most. Just his unabashed company. His friendliness, his concern and care, his beaming personality.

The drive home was filled with a comfortable silence as you gazed out the window, Keanu had rested his hand on your thigh. It wasn’t really a romantic gesture, per say. More of a…”I’m here for you,” type of way. You think.

Once back at Keanu’s house, he unlocks the door, letting you both in.

           “I’m just gonna go change, pick out a movie till then? Absolutely no rom coms this time, by the way!” he exclaims, laughing.

           “Can’t make any promises. Oh my god, can we watch Love Actually? Its almost Christmas!” you beg.

           “No no no, you made me watch it 3 times last year, I’m putting a cap on any Christmas movies until at least December 15th.” He eyed you, climbing up the stairs.

You smiled lightly to yourself.

•

Bringing your phone out of your pocket, you opt to browse Netflix for a film. Finding your social media handles tagged in a series of paparazzi pictures said otherwise.

           “Keanu Reeves Out To Lunch With Seemingly Girlfriend” reads a tabloid, accompanied with a series of pictures scattered over Instagram.

“The pair have been spotted around town frequently, could this mystery woman be the one who has stole the long time bachelor’s heart?”

You felt your heart drop. It was dawning on you now, more than ever before. You constantly had a voice in the back of your mind, pressuring you, questioning what you were really doing with Keanu. What really was your relationship? It seemed you two were stuck in the middle of a bridge, hanging onto loose threads of both sides of the band.

You were not dating, that was for sure. But you were friends, good friends. But you also were engaging in sexual intercourse. What type of good friends go out for brunch, sleep over at each others houses, watch movies but also fuck at the same time? It was stupid.

And now, the media had you pinned as his lover. It all seemed wrong.

Keanu and you both mutually decided – it was just sex. All you two wanted from each other was sex. No strings attached, no commitment, just intimacy, which both of you otherwise lonely individuals needed from time to time.

All of this extra stuff, like doing things together, going out together, had to stop. You weren’t his girlfriend, and he wasn’t your boyfriend. You were friends with benefits. That’s all. You couldn’t continue this fallacy of just being “really good friends”.

You knew your weak heart. You’d fall for him. You’d fall hard, and that would ruin everything. It needed to be just sex.

With a patter down the wooden stairs, Keanu advanced towards the living room where you were situated, after grabbing a bottle of cold water.

           “Find anything, Rudolph?” he snickers, handing the water bottle your way for you to share with him. In his arm, he had a blanket tucked away, supposedly for the two of you as well. He had changed into a white t shirt, with a pair of sweatpants, his long subtly brunette kissed hair freshly combed back. He smelled of a renewed layer of crisped pine cologne.

           “Actually, I think I’m gonna head out. I really gotta get that work done.” You say, raising yourself off the couch and grabbing your bag.

           “Oh…okay?” Keanu utters, a confused gaze plastering on his face. “Can’t it wait a couple hours?” he questions, running his fingers through his hair.

           “No, unfortunately.” You weakly smile, before heading towards the door, him trailing behind.

           “Oh, alright. Wanna meet up tonight then?” he proposes, smirking.

           “I’ll be swarmed all day, sorry. See you around, Ke.” You wave, as he opens the door for you.

Letting yourself out, you hear him reply under his breath. “Okay, bye for now then.”

With the thud of the large door closing shut, Keanu leans against the door frame, taken back.

“See you around? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” he thinks to himself, brows furrowing together.

Everything had been going pretty well, since she got there the previous night. They had mind blowing sex the night before, she slept over and woke him up in a rather sinful way, and they grabbed brunch together, having a pretty nice time.

Had he done something?

>>Chapter 4>>

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Taglist Posted Separately (Ask to be added or removed!) :

[idiopath-fic-smile]

“Little Dawn” | 1k | A W.A.R. companion piece, Enjolras POV

Officially, there is no “canon” answer for what song Grantaire plays Enjolras in his van.

Unofficially, there is definitely a track, and an album, I think of when I think of that scene. This piece was directly inspired by that album, and takes a real stance on what the van song was. It’s also just absurdly self-indulgent, but y’know, I’m not doing this to be cool.

Enjolras runs to his room, and then wastes several seconds just standing there in front of his desk, surrounded by all of his familiar things, reeling from unfamiliar thoughts. He stood in the exact same place this morning, the exact same view, and he didn’t even know yet what Grantaire sounded like, belting out a rock chorus with pure conviction, each word known, each word so clearly beloved.

He swallows, boots up his computer, which is surely working much more slowly than usual.  When it finally loads, he navigates to Google, and types in every lyric from the song he can remember.

A title appears. The song Grantaire said you need to hear is “Shake the Sheets”, by a band called Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. The album is also called Shake the Sheets, and Enjolras would find this all uncomfortably sexual except he knows it’s not about that at all, it’s about waking up and seeing what’s in front of you, and realizing what has to be done.

Enjolras scribbles a note in case his dad comes home early, finds his bike, clips on his helmet. It’s a fifteen-minute ride to Borders, and on the way, Enjolras promises himself he’ll atone for putting money in the pockets of an evil corporation, he’ll buy two albums from that indie record store out in Ann Arbor, but that’s way too far to bike, and he needs answers right now.

It’s like there are two Grantaires. 

There’s the Grantaire who doesn’t care about anything, who thinks caring is a fucking joke, and then there’s the Grantaire who does things like cover Jehan’s shoes with flowers, and put real work into making Enjolras smile, and lovingly memorize the lyrics to a song that’s basically about revolution.

I think there’s a song you need to hear.

Wake up, Enjolras. What have you been missing?

There are two Grantaires. There’s the Grantaire that’s an act, and then there’s the real person, under all those layers of posturing, and more and more—it sounds completely far-fetched, Enjolras knows, it sounds like every kind of wishful thinking piled on itself, his own worst tendencies to see what he wants to see—more and more, it’s starting to seem like the actual genuine Grantaire is, well. Genuine. A little anxious. Surprisingly kind.

It turns out you can get to Borders in about ten minutes if you don’t pace yourself, if you pedal full-force up every incline and then keep pushing downhill. Enjolras wipes sweat from his forehead as he rifles through the T section of Rock/Alternative. He didn’t even bother to take off his helmet.

Shake the Sheets is exactly where it’s supposed to be. The colors are weirdly bold, like socialist propaganda. Like a flag.

The cashier is talking to a co-worker as she rings him up, like it’s just any other regular CD. Enjolras doesn’t pay attention to how much it costs, just hands her a twenty and takes the change she gives him. 

The ride back home is, if anything, faster.

Enjolras rips off the cellophane, then opens the CD case with maybe a little reverence and pops the disc into his computer. He’s already vowed he won’t skip straight to the one song he knows, much as he wants to relive that exact moment, a flash of delighted eye contact, Grantaire air-drumming against the steering wheel of a parked van in the middle of suburbia. He wants to show proper respect for the album, and besides, maybe jumping right back to “Shake the Sheets” is a little creepy?

The music is not bad, but waiting for track nine to come up again is torture, until about halfway through, when Ted Leo sings, “So take a sigh as long as the war's been going on in your heart tonight.” 

Enjolras sits up straight and fumbles for the booklet with the lyrics.

There’s a driving urgency to the song, a sense that Ted Leo knows exactly what he’s talking about. Enjolras reads ahead, and then waits with breathless anticipation for the chorus:

“But on the days and nights it's hard to breathe And you can't believe you still walk the streets Stretch out your weary hand to me, it's alright And if you're not content to just believe And if you don't consent to just let it be Stretch out your legs and dance with me all night”

He’d had no idea rock music could be like this, could reach right inside your heart and grab at precisely the thing you’ve been wanting, the longing you didn’t even know how to put into words. That’s what he wants, for someone to stand with him and reach out a hand, even if just to say, I see where you are and I’m here.

And in a way, isn’t that what Grantaire did this afternoon? Isn’t that what he’s been doing for weeks, even months? Grantaire learned that song on his own time. Nobody backed him into it, he played that track over and over again because he loves it. He loves it and he’d wanted Enjolras to have it, too. 

The song they sang together, this whole album, it’s about doing. Not thinking yourself in circles, not paralyzing yourself with fear or worry or indecision. Boots on the ground. Time to go.

Enjolras is going to do it. He’s going to ask out Grantaire. Maybe he’s wrong, maybe the Grantaire he’s come to see and know and really, really, really like is the charade. But after today, he really doesn’t think so.

“It’s alright it’s alright it’s alright it’s alright,” Ted Leo chants under a guitar riff, and Enjolras opens up a new word doc, so he can make some notes on what exactly he’ll say tomorrow. The words will matter, he thinks. He’s been too judgmental, too hasty, in the past. He needs to get this right, to say the right thing that will let Grantaire know exactly what Enjolras means.

(And what if he does? What if he gets it right, and Grantaire smiles back at him, maybe a little shy but already cracking a smile the way he does sometimes--)

When the track runs out, he starts it again. He’s already humming along.

[yanderefangirl]

Cupcake

Rikiel was nervously waiting outside of the bathroom, his girlfriend (Y/n) was inside the bathroom taking a pregnancy test. (Y/n) had been pretty sick for a few days, she had at first thought it was a stomach virus, but it had lasted a lot longer than any regular stomach virus. So she had gotten concerned. Rikiel had went down to the local pharmacy and brought a pregnancy test. (Y/n) kept on insisting that there was no way that she was pregnant because they had always used protection and she was on the pill. Rikiel didn't dare tell her that he had switched her birth control pills with sugar pills and had secretly put holes into the condoms that she had always insisted that they use when they made love. Rikiel had been terrified that she would leave him for someone else when she realized how worthless he was, so he contacted his father and brothers and asked them for advice. His father DIO Brando had said "Rikiel she can't leave you, if she has your baby growing inside of her womb." Rikiel repilied "But Father she insists that we use protection. And she will get suspicious and leave me if I start asking that we stop using protection when we make love." Then his older jerkass brother Donatello interjected and half said half yelled but all annoyed "So just poke holes into the condoms, then she won't suspect a thing." Rikiel reminded him "But she's also on birth control pills." So Ungalo the brother who was closest in age to Rikiel irritated told him "Switch her birth control pills out with sugar pills. I am sure that dad knows someone who can help you with that." Giorno his oldest brother who haven't said yet, asked seriously "Rikiel are you sure you want to go through with this? There is no way you can come back from this." Rikiel merely repiled "Giorno this is for the best. (Y/n) means the world to me. I can't even risk the chance of someone stealing her from me." Giorno just sighed and looked at Rikiel sadly and hugged him then left the room. So together with his father, Donatello and Ungalo they arranged for (Y/n) to see a new doctor and pharmacist who both worked for his father and gave her the sugar pills calling them a new version of birth control pills. (Y/n) was blissfully unaware of what he had done. Rikiel had at first felt guilty about what he was doing but his father and Ungalo and Donatello had constantly reminded him that if he didn't do this then she would definitely leave him for someone else and that he had been following (Yn)/ for months and had a shrine in his secret room deciated to her before he gained the courage to ask her out on a date which to his surpise she had said yes, he had been worried for a few weeks that she had only said yes for some alternative reason but that was dimisled quickly when she had defended him from these asshole who had been following them while they were on a date. Rikiel practically whorpised the ground that she walked and would sometimes sneak into her house late at night and take pictures of his beautiful (Y/n) sleeping. She always looked so beautiful never mind what she was wearing but somehow her beauty was amphired while she was sleeping. Giorno had tried to give him advice about Rikiel's and (Y/n)'s relationship but Rikiel would always second guess himself and just turn to his father for advice. His father seemed proud that Rikiel had found someone special so Rikiel always followed his father's advice which made his father even more proud of him. Rikiel had been nervous about her finding out what he and most of his family had did, so his father DIO had installed a security system in Rikiel's new house which he had yet to use and that (Y/n) was unaware of. Rikiel was pulled out of his thoughts by the sounds of the bathroom door opening, he looked at his beautiful (Y/n) who was shaking, the pregnancy test in her left hand. She wasn't speaking or looking at him, her head was down, her gorgeous lovely (h/c), (h/\l), (h/s), she was wearing her cutr bunny pyjamas and he can't see her adorable (e/c) eyes. "Cupcake is everything alright? Whats wrong?" Rikiel asked worriedly stepping closer to his loveable (Y/n). She without lifting her head, just wordlessly handed him the test. Rikiel anxiously took the test from her and looked at the results with a racing heart. It was positive, Rikiel triple checked the test and pinched himself, the result was still positive and he wasn't dreaming. His girlfriend, his amazing and wonderful (Y/n) was pregnant with his baby. Rikiel felt a sense of pride growing through his body at this thought it felt nice. "Rikiel what are we going to do?" Asked (Y/n) her voice shaking with worry and fear. Rikiel was taken aback by her response and questioned her "What do you mean by that (Y/n)?" (Y/n) lifted her head up and looked at him confused. "Rikiel I am pregnant, I am still in collage and we have only been together for one and half years. We aren't ready for a kid. Etheir I get an abortion or we put the baby up for adoption. Listen I still love you and I would love to have kids with you. But right now we aren't ready. Rikiel honey is everything okay?" Rikiel instantly started freaking out and grabbed (Y/n) by her arm and dragged her to their room, he paid no mind to her struggling and throw her onto the bed stomach up. He blurted out "NO. You aren't getting an abortion. How could you even say something like that? How can you even think of something like that? Thats our baby growing inside of you. Our helpless precious baby." Rikiel paced around the room, his entire body shaking with anger, he could feel tears filling up his eyes, then he heard shuffling. Rikiel looked over at (Y/n) who had stood up from the bed and was looking at him with concern and worry. "Rikiel calm down please. You are starting to scare me. I was just telling you our opinions. I am not going to go behind your back and get an abortion okay? We can just look into adoption options is that okay?" She stated while standing close to the door. Rikiel felt rage spreading throughout his entire being at her words and the thought of some random strangers taking their baby and rasing their baby and never knowing who their real parents are. He briskly and quickly walked over to (Y/n). "Cupcake I don't know you understand. You aren't going to give up OUR baby to a bunch of strangers etheir. This is our baby and we are going to keep and raise our baby and we will make siblings for our baby and be one big happy family." Rikiel growled out. (Y/n) looked at him confused but then something seem to click in her mind cause she was looking at him with shock and horror. "Rikiel did you plan this? Did you mess with my birth control pills? Did you mess with the condoms? Is that why you wanted to have sex more cause you wanted to get me pregnant?" At first she was whispering but her voice was slowly rasing as she spoke, then once she was done (Y/n) slapped Rikiel across the face hard enough that he nearly fall down to the ground. Rikiel was shocked that his Cupcake, his kind, gentle and caring girlfriend had actually slapped him. He was so shock and stunned that at first he didn't notice (Y/n) getting quickly dressed and grabbing a suitcase that she had begun to pack. When he did notice, she was angrily throwing all of her clothes and her personal stuff. Rikiel was angry that she had slapped him and was planning on leaving him but didn't want to risk hurting their baby. So he just left the room, making sure to lock the door. (Y/n) didn't seem to notice that he had locked the door, she was probably too busy with her packing so she didn't pay attention to him. Eventually she would notice which made Rikiel glad that he taken Donatello's advice about removing everything that she could use to hurt herself with and installing a lock onto the window and replacing all of the regular glass with bulletproof glass in the Windows and picture frames. Donatello may be a jerkass but he did give good advice. Rikiel went downstairs and walked into his office that was hidden in the library and actived the security system. Then he went into the kitchen and started making one of (Y/n)'s favorite meal for her to eat when she had calmed down. While he was making the meal, he could hear knocking and screaming from upstairs but choose to pay it no mind. After all (Y/n) had brought this onto herself by acting like a spoilt brat. She would understand that what he was doing was for the best of their relationship and the best for her. She was just being emotional right now. They were meant to be together forever. (Nine months later) Rikiel was inside of the birthing suite of the hospital, that his father owned. Most of the hospital staff were told that (Y/n) suffered from a disorder that made her say things that were untrue and completely fabricated. Some of the more smarter staff had been told what was really going on and had been paid handsomely to not pay any mind to what (Y/n) said but to make sure she didn't try to take the baby and run. Rikiel still can't understand why (Y/n) would want to leave him becasue he had been treating her like a Queen and she had been acting so sweet and good but his father had told that she might be putting on a act to trick Rikiel. Rikiel hadn't wanted to believe his father but his father and Donatello and Ungalo had been right so far about the advice he had been given so he was inclined to believe them. Giorno, Ungalo and their father were in the waiting room. Donatello had a modeling gig so he wasn't able to make it but had told them to call him when the baby was born so he can visit 'the little rugrat' as soon as he could. (Y/n) was screaming at everyone even Rikiel himself saying horrible stuff but he was told that it was normal for a woman to act this way when she was in labor. She finally pushed out a beautiful and adorable baby girl. Who immediately started crying and wailing. The doctors cleaned her off and tried to hand her to (Y/n) who didn't want to hold her, so they instead gave the baby to Rikiel was taken aback by how much he loved his baby girl, not as much as he loved his Cupcake but still he knew that he wanted to protect her from everything that could possibly hurt her. He was very reluctant about giving her to the nurses so that they could make sure that everything was okay with the baby that she was healthy. (Y/n) was also checked over and then taken to a room with Rikiel by her side. "Cupcake what do you think we should name our beautiful and adorable little baby girll?" Rikiel asked happily not even paying any attention to her glaring. She was just sore and hurt from giving birth to their beautiful and adorable baby girl. "Zoë I want to call her Zoë." She whispered, she was clearly exchuasted by the labor and birth of their little precious baby. "Zoë? It's the perfect name. But she needs a middle name. How about Zoë Jennifer Brando?" Rikiel excitedly repilied with a huge and bright smile on his face. (Y/n)'s eyes widened upon hearing his eyes and she looked ready to bolt from the room which made Rikiel that his father had instructed the hospital security to keep a close eye on (Y/n). "Oh Cupcake I spolied the surprise. You see my father pulled some strings and well we are now officially married." Rikiel went through his bag and pulled up a marrige certificate that had Rikiel Brando And (Y/n) (l/n) written on it with a perfect forge of (Y/n)'s handwritten. "You are now Mrs Brando. Isn't that just fantastic?" Rikiel sighed happily at the thought of spending the rest of his life married to his Cupcake. Suddenly a nurse came in, holding little adorable baby Zoë. Rikiel could feeling his smile get bigger at the sight of baby Zoë. "Is mommy ready to hold the baby?" The nurse asked. Rikiel looked at (Y/n) expectly who just nodded her head and sat up and held out her arms to take baby Zoë. The nurse came over and handed the baby over to (Y/n) who quickly and eagerly took little baby Zoë from her. "Oh yes Rikiel your father and your brothers are ready to see the baby. Should we allow them in?" The nurse questioned Rikiel completely igroning (Y/n). (Y/n) had started trying to breast feed baby Zoë. She soon got a hang of it as he could faint hear Zoë nursing. Rikiel smiled softly at this. "Yes that's fine. Also we have decided to call the baby Zoë Jennifer." "I will make sure to put that on the birth certificate Rikiel." The nurse left the room. Rikiel made several attempts to talk to (Y/n) but she refused to talk to him and just kept her entire attention on Zoë and just kept on whispering in her ears about stuff he can't hear. A few minutes later, his father and brothers entered the room. (Y/n) stiffed upon seeing them enter the room and tightened her grip on baby Zoë. His father was holding a few baby toys and clothes. Ungalo had a book that he had written for Zoë. Giorno had a blanket and flowers and candy. Donatello just had a teddy bear. "Awww is that my granddaughter? What's her name Rikiel?" His father asked Rikiel while he approaching the bed and (Y/n) who glared at him. "Father stop messing around. It's Zoë Jennifer Brando. Isn't that just the most perfect name for her?" His father held out his arms to take baby Zoë. Zoë temporarily stopped breast feeding to look at him which his father pounched on to take Zoë and (Y/n) tried to hold on to Zoë but let go when Ungalo and Donatello whisted at the sight of her breast which caused her to cover up her breast. "DIO GIVE ME BACK MY BABY!" She yelled when his father walked away from the bed and over to his brothers, who all doted over baby Zoë even Donatello. Giorno looked uncomfortable but smiled at baby Zoë. Rikiel had no idea why Giorno was uncomfortable maybe it was because of Donatello's and Ungalo's whistling. Rikiel knew that he was angry at them for whistling at his Cupcake. (Y/n) continued to yell and scream until she seemed to realzied something because she just started crying to herself. Rikiel cuddled with her to comfort her. Oh how he loved his Cupcake. He would and have killed for her. Nothing can take her away from him. Nothing.

[ga-yuu]

Invitation To Another World~Yoichi route

The gentle waves rocked the ship faintly and the sea breeze caressed my cheeks.

Yuno: “Mm...Nice breeze.”

Yoichi: “Yeah. I do feel like taking a nap with you.”

Yoichi-san happily stretches next to me.

A few days ago, Sueharu-san asked me to help him stock up on some rare medicinal herbs.

(He asked me because he wanted to have an opinion from a pharmacist like me....)

(I was also happy that Yoichi-san accompanied me as an escort.)

The goods have been stocked safely and we were returning to Hiraizumi by sea.

Yuno: “Oh, by the way, where is Sueharu-san?”

Yoichi: “He must be double-checking the goods over there. Well, it looks like it’s going to be a while before we get there, so let’s just relax.”

At that time, Sueharu-san comes from behind.

Sueharu: “Thanks for today, Yuno. You’ve been a great help.”

Yuno: “You don’t have to...I’m happy that I could help, also I got my hands on some rare medicinal herbs too.”

Sueharu-san smiles and placed a sort of chest of drawers in front of us.

Sueharu: “Also this is something I want you both to check out.”

Yoichi: “Oh, come on, are you trying to sell us something? Then, of course, you’ll give us for free right? In the name of ‘friendship.”

Sueharu: “Well, you both came all this way for me, so I’ll a little lenient, and also this contains a very rare type of kimonos.”

Sueharu-san opens the lid of the costume box and shows us.

Sueharu: “I’m not really sure where or who made it.”

(These kimonos do look unique....)

Yoichi: “Well, it’s unusual to see you, Sueharu dealing with a product from an unknown source.”

Sueharu: “Well, yeah. But even with that in mind, it really caught my eye. You have to keep your eye out on unique objects like these if you’re involved in this sort of business, right?”

Yoichi: “Of course.”

Sueharu: “Well, have a look at it anyway. It’s something you won’t get to see anywhere. If you wear these, you might get mistaken for a demon.”

Yoichi: “Who’s gonna wear these, anyway?”

Yoichi-san looks into the costumes as if he was amazed.

Yoichi(smiling): “Hey hey, this certainly is a unique material. Have a look, Yuno.”

At his urging, I also looked into the costumes and they were brightly colored and elaborately designed kimonos.

Even footwear is also available.

Yuno: “Wow...! These are really beautiful. It’s the first time I’ve seen a kimono like these.”

Sueharu: “Isn’t it? I told you won’t get to see things like this everyday.”

(Lovely!....I’d love to see Yoichi-san wearing this. I bet it would look great.)

Yoichi: “Nice. I bet it would look good on Yuno.”

Yuno: “Ehh.....”

(He thought the same thing as me.)

I turned my head to look at him and Yoichi-san, noticing my gaze, smiles at me.

Yoichi: “Hey, Yuno. Will you wear this for me? I might just fall in love with you all over again.”

Yuno(blushing): “Again....”

Just as my cheeks were red, Sueharu-san interrupted us.

Sueharu: “Don’t worry, Yuno. We’ll get to dress Yoichi up as well.”

Yoichi: “What? me too.”

Sueharu: “Of course, Yuno. Even you wanna see, right? Yoichi wearing this.”

Yuno(blushing): “Yes. I think it will look good on him.”

After a while, Sueharu-san brings out both the male and female costumes.

Sueharu: “You can pay me later. Why don’t you go and change for now?”

Yoichi: “How annoying....”

(Maybe you’re not too keen on it. But since we’re here----)

Yuno: “I’m curious to see how you’ll look like wearing that. Will you try it on?”

Yoichi(smiling): “......Awww, I can’t help it if you beg me like that.”

He sighs lightly, then smiles and puts his lips to my ear.

Yoichi: “----If I change my clothes, will you reward me later?”

His tempting words make my heart skip a beat.

Then we decide to go back to the room on board and change clothes.

.......................

(I wonder if Yoichi-san has finished changing too.)

As soon as I left the room feeling excited, I felt a shiver run down my spine.

(What is this feeling...)

Suddenly, the air around me becomes heavy and I started to shiver.

Yoichi: “Yuno? What’s wrong?”

I heard Yoichi-san’s voice from behind and when I turned around in relief---

Yuno: “!”

The ship lurched and I felt myself being thrown overboard.

(I’m falling....)

Yoichi: “Yuno!”

Yoichi’s hand grabs my arm. I felt like I was floating...and my consciousness sank into darkness.

................

(Mm.... did I faint?)

Yuno: “Yoichi-san...?”

When woke up I found myself looking around and immediately notice an abnormality.

(Ah.....)

The sky, which should have been clear, has turned dark and stagnant red.

There was an eerie mist in the air and a large moon was hovering in the sky.

Yuno: “Where am I...?”

While I was astonished by the bizarre scenery, I heard a familiar voice behind me.

Yoichi: “You’re awake. ....It looks like we have come to a strange place.”

(Yoichi-san....!)

I was relieved and when I turned around----

(Ah....)

My eyes widened to the different appearance of Yoichi-san.

Yuno: “You’re here too. ....What about Sueharu-san?”

I quickly asked when I remembered about the others.

Yoichi: “Well...If it weren’t for this situation, I’d be able to properly enjoy your lovely appearance.”

Yoichi-san’s white costume was exotic and suited him as if it had been made just for him. (Of course, it is.)

(Somehow it looks like someone I meet for the first time.)

I can’t help but admire him in the background of the moon.

(But as Yoichi-san said, now is not the time.)

Yuno: “Do you have any idea, where we are?”

Yoichi: “Well, I was trying to pull you back up, but then you suddenly fainted and we both fell. Then when I opened my eyes, I found myself here. I did a quick search, but there was no sign of Sueharu and any of the other sailors. It seems we’re the only ones here. In short, this looks like a ghost ship.”

(....!)

Yoichi: “By the way, since I came here, I’ve been feeling a bit heavy. How about you?”

Yuno: “Now that you mentioned it, I certainly feel my shoulders heavy.”

I felt an unnatural weight as if someone placed rocks on my shoulders.

Yoichi: “This situation sounds a bit familiar to me. I once asked Kurama out curiosity, about the demon world.”

Yuno: “!”

Those words gave me goosebumps.

Yoichi: “I feel like.....we are in the demon world. I don’t know the theory behind this, but there is a gateway that connects the demon world and the human world. Maybe we might have traveled through that when we fell off the ship.”

Yuno: “That’s....”

Yoichi: “Also the air of the demon world is not good for humans. So we should get out of here soon if possible.”

As I listened to Yoichi-san’s words, I felt a tinge of anxiety in my heart.

(Demon world.....why did we even come here?)

(Can we even get back home safely?)

Yoichi: “Awww....You look like a lost child.”

Yuno: “? Hey!”

Yoichi-san pinches my nose lightly. Then smiled mischievously and his round eyes reflected.

Yoichi(smiling): “It’s so cute when you look at me like that, I want to pull your cheeks every time, but I can’t right now. But don’t worry, I’ll take you home safely.”

(Yoichi-san....)

The joking tone of his voice conveys his kindness. My anxiety quickly faded and I smiled.

Yoichi: “Now let’s get out of this place.”

Yuno: “Yes.”

Yoichi-san pats me on my head.

(If Yoichi-san is by my side, I’m sure I’ll be okay.)

................

We got off the ghost ship and walked across the beach.

Yoichi: “Even the sea water is red.” 

Yuno: “Also the sky is dim, but it doesn’t feel like night time.”

(In the first place, this should have been daytime.)

Yoichi: “Maybe there might not be concepts like night and day here. Let’s just assume that what we learned about our world doesn’t work this side. Think like Kurama.”

The light-heartedness of Yoichi-san’s voice lightens my heart a little.

Yuno: “You’re right. Now I feel much better.”

Yoichi: “Looks like the air around here is better. Now, let’s find a way to our world.”

When Yoichi-san turns his head towards the sea.----

(.....!)

We heard wet footsteps behind us.  When we turned quickly, we see a woman swaying to a halt.

The water dripped from her body as if she had just come out of the sea and her scales glistened on her pale skin.

(Demon...!)

Yoichi: “Stay behind me.”

Yoichi-san stepped forward to shield me and took out his small sword from his sleeve.

Demon lady: “Oh, how tactless of you to point that thing at a lady.”

The demon snickers and looks at us mockingly.

Demon lady: “What are you doing here in the first place? Why are you pretending to be humans?”

(What.... does she not realize we are actually humans?)

Yoichi(whispers to Yuno): “I never thought Sueharu’s words about these clothes making us look like demons would come true.”

Yuno(whispers back): “Yeah. .....But it surely did fool that woman.”

Yoichi(whispers): “But in reality, it seems impossible. Then again, we don’t who made these, or maybe these clothes were actually made for this purpose.”

Demon lady: “Hey! What are you two whispering about? Are you going to ignore me?”

Then the demon lady walks towards Yoichi-san indignantly.

Yuno: “Yoichi-san!”

But for some reason, she stopped moving.

Demon lady: “Hmmmm? Look at you, you’re a handsome man!”

Yoichi: “Ha....?”

Then the demon lady looks at me.

Demon lady: “Is he your lover? Well, I don’t care even if he is. I’ll take care of him from now on. I’ll love him until I’m tired of him.”

Yuno: “Ha!”

As the demon lady stretched out her hand towards Yoichi-san----

Yoichi(smiling): “I’m sorry, but I’ve already got my hands full. I have no intention of looking for another woman.”

(Yoichi-san....)

Demon lady: “....Nonsense! She’s just a regular girl and you’re choosing her instead of me. Fine then, how about I give you something in return for this insult.”

The edge of her mouth twisted into a smile and she held up her right hand.

The next moment, before he could avoid it, a terrible light enveloped his whole body.

I rushed to Yoichi-san’s side, who was on his knees, and put my hand on his back.

Then the light disappeared.

Demon lady: “Hmph....I have the power to excite men. It won’t take effect right of the bat, so why don’t you enjoy the heat....with your girlfriend.”

Demon lady looks at me and smiled meaningfully. She turns her heels and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Yoichi: “What did that....woman do to me?”

Yuno: “Are you okay? Yoichi-san.”

Yoichi: “I’m alright. I’m not that weak of a guy.”

In a light tone to reassure me, Yoichi-san stands up.

Yoichi: “...More than that, let’s not stay here anymore. Come on, Yuno.”

Yoichi-san takes my hand and we started walking.

As I followed, the Demon woman’s words crossed my mind.

(What does she mean to get excited? Is he really going to be okay?)

............................

After walking for a while, we reached the ghost town.

Yuno: “The town looks spooky. I didn’t know there was such a place....”

While walking down the street, we saw many different demons.

Yoichi: “I wonder if this is what the Night Parade of 100 demons looks like in real life. It’s wise to not create a scene.”

Yuno: “You’re right.”

We hide in a narrow alley and looked around.

Yuno: “What should we do? Who are we going to ask....”

After saying my thoughts, I noticed that Yoichi-san was staring at me.

His gaze was somewhat feverish and he didn’t look the way how he usually does.

Yuno: “Yoichi-san?”

Yoichi-san looked flummoxed for a moment and then quickly looked away.

Yoichi: “It’s nothing.”

(Maybe that spell is starting to work....)

Yoichi: “Anyways, look at that one.”

My thoughts were interrupted when Yoichi-san showed me across the street.

As the street slowly cleared, we saw a lone demon walking towards our alley staggered, perhaps drunk.

Yoichi: “How about we ask him?”

Yoichi-san muttered in a light tone and waited for the demon to come in front of the alley and grabbed his arm.

Then he pulled him inside the alley.

Yuno: “Yoichi-san?”

The demon blinked vaguely and looked at us with a scowl.

Male Demon: “Who the fuck are you?”

(Yoichi-san what is your plan?)

I’m not sure what he’s thinking, but Yoichi-san smiles naturally.

Yoichi: “You look very drunk. Will you show us some good sake places?”

Demon man: “What, you want to drink too?”

Yoichi: “Yeah, but I’m not used to the area and they say human brewers are getting better at it these days. If you want can, will you show me sake shops around here. ......Oh, I don’t even mind human shops too. By the looks of it, you look like you’ll know some nice ones.”

Demon man: “Ha....Hahaha...Oh yeah! I’m a man with a discerning palate, alright”

The male demon laughs happily as if he was in a good mood.

Male demon: “Well, I’m feeling good tonight, so I’ll tell you my favorite ones.”

(He’s not doubting us at all.....)

(All thanks to Yoichi-san’s lively atmosphere.)

The male demon goes on telling his list of favorite sake shops in the demon world.

Then he stopped for a moment and stared at Yoichi-san.

Yoichi: “Hm? What wrong?”

Male demon: “Hey, quick question.....so, did that fish lady cast some kind of spell on you?” 

Yoichi: “!”

(Is he referring to the woman we met at the beach. Does he know her?)

Yoichi-san quickly hid his momentary agitation and showed a troubled look on his face.

Yoichi: “Haa....That’s right. Looks like that’s what she does when someone declines her invitation. So, do know how to solve this?”

Male demon: “Oh, so that’s what it is. No worries lad----”

The male demon tells us about a hot spring that has a detoxifying effect.

(I’m glad....! So if he soaks in the hot springs, he’ll be cured.)

Yoichi: “Thank you very much. After the hot springs visit, I’ll definitely try out the sake shops you told me about. So how can we get to that shop in the human world?”

Male demon: “The gateway to the human world.....Hmm, there is one near the beach. There are three big trees on the beach, go through the middle of them.”

Then the male demon left, humming happily.

Yoichi: “The beach.....so that was our destination from the very start.”

Yoichi-san’s mouth twitches as he mutters.

Yuno: “But it’s good to know where exactly it is or else it would have been difficult.”

Yoichi: “...Hmm yeah.”

Yuno: “Let’s go to the hot springs first----”

I walked out in high spirits but soon realized that something was wrong with Yoichi-san.

When I turned around, I saw Yoichi-san putting his hand on the wall to support his wobbly body.

Yuno: " Are you okay...!?"

I run up to him quickly. Yoichi-san seemed like he was in pain.

Yuno: "Maybe..."

Yoichi-san looks up before I can finish.

Yoichi: ".....Yuno."

Yuno: ".....Um?"

His face is flushed and the eyes that were fixed on me had an uncontrollable heat.

When I was completely captivated by his gaze, Yoichi-san frowns as if he was enduring something.

Yoichi(blushing): "...Yuno, forgive me."

Yuno: "Yoichi-san---"

I tried to ask him what was wrong, but he covered my lips with a forceful kiss.

My back was pressed against the wall and he blocked my movements.

Yuno: "Mm...Ha..."

Yoichi(blushing): "........"

Yoichi-san parted his lips and looked at me from a distance where our breaths almost touched.

Yoichi(blushing): "....Hey, I want you so badly. You look so cute that...I just want to eat you all up."

A voice filled with desire strikes my ear.

(Maybe....spell is kicking in...)

When I was confused, his lips nibble my neck.

Yuno(blushing): "Ahh....."

A felt a faint pain and my body was on fire.

Yuno(blushing): "Yoichi...san..."

(Come back to your old self....)

I quickly grabbed his hand, and he looked up at me as if he had just realized what had happened.

Yoichi: "Yuno. .....Forgive me, I lost my resistance."

He says with a bitter look on his face and moves away.

Yuno(blushing): "Were you enduring it, all this time?"

Yoichi: "...Well, yeah. At first, it was nothing, but then it got worse and worse. It's like a slow-acting poison, apparently."

Yuno(blushing): "That's...."

Yoichi: "As a matter of fact, every time I look at you, I get all hot and excited. You never know what I might do to you....If you come near me, now."

Yoichi-san mutters teasingly. But his eyes had a dangerous heat in them when he looked at me.

(.....Mm.)

The place where his lips had touched earlier tingled sweetly.

I let out a small gasp, and Yoichi-san's hand touched my cheeks----

Yoichi: ".....Yuno."

Premium END // Epilogue

Finally, it's over!!! I was originally planning to start with Yoshitsune, but his main story was so so long, just only the main story. Compared to that Yoichi's was smaller. So I'll finish this one first, then Shigehira and finally Yoshitsune.

[traditional-with-a-twist]

xvii. Beauty and Her Beast

<<Previous || first arc || AO3 || Next>>

Obi is waiting for her when she returns.

He unfolds like a cat from among the flowers, sauntering over to greet his mistress--and like an animal, he scents at once that something is wrong.

His next step cancels the distance between them. He places himself at her side as he always has, ever since entering the royal service--but this time, things are different.

Enough has changed between them that now, when his hand moves, he allows the movement to follow through to its natural conclusion. 

One fingertip extends, reaches, and comes to rest on her elbow.

...

She turns her face up to his.

“Obi,” she says, but his name sounds like a question.

“Yes,” he answers her simply, unhesitating, even as the vertebrae of his spine lock together, fusing him into one long line of tension.

He keeps his voice light as he adds, in obedience to her wishes, the four syllables long denied to him: “Shirayuki.”

The lines between her eyebrows ease. Her hand makes an absent, seeking gesture; it comes to rest in a loose hold on his sleeve.

...

Shirayuki has never found it easy to voice her concerns.

Even now, though she plans to tell Obi, wants to hear what he thinks, hopes he can reassure her -- she hesitates.

Obi has never found it easy to guess her thoughts, but he’s willing to try if it will help her to put them in words.

“Something amiss at the pharmacy?” he begins, a moderate opening sally in case it won’t take more than a gentle nudge. 

His hand has advanced on its determined path to nearness with her; he cradles her elbow in his palm now.

“Oh--n-no, they’re all doing well--I mean, Yatsufusa…” She bites her lips.

Obi zeroes in on the clue. “Did he say something to you?”

“Yes, but it wasn’t…”

...

She didn’t know quite how to explain it. She didn’t quite understand it.

She hadn’t expected it.

When she burst into the office, hair flying, eyes shining, the message delivered by Higata clutched in her hand, she was half-wild with excitement.

The message was such good news, so long-awaited, too much to keep to herself. She wanted to celebrate, to give thanks, to rejoice with someone who must be equally relieved and delighted that Garrack and Ryuu were coming home.

...

Immediately after the war’s conclusion, the Chief Pharmacist had received orders to suspend her regular duties in deference to the critical conditions overwhelming the hospitals in the port town.

She and her protegee had departed at the head of a wagon train, overseeing the shipment of supplies that Shirayuki, Obi, and all the regular staff had helped prepare.

Official reports with terse updates on their progress provided evidence that they continued alive and well, but no personal correspondence accompanied these missives.

There had been no word of when they would return, until now.

...

Shirayuki was too happy to speak; she only waved the letter and beamed at Yatsufusa.

What words could describe the enormity of her feelings? She has been so alone, so out of place, and now so happy... At last one of the roving thoughts escapes her: 

“They’ll be back in time for the wedding!”

...

Yatsufusa wasn’t a man given to emotional displays. 

He had received the princess with the quiet equanimity typical of his character: Below his perpetually hidden eyes, his mouth creased in a slight sign of the pleasure he shared with her.

At this pronouncement, the smile vanished.

It was true, then.

...

He had wanted to dismiss Higata’s frantic, half-articulate tale as mistaken or at least misapprehending. 

Now there was no choice but to believe it.

Garrack always found a way to foist her work off on him, he reflected. Even from a distance.

...

“Your highness…”

Shirayuki looked quizzical, then a light dawned. Oh, yes. He meant her. She answered with a hesitant smile, looking her question.

Yatsufusa cleared his throat. “With regard to your...wedding…”

She colored prettily.

As gently as he would inspect a wound for infection, he asked whether she had considered what was customary?

Customary, she repeated, wondering.

Yes, customary. Had she considered that, as the bereaved intended of a second prince, she must honor the Wisteria royal family in her choice of a future husband?

...

The message vanished into folds of white as Shirayuki’s hands wound into her skirts. “Honor?” she repeated faintly.

“Honor...or dishonor.” Yatsufusa felt the cruelty of his task, but he set to it as he would set a bone.

“It would be--more correct, for you to marry someone of noble lineage, your highness.”

...

Shirayuki was not a politically-minded person. 

Before she met Zen, her thinking rarely bothered with questions beyond her intimate circle, what concerned the people she knew personally, and those challenges and dangers that immediately involved their lives. 

Befriending a prince had necessarily changed that. 

Now the problems impacting her friends were problems of state: dilemmas and dangers that convened councils and kept kings awake at night.

In some curious way, Shirayuki hadn’t felt the difference. For Kihal and the Yuris Island birds, for instance, she had diagnosed and prescribed a solution the same way she would have treated a patient.

The diplomatic implications added different dimensions, rendered the occasion more solemn, but otherwise affected not at all her desire to help, or her determination to make things right.

...

The problem confronting her now cast long shadows in Shirayuki’s mind, precisely because of the political terms with which Yatsufusa had framed it. 

An obscure implication of duty now jutted from the mists to threaten her bid for a safe harbor. None of her mental maps--all drawn on the scale of human relationships--could afford her any guidance.

She didn’t know what to do.

...

Uncertainty chills rapidly into fear, for someone accustomed to operating with a driving sense of purpose.

By the time Shirayuki reached Obi, her stomach felt tight, her throat closed. Her skirts weighed on her, though she had worn them lightly just an hour before.

As she recounted the story, her head had sunk lower and lower; now she confesses to her shoes: “I never thought about it that way before.”

...

A snort startles her. Her head jerks up.

Obi’s eyes crinkle. “A noble family, huh? That’s the problem?”

Shirayuki blinks at him, bemused. “I...think so?”

...

Interwoven with her doubts about the future lurked a nervousness verging on panic that something in what she had said might prove harmful for Obi. 

She flinched at the thought of handing him a bundle spiked with invisible needles, something that might cut into him before she realized what was wrong.

He didn’t look as if he were in pain, though. If anything, he looked amused.

...

“I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you,” Obi says airily. He looks past her, so tall and so near that she can’t see into his eyes.

“But will there be trouble if--if we… I mean…” Her fingers tightened on his sleeve. “What can we…”

“Sorry, mi--Shirayuki. There’s nothing we can do about my birth.” 

Obi barks a laugh. “If someone has a problem with that, he’ll have to complain to the people responsible for it.”

His palm slides up her arm, his thumb tracing a soothing circle against her shoulder.

Shirayuki smiled uncertainly. Fear lost its grip in the face of this levity, but instead she was baffled. What was so funny?

Why was he laughing?

[eltanin-malfoy]

Hard To Swallow (Kill Or Be Killed III)

pairing : draco/fem-collegestudent!y/n 

word count : 2.7k

warnings : swearing, mentions of murder/poison/drugging, angst

Chapter 1 2

a/n : super sorry this took sooooo goddamn long. This is my first work that wasn’t betaed, so any errors or as such are all thanks to me :P any and all feedback is highly appreciated. requests are still open! also if you’re a med student or a doctor or work as an emt or just have a lot of knowledge on drugging, pls pop into my dms! am going to need a lil help for the next chapter. 

Chapter 3 : Hard To Swallow

It had been a.. surprise, to say the least. Really. To say the absolute least. What the fuck is happening? I haven’t told.. a single.. person around here my last name. I could never have. He threw the letter down to the floor, still holding his bleeding finger tightly. The only ones who know are my boss and the landlord. But I think he remembers it wrong.. after all, it isn’t.. He almost retched. Mafcoy. 

But there was absolutely no reason for the elderly missus to try to freak him out, was there? No reason at all. Right? She definitely wasn’t one of the people who his father had stolen from, right? She wasn’t some criminal mastermind who was secretly looking for revenge? No! Of course not! That’s.. ridiculous. Totally! That’s comical! It’s.. 

Insanely perfect! 

What better way to poke at someone than to appear absolutely vulnerable? He would try and do that with.. Y/N but he didn’t have the figure for it. Tall. Lanky. Sharp-featured. Not to mention, ridiculously handsome.. Okay, he was getting ahead of himself here. Someone was watching him. Who? Who?

Had one of his dad’s old colleagues figured out where he’d moved? Were they just trying to shock him into being nicer? Or to leave the country altogether? Or was someone planning to kill him?

Why would anyone want to kill him? He was clearly just in over his head! Goddammit, Draco. Shut up! It’s.. just some stupid prank! Of course! Some stupid git has found out your name and just wants to freak you out! He sighed and walked to his bathroom, pulling off the cap and sunglasses. He opened up his cabinet and took out a bandaid. He opened the packaging and began wrapping his finger in it, then began to stare at himself in the mirror. 

He’d been focusing on the wrong detail this entire time.. Someone had said that they were watching you! Jesus Christ, Draco! He could feel goosebumps forming at the back of his neck and he shuddered. Had they planted hidden cameras in his home? Was there someone stalking him? Had someone actually managed to hack into his devices and watch him from the cameras? He felt jittery and decided to calm his nerves with another fag, reaching into his pocket for the pack.

***

 Unfortunately, even after Draco decided to take every precaution possible (put duct tape over the webcam of his computer, do in all the blinds of all his windows, check cabinets he normally didn’t open for bugs), he wasn’t any closer to figuring out who it was that was watching him.. He could only hope it was the same for Y/N, but of course, she wouldn’t even know he was following her in the first place, he didn’t send her an ominous note saying that he was.

Some people are just too.. over the top. He decided. Better to work hard in private than try to scare your target.

And so, he decided to put in the hours. He had several until his shift, anyways. Further research (or.. checking Y/N’s Instagram account for updates, rather) managed to work out for him a bit. He managed to lay out the locations where she’d most recently posted from in hopes of figuring out her usual hangout spots. It had been fairly easy and ridiculously predictable. Every location she visited was in close proximity to her university campus. Of course. It definitely wasn’t creepy for a random guy to walk around a campus, even if it was in the middle of a bustling city, not attending classes and just searching for a certain someone. Goddammit. Why did there have to be so many people everywhere all the time? Makes everything that much harder.

He groaned, instead getting up to grab some lunch.

*** 

He managed to make no real progress until suddenly, as he was sitting in the Employees Only room, it was as if an angel heard his prayers.. Okay, no angel, it was just Y/N. 

It was too cold to head out for just a smoke that evening. The regular breeze had worked itself up to a strong, blasting wind which threw icy air at anyone in its path, and no matter how badly he wanted a puff, he wasn’t ready to risk getting winded for it. So, for his good old break, he just had to gussy up and hang around in the room where his, now suspicious, boss hung around. He kept himself as far as he could from her, sitting down in a corner and pretending to look busy on his phone.

Soon enough, he decided to check his soon-to-be victim’s account and saw an update on her story. There was some kind of a poster for a club he recognised seeing on maps. 

Carts & Horses.

Singles Night! 

Free pints up for grabs for the winners of our Karaoke Competition!

Happy Hours are from 7 to 9!

She’d added a short caption underneath it, “Does anyone wanna join me?” Jesus Christ. She moves on quick, doesn’t she? He stared at it for a few seconds before shutting his phone and thinking about it. It was for this coming Friday.. A good four days for him to ready everything. He just had to find a way to prick her with the needle without anyone noticing him do it. That was all it had to be. And what was good was, her little question made it clear she wasn’t going to go with anyone she was close to. 

Now, he could actually get to setting out a concrete plan for that fateful Friday night.

***

Everything was ready. Mostly. 

He’d sorted out everything to do with the injections, i.e. managed to sneak into the pharmacist’s section of the store and take out what he needed while modifying the online inventory. He’d then combined them in his own kitchen! Of course, it was a bit difficult getting everything into those syringes and then capping them without creating too much of a mess.. but it seemed to have worked. Obviously, he didn’t have a test subject. Although.. he supposed Y/N was technically one. 

He’d need enough time and a secretive place in which to conduct his plan out without being noticed.. and this was hard. The whole procedure, if it was to be conducted, would take at least take ten minutes. What to do.. What to do.. 

He couldn’t attempt to seduce her and bring her to his house (which, admittedly, might not have worked because of their spat from earlier) because.. people might notice and remember. He’d have to try his best to stay undercover and go unnoticed.. but how could he do it while still trapping her while she was fishing for someone to hook up with? This was going to be hard..  

***

The day finally approached. Draco managed to get out of going into work for the day by feigning a strong head-cold. Easily done, what with Draco’s brilliant acting skills and.. his boss being the slightest bit hard of hearing. He spent the day planning what to do. 

He realised that lurking around or in the corners of the pub likely would not sit well with any of the actual patrons, so he’d have to enter it and hang around a bit. Obviously, he’d keep his distance and try not to attract attention to himself. (Although, he couldn’t help it if people did swoon over him..)

Draco tried his best to pick out something that would make him.. fit in with his surroundings. What did blokes wear to pubs again? It had been a while since he’d socialised, especially in a setting like this. He decided on a black button-up shirt and a pair of tight fitting dark trousers. I mean, I can’t exactly go in looking badly dressed, can I? He remarked as he looked himself over in the mirror, a slight grin on his face. Okay! You aren’t trying to get laid, you idiot. He took a deep breath.

He shook his head as he packed everything carefully into his thick coat. Okay. Run it over again. He shut his eyes tightly. When she’s by herself, make sure she doesn’t see you and grab her from the back. Give her the midazolam and then gag her and blindfold her. Tie her hands up as soon as she loses control. Then, after five minutes, give her the vecuronium bromide. Then, as she stops breathing, give her the good old potassium chloride, then get out of there as soon as you can. Jesus Christ, it did sound ambitious. But, with a bit of luck, it would work out just fine.

***

Draco managed to make it to the pub a few minutes past 7, which was when he thought the bitch would decide to show up. Even spoilt kids search for discounts sometimes, don’t they? He didn’t enter the pub at first and just gazed in, looking around for her. 

And there she was. Sitting by herself at the bar. He felt that same slight annoyance at her presence, but she looked.. good tonight. She wasn’t that bad to look at if she didn’t open her mouth, really. She was wearing a red shirt and some jeans, which all looked.. fairly tight, even in the distance. She was looking towards the entrance now and then, seemingly waiting for someone while she sipped slowly at a drink. So.. maybe she is here with someone? Or maybe waiting for someone? It was unclear. Either way, I should be able to grab her when she’s getting in or out of the ladies’ room.

He stepped into the pub, staring down at the floor as he found a seat by the bar. It wasn’t too far from where she was sat, but enough that she wouldn’t see him unless she tried, and if he tried hard enough, he could ignore whoever it was singing like an absolute tosser. “Grey Goose on the rocks, please.” He muttered, looking to the bartender so he didn’t look like a total creep. And of course, a little liquid courage certainly wouldn’t hurt.

“Ten pounds. Lemon?”

“No need, thanks.”

Draco slid over a note as the bartender passed him his drink, then looked over at Y/N.. who was now.. looking at him. Shit! His eyes widened but he quickly glanced to the side, hoping to play it off as just a.. casual.. scan of the room. But no! She’d seen him staring right at her.. Fucking hell.

He grit his teeth and turned to the side, covering the side of his face with his hand. Hopefully she didn’t realise it was him...

Who was he kidding! Of course she did! He should have gone ahead and dyed his hair darker to blend in, as much as he would have hated it. He should’ve actually bought some makeup and done something to his face to look different. God-fucking-dammit! He almost slammed his fist onto the table as he felt himself grow all the more frustrated. 

He felt his ears turn red and shook his head. It’s not that big of a deal. Of course not. He just had to avoid getting into any conflict with her. If he just sat here and avoided her, she definitely wouldn’t approach him, right? She was looking for someone nice, right? Although.. her last affair did seem questionable. He quickly glanced over at her again and thankfully, she’d looked away. He wondered what had prompted her to take such quick action.. or not really, seeing that she was just sitting by herself, drinking whatever it was she was drinking. She seemed to shrug off people coming over to talk to her as well, instead just staring down at the counter in front of her. Suddenly, she turned to look at him again with an eyebrow raised.

He felt color flush his own face and he looked to his glass, internally whacking himself in the face with it. Why would he make the same mistake twice? What was he doing? He soon heard the light tapping of heels near him and shut his eyes tightly. Draco, it’s over now. You’re going to have to plan for some other day. Or.. pick another victim. If enough people see this, they’ll know she hated you.

“What were you just.. doing?” She was almost uncharacteristically soft, like she was trying to hide something. 

“Nothing.” Draco murmured instinctively.

“Come on.” Y/N sighed. “I caught you staring at me. Twice.” Could it be.. ickle Y/N was ashamed to be spotted here? On ‘Singles’ Night’? He clenched his jaw to force the corners of his mouth not to curl up into a smirk.

“Just.. curious.” He uttered, still staring at his glass. Y/N put a hand on the counter next to his glass and he almost shuddered. 

“Are you here.. for.. Singles’ Night?” He turned to look up at her and froze, staring into her eyes. “What? What is it?” She drawled out, squinting slightly at him.

He stared at her for a few seconds and it suddenly hit him. This.. this girl. How was he supposed to kill her? She was a person, just like him. A person with memories, with loved ones, with goals. No, stop it. He shuddered and looked to the side, face growing hotter. She’s abused her lifestyle enough, she has to pay, doesn’t she? He almost jolted upwards as he heard a slight clunk on the counter beside him. 

“Um.. are you alright?” She was still looking at him, her hand falling back on the counter.

“I’m fine.. and.. yes. I am.” He managed out, gulping nervously. 

“Oh. Um.” Whatever retort she had planned seemed to suddenly fizzle out of her mind. “Okay.”

“Are you.. as well?”

“Yes.” She seemed to turn pink herself. She suddenly turned towards the counter herself. “Excuse me.. Could I have an iced water please?” The bartender nodded and walked to the side, grabbing a glass.

She swallowed softly herself, pressing her red-painted lips together in a way which made Draco want to touch them for himself. He felt that same pang of guilt all throughout him. He could feel those syringes in his coat weighing him down, pulling him towards the floor, almost. 

The bartender slid a glass over on the counter, right next to Draco’s. He turned to look.. and surprisingly, they were hard to tell apart. Both were clear.. and iced. He guessed which one was hers and handed it to her, after which she took a few sips from it, absolutely silent. It certainly was growing a bit awkward between them.. Draco didn’t really have anything unpleasant to say to her and frankly, he wasn’t exactly sure what to do in front of her like this. 

Her.. almost murderer, am I? He looked over at the counter again. His drink.. was a little fuller. Had the bartender refilled it for him? Gee, he hoped he wouldn’t be charged for that. 

Suddenly, Y/N pressed both her hands against the counter and let out a deep, deep breath. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked up at her face, which was steadily turning a deep shade of red. She brought a palm to her face and felt her cheek. “What..? Oh-” She mumbled out, then started walking away from Draco. She continued to speak but began to slur her words, and her steps grew more and more sluggish. Funny. Very funny. Is this her idea of a joke? This seemed.. unlikely, considering her usual.. turbulent nature. Or, is she just bad at handling her liquor?

SLAM!

He heard the loud thud across the floor from him almost before he realised Y/N had fallen to the floor. Her arms were on either side of her torso as her face lay on its side, her lips slightly parted. Her legs shook slightly but then lay flat on the floor, spread out on the floor. What? What was going on? He quickly got off his bar stool and rushed over to her, while the crowd nearby her hushed up. Whoever it was singing karaoke shut up as well. Someone yelled something over at him but it just.. faded away. 

Was this because of something he’d done? Or.. was someone else trying to attack her.. as well?

Chapter 4

[folerdetdufoler]

oh friday. we love a fredag in this house. this was the one day i had plans, and by “i had plans” i mean i tagged along for haidee and nadège’s plans because they were in oslooooo! they were flying in later that morning, so i had some time to spend on my own, which was good. i took my sweet ol’ time eating breakfast, looking out the window and hoping for the clouds to part, a ray of sun to appear, anything. but no. it remained quite dark most of the day, and the light you see in the photos is mostly due to editing in instagram. there was also a pretty constant drizzle that remained from the day before, but i wasn’t going to let that stop me. i had a city to explore!

so, naturally, i went back to the opera house, my most visited location outside of my hotel room in all of my trips combined. it was a bit too windy to deal with my travel umbrella so that went back into my backpack after the second time it blew inside out. i walked over to the harbor to see if, perhaps, the view was better over the water. it was not. but i climbed up the opera house steps anyway, because at least i could walk off breakfast. it was strange because i was the only one up there, but it was also shit weather and not much of a view (again), so i just figured i would enjoy having the place to myself (was the opera house closed? mayhaps.). and enjoy it i did, because i managed to slip and fall at the top! i was done climbing, it wasn’t even any kind of incline…i was just distracted trying to take a photo of the non-view and my feet were like “okay let’s make a break for it!” and they most certainly did. now i love my alone time, being able to experience the world without the pressure of existing in it, but i really loved my alone time just then, when my body decided to stop standing. feet went up, ass went down, i probably screamed, and then i posted about it on instagram, like you do. the tradition of climbing up the opera house in the winter and then eating it was alive and well.

i held on to the wall as i climbed back down.

then i walked around the harbor, hoping the light rain would soak enough of the rest of my pants as to disguise how wet my ass was. i went to the salt…area? installation? i’m not sure how to describe it. the other side of the harbor. just because it was a location i’d seen in a bunch of norwegian instagram stories and i had to see these t-shirts for myself. it was cool. i was slightly distracted because i was going low at that point, had walked off too much of my breakfast in fact, and only had a packet of gushers in my backpack for a sugar boost. so i moved on to an apotek to find glucose tablets.

i changed pump systems back at the end of august, adding a cgm and increasing my insulin usage by like…500%. my previous two trips were done on an old, dying pump and barely any bolusing or glucose monitoring, so this was my first trip where i was actively using insulin and keeping my numbers in range. this is a good thing, of course, but it was also new and a distraction and created dangerous situations for myself as i insisted on walking back and forth across the city center. i struggled to count carbohydrates with the different nutrition information on the food i bought (y’all what’s the point of telling me how many carbs are in 100 g of food if i can’t tell how much food is in the container?). i mean, i did okay, because i’ve been eyeballing this shit since i was twelve, but my new system relies heavily on accurate carb counts and boluses. if i don’t give it the right information, it has to compensate with the basal rate, and those automatic adjustments were not jiving with my bursts of activity. ugh, okay, well this was all just a weird venting aside and explanation for what i did in my down time: struggle.

in some flash of unusual foresight, i had kept the empty tube of glucose tablets and was able to show that to the pharmacist so she could do the translating for me. i would’ve cooed over the norwegian version of my tablets if i had the mental capacity in that moment, but i had to eat some first before i could even navigate my bag to find my wallet to pay for them. i was blessedly alone in this pharmacy as well, so only this one lady had to witness me dumping my damp backpack out on the floor to find a fuckin’ credit card. anyway, crisis averted. i chomped on raspberry-flavored sugar as i walked back to the hotel. whatever parts of me hadn’t gotten wet from the rain were now soaked through with my sweat so i had to dry off before the main event.

haidee had arranged for a late lunch for us at ett bord, so i met her and nadège there, along with margaux and charlotte. it was so lovely reconnecting with my girls and meeting new ones, and talking about the show of course but also learning about their regular lives as well. i don’t have much to compare it to, but it always feels so easy meeting strangers because even if we never interacted online, we still have this same source material that, at this point, courses through our veins. we talked about the show and fic and the con of course, since half of us were attending it the next day. i took a picture of the quiche that haidee had ordered because i…did not know that was quiche. and then maybe halfway through lunch i shit my pants?

or whatever it is that my body did when it heard henrik’s voice over my shoulder. maybe it was the opposite of shitting my pants. maybe i was clenching too hard because i felt like my heart was going to fall out of my ass. yeah, that.

our end of the table went silent. i was the last to realize what was going on because i had angled my body to face everyone else so i couldn’t see him enter or sit down. but i heard his voice and i froze and i hated myself for it.

we managed to get talking and eating again like the adult human beings we are. i think a couple were sat between our group and henrik then so it felt like there was a buffer and i could relax a bit. siv came over to chat and we were #exposed as fans (though if the chick clenching so tight she was about to eat the stool with her ass wasn’t a tip off then…) but i think we remained chill? i hope we did? i was still functioning well enough to use a fork so there was that, at least. and the food was good! i cleared my plate.

but then that fucker decided to come over to our group and say hi before he left, exhibiting the kindness and hospitality he’s known for at this point, and ugh. how dare he. i did not consent to death, thank you very much, yet there i was, clenching and dying.

i don’t know how to explain it without sounding rude and ungrateful, so i guess i’m being rude and ungrateful. but it did feel…violating? if only because i thought the screen that had always separated me from him as an actor was still in place. i realize i was in his city, in his family’s restaurant, and i was at this place of my own volition, but i still expected that wall to remain intact. i’d been to the restaurant twice before without coming into contact with his family, or been identified as a skam fan. i had assumed it would happen again. i had assumed those involved with the convention would be busy elsewhere with that, or hiding from it as long as they could. the restaurant is weirdly an established fan attraction, and thus far i’d been able to enjoy it without that association, and i had naively thought it would remain that way even on the eve of such a large fan event. but i’m a goddamn fool, and henrik is a very generous host.

he left. i unclenched. i think everyone else was simply delighted by the chance meeting and excited for the weekend to come because that’s why they were there. they were there to be skam fans. and i guess i…wasn’t? even though i’ve been struggling with my identity as anything but a skam fan, here i was, at the heart of the show, trying to deny it. ugh.

anyway, marie joined us as we were finishing up and from there we all walked to the convention location so they could register in advance. i met up with jenn there, and then we just bounced around until it was time for the play. we went to an atm, then to a christmas market, then to tanum on a sudden, exciting hunt for books, then to the theatre! and finally, finally, surrounded by blonde children who only came up to my waist, i got to hug kit. third time’s the charm, bitch.

then it was time for snøfall! we were seated painfully close to the stage because in my enthusiasm over the summer i had chosen some aggressive seating. on top of that actors were entering the stage from the aisle and the wing right in front of us, so while it was a funny and sweet story, i was legitimately frightened multiple times throughout as residents of snøfall ran right past us. but it was a fun show to watch, and the singing was impressive. i got to tune my ear to more norwegian, and of course, see tarjei. i loved the whole atmosphere of it, because it reminded me of my own family’s christmas tradition as a child, going to see the nutcracker at lincoln center. and holy shit, the set design was amazing? i barely looked at the program but at the end we stood in the lobby and tried to figure out who was responsible for choreographing such detailed settings in a very mechanical yet elegant way (i think it’s gjermund andresen and christer berg, fyi).

it was a wholly enjoyable performance, riiiiight up until a tarjei stan ran up to the stage to hand him flowers. he had to step out of the bows to accept them, which felt rude to the actual stars of the play and the children actors, but i didn’t catch their actual reactions because i was busy dying, again. i slid down in my seat hoping to melt into the floor but alas. #exposed.

we left. no one had a plan (welcome to the club) so we wandered to the christmas market. then we figured we needed dinner, so we walked over to grünerløkka to a place jenn had on her list. they were too busy for drop-ins, but their host kindly directed us to another restaurant with a similar vibe. at this point we’d done quite a bit of walking and were getting hungry, so when we spotted a bislett kebab on the way we decided to just give up and grab something there instead. it didn’t really matter to me, because food is food (and at least i was familiar with this food since i’d had it a couple of times last winter!). i would keep walking for hours as long as we were talking, but it was good to finally rest. i think it made me realize how tired i was, and i wasn’t even coming off of a morning of travel like everyone else. we split off after dinner and i collapsed back at the hotel. what a day.

before i go though, i just need to say that the best part of all of this was listening to margaux, charlotte, marie, nadège, jenn, and haidee talk about fic. i think they talked more about fic and the characters than the actual show, which makes sense, because that’s the most active part of the fandom (this was before the bloopers announcement). they were talking about what was still so alive for them, what they were keeping alive with their own stories and comments, and i just want to…i don’t know, give them credit? these women are amazing. they are why i impulse-bought tickets back in august, so i would have an excuse to see them again, and meet more like them, and attempt to show support in return. they are pursuing what they love, accomplishing so much, honing their own skills and supporting the talents of others. as much as i am ashamed of being one myself, i love how they are fans. i admire their lack of shame and their abundance of respect. they were on a trip, thoroughly enjoying themselves, and it was just comforting and affirming to watch them be relatable and wonderful human beings treating themselves to a fun weekend (what they deserve). i wonder, when i grow up, if i could be like them someday.

[kpopchangedme]

Abnormality | Mark Tuan

A normal medical appointment can be awfully embarrassing when the doctor examining you looks like a top model

Ethereal moodboard by my girl @florenceisnottrash ♡

|| M.List || GOT7 ||

Protagonists: Mark Tuan & You

Word Count: 1.9k

Genre: SFW – Doctor!AU – Comedy – Fluff  – *Swearing*

Lys’ note: 100% written because Florence asked me to on Instagram and I’m having a Tuan crisis, enjoy!

This was just a regular check-up, a Monday afternoon sadly wasted in the hospital to get your oral contraception renewed. What a dumb hassle, couldn’t your pharmacist just fax your Family Doctor for a new prescription for a second year in a row? It’s not like you actually wanted a full check-up, you just needed a freaking illegible signature on a piece of paper. Hell, the pill should be openly available in drugstores! Even if you liked Doctor Arafat, you imagined he had far more important things to do rather than see your perfectly healthy ass today. Shouldn’t he be saving lives instead of dealing with this?

You loudly sighed in the waiting room, wishing the time of the appointment would come faster. The lady across from you raised her eyes from her knitting mess, scowling like your small breathing noise just ruined her entire day. You held her gaze defiantly until she disapprovingly shook her head, eyes dipping back at what you were sure was an ongoing masterpiece. Almost triumphant you snorted at the staring contest win; this hospital waiting room was probably her everyday’s baby-boomer reality.

“Miss y/l/n?” The receptionist behind the counter called upon you and you rose to your feet, eager to get this over with. “I’m so sorry, we have been delayed a bit, but you can go and make yourself comfortable in room 6. The doctor will come see you as soon as possible!”

You obeyed and 15 minutes later, you were still sitting on an uncomfortable black chair, more and more dangerously bored to death as minutes went by. You had entered this damn place healthy, but God help you, you might become sick of old-age before you actually got what you came for. Curiously, the room 6 wasn’t as oppressively white as the rest of the hospital, it was tiny and sadly decorated with soft pink wallpaper.

Not the good kind of pink.

It looked like a flamingo had threw up all over the walls and curtains, leaving a faded salmon sad colour everywhere. You could bet people got sick from seeing the decor of room 6, at least once or twice. That’s it; you were going to die in here. It took another painful 15 minutes before the door of the cell opened again, letting a lanky man in a white laboratory coat you didn’t know step in.

“I’m sorry, Dr Arafat is a little busy today so I’m helping with some of his appointments.” The stranger sat in the chair across you, eyes glued to your chart. “I’m Dr. Tuan, one of his medical residents, I hope this is fine with you… Miss y/l/n?” Once done he raised his eyes to meet yours.

Your mind went blank for a moment as you stared back in his kind brown irises. The man was handsome, probably around your age, his brown hair fell right above his eyebrows, slightly parted in the middle to offer a glimpse of his porcelain forehead. He was almost as pale as his lab coat and you cleared your throat, suddenly highly uncomfortable under his scrutiny. “I-It’s just y/n…”

Dr. Tuan blinked, soft expression turning to a shy smile. “It’s just Dr. Mark then”, he leaned back, glancing around at the ugly room before adding: “You must be pretty special, they gave you the VIP room. Not everybody gets a My Little Zombie Pony themed suite.”

Even if you didn’t get it, you giggled at his joke attempt and his half-smile spread, now bearing far too many perfect white teeth. Shit, scratch that, the doctor wasn’t handsome, he was damn hot. You just won the hospital lotto, he was worth the wait.

“So, just y/n, I see you’re here for a prescription renewal.” He gazed down at your chart again, letting his index finger slide down the white paper and you used the opportunity to study his perfect features. “It shouldn’t take long, I just have a few questions then we’ll do a physical exam and you’ll be out in no time. I hear the weather’s beautiful today, you’ll be able to catch some sun! Sounds good?”

It took you a second to realize he was done talking and when you unwillingly detached your eyes from his lips, you reddened as you nodded. It wasn’t your fault, the man was very distracting, his lips looked so full, soft and pink.

The good kind of pink.

The doctor cleared his throat with a smirk, after catching you staring and he flipped pages on the chart. “Are you aware of your current weight or should we step on the balance?” His tone was professional, unbothered, but you felt your heart sink in your chest.

Fuck. Maybe having a hot doctor wasn’t going to be as fun as you initially thought.

He proceeded to ask all the basic questions about sleep habits, nutrition, allergies, etc. It went on for some time and as he scribbled all your answer in the chart, you couldn’t help staring at him like a madwoman. You silently prayed he didn’t notice it. His rose tongue darted through his lips, licking the corner of his mouth and maked you blush darker. What was it with you and your thing about mouths? Damn it, get your shit together y/n!

“Are you in a serious relationship?”

“N-no, I’m single!” You replied to that new question way faster than the last and he looked up, shadow of amusement passing on his features. The hospital could easily finance a whole new wing if they sold calendars with his face on it. You’d buy at least two.

“How many sexual partners were you intimate with this past year?” He used the most boring tone he could master for this question and you wondered if it was a way of distancing himself.

“Two”, you muttered, lying through your gritted teeth. You would have told ‘six’ to Dr. Arafat, but you found yourself worried of Dr. Tuan’s opinion. Fuck, you could slap yourself for thinking about this right now, it’s not like he cared.

He paused a second before scribbling your answer. “Okay, what about safety?”

“Hum?” You blinked, missing his question still too busy feeling guilty about your itsy-bitsy lie.

He raised an entertained brow, pursing his lips and leaning back on his chair. “I’m sorry”, he didn’t look the part at all, “it’s about risk factors and to determine if we need further tests to–”

“No!”, you bit the interior of your cheek. “I was tested a few months ago and I would never have unprotected sex!”

He hummed deeply, the sound making you feel exposed as he held your gaze. “Good, but you should know unprotected sex isn’t bad if both partners are tested and safe. If you want to have some, just–”

“I’m not on the pill for that.” Your face was on fire, you knew he couldn’t have missed the burning of your cheeks and you cursed yourself for being such an open book. His attempt at sexual ed definitely wasn’t helping.

Dr. Tuan smiled widely at your embarrassment and it felt out of place, his grin was way too dangerous for it to be professional. How could someone that attractive be a doctor? As if reading your mind, he lost the smile, starting to write down your prescription renewal.

“I’ll renew your current birth control pill for a year.” He tore the paper and slid it to you, observing intently as you put in in your purse. “I think we need to do a Pap Smear…”

Your mouth fell open, paling at the idea of it.

Dr. Mark Tuan between your legs, in stupid ugly room 6, up in your… Not that the idea hadn’t cross you since he entered, but this was definitely not what you had envisioned. Him between your legs would have sounded a lot more appealing if it wasn’t to dolorously scratching your cervix for a Pap test. His face remained neutral as panic evidently filled you. You jumped to your feet, ready to hightail it.

“Well, thank you for the prescription, I should probably just–”

You stopped halfway to the door, his hand was wrapped around your forearm.

“Relax, I was teasing you”, he was awfully close now, which had the opposite effect of relaxing you, “let’s just do a basic physical exam.”

You gulped and sighed before turning around and obediently sitting on the examination table. The doctor immediately proceeded to take your blood pressure. “Are you even allowed to make fun of me like this?”

He shrugged at your accusatory question. “I’m not sure, it’s the first year of my residency...” He paused and sighed, “Please don’t tattle on me, just y/n.”

You chuckled and he smirked at the sound, satisfied you were beginning to relax. “Do you make all your patients go through this?”

This time he smiled with all his teeth as he moved a light in front of your pupils to observe their reaction. “Only those who make me nervous.”  When he lowered the light, you blinked several times, blinded and stunned by what he just casually said. “Also”, he wrote something on the chart but it felt like he was just avoiding to look at you, “you’re not really my patient.”

You turned red again and you nervously wiggled, making the paper protection crack under your legs. So, you weren’t really the hot doctor’s patient and you made him nervous. How? He was the one making your heart skip beats ever since he walked in. Even right now, the implication of what he just said made your heart beat frantically in your chest.

… And that thought happened to you at the exact moment Dr. Mark Tuan was reaching for his stethoscope. Well, fuck.

His hands were like ice blocks when he slid them under your shirt and you felt like the stupidest girl ever for not wearing something low cut today. If you had, his hands wouldn’t be in you clothes and you wouldn’t be crimson red right now. No, you had to wear a stupid collar sweater, as if to make the doctor job’s harder.

“Breathe in… Out…” He instructed and you shivered as you obeyed, not from his cold touch but because of how low his voice got. You pressed your thighs together in an attempt to remind yourself of your surroundings. He’s just doing his job, this is a fucking hospital y/n, get your shit together. He changed sides to listen to your left lung, licking his lips as he repeated his commands.

You were pretty sure he didn’t need his stupid stethoscope to listen to your heartbeat, the receptionist and the old knitting lady could probably hear it from the waiting room. Still, he professionally moved it up your chest, listening seriously.

Dr. Mark searched for your eyes when he finally backed off to grab your chart one last time. “Wow, your heart rate is…” He stopped himself to chuckle, holding your humiliated gaze.

“Are we done?” You breathed out, already knowing you probably sounded like a percussion’ solo.

“Well your heart rate is… Abnormally fast… It’s crazy!” You pouted and he laughed knowingly, eyes following as you got up with the paper cover of the table stuck to your ass. “You should get this checked-up soon!” You sent a death glare his way, you both knew why it was beating so fast. He smirked, ripping another prescription sheet of his pad. “But not by me, I’m not your official doctor.” He handed you the sheet and you took it gently, suspicious he was just teasing you.

“What is this for?”

Mark offered you his million dollar smile again. “Nothing, I just prescribed you my phone number.”

|| M.List || GOT7 ||