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kitthepurplepotato · 7 months

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Chapter 17 - Drama in the air ✈️

Winter wonderland #1

Summary: The gang makes their way to the Winter Cabins. Somehow, everyone is grumpy today. Also, why does Rody and Katsuki hate each other?!

Warnings: Swear words, a tiny bit suggestive, a lot of tension for some weird reason.

Second warning: the “Winter Wonderland” storyline will contain other background relationships (Kirishima x Bakugou, Tamaki x Mirio, Kaminari x Shinsou, Todoroki x Yaomomo) and NSFW stuff (NOT with them. Khm), but I’ll leave a warning before it happens! This chapter is safe!)

First Chapter Master List

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“Welcome aboard, my friends!” Rody’s voice comes through the speakers. “I’ll do my best to not drop you all into the ocean!”

“I want to go home.” Tamaki whimpers with his face hidden in his best friend’s neck, who’s wearing a plain T-shirt with “emotional support animal” written on the front. You can’t help but giggle. That guy looks like he knows how to have fun.

“Are you getting off on being an asshole?” Katsuki yells towards the front, annoyed. Izuku sighs next to you.

“Guys, can you just get along? I still don’t understand why are you so mean to him, Kacchan. You frowned at him back then, too.”

“Hey, the guy literally just made the octopus-chicken EMO guy cry and I’m the asshole?” Katsuki retorts. “Look at him! He’s about to hyperventilate!”

“… and calling him an octopus-chicken is better? “ Shouto adds.

“That’s a fair point, Blasty.” Kaminari chimes in, too.

“What a loud bunch! I like that! And to answer your question, I do not get off on being an asshole. I leave that little kink to you, brother.”

“Oh you are so fucking dead.” Katsuki stands up, palm making tiny explosions. Eijirou tries his best to sit him back down and you swear Tamaki’s soul just left his body for a second.

“I miss home. Can we go back? I can float us.” Izuku whispers into your ear.

“I don’t think we can open the door without crushing everyone thanks to the pressure up here.” You whisper back.

“Bummer.” He sighs again, clearly overwhelmed by all the loudness after being home for so long.

“Think about the cabin, though. We will have a fireplace, a nice cozy bed… we can keep each other warm during the night…” your palm on Izuku’s thigh slowly creeps further, caressing his inner thigh and Izuku almost chokes on his saliva, his face as red as a lobster’s.

“Oh my god, respectfully, can you not eye-fuck each other while I’m risking my life to keep this plane afloat?!” Kirishima moans with a blush on his face.

“Bro, they’ve been together in the same house for weeks yet they still can’t keep their hands off each other. I want that.” Kaminari adds longingly.

“Find yourself a horny little girlfriend then.” Shinsou pouts, staring out of the window. For everyone’s surprise, Kaminari doesn’t say anything back just sighs with a lovelorn expression.

“Okay, let’s leave all the baggage in the baggage compartment, this is a fun trip!” Rody’s head pops our from the front and everyone screams in unison.

“KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!”

“There is no road. Just clouds… ahh, nevermind. “

~•🥦•~

“Time to change into something warm, guys! We are approaching our main destination!” Rody’s voice comes through the speakers once again.

You look out of the window right away and you can’t believe what you are seeing; there is a small island right under the plane, covered in white and there is fresh snow falling from the sky, but only around the island, which makes it look like it’s a giant snow globe. It’s absolutely magical.

“Wow.” Katsuki stares out of the window with childish glee. Izuku looks at him with nothing but fondness, probably remembering their childhood when Katsuki’s gaze was constantly this pure. “Look at those mountains, Ei.” Katsuki mutters dreamily, completely fascinated as the island comes closer and closer, revealing more and more about itself as the plane approaches the land.

“You wanna climb that massive one, don’t you?” Eijirou snickers with his head resting on Katsuki’s shoulder. They are so fucking adorable, goddamit!

“Duh.” Katsuki snickers back proudly.

“Fuck, I forgot that it’s gonna be winter!” Kaminari freaks out. The guy is wearing a single leather jacket. You can’t help but sigh.

“Well, luckily for you, your boring ass roommate didn’t.” Shinsou murmurs under his nose, rummaging in his massive backpack as he speaks. After a few seconds, he takes out a winter coat and drops it on Kaminari’s head.

“Oh my god, I love you.” Kaminari goes for a hug with the coat still on his head. Tamaki giggles.

“Oh my god, Katsuki, he laughed! He’s not terrified of us!” Eijirou mutters, swiping a stray tear off his face.

“I mean, Denki is so dumb it’s literally impossible to be scared of him. I mean look at his face. Oh wait, you can’t see it. But you know what I mean.”

You really feel like you shouldn’t be listening in right now. Katsuki is so serene it feels like this version of him is reserved for Eijirou and Eijirou only.

“Sweets, look! You can see the cabins from here. On the top of that mountain!” Izuku steals your attention away by nuzzling into your neck, his finger pointing at the window. “Look, they have an onsen as well! By the look of it, every cabin comes with one…” He smiles knowingly. You can’t help but blush.

“Izu, behave yourself.”

“Hey, I’m on a holiday! I’m happy. Let me have this.” His sad smile shots an arrow through your heart. Fuck, you are such an idiot.

“Sorry. It’s just… I’m more excited about the massive fireplace. I hope there is fluffy rug in front of it. Like in the movies, you know.” Your blush can not be more obvious at this point, but you don’t care; by the look of it, everyone is too busy staring out the window to listen to your conversation anyway.

“If not, we can put some blankets down. Or I can just bring the mattress out. With black whip, of course.”

You can’t get over Izuku’s lovesick face and you never will. You still can’t believe you are the one who makes him look like that. He’s so handsome, but also so adorable, so sexy but so sweet, just the perfect combination of them all.

“I love you so much.” You mumble out loudly and Izuku shines brighter than thousand suns.

“I love you more.”

“Don’t start!” You giggle as the plane starts its landing.

“We are about to land! Buckle up, buddies! Don’t forget to clap later on!” Rody announces excitedly.

“What kind of idiot asks for people to clap? Now you ruined it!” Katsuki yells back and the bickering starts again.

“It was so peaceful…” Eijirou sighs, clearly given up.

“Well, if everything would be perfect it wouldn’t really feel real. But this does.” You smile at Eijirou who smiles back knowingly.

“I weirdly know what you mean.”

~•🥦•~

“Wow.” Tamaki is the first one to make a comment about the mesmerizing sight in front of you; you landed on a big chunk of concrete in the middle of a small hill; yes, you heard it right, that’s what these people call an airport apparently; and you can see most of the island from this point. There are cute shopping streets and pretty, modern buildings on your right side then you see some residential houses on the left side, quite far away from the main area of the city (the island is one city, or at least that’s what you’ve been told) then you have a bunch of mountains with small cabins scattered around one of them, then there is a massive mountain, so high you beg whoever is up there that the boys won’t want to climb to the top of it, because you definitely fucking can’t. By the look of it, there is heavy snow in the mountain area and a light one around the city center. Needless to say it’s really cold but the view warms your heart enough to not feel the chill that much.

“Welcome!” Rody climbs out of the plane, cracking his bones dramatically, his actions followed by an even more dramatic sigh. “The owners of the Island are waiting for us in that park there, so I’ll leave the explanations to them. It’s a good starting point as you have the shopping center and the massive grocery store close by, so we’ll be able to get some grub before making our way to the cabins.” And indeed, there is a cute park right between the shopping and the residential area. It’s quite far away but you knew what you are getting into when you said yes to another “camping trip”, so you just take a deep breath and pray to be strong enough to be able to get down there then up the MOUNTAIN (!), because by the look of it, there are no cabins anywhere else so that means you’ll need to do another hike to be able to get to your accommodation.

“Why do I feel like there is no bus to the cabins?” Kaminari mutters tiredly.

“Your lazy ass should’ve said yes to this trip if you can handle it, Pikachu.” Katsuki rolls his eyes annoyedly. “Bus? To the mountains? I would ruin the fun part.”

“Sorry, someone actually wanted to rest on their holiday.”

“When was the last time you got laid, Kaminari?” Katsuki retorts, clearly trying his best to shut his trap but this is Bakugou Katsuki. He just… can’t.

“When was the last time you got laid, Bakugou? You seem quite grumpy as well.” Rody tries to “help”, but needless to say that comment angers Katsuki to no end.

“You really don’t want an answer for that, Rody.” Eijirou laughs, scratching the back of his head, embarrassed.

“This morning, fucker.” Katsuki answers anyway and everyone who doesn’t know about Katsuki’s fiancé gawks in the background.

“Wow.” Rody is clearly rendered speechless. To be fair, you are not surprised.

“Fuckface.” Katsuki mutters under his nose and makes his way down the hill, taking Eijirou with him.

“Sorry man, I was just joking! I’ll be nice! Please tell me more about this girl…” Rody tries to get out of the awkward conversation, but he only makes it more awkward.

“Girl? Huh. That’s the kind of guy you are? What will your next comment be? “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve?””

“Okay, guys, there is no need for this! I’m quite sure he didn’t mean any harm.” Mirio tries to butt in. “Love is love, it doesn’t matter what shape it comes in. Thank you for telling us about your boyfriend, Katsuki, I’m really proud of you!”

“Fiancé.” Katsuki mutters under his nose, with a slight blush on his face.

“Okay, I feel like my friendly teasing is not really working with you, Bakugou. I am not homophobic. I’m sorry for assuming your sexuality. You just don’t look gay to me.”

“Oh, sorry, I’ll take my rainbow colored feather scarf out of my bag quickly, what the fuck?!”

“Kats, he has a point. We look extremely… heterosexual.” Eijirou adds.

“Second that.” Kaminari butts in.

“Sexuality has nothing to do with looks or behavior, but I feel like conversation is getting out of hand so please, let’s just… let this one go, Bakugou, my friend. I repeat, he meant no harm.” Mirio decides to end the drama; Tamaki is not having a great time, clearly shaking from the stress.

“You two are my best friends, can you please get along?” Izuku sighs, exasperated.

“I’ll behave.” Rody sighs as well. Katsuki doesn’t say anything just makes his way down once again.

“I wanna go home.” Tamaki mutters into Mirio’s ear who only taps the guy’s shoulder a few times to calm him down.

“Trust me, by the end of this trip they will be best buddies.”

Hm. You certainly doubt that.

~•🥦•~

“Welcome to my Island, young folks!” An old man and an old woman comes up to you guys once you reach the park Rody was talking about.

“Always so modest.” The old woman rolls her eyes at the man next to her, trying her best to keep her smile in place. “Welcome, young heroes! We are absolutely thrilled to have you here. We might not live in Japan, but we know all about your work! Your friend here is more than keen on boasting about his bestie, Deku! The whole village is a fan of you guys, so please be nice if they want a picture! We don’t really have heroes here so… you know. We see a lot of stupid celebrities here but not ones we actually respect, so…”

“I like this hag.” Katsuki adds. The death stare he gets from the woman is worth every penny.

“Hag is a good thing in Katsuki-language. He calls his mother a hag too and trust me, he loves her so much. Absolute mama’s boy he is.” Eijirou tries to save the day.

“I ain’t a mama’s boy, what the fuck?!”

The old man cleans his throat.

“I guess you have a lot of questions about this island, but before you fire away, please let me give you a brief introduction.” The old man says proudly. “This Island is the most expensive tourist destination in the area, mostly, because you can only come here by a private jet. I’ve been trying to get an actual airport here, but the island is so small they don’t want to spend the money on it, so yeah. Most of our customers are celebrities, millionaires, musicians who are supposed to be dead but actually, they are not… uhm… Nevermind. There are only a few hundred people living here, mostly the owners of the restaurants, stores and other staff members. This island has three parts; you have the residential area, the tourist area and “winter wonderland”, up in the mountains. That’s where you guys will be staying.” The man grins. “The tourist area is for the people who come here to rest while “winter wonderland” is for the adventurous folk. This bit around us is for the people who enjoy window shopping and walking around the city, it has several shops, live entertainment, amazing restaurants, several 5 star hotels with saunas, onsens, indoor pools and a lot of cute stuff. The “winter wonderland” area on the other hand is… well…” the man laughs. “First of all, you’ll need to climb up that hill to access your lodge. There are no roads to go up by a car, but trust me, the view will worth all that sweat. It’s also a good starting point if you want to climb the big mountain! If you like hiking, you’ll love this place. You can also order food and goodies from the iPad inside your lodge! We have a few guys with flying quirks who can easily deliver to the area! I must warn you, there is quite a lot of wildlife up there so don’t freak out if you hear noises coming from the forest. We try to feed them as much as we can so they don’t eat our customers, but…”

“Robert, what the fuck.” The old woman sighs, but then she looks at Katsuki’s sparkling eyes and starts laughing. “Looks like that youngster likes dangerous things.”

“I mean, we are heroes. We life for the thrill.” Eijirou grins. On the other hand, Izuku looks like he’s about to throw up.

“Can I stay down here with Sweet Pea, then? I don’t want her to get eaten by wolves.”

The old woman laughs.

“Oh, honey, my husband is just being silly, those animals are lovely. Even the wolves. I stayed up there myself when I was younger and I’m quirkless.”

“Ahh, the good old days! Do you remember when Lady Arianne ate from your hands? Such a huge beast she was, yet she never even barked at you.” Robert looks at his wife with a fond look on his face.

“I miss her.” The woman sighs.

“So why is it winter up here?” Kaminari asks the million dollar question, clearly too impatient to wait.

“That’s my quirk!” The old man grins. “I can change the weather. Permanently. It took me several years to get a yes from the government and I had to buy a whole island to be able to do so but I made it!”

“I thought he’s joking when he said he’ll buy an island one day.” Robert’s wife giggles. “He’s a madman.”

“How do you know Rody?” Izuku barges in, finally looking less constipated.

“Oh! This is my father and mother in law!” Rody grins giddily while the two sigh exasperatedly.

“No, we are not. You are not married to our daughter. I told you to stop spewing bullshit, son.”

“You just called me your son!”

“Fuck.”

“Like mother like daughter, of course she also had to find a madman.” The old woman sighs again with a fond smile on her face.

“You see? I’m a perfect addition to this family. Plus, I’m helping you with customers. I’m super useful! And I bring her over all the time, so really, you should thank me for being able to see her so much!”

“Okay, Rody, now shut the fuck up and lead the way before it gets dark.” Robert taps Rody’s back a few times and makes his way towards the nearest pub that has his face on the logo. “If you have any questions, ask Rody or call us. My throat got dry from all the talking.” He dismisses everyone and for a few seconds there’s only an awkward silence as everyone tries to comprehend all the information they’ve got.

“Okay friends, let’s do some grocery shopping before we go up, okay?” Mirio jumps into the air excitedly, pulling Tamaki with him towards the nearest supermarket.

“Yup! Let’s go!” Eijirou follows like a good puppy and everyone makes their way after them except…

“Izuku?”

“Just go with the others, I just. Want to… look around alone a bit.”

Your heart skips a beat. Is he… not happy? Did you do something wrong? Was that little mess up in the plane enough for him to loose himself in his negative thoughts? Fuck. Fuck.

You can’t help but spiral. You really want him to have fun. You really want to see him smile. You just want him to be the happiest nerd in the whole wide world but somehow, you feel like you are the reason he can’t chill right now. Is it because you are weak? Is he still worried about the beasts?

“Stop overthinking. That’s my job.” Izuku giggles and leaves tiny kisses on your cheeks. “I’ll be fine. Now go. Enjoy their company because I will steal you as soon as we get our cabin key.”

You try to believe him. You must. He’s smiling and he looks happy and it doesn’t look forced.

“Are you sure? You really freaked out when Robert said…”

“Sweet Pea…” Izuku jumps into your words, pulling you closer as he speaks. “Yes, I freaked out but then I remembered who are you with. These guys are the top heroes of our country. I might be injured, but I can take care of any danger with black whip if I need to. I just had a moment, that’s all. Go.” Izuku leaves one last kiss on your mouth and makes his way towards the small, cute shopping street on the other side.

“See you here in an hour?” You yell after him, and Izuku smiles.

“Yes. Pinky promise.”

… Next Chapter!

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Potato ramble:

- Sorry if the chapter feels dry, but I had to give you a lot of information about the island otherwise you would have been like “okay what the fuck how.” 😂

- So what can be Deku’s problem? Tell me your opinions!

- Also, feel free to ask questions, but before you do:

Katsuki and Rody’s hate for each other will be explained in the next chapter

The reason why Rody’s girlfriend works so hard while her parents are millionaires will also be explained eventually!

- oh, and this is for those who doesn’t like all the other ships in the story: well, I’m sorry, but this is my story and I wanted to do more than just write a character x reader story so uhm… deal with it? Ignore it? Be nice? I would also like to add that I’m an absolute multi shipper so even though I usually write with KiriBaku, I’m an absolute Bakudeku lover as well, so… yeah. All your ships are welcome here. Like, I totally ship Kaminari and Jirou and I’ll be so mad if they won’t be canon. 😂

- On a more personal note: I’ve been feeling like shit mentally for the last few days so if I’m ever late with some chapters, I’m sorry. I’m trying to write every time I feel relatively okay, I still can’t believe I managed to finish this as I was about to make a post about this being delayed so yeah, be patient with me. It’s hard to write about fluff and happiness when you feel anything but that. 😂 but oh well, real life sucks am I right?

TL: @garfieldthomas @porusuniverse @stickygumchewer @sixxze @mily-moo @aei-sedai-moiraine @aymasakusa @katsuari @kenzie-deadly @shiviwrites07 @lukerycyja-reblogs @cloroxisadelectabletreat @coffeent @kisskissshutmydoor @bobcar1 @yazminetrahan @cringefan @ronimacaroni77 @thekookiecorner @dangerousluv1 @emperatris-rinaka @shotos-angelic-whore @angelsdemonsmonsters @norvacaine @rei165 @unofficialmuilover @yao-ai @happydragonfrog @eeerreehhh @vinivave

#bnha x reader #mha x reader #midoriya izuku x y/n #midoriya fluff #midoriya izuku x you #pro hero deku x reader #pro hero deku x you #midoriya izuku x reader #midoriya izuku

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protags-fic-blog · 7 months

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Brothers Conflict - Tired of Waiting

Featuring art from @nicoruusplayland! Give them a follow!

Ukyo held the door open for her, offering his hand as she stepped out of the car.

She looked up at the tall building, excited for what may come. She remembered this restaurant fondly. This was where they went for their first date. The height of the building gave a nice view of Tokyo’s streets, but she knew her eyes would be on him.

Ukyo grabbed her hand, guiding her up to the elevator. She focused on the ground, careful not to trip over her own feet, and waited patiently as the elevator approached the upper floors.

“Good evening. We’re here for a reservation under Asahina,” Ukyo said, giving a small smile to the host. The host nodded, looked down at something hidden behind the desk, then nodded again. “Right this way,” he said, taking striding steps up the stairs.

Ukyo wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her steady as she slowly ascended the stairs. “This is different from where we sat last time, no?” she asked, trying to create idle chat.

He nodded as he helped her up the last stair. “I wanted somewhere a little more private. Somewhere no one would bother us.”

She stood, quietly taking in the luxurious dining room. There was a massive chandelier that must have weighed more than the both of them combined. It threw warm light across the walls, which only served to draw her attention to the sheen of the red velvet drapes that hung over the floor to ceiling windows.

She looked down, embarrassed that she was so shocked at the elegance, only to find that her dress was shimmering with each step she took. Maybe Fuuto was in on the date—picking out something like this would need some forethought.

Ukyo followed the host to the table, thanked him, and pulled out Ema’s chair. She flushed, giving him a mumbled ‘thank you’, before taking her seat. She watched Ukyo take his, then picked up the menu that was placed on the table. The amount of options was, like before, overwhelming. She didn’t even know what escargot was, and at this point was a little scared to ask.

“Shall we start with a drink?” he asked, looking at her from behind the menu. She frantically flipped to the page with the drinks, only to find it was painfully confusing.

Ukyo noticed, clearly, and smiled. “Don’t worry about it now. We should wait until we know what we’re eating first,” he said, slightly soothing her worries.

She smiled back, and turned back to looking through the entrees. Most of them sounded amazing, but she wasn’t exactly sure how much she was allowed to spend. After all, he had already paid for a lot so far. If she could just gauge the price, it would be much easier.

“What are you-” He cut her off with a small wave of the hand. “You don’t need to worry about the price. Order what sounds best to you.”

She made a small sound of shock, but tried to pretend she wasn’t surprised. It made sense that he would take her somewhere nice and be ready to spend. She was just overthinking things.

The waiter walked up to the table. She heard Ukyo ask for steak and lobster. The waiter looked at her, and she felt shy. “I think I’ll have the swordfish,” she said, handing the menu to the waiter.

There was a moment of silence after the waiter left. The tension was obvious. Each of them wanted to talk, but neither knew how to start. She turned away to stare out the large windows. They were so close to the sky, right between the stars and the city.

She turned away from the window, watching Ukyo, but she was embarrassed to find him watching her instead. “The view is really nice,” she started, scanning the restaurant for any sign of their waiter. “I’m glad you enjoy it. It is a nice view,” he said, but he didn’t so much as glance away from her.

“Ema?” She looked up at him, giving him her full attention. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

She was silent for a moment. The waiter stopped by, a bright smile on his face as he refilled the drinks of water. “Any other drinks tonight?” he asked. Ukyo slightly frowned, then put on his professional face to talk to the waiter. “I think we’ll each have a glass of Pinot Noir, please.”

The waiter nodded. “Two glasses of Pinot Noir. Would you like that now, or served with your meal?” he asked. It was clear that Ukyo was a bit annoyed—perhaps he wanted to be left alone. “With the meal, thank you,” he said, ending the conversation.

He shook his head as the waiter left. “Oh, it’s alright. We’ll have plenty of alone time later tonight,” she said, giving him a small smile.

He nodded, but he let out a small sigh. “I would’ve picked a different restaurant if I knew the waiters here were just as annoying as our brothers,” he remarked.

“Not nearly as annoying. Remember when Wataru brought home that cat? The living room was covered in cat hair for months, even after we found its owner,” she laughed. “Oh, I wish I could forget. I’m still finding hair in my nice suits,” he said.

“They have their perks, I suppose. Fuuto helped pick this dress,” she started. She saw a hint of jealousy in his eyes, and was quick to backpedal. “Hey, I didn’t even know where we were going. Better to have someone in on it than spoil the surprise, no?” she teased.

Ukyo relented, finally giving a real smile. “I suppose it’s good that you’re dressed for the occasion. I just wish it could’ve been me, that’s all.”

“Me too,” she laughed.

He cleared his throat for a moment. “Speaking of that…”

“Steak and lobster and the swordfish,” the waiter interrupted, setting the plates on the table in front of them. “And your wine,” he continued, placing the glasses on the table. He took the bottle from the tray and poured wine into each of them. “Enjoy your meal,” he said, swiftly leaving.

She cautiously took a bite, waiting to see if Ukyo liked his steak. “Regards to the chef. Both are very well done. Ema, would you like some?” he asked, already cutting her a bite of both. “How do I eat it? Together?” she asked. He laughed quietly. “First the steak, then the lobster,” he instructed.

“Oh!” she squeaked. “That’s really good! The flavors are so different… But they go together really well. Do you want to try some of mine? It might not be as exciting, but I think it’s well seasoned. There’s some rosemary in there, I can tell,” she said, cutting a bite for him.

Passing him the fork, she waited for his judgment. “Your knowledge on spices has markedly improved since the last time we visited.”

She blushed, proud of her hard studying. She wanted to be able to enjoy any dish Ukyo cooked for her to the same extent that he could. Even if she wasn’t nearly as close, she was excited.

A long amount of small talk later, the meal was finished, and the check was paid. She smiled as he offered his hand to her, and pushed in her chair. “You seemed to enjoy the view. If you’ll humor me, I’d like to show you it again,” he said, guiding her to an elevator.

It was shimmery and new. There was no distinct smell of metal, only the soft perfume of flowers. There was no rough shake when it started to move, nor when it stopped. She glanced at Ukyo, but he was focused on something else, hands in his pockets.

The door opened to another door. Ukyo pushed it open for her, and she gasped. Stepping out onto the rooftop, the wind whipped at her hair and dress, but she couldn’t care less. The sky was black, but the stars glistened, each a small ray of sunlight poking through darkness. She felt as if they were just out of her grasp, if she was just a little higher, she could hold them in her hand. She traced a few constellations with her eyes, then looked to Ukyo.

“Ema. I think, finally, we can be alone,” he said, taking her hands in his. “I’m glad. It’s not every day that we can,” she said.

“I love you. And I’m tired of waiting.”

She was frozen with anticipation. Was this what he wanted to talk about? Probably. But was it what she wanted to hear? All he had to do was say it. All she had to do was say yes.

“It’s difficult to explain how you make me feel. You’re special to me in so many ways—I don’t know how you view yourself, but I know how I see you. You’re everything to me. You’re the one thing I would never give up. Never for my work, and never for my family. Never. And I’m tired of waiting. I thought I was a patient man, but I can’t wait any longer to call you my wife. Please, Ema,” he paused, lowering to one knee.

“Will you marry me?”

She pulled her hands as she gasped, staring at the ring he offered her. There was one next to it in the box, not as sparkly. She nodded as she watched him slip it over her finger, her mind filling with the image of her as his bride and her heart filling with love, and pulled the other from the box. “I’m tired of waiting too,” she said, slipping his ring onto the matching finger. Lacing her fingers in between his, she bent down to hold him. He wrapped his arms around her, and allowed her to bury herself in his warmth. “I love you, Ukyo.”

~~~

She leaned back, slumping into the chair. “Imai, are you done yet?” she asked. “Hold still and maybe I will be!” Imai chastised, switching brushes yet again.

“Okay…” she paused, fanning her hands over Ema’s face, then stood up. “You’re done!”

Ema opened her eyes, staring at herself in the mirror. She almost didn’t recognize herself. She looked so mature, yet so innocent. She felt silly seeing such a canvas on her. “It’ll look better when your hair is done. Don’t get self conscious on me now, Hina.”

Ema smiled. “No, it’s pretty. Don’t worry,” she told Imai, smiling at her in the mirror. Imai nodded slowly, skeptical of her answer, but seemed satisfied. “I’ll go get Louis, then. Stay put.”

The door opened again, and she watched Louis from the mirror shut the door behind him. “Ema… You already look so beautiful.”

She gave him a playful frown. “Quit flattering me. I don’t even have my dress on.”

He shook his head, but didn’t press more. He placed one hand on her shoulder as he carefully unwound the horrible bun that Imai had put her hair in.

He grabbed the brush that Ema had supplied him, and carefully began to brush from the bottom. She continued to watch him in the mirror. He was so meticulous about it.

“You’re scared.”

She was caught off guard, spinning around in her chair. The brush pulled through a difficult knot, and she hissed in pain. “Be careful, you’ll just hurt yourself more,” he warned.

Her eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not scared. Why would I be scared? You can’t just say-”

The look on his face made her stop. “You don’t think you’re worth it.”

Her mouth opened for a rebuttal, but it didn’t come. Louis was right. She was scared that she wasn’t enough. He was a lawyer, a responsible man with a respectable career, and he was a gracious older brother. She was just some girl. Just Ema.

Louis was blotting her face with one hand, the other placed atop her head, gently stroking her hair. “You’re worth it. You’re warm, even when others are cold. You’re strong, and resilient. You survived all 13 of us for long enough. Consider us your final test, and you passed it with flying colors,” he said, gently curling a lock of her hair around his finger.

There was a moment of silence before she broke out in to a wail. “I can’t hurt them like this!” she cried. Louis took an involuntary step back, surprised by the outburst. He couldn’t deny that some of them would be hurt, especially the more gentle ones. But that wasn’t what mattered now.

“We stepped down, remember? We stepped down because we wanted you to be happiest. Maybe it does hurt… But we made our choice, and we’re happy because you’re happy,” he told her, wrapping his arms around her.

She looked up, trying to give a small smile. “You finish crying… And I’ll do your hair. I’ll call in Mahoko when we’re both done. Just remember how happy we are,” he smiled, reaching for the curling iron.

She eventually stopped, carefully blotting to smear as little of the makeup as possible. She glanced up, and caught a glimpse of her reflection. Every curl was perfect. He watched her examine herself in the mirror, and smiled. He patted her once on the shoulder, then left.

He was quick to return, this time with someone else. “Mahoko was busy getting ready… I brought the second best option.”

Hikaru stood next to him, a hand resting on his hip. “Sheesh. You look awful,” he muttered, raising a hand to his chin. He took an intimidating step toward her, flashing that devilish smile. “We can fix this. Close your eyes, relax, and we’ll get you set.”

There was mumbling, and she felt her skin pulled every which way. But finally, he finished. The look was much simpler than before… But she would be lying if she said she wasn’t happy about that. It felt more natural, less heavy. It looked more like her.

“You’re still a little swollen around the eyes. So just be careful and try not to rub them. It’ll make it worse,” he instructed, straightening his back.

She was left alone, but only for a minute. A soft knock on the door signaled that the wedding was close. Miwa quickly entered, and pulled Ema from her chair. “Come on now, sweetie, we’ve gotta get you in that dress. Just put your shoes on and stand still,” Miwa said, rushing around the room. She grabbed the wide petticoat, and placed it on the ground for Ema to step in to, then pushed a stool closer to her.

“Oh, wait,” she said, turning around to grab something. “Something old. It’s the garter I wore when I married Rintarou. Now you’ve got one for each leg! Whichever one you want to toss, it’s up to you, but I want you to wear it as a sign of love. It’s what brought us all together, right?” she said, her voice slightly quivering.

Ema gave a soft smile, taking it delicately from her hands and slipping it up her leg. “It’s perfect,” she said with a small smile, admiring the lace.

Bunching the dress up as delicately as she could, she stood above Ema. “Arms up,” she commanded, before dropping the dress over her. Before Ema could even ask how late they were running, Miwa had finished fixing the lower half and now stood behind her.

She took a deep breath in as Miwa pulled the zipper up, and pulled the front of her dress up to prevent any accidents. Taking a step back, she smiled. “You always look so beautiful,” she said, her sweet, maternal warmth serving to calm Ema’s nerves.

Miwa stood there in silence, admiring Ema. There was a hint of a sniffle, and it’s clear she wanted to hug Ema, but she didn’t want to mess up the bride.

“There are a few gifts prepared for before the wedding. Do you want to go see them?” Miwa asked, holding the door open.

Nodding, Ema followed after her into the larger room. There they stood, watching. A few of them stepped forward. “Something new,” Kaname stepped forward, moving her hair to the side as he clipped an elegant gold necklace around her neck.

“Something borrowed,” Hikaru said, stepping forward with pink sapphire earrings, fixing them in her ears.

“Outside is your ‘something blue’,” Masaomi said.

“And your bouquet, too,” Iori said, offering her the large amount of flowers.

She smiled at her family, happy to have them all here. “Okay, well, I think the wedding is starting soon, so get ready for the processional,” Miwa said, patting Wataru’s head.

Miwa ushered for them to follow, organizing them into a perfect line and walking them out to the start of the aisle, when he saw her. They met eyes for a moment, and both broke into a smile. “Dad!” Ema called, rushing over to give a hug. “I’m so glad you could make it,” she said, shifting to hold her bouquet in the crook of her arm so she could hold his hands.

He laughed a little. “Ema, I wouldn’t miss this day for the world. Are you ready?” he asked, shifting to offer his arm. She smiled, and took it. “I am.”

Deep breath in… Deep breath out.

Around the corner, the doors opened, flooding the building with light. She blinked a few times before her eyes adjusted, and glanced to her father. He nodded, and walked forward. Stepping in the brilliant light of the sun, she looked up, wondering if the world was smiling upon them, before letting her gaze fall on to the people gathered. Friends and family, all smiling at her, all watching her.

Then her eyes shifted to him. He was waiting for her. She was ready to run in to his arms.

She had to keep a steady pace, doing her best to match her father’s, and she gave him a hug, but when he released her to go to the altar, she nearly ran.

The officiant said a few words, but she couldn’t focus on anything but Ukyo. He cleared his throat, and looked away for a moment as he gathered his strength. “Ema…” he started.

“You have taught me what it is like to love someone so pure, so kind. You have taught me what it is like to enjoy the world as it comes, to smile even when things are difficult, to love, even if it hurts. It never hurts to love you. It will never hurt to love you, ever. And I’m going to love you forever. Death will never break the bond we share. I love you, Ema,” he said, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.

“Ukyo… It’s difficult to say what you’ve taught me. You’ve opened my eyes to all the wonders of the world, and taught me how to live life happily. You’ve shown me just how amazing life can be with you—I can’t imagine denying myself the happiness of being with you forever. So forever it is. I will wake every morning to see you, prepare every meal with hopes of sharing it with you, and cherish every moment. I love you, Ukyo!” she exclaimed, squeezing his hands.

She grabbed his ring from the small pillow and excitedly put it on his hand, watching with anticipation as he pushed her new wedding band onto her hand. “I now pronounce you husband,” the officiant paused to motion to Ukyo, “and wife,” he finished, gesturing to her. “You may-”

The world was their own. His hands rested under her back, dipping her backwards as he kissed her. Shivers ran through every part of her body, the magic of the moment coursing through every vein. She wanted this moment to last forever… but she knew that there would be many more of these moments to come. He finally broke away, staring in to her eyes with an intense lust, but didn’t go back for seconds.

He set her back on her feet, and she linked arms with him, took her bouquet from Imai, and ran down the aisle, running to their new life.

#brothers conflict #asahina ukyo #protag-writes #mutual reblog #<-kinda but not really but i'm rebloging their art post later

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artificialqueens · 5 years

Text

(treat me nice) never let me go [branjie] 5/15 - pinkgrapefruit

chapter five. i let the skeletons out and we dance through the halls

previous chapters 1. 2. 3. 4.

A/N - Heya! Welcome back to Pretty Woman branjie style - in chapter four, Vanessa met Nina and Brooke bosses a presentation. Thanks to Frey, my rock, for fixing this up. Anyway, apologies for the wait. Let me know what you guys think and Enjoy!

She swears she has never run so fast in her life as she bolts down the twenty-something flights of stairs, too impatient to wait for the elevator. By the bottom, she has flushed a light plum, chest heaving as she bends over coughing. She spits into a plant pot and hopes no one has noticed. Once she can breathe without feeling strangled, she straightens herself back up and (respectfully) speed walks over to where Nina is looking out over the foyer.

“Nina!” She shouts in a low register, trying to attract less attention this time around. The older woman turns sharply and raises an eyebrow at Vanessa’s state of post-athletic sweat. She purses her lips in lieu of a response. “I need your help.” Vanessa continues.

“It - It does fit you?”

“Yes, yes, of course, like a glove and all that shit, that’s not the problem.” Nina tilts her head with a sigh - looking a little like a puppy who has been promised a walk, but has not received it - sort of unhappy and resentful at the same time.

“The problem is?” she leads on, maybe impatient, maybe just confused.

“How’d’ya be ‘fancy,’” she speaks quietly and uses air quotation marks in an attempt to convey the seriousness of the problem, but it doesn’t stop the other woman from bursting into harmonious laughter.

“Courtney, cover me,” Nina calls out before pulling Vanessa down a service corridor, still chuckling.

“All right, miss Vanessa, one more time.”

The girl rolls her shoulders and straightens her back - tries to imitate the posture her Abuela has been trying to enforce for years. She takes the cloth napkin off the plate and places it flat on her lap - to Nina’s nods of approval - and then moves on to trying to use the correct cutlery.

“Elbows off the table! Don’t slouch.”

She pulls her elbows off the soft fabric immediately - back rod straight. “Well, fork.” Vanessa has always said that the mark of a good joke is that it makes yourself laugh and she’s glad that’s her philosophy, because Nina looks a little like someone has just disrespected her family name and all it took was a bad cursing joke.

The older woman comes to stand behind Vanessa’s chair and points to three forks as she talks. “Shrimp fork, salad fork, dinner fork,” she rattles off with confidence and ease as if the forks do not look the exact same. “Work outside in as you eat and don’t ask.”

“Alright,” she hums a little nervously. “I think I got the salad one. The rest… didn’t go in.”

”Just count the tines!” replies Nina in a tone all too cheery for someone talking about table etiquette and Vanessa has to laugh.

“You tell your man this excites you?” she quips with a grin, but Nina just raises an eyebrow and smirks.

“Wife.”

“I’ll drink to that.”

Brooke stands awkwardly in the lobby, which is odd, because Brooke doesn’t do awkward. It’s not that she’s necessarily opposed to the idea of it. She is just unable to be awkward in her usual getup of power-suits and power-heels. But tonight she is dressed in a black tux, white shirt, black bowtie and red Louboutins, and somehow she is awkward. She hovers for a second before making her way to the desk to call Vanessa. She is intercepted.

“Pardon me, Ms Hytes”

“Uh-huh. Excuse me, I just want to make one call,.” sShe replies slightly hurriedly, knowing it is almost eight.

“Yes, um, ma’am.” Nina too sounds a little rushed and uncomfortable as she speaks, “I have a message for you.” She’s moving her weight from foot to foot on the ornate red rug - each shoe coming off slightly as she lifts it. She shifts the weight into her left hip as she finishes the conversation.

“From who?”

“From your cousin, ma’am.”

Brooke chokes back a laugh of indignance as Nina says this - fiddling with her bowtie to keep her almost shaking hands busy. She’s not used to it - the almost shaking - and she wishes Nina would just hurry up. “My what?”

“The young lady who’s staying with you in your room, mMa’am.“

She hums in response - starting to connect the dots. “I think we both know that she’s not my cousin.” She smirks knowingly. Her eyes meet Nina’s before darting down to the wedding ring and back up. They imply that she knows of their shared sexuality (she does through a lot of time in the hotel bar). When Nina’s eyes meet hers again, they appear to concede.

“Of course.”

“The reason I know that, is that my parents are only children.”

“Yes.”

“What’s the message?”

“She’s waiting for you in the lounge.” Brooke’s ears perk up a little when she hears it - a small smile creeping onto her face as she realises Vanessa is ready and waiting. It takes a lot to not set off running - she supposes that could be a little too forward. “Intriguing young lady, miss Vanessa.”

“Don’t I know it.”

Nina gives a cursory smile before she leaves. “Have a good evening.”

Vanessa looks like a painting - scrap that. Vanessa looks like a goddess, and Brooke wants nothing more than to fall to her knees and worship her like she deserves.

She has to flick her tongue out to wet her lips as the other girl descends the stairs - chocolate hair curled and cascading over her left shoulder. The dress is a flowy chiffon with a bardot neckline that exposes both caramel shoulders and collarbone, that the blonde wants to suck kisses across.

“You’re late.”

Brooke has to laugh - the body of an angel and the voice of a frog that’s chewed gravel. Vanessa flutters her eyelashes and it’s like a spell.

“You’re stunning.” Brooke gulps, eyes sweeping her once, twice, three times before meeting her eyes. “Burgundy?”

“You’re forgiven - and yes, it means if I spill my wine, it ain’t gonna stain.” Vanessa’s mouth is dry and her hands are shaking, but Brooke holds out her own to lead the way and she puts her clammy palm on top, gripping like it’s her life. “I like the suit on you, baby.”

“Pet names? Really. Let’s try to keep some professionalism around Cain.”

“M'kay, honey.”

If Vanessa has visions of dragging Brooke by the bowtie - she doesn’t mention them.

The car pulls up to the restaurant and Brooke lets out a heavy sigh. The exterior is just plain brick, but the signage screams expensive wine and seafood - it’s intimidating, and she’s surprised her counterpart looks so calm having never stepped inside such an establishment. Santino’s, it turns out, is a popular restaurant among the elite and even though Brooke knows this, she can’t help the anxiety working its way through her heart as she watches men in bespoke suits and tails saunter through the gabled entrance.

Vanessa looks calm. She is not. Brooke realises this as she opens the door of the car for her. She holds out a hand in aid of stepping out of the car and the girl’s palms are slick with sweat - feet unsteady as she places them on the cobbled ground.

“Shall we go to dinner?” Brooke asks with the faux confidence she is trying to convince herself she possesses, and Vanessa smiles softly - maybe humouring her, maybe not.

A host comes out dressed in a crisp, white shirt and pressed black trousers. His belt buckle looks like it is regularly polished, and his shoes could reflect the light of the moon back to it. The entire ensemble makes Vanessa quiver as they follow him through the doorway and into the elegantly decorated bar area. It smells like old Hollywood sans cigarette smoke and she can only imagine that this is the true smell of money. She knows that a glass of cabernet would cost more than a month’s rent and, not for the first time, she is glad she is not the one paying. Brooke squeezes her hand silently, and Vanessa squeezes back.

“Alright. Follow my lead, try not to speak and don’t fidget,.” Brooke notes sternly as they approach the table. The shift in her attitude and behaviour is so quick they could have given Vanessa whiplash, and the girl tries to appear unfazed at the way she goes back to being dirt on the bottom of her shoe.

On the round table nestled into the corner of the restaurant, so that people can have business meetings on topics they would rather not have public involvement in (nuclear protocols, presidential assassinations, the recalling of certain children’s toys), sit two women. One is older, she looks demure and unassuming to the untrained eye, but if you look closely, the cufflinks on her shirt are worth more than the Gross Domestic Product of Tuvalu. The only thing that separates her from the millions of others in the world of business is her shock of lilac hair and the fact that Brooke starts to smile a little when they see each other.

“Shuga,” Brooke calls out in what could almost be relief. “Shuga, this is Vanessa - Vanessa, Shuga Cain.”

They shake hands before Shuga turns to the lady sitting next to her to introduce her. The woman in question is tall and lithe, with big brown eyes and a buzzcut. “Ladies, this is my protege, Yvangeline Oddly.”

“Yvie Oddly at your service.”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Brooke Lynn Hytes of Hytes and Partners in Canada, although you may know me better as one of RuPaul’s partners. This is a friend of mine, Vanessa Mateo.”

Yvie lacks the warmth of Shuga, and yet she feels like flames. Her energy is like that of a rocket about to go off, bouncing a little, and suddenly Vanessa is intimidated. She places her clutch down on her chair before excusing herself to the ladies’ room for a second, hoping that maybe she can relax enough to at least enjoy the food.

She spends no less than five minutes with her arms braced on the cool porcelain of the sink, inhaling the bergamot and lavender of the hand soap. When she looks in the mirror, she doesn’t see the same Vanjie that walked Olympic at night like she owned it. She doesn’t recognise herself and it’s disquieting to know that if she walked the same street tonight, she would get mugged dressed like this. She looks like she has more to lose and, in a way, she hates it. She wets the insides of her wrists with cold water and returns down the stairs to the table.

“Ms. Hytes, we are of the belief that the people who create a company should control its destiny.” Yvie argues against a statement Vanessa did not hear. She is confused, but then again, none of the participants look convinced by their own arguments either, so she supposes it’s not the worst thing.

“Where’s the salad?” She asks innocently which garners a small chuckle out of Shuga, while Brooke seems all too involved in her discussion with Yvie to particularly care.

“Uh, the salad comes at the end of the meal,” she says offhandedly. She doesn’t look at Vanessa.

“That’s the only fork I knew,” she whines, pouting a little in a way that is only bratty enough to get Brooke’s attention without sparking something that may not be appropriate at the dinner table. Shuga gives her the same sort of smile you would give a small child.

“I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been able to figure which goes with what!” she jokes before pointing slightly to the correct utensils for fourchu lobster - a delicacy which has Vanessa moaning slightly as she puts it into her mouth. She stops pretty suddenly when she realises she is the only one who is actually eating, but Brooke nods for her to continue anyway.

Yvie sighs, pushing her fork into the flesh of the lobster. “Let me put it another way.” She takes a second to think about her wording before continuing, “Between your public statements and the rumours flying around on this thing, we find it very hard to figure out what your real intentions are.” Brooke raises an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. “You know, there was a time when we used technology that hadn’t even been patented yet,” she continues, impervious to Brooke’s looks. Vanessa shifts in her seat as she sets down her cutlery, moving back to allow the hovering waiters to remove the empty plates (or in the case of Brooke and Yvie, mostly full).

“Women like my grandmother made this country, and I’m not about to see it all fall away due to some Canadian lawyer-“ Yvie is cut off by the second course being served up.

Vanessa elbows Brooke under the table, “Who ordered this?” She asks confused as she pokes at the small blobs of meat drizzled in what she believes to be garlic sauce.

Brooke gives her a curious look before whispering, “It’s a set menu. It’s escargot, snails.”

“Bitch, you’re trying to serve me snails!” She responds, incredulous as ever as Shuga and Yvie watch the exchange - happily eating their own meals.

“Yes, Vanessa. Bon appétit.” Brooke is tight-lipped and clearly wishes to get back to the matter at hand. “Try it. Oddly?”

“Ms. Hytes- Brooke, if you were to get control - and I don’t think you will - but if you did,” she pauses, contemplative as if to try and sell her point even further. “What do you plan to do with the company?”

“Break it up and sell off the pieces.”

“I’m sure you’ll understand I’m not thrilled by the idea-” Shuga cuts in, placing both her knife and fork onto the plate demurely and tapping a napkin on either side of her mouth. She leans forward, “-of your turning years of my work into your garage sale.”

Brooke smiles - she understands, but she has no choice. “At the price I’m paying for this stock, Ms. Cain, you are going to be a very rich woman.”

“I’m rich enough. I just want to head my legacy.”

“Slippery little suckers!” comes Vanessa’s moan from her part of the table. She sighs and pouts, her fork rattling on the plate. Shuga chuckles a little before miming the correct way to eat a snail, Brooke watching in amusement. She feels a little like she’s babysitting, as herself and Yvie continue to shoot glares at each other across the table.

“I met your father,” Shuga states as she sips her wine, watching Vanessa eat a few more snails quietly, looking rather pleased with herself. “What’s his name again?”

“Carsten,” Brooke states bluntly, knowing exactly where this is going before it starts.

“Yeah, Carsten Hytes. He’s not quite the bastard everybody says he is.” She says it likes it’s supposed to be a compliment to the family. It doesn’t quite get there. Fortunately, Brooke is well aware of the perception of her father throughout the corporate world - millionaire business tycoon Carsten Hytes.

“No, I have the franchise on that.” She gives a polite laugh - equally aware of her own outward-facing persona. She gives Vanessa a warm look as she feels the girl’s legs shift against hers under the table.

“Does that make him proud?”

“I doubt it. It doesn’t really matter now. He passed away.” Her tone has changed and now even Vanessa bristles at it. She reaches over and places a hand on her clothed leg, rubs at it with her thumb in a sign of solidarity, and maybe a little more. Brooke gulps and takes a large swig of her wine, coughing as she sets the glass back down. She hates the way her palms feel sweaty.

“Oh, I hadn’t heard. I’m sorry.” It should sound fake under the circumstances, but Shuga just isn’t that type of woman.

“I’m sorry, too,” adds Vanessa and Brooke wants to lean into the way her voice feels like velvet and warm caramel.

“Look, Shuga, you asked for this meeting. What can I do for you, truly?” Brooke tries to smile like she’s got no ill intent, but she just looks weary - the whole ordeal taking its toll.

“Just leave my company alone, Hytes. Take your papers back to the buyers and tell them to leave.”

“I can’t. They own every share you have.” This time she must look empathetic because Shuga’s face softens to her. Yvie still looks like she has plans to wrestle a hammerhead shark after dinner.

“We’ll buy them back!” She jumps in, chomping at the bit.

“You don’t have that kind of money.”

“We’ve got contracts in the making.”

“They’re all buried in the Appropriations Committee.” It feels like the sentence should be punctuated with hands on the table, but Brooke remains cooly seated - lacking the energy to throw arms.

“And how the hell did you pull something like that? You got dirty politicians in your pockets now or something?” She’s going red, seeing red, feeling red, and the heat is radiating across the table to Vanessa. She feels like the room is on fire and god knows she doesn’t want to be near Yvie when she explodes.

“Easy, easy, calm down. Calm down, Yvangeline. Ms. Hytes plays hardball.” Shuga places a calming hand on the younger woman’s forearm, sending Brooke an almost impressed look - just as invested in the two women’s power struggle, as she is in getting her business back.

“It’s not quite polo, but I play well.” She smirks.

“I’ve heard enough of this. Vanessa, it was a great pleasure to meet you.” Vanessa smiles warmly like she always does, and in that moment Brooke is jealous of how she can be so innocent in the proceedings, when Brooke’s hands have to be so dirty. “I’m sorry, Cain. I’ve gotta get some air. Ms Hytes.” Yvie gives Brooke a nod that reads somewhere between ‘good game’ and ‘meet me on the battlefield at midnight, bring your sharpest sword.’ She hopes her response reads just as strongly.

“I’d better join her. You two enjoy your dinner,” Shuga says, standing too and taking her jacket from a waiter who stands expectantly with her cane. She watches as Yvie lets the door of the restaurant slam behind her.

“I’m sure it’ll be delicious. Good luck,” closes off Vanessa, standing with Brooke and looping her arm through the woman’s suited arm. She feels strangely at home in the situation.

“Watch out, Hytes. I’m gonna tear you apart,” says Shuga, parting advice with a smile and a wink. It’s a shame they have to dislike each other, Brooke ponders, she’s always thought of her like a grandmother.

“I look forward to it, ma’am.”

They return from dinner in almost complete silence, save for the pleasant hum of the engine and the quiet melodies of the turned-down radio. The chauffeur dutifully rolls up the partition, but it does nothing to cut through the layer of tension surrounding Brooke like a forcefield - protecting her, maybe. Vanessa just sits there politely, peeling off her recently applied nail polish and trying to shift the ever-growing pile of chippings out of view on the carpet of the car.

“You thinking about dinner?” She asks, unsure of what to do at a certain point. She is realising there is only so long one can sit in silence before it becomes unbearably awkward - especially when you are no longer strangers.

Brooke hums non-committally and continues to stare blankly out of the window, transfixed by the nothingness of California.

When they get into the penthouse, Brooke shuffles a plush armchair closer to the french doors, opening them onto the balcony and breathing in the air. It’s fresher up high, but there is still the diluted smell of car exhausts and smoke, indicative of a city. Vanessa slips off her heels and pushes them under her side of the bed, slipping on Brooke’s slippers (way too big, but very warm) and making herself a cup of chamomile tea. As a last thought, she makes one for Brooke too before moving past her onto the balcony, sitting on the concrete wall that separates them from the rest of the world. If it makes Brooke anxious, she doesn’t mention it - simply making a face as she shuffles on the edge to get comfortable. They sip their tea in silence, a grateful smile spreading on the blonde’s face as she relaxes.

“You were quiet in the car on the way back,” she states, slowly and calmly, like she’s trying not to scare Brooke away. “Made me worried.” She laces her fingers together around the mug, holding it close to her like a safety blanket. “You want to talk about dinner?”

Brooke sighs and shakes her head, placing the mug on the floor and leaning her head back.

“Look, I think the business went… well - and ya’ can’t expect to win everything. I think the real problem here, Brookie, is that you actually like Ms. Cain.”

“And I think the real problem here is you sitting on that - can you please get down, you’re making me very nervous,” she breaks her silence, making a face as Vanessa leans further back teasingly, the loose curls in her hair dangling above more than twenty stories of empty space. Her knuckles go white as Vanessa tips her head back in a raucous laugh, coming to sit more safely again, to Brooke’s relief.

“Vanessa, it’s totally irrelevant whether or not I like these women. I will not become emotionally involved in business.” There is an air of finality to her words that Vanessa chooses to ignore. Instead, she just smiles plainly and nods.

“I know,” she says, almost wisely, “That’s why Silk always says I’m not to get emotional or shit - that’s why there’s no kissing.” She gulps down any emotion, chasing it with the last drops of her tea. The cup hits the concrete with a twang. “When I’m with a guy, gal, whatever - I’m like a robot. I just do it.”

When she looks up from the moss growing in the cracks in the paving slabs she sees Brooke’s eyes looking back at her. They glint like a lake in the moonlight, just the right shade of blue that makes you want to fall in and swim forever. “Except you,” she adds on - it doesn’t feel out of place.

“Of course,” Brooke responds, softly, slowly. “You and I are so similar, Vanessa - we both screw people for money.”

They fall into a lull after that, Vanessa perched comfortably on the ledge. When she starts to shiver, Brooke takes a tentative step onto the balcony and hands her her blazer. It dwarfs Vanessa, but it’s warm and smells like Chanel No.5 and also Brooke.

“I’m sorry about your dad,” she says eventually. “When did he die?”

As she says it, it’s like watching Brooke’s heart freeze over. She sits up straighter, gone is the warmth in her eyes seemingly reserved for Vanessa, and in comes the steely expression and pinched lips.

“Last month,” she states, emotionless.

Vanessa quirks an eyebrow and in the same hushed tone asks, “Do you miss him?”

“I hadn’t spoken to him in thirteen years,” she asserts, and then, with a little dash of something, “I wasn’t there when he died.”

“Do you want to talk about this?”

“No.”

Vanessa jumps down from the ledge with an energy that seems inconceivable at this time of night and moves as fast as she can in three-sizes-too-big-shoes towards Brooke’s chair. She crouches in front of it and takes the woman’s warm hands in her own cold ones. “Okay then, I’ll tell you what we should do. How about we watch Disney films till we veg out in front of the TV and eat a shit ton of Chinese food, ‘cause I know you didn’t eat much at the fancy place.”

Brooke bursts out laughing at the suggestion before collecting herself. “Veg out?” She questions with the phrase.

“You know! Lie like vegetables. Like Broccoli or something.” Vanessa’s enthusiasm for it all is heartwarming, but Brooke shakes her head softly.

“I’ll tell you what, I’ll be back, we can Broccoli tomorrow,” she says, standing up with Vanessa’s hands still in her own. She lets them go and runs a finger along the smooth skin of Vanessa’s jawline before letting it drop.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going downstairs for a while.”

Brooke closes the door and Vanessa doesn’t chase her.

#rpdr fanfiction #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #nina west #shuga cain #yvie oddly #branjie #fluff #angst #tension hidden by lobsters #big business deals #lawyer au #lesbian au #pretty woman #pinkgrapefruit #concrit welcome #treat me nice

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saltysaltdog · 2 years

Text

I think people who make humansona megatron (aligned/tfp) a man who conforms to nearly every gender norm are missing a LOT of context.

People like Megatron, but everyone outside of Gladiator Kaon finds him really unsettling. Like, Orion can be harsh and call everyone working with Megatron mechs who'll die in the gutter, but Megatron can't even say "my friend" without everyone thinking he's super suspicious and probably going to kill someone.

And while you can say "caste tension" and drop it, I think you can add more nuance by making Meg "caste-abberant," defining him as outside the norms physically within functionalism.

—For example: you may have noticed the mining vehicons are slightly smaller than the eradicons/ fighting vehicons. You can see this in background shots, with them being half Megatron's height, or in the scene where wheeljack startles mining bots while running from predaking– but that the eradicons are slightly taller than him/ taller than Starscream.(Some of this is hidden by weird framing tricks but the mining vehicons have more visors than the fighting ones though they both have weapons.)

So mining bots have a certain image. Small. But Megatron is very much not that. Whatever reason you want to make up for it (size gain like a lobster upon aging, just build different, etc) he is huge.

This in and of itself isn't what makes people uncomfortable. Optimus is tall but adored. Ultra Magnus, omega supreme, tall but trusted. It's not a height thing. It's a caste thing, specifically someone who doesn't fit neatly into a box.

Like, Have you ever seen a dude driven nuts bc a girl is taller than him? As if he thinks being a man is a title given to the "manliest" people around and if you aren't your man card gets revoked. And then to protect his "manhood" he starts trying to muscle in and prove himself but just makes himself look pathetic and insecure?

It's like that for Megatron.

People get that way for guys too. Where men act like someone having feminine traits or hobbies, as a man, attacks manhood itself and is trying to bring everyone down. Making men "look bad" or weak.

Or its attacking the notion of heterosexuality by having "womanly" features they find attractive. Thus they think the guy with features they like is actively trying to "turn them gay" and start lashing out in defense to that imaginary attack, while the guy is actually just living his life. And of course the reverse where a lady with "manly" features is doing the same as above.

There's so many examples of this discomfort with gender ambiguity/difference that trans ppl or people who's appearances don't fit euro-centric beauty ideals have catalogued that I won't go on with them.

I think the innate discomfort bots have with Megatron in exodus comes from something like this, or at least Orion's discomfort with him, since orion also instantly mistrusted Ransack for 0 reason on Velocitron in Exiles, probably because he was a three wheeled racer, where Override was a car. (Though it may also be a manners thing for that one. Since OP is a huge snob in those books.)

#transfomers #aligned continuity #tfp #Megatron #maccadam #cybertronian culture #so anyway my meg has MEGA MILK-

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winterpower98 · 3 years

Note

(Kicks door down) I DEMAND YOUR LOBSTER X MOCHA RAY HEADCANONS!

MDSMDSOMSVOVSDPMSOSPV OH HI LACE XD

You see this non-binary man? They can fit so much love under that hard shell of them. They are rough around the edges but will be so delicate with Mocha.

Mocha Ray is either blind or near-blind and moves around using some form of echolocation or is guided by either her pet jellyfish (which works like a dog for blind people) or by Lobster themselves. Because of that, Lobster often thinks that Mocha got with them simply because she can't see their "ugly form", but the other guardian is quick to prove them wrong.

Mocha is also the person who gave Lobster their prosthetic claw, which means that even tho there was tension between the two of them, they clearly cared about one another already.

Despite being blind Mocha is a really good fighter and Lobster loves to watch her spar, just so they get to admire those defined muscles that are often hidden by her robes.

Despite his loud nature Lobster is very quiet when Mocha speaks and will attentively listen to her every word.

#cookie run #cookie run ovenbreak #CRO #lobster cookie #mocha ray cookie #winter answer #winterpower98 #Lobsteray

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tundrainafrica · 4 years

Note

I need to take this out of my lungs, HANGE AND LEVI AS MIA WALLACE AND VINCENT VEGA FROM PULP FICTION oof 💖💖

Title: No Foot Massages

Summary:

'You’re taking care of a married woman, Levi. No foot massages'

"Romance was something that came slowly, a mysterious thing he never dared to test without putting the time and effort. Yet at the same time, he was aware that the smallest things could constitute cheating or ‘stealing’ with the right context and the most convenient explanations.

So Levi decided to keep it simple. Keep it distant. Keep it casual. Keep it fun."

Levi is ordered to take care of a married Hange for a weekend.

Link to cross-postings: AO3

Note:

That movie was just... a roller coaster ride really.

This ended up a quick fic I wrote in between some meeting we were forced to attend outside office hours.

You might be disappointed by the lack of sex and drugs compared to the actual movie. But I'm leaving my adult content for another one shot ;)

“A new mission?”

Erwin nodded and rested his chin on his hands. “Looks like our boss is gonna be gone for the weekend, on a trip to the Middle East and he’s leaving his wife alone in the house. You think you can handle taking care of her?”

Levi raised one eyebrow. “He has a wife? What’s her name?”

“Hange Zoe.”

“How did they meet?”

Erwin shrugged. “How else do rich people meet their wives?”

“They pick the prettiest woman around right?” Because they can. Levi added to himself. Somehow though, a name had so easily accompanied the face. And she wasn’t at all what people would have concluded to be ‘the prettiest woman around.’

Erwin narrowed his eyes at Levi. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“What am I thinking? I just thought she wouldn’t be the prettiest woman around. Not enough to attract the richest person within the walls right?”

“But why are you making that face?”

“What face?”

“The face of intention…” Erwin gave him a knowing look.

A face of intention? Even before Levi though could figure out how exactly he had looked to Erwin, the latter continued speaking.

“Do you know what happens when someone lays a hand on Marsellus’ wife? Do you remember what happened to Moblit?” Erwin asked.

Moblit? It had been a while since Levi heard that name, or has seen him walking through the hallways in between meetings.

“Well, our big boss sent some of his men after him. They broke into his apartment and pushed him out the window. ”

That was enough explanation at least for Levi to remember… Moblit was dead. “For what?”

“On account of one Hange Zoe.”

“What did he do? Fuck her?”

“He gave her a foot massage.”

“A foot massage?”

Erwin nodded his head.

“But… what if her feet just hurt?” Levi asked.

“It’s laying hands on his wife that’s the problem.”

“He gave her a foot massage. Foot massages are nothing.”

“By laying hands I mean, laying hands in a familiar way. It’s not the same as fucking her or eating her out but I’m sure you can agree that they’re in the same field right?”

Levi though, was still very much new to the nuances of romance. The world had only recently opened up to him and he was still very much unfamiliar with the cultures outside his own small country. He wrinkled his nose and sighed. Let’s keep it simple. “Okay, so I just have to take her out, keep her happy for just one weekend,” he asked. “And no foot massages right?”

“You’re taking care of a married woman, Levi. No foot massages”

“That’s easy enough,” Levi said. He turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

Romance was something that came slowly, a mysterious thing he never dared to test without putting the time and effort. Yet at the same time, he was aware that the smallest things could constitute cheating or ‘stealing’ with the right context and the most convenient explanations.

So Levi kept it simple. Keep it distance. Keep it casual. Keep it fun.

Erwin’s last three words, he kept like a mantra, a little guideline Levi allowed himself as he approached their mansion.

No foot massages.

*****

“Oh, so you’re captain Levi?”

“You can call me Levi.” We don’t use terms like captain in my job. Levi said silently. But he didn’t mind such a term. The way it had rolled off her tongue had been a little too seamless to have been worth a verbal correction.

Hange settled on the sofa in front of him. The sofa could have fit three people but Hange managed to occupy three people’s worth of space with the way she stretched her legs so messily and if Levi angled his view a little lower, he might have seen something which could have had him thrashed like Moblit.

“Levi huh? Well, given my husband’s position. I guess that makes me your boss too right?” Hange asked.

I only answer to Erwin, and by extension, your husband. That at least had been what was taught to him since he started his job. But somehow, he felt more inclined to listen to Hange first.

“You have anywhere in mind you want to go?”

Hange hummed. “My husband keeps me really busy… so it has been a while since I got to go out like this. To be honest though, I don’t know much about the town. Do you have anything in mind?”

“There’s a new diner in town… Niccolo’s been cooking for Sasha a lot lately so I heard they’ve been offering more in the menu lately.”

Hange grinned. “Then let’s go?”

*****

“What do you think?” Levi asked as they settled into one of the booths in the corner of the restaurant.

Hange didn’t reply. Her face was completely hidden by the menu in front of her. And all Levi did get in return for his consideration were a few hums of approval.

“Your husband is paying. Get whatever you want.”

“Well, I heard Niccolo makes a great milkshake. And Sasha said the seafood from Marley is particularly delicious… So what about lobster?”

“Then we order two lobsters and two milkshakes.” Levi looked at his own menu. The numbers came in two digits, sometimes three.. Something Levi had never gotten used to having grown up in the underground and he found himself having to grip the menu a little harder to stop himself from dropping it. “Wait, you’re willing to pay this much for a milkshake? And Hange… The price of lobster?”

“Why? What’s wrong? These are pretty reasonable prices. It’s not like we can actually get these locally.”

But is your husband willing to pay for the lobster and the milkshake of his own employee? Levi felt the panic well inside him. At the same time, he was still conscious enough to know that such a monster like panic manifested in wide eyes and a sweaty brow. And for once, Levi found himself thanking the lord for that awkward height difference. Made it all the easier to put the menu in front of him.

“My husband told you right? You take me out to do whatever I want this weekend. And I want my lobster and I want my milkshake.”

*****

“We just ate. And you wanna dance?”

Hange only had to look at the stage to answer that question. She had that longing look in her eye, and when she looked back at him, it morphed into something, an expression Levi could have sworn he had only ever seen in dogs. “Levi… You know, I never get to leave the house. Especially when my husband’s home.”

Hange didn’t need the explanation though. Levi had already given in when she had given him that look and we had allowed himself that extra few seconds to stare a little longer. But even before he could give a nod of submission, Hange’s face brightened. She quickly stood up and pulled him along all the way to the top of the stage.

Levi focused on the blinding lights above him. Undoubtedly, it hurt. But for someone who never did get used to having at least fifty people watching him, it was still a better view.

“What a lovely couple we have here!” Niccolo of all people was at the center of the stage microphone in hand. With his free hand he pulled Hange to the front. “Could you introduce yourself and your partner here?”

“Hange Zoe here,” Hange said, with the widest grin on her face.

The crowd exploded into murmurs and among them Levi heard something about a ‘big boss’ and a ‘wife.’

Hey shitty four eyes, you’re gonna have me killed. Levi had reached out his leg half way, ready to kick her in the shin when Hange spoke up again.

“No, Levi here is not my partner. He’s just taking care of me for the weekend.”

There were ‘awws’ of disappointment among the audience and maybe a few heckles. Before Levi even gave in to that bout of self consciousness, looking back at the stairs behind him, Hange had pulled him to the middle of the dance floor. “Come on! Let’s win this.”

The heckles eventually transformed into cheers but Levi had to shake his hips for a few seconds or even a minute longer than he wanted too just to placate that hungry crowd.

He couldn’t dance for sure. He didn’t have the coordination to move everything at once. At that moment, the only thing he did feel was his hips, he jutted out with a few arm movements to add some color at least. That seemingly ridiculous movement though did nothing to erase the nervousness and the tension he felt then.

He looked up at Hange. She was smiling, much more confidently. And a few times she closed her eyes and swayed her head to the music. And she was closer, closer than Levi would have liked. He pulled away, keeping the swaying of his hips and the waving of his arms in check and as he did get a wider view of her, a head to toe view, he became a little more nervous and a little more self conscious.

He was a horrible dancer. He felt it in the way, his body could only move in sharp movements. And he had imagined how he looked to the crowd, a constant mixture of cheers and murmurs. And maybe a few laughs.

But that was the thing. With a limited view of Hange, he could just rely on his imagination to give him a merciful picture of how he looked. But when he stepped back, Hange became a top to bottom picture, a moving picture, her movements too sharp and a little too stiff. With her as reference, Levi became a little more conscious of how the hell he looked at that moment.

Am I that stiff? Levi thought to himself. In reply, his joints creaked to the unnatural movements, his arms shot up and he waved them like he was waving some sort of sword. And his movements although swift, were sharp, they jutted in directions a little too mechanical to have been considered a dance.

And Hange who had closed her eyes, and shaken her head and all directions within a few seconds, who had shot her hands up in the same way, moving her hands and her chest one direction and another, looked fucking ridiculous too.

Levi considered closing his eyes for a second, to at least get into the rhythm and maybe forget the audience behind him, but Hange, with her eyes closed in front of him, looked all the more ridiculous having chosen to forget everything around her.

I could close my eyes and forget... And for a while, as Levi did stare at Hange, he considered following suit.

Levi found an alternative though, an alternative that was so much better in the moment that Levi didn’t even bother weighing or comparing it to anything else. He jumped for that alternative a little too hastily. He rushed towards her, until all he saw in his vision was her face, then when all he saw was her eyes right in front of his.

She opened her brown velvety eyes and for a second, they were the only things he was seeing. But the view had only lasted a second. Too little time to count the colors in her eyes and too little time to admire her lashes and how beautifully they all formed such a unique shape between almond and round.

“Levi what the--”

And even before he could start admiring such a view, he felt a blinding pain, smack on his face.

“What the f---”

The whole word had been against him then, not even allowing him a single taut curse at such a cruel turn of events. They were at the edge of the stage and it turned out they had been for a long while.

And they were fucking idiots. Or so, that was what Levi realized, they were idiots enough that they had only noticed it themselves that they had been going in too many directions at once, only when they found himself tumbling down the stairs.

And Levi did only have a second to process that part, before the world had gone black.

*****

“You won’t tell him right? He’ll kill me.”

“Believe me, he’ll kill me too.”

“So how are you going to explain that,” Levi asked, gesturing a little too subtly at Hange’s swollen ankle propped on the coffee table in front of her.

“Well, how are you gonna explain that…” Hange asked, gesturing at him in general.

Levi didn’t have to look at the mirror to know what she was talking about. His skin was taut and he felt a dull pain spread out across his nose, he was sure at the best case scenario his nose and his cheeks were bruised. But that was the least of his problems then, he wasn’t sure if he’d still be alive and worrying about a possibly broken nose by the end of that week.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t care too much of a minion is bruised up. The more important thing is his wife doesn’t come out of this worse off.” Levi got up and went to the kitchen. “You’re going to have to wrap that.”

Levi’s penchant for cleanliness and orderliness had made it a little too easy for him to deduce where the first aid supplies would be hidden in such a high end house and Levi found himself back in the living room a second later, bandages in hand. He dropped it on the coffee table next to her.

“Here,” he said. He sat in front of her, leaning one elbow on his knee, propping his chin on his elbow.

Hange only returned his look, with an expectant one of her own.

“What?”

“Well…” Hange stretched out. “It would be a little awkward if I tried to bind my own ankle right? What if I fall off the couch?”

No foot massages. Erwin’s words echoed in Levi’s mind as he stared at the swollen foot in front of him for a little longer than what would have been normal.

And Hange noticed. “You don’t know how?”

“I know how to bind a sprained ankle.”

“Then why don’t you?”

No Foot Massages. Their words loomed on him like a ghost and as Levi gripped the roll of bandages, unravelling them slowly, he started to realize, there was no way of wrapping bandages on a sprained ankle, without caressing, without gripping at her injured foot and without pressing at a few areas as he tightened the bandage and got rid of the few pockets of air.

But I had to do this right? He can’t kill me for giving her the care she needs...

But just in case, he did make sure to confirm with her. “This doesn’t count as a foot massage right?”

*****

That weekend passed by in blur. Or maybe because he didn’t want it to end. And the world had proved multiple times already that it was constantly on a mission to fuck him over.

Saturday and Sunday were peaceful, too peaceful that it shouldn’t have gone too fast. Then, with nothing much to do but nurse his broken nose, keep Hange company, and nurse her through the first few 24 hours of dealing with a swollen ankle

And with nothing else to stimulate his mind or his senses but the brunette next to him on the sofa, Levi started to notice something a little more glaring.

“You haven’t showered since I came here.”

“Okay, thank you for that statement,” Hange said, not even looking up from the book she was reading.

“That’s not a statement. That’s a light suggestion.”

“Okay, I can ignore the suggestion.”

“It’s a request.”

“Well requests can be rejected right?”

“I would appreciate it if you explain why you’re rejecting that request.”

Hange gave her bandaged ankle a long stare, looked back at Levi then back at her book.

“Then I’ll help you to the bathroom.”

“No. I’m at a good part.”

“Well, I can’t stand you stinking up the house either.”

“This is my house. I can let it stink how much I want!”

Pulling her out of the couch had been a blur of an ordeal. He felt like he had done it many times before so even with the flailing of arms, the screams and despite all that, the great care he had to take with her sprained ankle, he had managed to forget it all as he sat outside her bedroom, letting the sound of the running water calm him down.

“You okay in there?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Her words were garbled, cracked between syllables and Levi found himself peeking in, just to check if she had been okay.

“Hey…”

A mop of hair should have been visible, even with the steam that blanketed the bathroom. Alarmingly, there had been nothing there.

“Hange, are you there? Hey, don’t die on me fucker.”

“I’m fine… Levi… I’m just tired.” Hange said, between bubbles and short breaths.

“I’m not leaving this room.”

“Then don’t leave,” Hange said, as she sat up a little straighter on the bathtub. And that was when Levi saw it, the hesitation, the recoil. He heard it soon after, the creak then the whimper.

“Tired isn’t supposed to be painful.”

“Well I’m exhausted and sometimes being exhausted is painful.”

Didn’t we spend the past few days doing nothing though? Levi thought to himself. But time had been an illusion the past few days and he could have sworn only a few seconds had passed by since that long dance in the diner. Even with the past two days of doing nothing, somehow he did understand the exhaustion.

In fact, he understood it a little too well. His own instinct had been to approach her, reach out a hand on her shoulder and squeeze. Her shoulders were hard and for a while, it had felt like they were pushing back.

But Levi was strong and he easily won that small battle with that knot on her shoulder.

Hange let out stilted breath. “That felt good.”

“Why is your body so stiff…” Levi asked as he ran his hands over her shoulder. He squeezed points right after the other, and her body could have been made of those knots and he wouldn’t have been too surprised. It was unsettling and almost terrifying.

“I told you. My husband overworks me all the time.”

“But really what do you do…”

“I work… I work everyday.” Hange said.

“Work for what…” Levi continued as he ran his hands up her neck.

Hange stretched her neck, letting out a resounding crack. “I don’t wanna disappoint…”

Disappoint him? His hands were over her damp hair, and he found himself amazed by how easily his fingers had untangled the waves in her hair.

“Disappoint?”

Hange turned to him and stood up.

“Disappoint him?” Levi asked. And as the haze cleared, as Hange stood up, and grabbed the towel, for a second Levi did see her raw, damp and very much exposed.

Exposed in ways that only her husband should have had the privilege to see. And Levi only noticed it then.

No foot messages right? Foot massages were actually very innocent things.

By laying hands I mean, laying hands in a familiar way. In fact, foot massages were such innocent things, Levi would have been happy to confess to a foot massage if it meant forgetting everything else he had done.

Fuck, he’s not just gonna be disappointed. He’s gonna be angry. Furious. He’s gonna fucking kill me.

And the steam chose that moment to disperse, the steam chose the moment when Hange was looking back at him yet still a good many movements away from wrapping that towel around herself.

And for some reason, Levi couldn't move. He couldn't walk away nor could he put his eyes up in some sort of defense. The only thing he had control of then had been his voice. But would she listen?

Either way, it was worth a try. “Hange, stop. Don’t!”

“You didn’t sleep well last night did you?”

Levi’s blinked back from that last view. That transition had been a little too abrupt. In what world would steam, with the silhouette of a naked Hange open up to a pile of paperwork on a desk? His mind had asked him then.

A voice had broken through his mindspace to answer it. “You looked like you were having a bad dream there. You okay?”

Levi looked up to see Hange clad in survey corps green coat, like she always had been, every single day before that.

And that… That was a fucking dream. Levi let out a long sigh. He wasn’t some low life stealing someone’s wife. He was a captain. And Hange was his commander.

“I’m fine. Sorry I dozed off for a while. How long was I out?”

“Around 12, I came back from a quick lunch and found you asleep. So looking at the watch now… Two hours?”

“And you didn’t wake me up?”

“You looked tired,” Hange said matter-of-factly, she said it too calmly that to Levi, it had been almost painful hearing it. Hange didn’t look like she had slept well either, her worry lines were more apparent and her eyes tended to droop a little more than usual.

And Levi found himself focusing particularly on the way her shoulders dropped yet at the same time stiffened. From a meter away, Levi could already pick out the knots on her shoulders and he was certain she never did give them a proper stretch. “You always look tired. That’s why I’ve told you many times before, give me some of your work.”

“No need to deal with any of those, I fixed the purchase orders already.”

“What about these?” Levi asked as he read through the topmost paper.

“I read through and documented everything already.”

“Then why are they here?”

“You’re still the head of the special squad. So I thought you’d want to review the purchase orders for the weapons.”

“I could have dealt with this myself,” Levi narrowed his eyes at Hange.

“Well it’s done at least. Doesn’t matter who did it.”

“No. It does. You’re constantly tired,” Levi said. “You might get sick or hell, you might drop dead at the rate you’re going.”

“I’m commander, it’s my job to read through all this.” Hange walked back to her desk and gently tapped the stack of papers on her desk.

“I can take some of that,” Levi offered.

Hange shook her head. “These are reports on the installation of the new train line. I don’t think this is the type of paperwork I can easily hand over to anyone else. Just read through the purchase orders, tell me if I missed anything.”

Even when Hange was requesting something with such a serious face, it had almost sounded pleading. And Levi felt almost obligated to look through every single one of the records very carefully, even after poring through more than half of them and coming up fairly convinced that there would be no mistakes among the pages worth of purchase orders.

No calculation errors. No typos. Levi had spent the last two hours before the sun set, even doing some quick calculations and estimations through them to be sure. Hange was thorough.

Before Levi knew it, the office started to come out looking a light orange, a far cry from the dull rustic brown hue that blanketed it most of the day.

It had been a comforting view long ago, when it had been a sign of the end of a long busy day.

But recently, Hange had been staying longer, even after the bright orange faded into purples and into a dark blue, even long after Hange had to turn on dim light. What had been the most unsettling part for Levi though had been the fact that she never did go home. When he entered the office in the morning she was there. When he left the house for the night she was there.

As if she were married to her job.

“Hey.”

Hange looked up, catching his gaze. “You need something?”

Her eyes were glossy from what could have been a constant stream of exhaustion and somehow that made Levi all the more determined to get her out. “What’s your plan tomorrow?”

Hange shrugged. “Depends what I finish tonight.”

“You haven’t taken a rest in so long. It’s like you’re married to your job.”

“I don’t wanna disappoint,” Hange explained. “Erwin made me commander for a reason.”

“We never got to check out that one fancy restaurant. I heard that Marleyan soldier makes really good food.”

“New shipments are coming tomorrow so I’m going to have to go to the port and---”

“That can wait until tomorrow,” Levi approached her table, placing his hand gently on the edge. “One night. Forget about your work for one night. I promise, we’ll have a great time.”

Hange raised one eyebrow. “A great time? It’s been a while since I had one.”

“And all I’m asking for is one night. You’re not happy married to your work.”

Hange sighed. “Actually you might be right. I have been pretty miserable lately. Maybe because I never give myself a break.” She pushed the papers haphazardly to one side of the table. “One night,” she repeated.

They could have taken the carriage to the restaurant and could have been there in five minutes. But somehow, Levi was scrambling for reasons to make the night last longer. And Hange didn’t protest.

They were walking through the more silent parts of town. The walk took them through winding paths that only prolonged their trek to the restaurant. Although they were very much familiar with that part of town, neither of them protested such a silent decision.

“You know, you were smiling in your sleep for a while,” Hange said.

“Was I?”

“Then suddenly, you were frowning. Then you woke up screaming,” Hange said, widening her eyes in emphasis. “Was it a bad dream?”

Was it? “I don’t know.”

“How can you not know?”

“It had good parts and bad parts.”

“What makes you say that?”

“There were a lot of things which happened there, which I wish could happen in real life… And other parts were just…” Levi trailed off. He felt himself shudder just thinking of that phantom husband of Hange.

“Things you wish could happen? You mean… like a happy ending after the war or something?”

Some of the pictures though had Levi cringing and unable to stop that grimace that played at his lips. Levi looked away as soon as he felt the blood rush to his face. “What about… You enjoy tonight… Like enjoy to your heart’s content, take a great rest. And I’ll tell you.”

“I think this is the first time I’ve seen you so eager to hide something from me. ” Hange let out one whistle, one provocative whistle that only served to make Levi’s blood boil. “But I’ll hold you to do that.

#levihan #levihan fanfiction #fanfic

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britishassistant · 4 years

Text

But I Like One Piece (20)

They all turn to stare at him.

“Dear? How do you know that?” Okaa-san says.

Otou-san shakes his head and sits down heavily on the stairs. “The manufacturer for those weapons is in Yukigakure. Just like the incriminating ryo left at the scene of that theft.”

Oh.

Oh sweet Merry.

She mutters, “Shika said—when we were talking about the theft, he said it had to be an inside job, because an outsider couldn’t know anything. But if they were like me—if they’d read the comic based on Konoha in their past life, they would know. They’d know almost everything even if they never set foot here.”

She swallows, throat suddenly dry. “If it was plot-relevant, then they’d know more about what was valuable and how it was defended than people who’d lived here their whole lives. They’d even know the weaknesses of the ninja sent after them, if those ninja were major characters.”

Otou-san nods. “And if he or she needed to finance the manufacture of those weapons, what could be easier than to steal something from here and sell it to another hidden village?”

She sits down heavily on the stairs.

Her heart’s pounding too fast. The side of her head is throbbing in time with the beat.

“Well.” Okaa-san coughs. “That’s mildly terrifying.”

She lets out a humorless chuckle at the understatement.

Horror wars with elation in her brain. Elation at the knowledge that she isn’t alone here.

Horror at the idea of someone knowing everything about this place and deciding to use that knowledge for their own gain. If robbing Konoha wasn’t low for them, would they stoop to manipulating Naruto, Sakura, Uchiha? To hurting them to get their way, change a narrative they don’t like?

“But Iruka-sensei said Yukigakure gave us those guns for less money than they gave them to other villages.” Naruto says suddenly. “Maybe that’s the not-Mayu’s way of making it up to us?”

“You think villains who would commit such an unyouthful action would be capable of feeling guilt?” Lee says doubtfully. “Shouldn’t we tell Gai-sensei about this?”

“We can.” Otou-san sighs. “But I’m not sure how helpful it would be. Nara-san said Yamanaka-san knew about the Yuki connection between both the theft and these “guns”. For all we know, the price reduction could be a concession negotiated between the Hokage and the thief, and we just have a morsel of knowledge about that deal which would endanger Mayu more than it would help the village.”

She fidgets, tracing the scar on her lower lip.

Lee’s brows are furrowed, his mouth pulled down in a frown.

Okaa-san reaches out and smooths a hand over his hair. “Why don’t we get Ichiraku’s and sleep on it? I think Sanji would agree we’ll all make better decisions with some ramen in our bellies.”

Naruto springs to his feet. “Yeah! Ramen’ll fix everything, believe it! C’mon, I’m hungry, let’s go, let’s go!”

It doesn’t quite fix everything, she reflects later as she descales and fillets the pike for the offerings tomorrow. There’s still another reincarnated person who robbed the village, had her father take the fall for their crime, and is now mass-producing the very weapon that killed her past self, which they can do next to nothing about.

But ramen smoothed out the crease in Lee’s brow when they all agreed it was better to tell Gai-sensei than not. It lightened the mood and made everything this day had thrown at them seem a little less important in light of the celebrations planned for tomorrow.

Their small garden is now even smaller thanks to the a large wooden structure that sits next to the back fence.

It’s a bit like a cross between a shed and a greenhouse, if it only had three walls and no doors or windows. The roof is curved and the walls are sturdy, to protect the shrines inside from the elements.

There’s a length of thick white rope fastened with red twine inside the front gable, which is meant to ensure that the shrines are protected from malicious spirits.

Each one of the shrines has a small building that is sealed automatically once the shrine has been assembled, keeping a small object for the deity to inhabit safely locked away from prying eyes. There’s a small recess before this structure, for offerings to be placed, and a little column that puts them above the eye level of a kneeling person.

They’d debated setting aside a space for the shrines in the living room inside the house, to ensure they could be protected and cared for. But she kept getting impulses of outside, of wind and rain, freedom, that eventually they decided it was better than keeping them cooped up inside.

Plus this way, Luffy can’t raid the fridge as easily.

She’s already found certain small cuts of cooked meat have gone missing. If he’s anything like the manga, then she’s not giving him the chance to clean out the entire fridge.

They’ve been working on constructing it and the shrines on weekends and in the mornings during training. According to Gai-sensei, it’s excellent practice for C-rank missions.

Now all that’s left is to paint the structure and the ten shrines housed within.

Working out what to set out as offerings for tomorrow had been a challenge and a half.

For the most part, the Strawhats can be grouped into small sections of what they will and won’t eat.

Nami and Chopper are fruit lovers. Sanji, Zoro, Brook and Usopp are partial to seafood. Luffy, Franky, and Robin are happy with beef and other land-based meats.

However, Zoro, Sanji and Brook like varieties of seafood that are difficult to get in Konoha— octopus, lobster and prawns are expensive and hard to find, while sea king meat just doesn’t exist here. At least Zoro is happy enough with a traditional plate-2-bowls meal with rice.

Robin prefers sandwiches, and she’s not quite sure if the burgers Franky loves fit into that criteria. Chopper can’t stand spicy or bitter foods, but Zoro and Robin dislike sweets.

She’s just thankful that Luffy, Nami Usopp, and Merry are so easy to feed. Pike’s one of the few fish that Konoha doesn’t need to import, so it and tangerines relatively inexpensive.

There’s no chance of combining all their preferences into one dish. Her head hurts just imagining the clash of flavors.

So she had to somehow come up with a way of creating a meal that would (hopefully) make each of the pirates she idolizes happy.

No pressure.

Chouji ended up being her savior in this respect.

And maybe Uchiha did as well, but only a teeny tiny bit.

She’d been brainstorming different versions of meals she could try making that would satisfy everyone, but kept coming up short.

The added tension from Sakura’s friendly-again-but-still-not-quite-sitting-back-at-their-table thing at this time wasn’t exactly helping her think either.

“I’ve got cola, coffee, tea, heck even sake, but still no idea on what to pair any of them with.” She complained, tapping her pencil against the list in front of her.

Chouji had leaned over, a thoughtful look on his face. “Why not make them lunchboxes? That way you can make lots of things in smaller amounts and personalize each lunchbox for each of them.”

“Hm. That is a good idea.” She gnawed on her lower lip. “Only downside is working out when I can cook what and how much time the preparation of each portion is going so everything in the bentos is relatively fresh for when it’s offered... how much d’you think eleven more lunchboxes would cost?”

She’d just begun sketching out lines for a tentative timetable when Uchiha complained, “Why do you think you’ve gotta do everything on your own?”

She looked up, a little offended. “I’m not praying for help with this, are you mad? That’d be like asking someone to bake their own birthday cake.”

“What Sasuke means,” Chouji intervened. “Is that we could always split the work three-ways between us, and bring it to your house on the day?”

She blinked. “You...you guys would help me like that?”

Chouji smiled, then made a squeak of surprise when she lunged over the table to hug him tightly. “Thank you.”

“I have lunchboxes to spare.” Uchiha drawled. “Plus someone’s got to make sure you don’t mess up.”

She had then let Chouji go so she could boot Uchiha in the shin.

As a result of this arrangement, when she wakes up on The Day, all she has to worry about is preparing the pasta for Sanji, Nami and Usopp’s lunchboxes after training with Gai-sensei.

She’s almost worried that her timining be a little delayed because Gai-sensei grabs her in a bone-creaking hug when she arrives at training and spends about three minutes weeping over how youthful she is.

He then makes them run fifty times around the village balancing the paint pots they’ll be using later to ensure that the paint is agitated enough “so its most YOUTHFUL colors will shine through!!”

They nearly lose the purple when Naruto fumbles slightly over a root.

She bolts down her food at breakfast.

She puts on more rice again in preparation for the sesame onigiri, and pulls out a pot to fill with water that’s set to boil and a pan to gently heat some oil on the stove.

She smashes a clove of garlic and drops it in when the oil has begun to smoke gently, deseeding and dicing up some chilis and tossing them in as well for flavor.

She can’t help her grin when the heady spicy-savory scent fills the air, finely chopping capers and anchovies to toss in once she’s fished out the smashed garlic.

The scent mellows somewhat when the diced pike hits the pan as well, and she pushes it around until the fish is almost-but-not-quite cooked through.

Then in with a generous glug of wine and the heat is turned down to a gentle simmer to let the alcohol cook off.

Just in time for the rice to have cooked and cooled enough to begin mixing with yellow and black sesame seeds and begin forming into ten onigiri.

They don’t have any fillings other than the sesame, because they’re designed to take the edge off the stronger flavors of the pasta (her) and the takoyaki (Chouji), as well as serve as a substitute for a sesame topped bun accompanying the hamburger steaks (Uchiha).

The others begin to arrive at around ten.

Sakura and the Harunos arrive first alongside Ino and her dad.

She shouts a hello as Naruto and Lee lead Ino and Sakura through the kitchen to the back garden, nails orange with peeled tangerine.

Ino darts forward and steals two slices, chortling in response to her indignant “Oi!” and passing one to Sakura, who grins as she nibbles on their way out.

Yamanaka-san is totally at home chatting with Gai-sensei and Otou-san, but he snickers when Nara-san immediately gravitates towards him when he arrives. Shikamaru gives her a nod as he follows the adults outside and she puts the pasta on to boil.

She’s set aside two extra tangerines for when Shino and his father arrive. After all, she, Chouji and Uchiha are making enough to feed eleven deities and many many people, so shouldn’t their insects also be able to eat as well?

Shino’s dad stares at her inscrutably when she explains her reasoning, before accepting the fruit with a nod and a “thank you” barely audible over a loud buzzing.

Shino shifts from one foot to the other during this exchange before gently tugging his father’s sleeve. It occurs to her as she drains the pot-full pasta and adds the sauce alongside a cup of boiling water to emulsify everything that this might be the closest she’s ever seen him to being embarrassed.

Chouji and his dad arrive as she’s sprinkling in some parsley as a finishing touch.

They’re both carrying huge containers full of takoyaki and cooked spring greens, and she spares a small moment to be envious of all the amazing things Chouji’s family can afford to do.

Then she launches Chouji another hug to thank him for all his help once he’s set his cargo down.

He squeaks like he did last time and Akimichi-san laughs loudly, for some reason.

Iruka-sensei and Uchiha arrive with eleven lunchboxes, two dogs, Kiba and his mum, and Hinata in tow.

Uchiha keeps sneaking what appear to be morsels of meat to Akamaru and Kuromaru.

There’s also a pale-eyed frowning boy who Iruka-sensei introduces as Hyuuga Neji, Hinata’s cousin who’d been sent along to act as her chaperone.

The boy sniffs disdainfully when they greet him and goes to stand in a corner of the garden near Mebuki, completely ignoring Lee when he waves to him.

She doesn’t think she likes Hinata’s cousin very much.

The lunchboxes Uchiha brought are black lacquer decorated with gold and red tomoe, much fancier than anything she’d been expecting.

When questioned, he just shrugs and says, “It’s just old stuff from New Year’s. It’s just taking up space at home, so it’s better off here.”

She knows better than to say anything like “sorry”, so she just pats his shoulder and says “No, that compartment’s too small for the onigiri, put it in this one.”

“That’s way too big, it looks tiny in that one.” Uchiha snaps, but with a bit less bite than usual.

Iruka-sensei looks mildly overwhelmed by all the people in the back garden. Okaa-san comes along, hands him a drink, pats his shoulder and says “They’re in my house,” in a sympathetic tone.

Iruka-sensei gives her a pitying look and knocks the sake back in one go.

Adults here can be weird.

Finally they’ve finished serving and she calls out “Food’s up!”

The adults come in to help take the larger platters of food outside, a huge plate of pasta, several smaller hamburger steaks in the style of what they’d call “sliders” in her world, and mound upon mound of takoyaki and spring greens and tangerines.

There’s a clamor outside as people begin getting their portions.

She, Chouji and Uchiha are each balancing either three or four lunchboxes per person as they take them outside.

Sakura is helping Kiba paint a pattern of cherry blossoms across Chopper’s already vibrantly pink shrine. Evidence of her handiwork on Robin’s shrine is clear is the decoration of swirling petals and the streaks of matching purple paint all over her forehead.

Ino and Naruto obviously have had a battle over the orange judging by the splashes on their hands and clothing. On the plus side Nami and Luffy’s shrines are looking particularly colorful.

Shikamaru and Hinata are splotched with green, light blue and black-and-white. Lee is smudged with brown, cyan and white paint and beaming proudly.

Shino has yellow paint on the end of his nose and is looking at the detailed illustrations of insects on the sides with pride.

The only shrines that aren’t quite done are Sanji’s, which has a blue overcoat but no decoration, and Zoro’s which doesn’t have half its roof painted yet.

“We were waiting,” Naruto says, holding out two buckets of green paint and blue respectively, “For you guys to add your bits.”

She beams at him.

Of course, Uchiha has to ruin it by immediately grabbing the green.

“What?” He says, offloading his three lunchboxes onto Kiba. “I’ll give it back once I’m finished with it.”

Ino rolls her eyes and shoulders her paintbrush, adding another orange splotch to her outfit. “Ugh. I’ll help Mayu-chan, it’s better to get it done quickly. Let’s go before the food gets cold.”

Orange, red, and yellow fish on the blue background are much more vibrant and eye-catching than green, though Uchiha does “help” by flicking the paintbrush at her while she’s distracted.

In thanks, she smears yellow on the back of his neck.

After the extra decorations are finished, Lee, Sakura and Kiba redistribute the lunchboxes to make their offerings.

The only problem is there’s eleven of them and ten lunchboxes.

“You all go ahead.” She steps back. “I’ll do the next bit.”

Each one of them place the pirate lunchboxes down in front of the shrines and step back.

For some reason, she feels like traditional prayers and chants appropriated from the sage guy won’t really be all that welcoming to them.

But then, what? What could help them feel at home at these shrines, so far from the sea?

Her gaze falls on Brook’s shrine.

Oh.

Oh, well it’s obvious when it’s put like that, isn’t it?

She just hopes she remembers the words correctly. She doesn’t want to butcher them on accident.

“Yohohoho, yohohoho~ Yohohoho, yohohoho~”

Her voice sounds frail and quiet, and she can feel everyone’s eyes on her. Still, she stumbles through the last two refrains of yohohoho’s to the first verse.

“Binksu no sake wo, todokei ni yuku yo, umikaze, kimakase, namimakase~ Shio no mukou de, yuhi wo sawagu, sora nya, wao kaku tori no uta~”

Naruto joins in on the next verse, singing along slightly out of tune and mixing up some of the words.

His cheeks look as flushed as hers feel, and it’s hard not to giggle when they catch each other’s eyes. Somehow they both manage to keep singing.

Gai-sensei and Lee boisterously shout DON alongside them as they join as well, Gai-sensei’s voice strong and sure, while Lee’s volume makes up for any deficiencies in wording. She almost can’t hear Okaa-san’s melodious voice and Otou-san’s decidedly tone-deaf one join in on the second set of Yohohoho’s over their noise.

Sakura and Ino’s voices are both high-pitched, but they carry the tune well enough. So does Kiba, though he’s pitching up to a falsetto for some reason. Hinata’s voice is soft, but she’s genuinely singing, unlike Shikamaru and Sasuke who’re mumbling through all the bits apart from the yohohoho’s. Shino is monotone if precise and enthusiastic, while Chouji has a surprising set of pipes on him.

Akamaru is just howling to the beat. And with that accompaniment, how could anyone stop themselves from singing along?

It feels like more people than could possibly fit into their house and garden are bellowing Bink’s Sake together by the time they’ve reached the third set of Yohohoho’s.

It can’t exactly be called “harmonious”. Everyone’s a little out of tune, a little off beat.

But the mixing of all the voices of her family and friends feels so right, it makes her voice stronger, lets her sing louder.

She opens her eyes and nearly chokes on the next note.

Hovering in front of the brightly painted shrines, slightly faded but gaining color and substance with every passing moment, They stand.

Merry appears in all her glory, as if in mid- sail. Brook is playing his violin, a foot tapping to the beat. Franky is winding up for his SUPA pose, grinning broadly. Robin is resting a hand on Chopper’s hat. Chopper himself is peeking at them the wrong way round from Robin’s leg.

Sanji’s tapping out his cigarette with a grin and giving a small salute. Usopp is waving to them, like a captain would to his 8,000 followers. Nami’s blowing a kiss as if to adoring fans.

Zoro...is climbing over the garden fence and jogging to take his place in front his shrine next to the others. Nami shoots him a Look while Luffy laughs at him, sitting in mid air and clapping his feet together.

The Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates then turns to her and gives her a wide grin.

She blinks away tears as he and his crew fade away with the last notes of the song.

The food in the lunchboxes is gone.

The food on Naruto’s plate is also gone.

In fact, all the food in the immediate vicinity appears to be gone.

It’s just that Naruto looks down at his plate and yells in indignation first.

She lets out a wet laugh. “Darn it Luffy.”

18 notes · View notes

anika-ann · 4 years

Text

Ground Rules (for Love and War) - Pt.2

Of Friendship and Love

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader Word count: 3600

Type: Two-shot, reader insert

Summary: Being trapped in a dark workshop with two sopersoldier of whom you have a crush on one. What could possibly go wrong?

Warnings: silly pranks, blackout, attempt at humour, swearing… fluff

Part 1

༻༺༻༺༻༺༻❁༺༻༺༻༺༻༺

Your heart nearly gave out at the fright and instantly started to hammer wildly in your ribcage.

You couldn’t see in the sudden pitch-dark room, but you could sense two large frames of supersoldiers stepping into your space protectively, their backs to you, facing the potential threat.

The heat of their bodies reassured you as your breathing sounded way too loud, the sound of your heartbeat seemingly bouncing off of the walls, filling the large space. Needing to feel something, your shaky hand reached out, colliding with Steve’s wrist; at least you assumed it was Steve’s. He swiftly turned his hand, squeezing yours before letting go and focusing on the danger lurking in the dark.

You held your breath in anticipation, moments stretching. Why was nothing happening?

Clearly, Bucky had been brought here under false pretences and there was a thick chance that whoever had got him here – F.R.I.D.A.Y.?! – counted on you being here as well. Did they take Steve into account or was he the one variable that could mean the difference between death and life?

The icy silence was broken by a series of strangely familiar beeps.

You jumped good two feet above the floor at the sudden interruption, you pulse skyrocketing.

It was coming from your left, where Bucky stood, the unzipped pocket of his hoodie giving out a faint light.

He cautiously pulled the phone out, his face illuminated by the greyish glow. He eyed it absently, trying to stay on alert for an attack. Then his shoulders slumped, his eyes closing shut.

What? WHAT?! What was happening? Was it a death threat? To him? To someone else? To the whole world?

As the silence stretched once more, only interrupted by Bucky’s low growl, your mind was racing, coming out with different catastrophic scenarios.

And suddenly something clicked.

“Were those… sounds from the Angry Birds game?” you broke the deadly quiet and Bucky’s growl was more distinct this time.

“Yes,” Bucky confirmed darkly and you could feel Steve slowly relax by your side, the tension radiating from him easing as if was brought up to speed with what was going on. He was still standing dangerously close to you, but you weren’t about to complain. Definitely not until you knew what was going on. “I’m going to murder him. Slowly. And painfully.”

He sounded truly pissed off. But also annoyed. You forced yourself to take a deep breath.

“Who’s him and what is he saying?” you asked, voice thin. Despite some of the fear leaving your body, your knees felt like buckling. Good thing Steve was so close that he would be able to catch you. Or perhaps his presence was one of the reasons why you felt weak in your knees?

“Homing pigeon, who else? Wilson.”

Oh. Oh.

Wait, what?

“Shitted you pants, didn’t you?” Bucky read out loud and you could hear him grinding his teeth. Illuminated by the phone screen, he looked like he was about to live up to his reputation as the Winter Soldier. “You didn’t get a heart-attack though, did you? Because that would be considerably less fun. Enjoy your lockdown, Barnes.”

“Oh thank god,” you breathed out, finally endlessly relieved.

“I’m gonna hold him while you punch him, Buck. And then I’m gonna punch you. This has got too far. You wanna play cat and mouse, please, by all means, but do not pull us into it,” Steve said seriously, his voice carrying a hint of disappointment and irritation at his friends’ behaviour.

Your hand acted on its own account, needing to comfort him all of sudden. He covered the back of your hand when it blindly found its forearm. It caused the corners of your lips to lift.

“So much for not getting caught in the middle,” you hummed, recalling your words to him from two days prior and you had a feeling he smiled at that.

Bucky sighed, exasperated. “Fuck lockdown. We can figure something out, right?”

At that, your mood fell instantly. It was your turn to sigh, because… you weren’t so certain about that. Freeing your hand, you crossed your arms on your chest.

“Well, the power is down,” you pointed out the obvious. “The thing is, I’m ninety percent sure Tony didn’t synchronize the new protocols with the emergency power unit yet.”

“English?” Bucky hissed.

You were pretty confident that he understood, but didn’t want to believe it. You rolled your eyes and explained.

“The power won’t kick in on its own, because the new security update isn’t quite… complete. It has to be done manually. And Tony didn’t share how.”

“So we just have to call Tony?” Steve asked, relieved.

“Yeah… about that. I might have threatened to all of his Ironman suits if he left his phone on during the date with Pepper he’s currently on…”

“Oh,” Steve let out, clearly surprised, but at the same time, slightly pleased. Good. He cared for more than just his friends’ safety – he also cared about their happiness. Not that it was any surprise to you. “Where’s the date?”

You chewed on your lower lip, squeezing your eyes shut as you prepared for the storm which was doubtlessly about to follow your revelation.

“…Richmond.”

“WHAT?!” sounded stereo from both sides of your face and you whined, guilt biting at your stomach. But how were you supposed to know this was gonna happen?!

You would bet Samuel fucking Wilson planned it exactly because he knew about the date. And about its location.

“There’s a really nice restaurant with great atmosphere, okay?!” you instantly defended yourself. “It had wonderful lobster and Tony actually paid attention to what Pepper said for once, so he knew she would love it there!”

Steve sighed, but assured you that it was alright, recognizing your contribution.

“So we’ll just punch our way out.”

“…yeah, about that,” you shot down Bucky’s proposition before he could get too excited about it.

“Oh for fuck’s sake! What now?”

“Tony might have lined the walls and doors with vibranium after Ultron, T’Challa provided it to him. He thought it would be safer…?”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because he’s a paranoid bastard?” you offered, earning an affirmative hum from Steve.

“Fair enough, I suppose.”

“So, let me get this straight. He lines the walls with rare metal, but he still trusts his tech, which already turned against him before,” Bucky stated in disbelief.

“Uhhmmm, yeah, sounds about right.”

You could feel a gush of wind that probably signalled Bucky throwing his arms up in exasperation.

“So… we’re trapped,” Steve summed up and you reluctantly agreed.

“Basically.”

“In the dark,” Bucky added. “Well, for you anyway.”

“I mean, not complete dark, my phone’s somewhere on the table and has some battery– wait, are you telling me you can actually see in this… darkest dark?” you demanded incredulously.

“Yeah, a bit,” Bucky confirmed absently as he reached for his phone again to light it up. “Mine has like 5 percent.”

“I don’t have my phone with me,” Steve confessed.

“Seriously, Steve?”

“I’m still in the tower! No one outside the tower calls me!” Steve shot back at Bucky defensively.

Legendary duo arguing! Alert! Cannot be happening!

“Alright, boys. Calm down,” you asked of them gently. “We’ll figure something out. Help me find my phone…” Bucky obediently did, even though you were sure he was frowning. You lit it up contentedly. “Sweet. I have about ten percent.” You turned on the flashlight attached to the camera and squinted to see better as you headed to one of the cupboards. “There are some flashlights right he-“ Your face twisted in confusion when you found the cupboard empty. Well. “--or not. Let’s scan this place…”

As it turned out, the workshop was a place of wonders. Rest assured, you knew about a lot of strange things hidden through the cabinets, but some treasures still surprised you.

Mostly, it was Steve and Bucky, who were bewildered at their findings.

“What is Operation doing here?” Steve questioned, pulling out the game box for you to see – well, the outline of it anyway – as if he wanted you to confirm that it was indeed there and he wasn’t hallucinating.

“Don’t even ask,” you rolled your eyes.

Have you mentioned Tony needed constant supervision and that he was a man-child? Yeah? Never mind, you could say that over and over again and it wouldn’t get less truthful.

“We could play,” Bucky offered casually, clearly getting bored by the recon mission.

“I’m not playing Operation with you. I can barely see.”

“Fine, fine…” Bucky grumbled and Steve put the box back, moving to other mysterious cabinets.

“Oh. Candles. And matches. That might be helpful. And a bag of chips.”

“Nicely done, Captain,” you praised him, turning to him to flash him a grin he could probably barely see. It dawned to you too late how flirtatious it might have sounded, how strangely his rank rolled of your tongue, so you quickly spoke up again. “Hand it over.”

“Keep looking. One bag of chips isn’t enough…” Bucky stated, but Steve handed you the to-be light sources so you could place them to your liking.

His fingers brushed your hands tenderly as he passed you the items and you weren’t certain whether it was an accident or not. Judging by the faint outline of his shy smile, you thought it might not. It made your cheeks burn and your heart swell.

“Twister?” Bucky proposed this time, breaking the moment you shared with Steve and you rolled your eyes.

“Eh, Tony sometimes… plays with Dum-E,” you explained, hoping he would get the picture. “Usually when he’s drunk. I’m not-“ -playing with you.

“Got it. Monopoly then?”

You whined. It wasn’t exactly your favourite game and you knew you would lose in the matter of minutes, but if you were being honest… you were about to run out of things to do here and your phone was about to die, so you might as well play the game Tony Stark loved.

“Well. Let me just light up the candles, okay? It’s gonna be a short game. You two have superbrains. But I might survive few rounds if I really try…” you murmured and proceeded with illuminating the space.

You in fact did last few rounds. You even managed to step up and buy some of the tiny red houses. And you… you might even have been having fun.

Until you got the worst luck ever, stepping on the most fearful square owned by no other than Steve Rogers and you had to start counting all of your money… only to find out that it, if fact, wasn’t enough. Not after you had already payed him once that round and to Bucky.

“Ahh, dammit.”

“You can always just… sell something,” Bucky noted and you shot him a glare. That move always signalled the beginning of an end.

You were frowning at the board, chewing on your lower lip while you considered your options. Not that there were many of them. Your poor boat-shaped figure was about to sink.

“Or you could pay me later,” Steve’s voice broke your mussing and your head snapped to him. “I’ll give you five tosses – someone might step on something of yours by then.”

You examined his inviting expression, his sharp features softened by the candlelight. For a moment, your brain switched off. For some reason, you hadn’t truly looked at him since the game started, your gaze rather on the board and dice, but now, when you raised your gaze, you were amazed by the ethereal aura around him, by the startling beauty. His already warm eyes reflected the tiny flames, the shadows accenting the curve of his lips, defined cheekbones, strong jaw.

One of his eyebrows rose in slow motion, only for you to realize with shock that you had been staring at him for way too long. You hoped he believed you only got lost in thought; which you did, but about him, not about the game.

“I… don’t that’s possible according to the rules,” you whispered, voice hoarser than expected. You cleared your throat, your heart racing at both being caught and captivated by the vision of Steve in the sweet light.

“Sometimes it’s alright to bend the rules a bit for a good cause. Where the fun would be if I condemned you to bankrupting in about two tosses?” he shrugged, apparently oblivious to your inner turmoil and you released the breath you were holding.

“One toss, knowing my luck… are you sure?”

“Positive,” he assured you with a small smile and you could melt at spot. And it had nothing to do with that stupid capitalistic board game.

“Thank you. I guess I’ll just have to pay you with interest too when I finally do.”

You honestly had no intention for it to come out like that… it had just… happened to sound this flirty. His eyes locked on yours, the warm candlelight still casting shadows over his cheeks bones, sharp jaw, plush lips… all of him was calling out for you, luring your heart in, your breath catching in your throat and his gaze flickered to the lower part on your face just for a split second, but it was enough to cause you a little heart attack, a firework exploding in your abdomen. Christ.

“I guess it’s my turn then,” Bucky cleared his throat meaningfully and you nearly jumped out of your skin at the sound of his voice.

How the hell did you forget he was still here with you?

Also, you were playing Monopoly and when you had said you’d pay with interest, you had originally thought paying with some fake money on top. It was an accident that somehow, your brain had switched to its more primitive form, thinking about very different things and you needed to get it back in check. Right now.

Bucky helped with that significantly; while you were able to pay Steve after one single toss, without interest, because he strictly refused that (you would swear that even in the lack of light, you could see the tips of his ears burning), Sergeant Barnes was not one to be mollified. He mercilessly slayed you and you lost everything in next two rounds, because that was just your luck.

Steve proposed to end the game with that (even when he was surprisingly on his way to win despite your debacle caused by Bucky), but it felt unjust.

“I trust you, Steve. You’ll win this. And it’s okay for you to have fun. I’ll just watch how you fight over it like children,” you teased lightly, grinning up at him despite losing.

“Okay. Whenever you get too bored, we’ll stop,” he declared and your expression softened at the gentle gaze boring into your eyes.

You couldn’t remember the last time you kept staring at each other like that – more often than not, either you or him would eventually avert the other’s gaze. There ultimately was something different about tonight. You certainly didn’t find it a bad thing though. If you were being completely honest, you liked it. Steve truly was the sweetest guy you had ever met and you weren’t oblivious to his appearance, nor to his alluring personality. It was simply the assumption of having zero chance with him that had been making you hold back. But tonight… it seemed there might be a possibility even.

Was there?

Letting your thoughts wander, you watched with a fond smile on your face as the two friends fell into a merciless fight over fake money and real estate. The two world’s supersoldiers bickering like an old couple, yet resembling children.

It was when the tiredness from the whole day on your feet started settling in. First, it showed in a subtle way; goosebumps rose on your skin, uncomfortable shiver running through your whole body.

It didn’t go unnoticed; eyeing your outfit, only consisting of thin t-shirt and jeans, as you curled up into yourself on the couch, a concerned wrinkle appeared on Steve’s face.

You flashed him a drowsy smile, shaking your head so he wouldn’t worry. Ha, as if that could work! He scanned the room and then strode away, unmistakably finding the blanket you had discovered earlier in one of the cabinets. He gently laid it over your shoulders before returning to the game, stealing a glance on you ever so often.

At least you thought so. Adding warmth to the mix was the perfect recipe for your eyelids growing heavier by the second. Before you knew it, your head lulled, the motion instantly causing you to jolt awake.

A chuckle escaped to both of your companions; except Steve had enough decency to try and sound subtle. Bucky, not so much.

“It’s almost over,” he grinned and had you had the energy, you would raise your eyebrow to show your skepticism; it was never almost over with Monopoly. Or, more precisely, the ‘almost over’ usually lasted about two hours.

“It can be over right now,” Steve offered kindly and you shook your head stubbornly, the movement causing the world swim.

“Nope. You win,” you attempted to say, your words slurring, your tongue feeling as lead-like as your eyelids.

A shift in Steve’s posture caught your attention as he scooted a little closer to you on the couch and the shock of his skin nearly making contact with yours nearly brought you back to full consciousness.

“Just lean in whenever you need,” he whispered barely audible, as if he was letting you into his darkest secret.

You mumbled something doubtlessly incomprehensible – even to yourself – and allowed your temple to fall on his impressive shoulder. You almost moaned in bliss.

“Warm…”

How was he so warm? He only wore a t-shirt, like you.

Why would Tony call him a Capsicle? He was more like a space heater… eh, you’d figure it out… later… later…

You felt your muscles relaxing, melting into the pleasant warmth and soon, you were dead to the world.

A gentle sway brought you back to consciousness, soft dip as fabric slid under your body and you subconsciously curled back towards the warmth that seemed to be disappearing. It still did, but cushions soon replaced it. You were too tired to resist, sinking into the mattress instead.

Faintly recalling the events of the night, you figured Tony must have rescued you from your prison. Mind painfully slow, it dawned to you that Steve, whom you possibly used as your personal pillow slash space heater, carried you to bed.

Sweet. Very, very sweet, always so nice, but never like with the others… perhaps it was about to change? You had passed some kind of a test? Or did you…?

“Steve… will you… treat me… like all… your friends?” your words slurred, quiet and mumbled mostly to your actual pillow, but apparently, he understood.

Or maybe you were just dreaming.

“Would you like that?” his lips must have barely moved, his voice so low you might as well only imagine it.

You felt like you only considered it for a second, but you couldn’t be sure. You just wanted to sleep. Just answer one more question to the chivalrous Steve, who was carefully tucking you in.

“Nah… Too pretty… to be friend.”

He chuckled breathlessly, a huff of air caressing your face.

“Yes, you are, doll. Sleep. I’ll try not to put my foot in my mouth tomorrow morning when you’re really awake and I finally ask you out, okay?”

Promise? “Uh-uh. So sweet.”

“Goodnight,” he whispered an inch from your head, warmth touching your forehead for only a fraction of second.

“’night.”

The reality was, he did put his foot in his moth the next morning. But only a bit; he still got a yes from you. As if no was ever an option. Vaguely remembering what had been happening after you had fallen asleep in the workshop, you returned his gesture – except his forehead was too high, so your lips brushed his cheek instead; you had to tug on his sleeve to reach at least that spot.

He certainly didn’t seem to mind if the delighted smile he gave you in return was anything to go by.

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It wasn’t the only significant encounter of that morning though.

Bucky walked into kitchen only to find Sam casually sipping his coffee, a wide grin on his face.

“What the hell did you think you were doing?” the sergeant hissed, rewarded by raised brows.

“Come on, Barnes. You should be smarter than that. Do you really think Tony keeps candles around? And no flashlights? Dude. It was for romantic atmosphere. Even you could see how hopeless they were. It was all part of my master plan to get these two idiots together,” Sam revealed calmly, clicking his tongue when Bucky shot him a murderous look, leaning closer with a menacing face.

“Do you have any idea what kind of an eye-fuck session I’ve been through? What I had to witness? If it was such a master plan, why did I get stuck in there with them?!”

“As a psychical support to your best pal Steve…?”

Bucky looked like he was considering what kind of a murder would be most painful for the other man. Strangling him would be so… boring. Though no doubt satisfying enough.

Would be though? That bastard had the audacity to shrug as he placed his empty cup on the counter.

“Kidding, I’m his best pal. I figured that it would be fun to have you play the third wheel. We are still at war, Barnes,” he pointed out. “I just thought I’d kill two birds with one stone.”

Bucky’s fist hit the counter, making the poor cup rattle.

“Soon, I will kill one particular bird and I will need no stone,” Bucky stated with startling serenity. “Run, Wilson. Run.”

Sam Wilson was a brave man. But hell, when the former Winter Soldier tells you to run, you run and you’d better be grateful for the head start.

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S.R. masterlist

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Tags: @mermaidxatxheart @cxptain @smilexcaptainx @scentedsongrebel @orions-nebula

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Thank you for reading! :-* If anyone wants in or out of Steve (or other) taglist, let me know via message or ask :))

#marvel #fanfiction #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers imagine #captain america imagine #captain america x reader #steve rogers #captain america #mcu #captain america fanfic #steve rogers fanfic #fluff #reader insert #ground rules for love and war #anika ann

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igazikutya · 3 years

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Zajok a nappaliból – Traxelektor 2021 04

Tavasz van. Azóta kisütött a nap, teraszokon rajzanak a térvitaminhiányos kapcsolatfüggők, úszva felszabadult örömükben. Áldás és kötés! Az április nem ilyen volt, és a március-áprilisban kijött zenei anyagok se ezt tükrözték vissza, inkább azt, hogy fogy a muníció és a türelem. Mintha kétfelé szakadt volna a művészi kifejezőkészség: az egyik irány a melankolikus, depresszív nyomasztás lett, a másik a projektált szépségesben való mindenfeledett lebegés élménye.

A göteborgi Höga Recordsnál jelent meg a Modern Ruin: Unemployment Line Disco című debut lemeze. A dark, new wave hangulatot kétezerhuszas ápdétben megragadni, szép teljesítmény, féltávon a Broken English Club és a nyolcvanasok szinti noir-ja között. Az Unemployment Line Disco a totálisan karanténpresszingelt, melankóliában veszteglő, mikrofonba dünnyögött oltakozásra és állásajánlatra váró panelproli cementszürkéjének ötven árnyalata.

Dalibor Cruz aka Pablo Paz a pandémiás izoláció másik kárvallottjának tűnik, a Riddled With Absence a nyomasztás magasiskolája. Nem tudom hány éves a Paolo gyerek, de nem lennék a napközis tanára, a lemezborító se éppen egy Rorschach-teszt.

A Manslaughter 777 bandanév elég cool belépő úgy, hogy még semmit nem hallottunk. Hát még, ha igen. Az oregoni Lee Buford és Zac Jones kettősének debütlemeze a World Vision Perfect Harmony a new yorki Thrill Jockenynél jelent meg, az igazi nagyvárosi katyvasz zenei örvénye, gyakran csak szándékosan elbaszott slágerek gyűjteménye. Rövid trackek, elektronik-élő-fúziós zenei flessek, gyors és váratlan váltások (Gainax), nagyon érdekes album, és az I Can Not Tell You How I Feel bekerült a fülbemászó rovatba is. Kicsit rokon hangulat a tavaly októberi számban bemutatott Deadbeat Meets The Mole lemezzel. Oregonból szeretettel.

Üdítően bölcs harmóniát áraszt az idén hatodik x-et töltő amszterdami Michel Banabila: Wah-Wah Whispers című lemeze. Downtemp dub, chill, lágy pulzálás, barátságos terek, árad a chi, semmi feszkó, szájkedelik trippin’, a fűszagot lehet csak odaképzeltem, a puha gyepet nem, és a gyógyhatás garantált. A néhol szemzőtibori hatásokat is hozó album a hamburgi Bureau B-nél jelent meg.

A francia születésű ecuadori Nicola Cruz műfajliag digitális folkban utazik, és a Subtropique EP sem szakít ezzel a hagyománnyal. Szoft latin ritmika, ütős dominancia, klubhangzás, legyen tánc!

S ha már tánc, Karl O’Connor aka Regis, a Downwards kiadó főnöke és Dominick Fernow aka Vatican Shadow is jelentkeztek új lemezzel. Regis egy mélyebb érintésű technoval, az A Hollow Moment EP-vel, Vatican Shadow pedig szokásosan zűrös közel keleti háborús cimkefelhőben úszva a SR-71 Blackbird Survivors, hamisítatlan klasszik VS hangzással. Az utóbbi idők szórtabb kvalitású kiadványai után - mindkét részről - ezek most feszes, erős anyagok.

Az O Yuki Conjugate 1982-es alapítású post- industrial/ambient banda Nottinghamből. A többszörös tagcserék, visszatérések és kilépések, tribal, etno kalandozások után a negyedik inkarnációjukat élik éppen. A jelenleg négy tagot (Andrew Hulme, Dave Collins, Rob Jenkins, Roger Horberry) számláló zenekar A Tension Of Opposites című lemeze a legjobb dolog, ami az ambienttel történhet manapság. Az, hogy összekenik valami fénytörős anyaggal, leborítják homokkal, összekarcolják, hajlítgatják, lefagyasztják vagy addig hevítik, míg a végén üvegként dermed vissza. Azt próbálom eldadogni, hogy az O Yuki (és más társai pl Spybeyék a Dead Voices in the Air-rel, Robin Storey a Rapoon-nal, stb) akik industrial irányból jönnek, nem olvadnak bele abba a műanyag, már-már önálló formát kiadni egyáltalán képtelen ambient trendiségbe, mainstreambe, amiben a legnagyobbak, sokszor műfaj alapítók is szépen, lassan belefulladnak.

ASC új EP-je, a detroiti Modern Cathedrals-nél megjelent Sacred Seven III, gyaníthatóan sci-fi anime ihletésű. A körülbelül félszáz kiadvánnyal rendelkező, tehát igen termékenynek mondható James Clements meglepően jól navigál műveivel az önismétlés csapdái között, pedig a rá jellemző formavilág önklónozás tekintetben aknamező. Így van az, hogy évek óta az ASC EP-k, trackek az éves summák folyamatos szereplői, és erről a lemezről is vannak pályázók az ideire.

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Microcorps pszeudóba bújva keresi a kiutat buddhai türelemmel Alex Tucker, ki a szintetikus és az elemi között félúton rekedt az öreg tölgyfaszekrényben, amit olcsón bérelt, de már kifizetett, ezért boldog buzgómócsingok bitumennel festettek feketére, miközben táncolva ordibálták: hogy elnyelje! elnyejje! elnyejje! enyejjee! És körbetáncolták. Nem valami beteges betűmágia, mikor a Microcorps XMIT cimű albumát a Download Microscopic-jának göttelmentes, nyílegyenesített, vegán kiadásaként posztrofálom-a, miközben a sarokból, csendben figyel összegörnyedve Stanley Pain. Nagy ez a szekrény belülről, négy vendégművész is befért, köztük Gazelle Twin (Elizabeth Walling) vagy a korábban Chris Carterrel és Cosey Fanni Tuttival másik szekrényt megjárt Nikki Colk Void.

Megjelenések:

ASC - Sacred Sevens III [2021, Modern Cathedrals][EP] Azu Tiwaline - Draw Me a Silence Remixes [2021, I.O.T.][EP]

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Dalibor Cruz - Riddled With Absence [2021, Natural Sciences][LP] Manslaughter 777 - World Vision Perfect Harmony [2021, Thrill Jockey][LP] Michel Banabila - Wah-Wah Whispers [2021, Bureau B][LP] Microcorps - Xmit [2021, Alter][LP]

Modern Ruin - Unemployment Line Disco [2021, Höga Nord][LP] Nicola Cruz - Subtropique [2021, Rhythm Section International][EP] O Yuki Conjugate - A Tension Of Opposites [2021, OYC Limited][LP] Regis - A Hollow Moment [2021, Downwards][EP] Timothy J. Fairplay - Pathfinder Theme / UFOs Over China [2021, Höga Nord][S] VA - Khidi 002 [2021, Khidi][EP-Comp] Vatican Shadow - SR-71 Blackbird Survivors [2021, Hospital Productions][LP]

Traxelektor:

Traxelektor 2021 04 - Spotify playlist

(66/83, 6:03/7:30) Aktuális fülbemászók: Manslaughter 777 - I Can Not Tell You How I Feel Nicola Cruz - What Now Samuel Sharp - Longdown Hill

Traxelektor:

Anunaku - Luminosa [042, AD 93] ASC - Traction [Sacred Sevens III, Modern Cathedrals] ASC - Triton [Sacred Sevens III, Modern Cathedrals] Atoloi - Chiusura [Inflorescenze, Sure Thing] Atoloi - Fioritura [Inflorescenze, Sure Thing] Atoloi - Umida Superficie [Inflorescenze, Sure Thing]

Azu Tiwaline - Berbeka (Flore Remix) [Draw Me a Silence Remixes, I.O.T.] Azu Tiwaline - Until the End (Don't DJ Remix) [Draw Me a Silence Remixes, I.O.T.] Commodo - Guah [Scabz/Guah, Sector 7 Sounds] Dalibor Cruz - Everyone's Ill Will [Riddled With Absence, Natural Sciences] Dalibor Cruz - Never Sort Yourself Out For Them [Riddled With Absence, Natural Sciences] Ellen Allien - True Romantics (Hadone Remix) [AurAA Remixes 1, BPitch Control] Eomac - Falling Through The Cracks [Cracks, Planet Mu] Eomac - Mandate For Murder [Cracks, Planet Mu]

Forest Drive West - Ritual [Dualism, Livity Sound] Gavsborg (Equiknoxx) - 11 AM with Frankie Bubbler [Equiknoxx Meets Feel Free Hi Fi, Digital Sting] I:Cube - Session 5 (Live) [Cubo Live Sessions Volume 2, Versatile] I:Cube - Session 6 (Live) [Cubo Live Sessions Volume 2, Versatile] Lake Haze - Sun Rising on Concrete Landscapes [Sun Rising On Concrete Landscapes, Shall Not Fade] Lake Haze - That Rave Saved My Life [Sun Rising On Concrete Landscapes, Shall Not Fade]

Manslaughter 777 - Gainax [World Vision Perfect Harmony, Thrill Jockey] Manslaughter 777 - I Can Not Tell You How I Feel [World Vision Perfect Harmony, Thrill Jockey] Manslaughter 777 - Jump and Spread [World Vision Perfect Harmony, Thrill Jockey] Manslaughter 777 - No Man Curse [World Vision Perfect Harmony, Thrill Jockey]

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Michel Banabila - Hidden Story [Wah-Wah Whispers, Bureau B] Michel Banabila - Take Me There [Wah-Wah Whispers, Bureau B] Michel Banabila - Tic Tac [Wah-Wah Whispers, Bureau B] Microcorps - DOR [Xmit, Alter] Microcorps - UVU [Xmit, Alter] Microcorps - VEQ [Xmit, Alter] Microcorps with Astrud Steehouder - ABII [Xmit, Alter] Microcorps with Nik Void - ILN [Xmit, Alter] Modern Ruin - Cement Dust [Unemployment Line Disco, Höga Nord] Modern Ruin - Hold [Unemployment Line Disco, Höga Nord] Modern Ruin - Monkey [Unemployment Line Disco, Höga Nord] Modern Ruin - Permanent Vacation [Unemployment Line Disco, Höga Nord] Modeselektor - Mean Friend (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix) [Mean Friend, Monkeytown] Modeselektor - Un Amigo Malo [Mean Friend, Monkeytown] Modeselektor feat. Blixa Bargeld - Komm [Mean Friend, Monkeytown]

Nicola Cruz - Individuality Riddim [Subtropique, Rhythm Section International] Nicola Cruz - Naeku (John Talabot Remix) [Hybridism (Remixes), Multi Culti] Nicola Cruz - Naeku (Multi Culti Micro Dub) [Hybridism (Remixes), Multi Culti] Nicola Cruz - Subtropique [Subtropique, Rhythm Section International] Nicola Cruz - What Now [Subtropique, Rhythm Section International] Nicola Cruz & Nasiri - Third Eye Dub (Azu Tiwaline Remix) [Hybridism (Remixes), Multi Culti] Not Waving & Romance - Say Goodbye [Restoration Of Bliss, Ecstatic] Not Waving & Romance - There's A Fountain Filled With Blood [Restoration Of Bliss, Ecstatic]

nthng - Energy Reloading [Unfinished, Lobster Sleep Sequence] nthng - Subnautica [Unfinished, Lobster Sleep Sequence] Ø [Phase] - Human Error [Before This, Modwerks] Ø [Phase] - Liquid Form [Before This, Modwerks] Ø [Phase] - Underwater Acoustics [Before This, Modwerks]

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O Yuki Conjugate - A Far Cry [A Tension Of Opposites, OYC Limited] O Yuki Conjugate - Antipode [A Tension Of Opposites, OYC Limited] O Yuki Conjugate - Contra [A Tension Of Opposites, OYC Limited] O Yuki Conjugate - Discrepant [A Tension Of Opposites, OYC Limited] Orphx - Suspended Animation [Khidi 002 , Khidi]

Pessimist - Empty Words [All Hope Lost, Berceuse Heroique] Pessimist - We Did It [All Hope Lost, Berceuse Heroique] Prefuse 73 - Estate Pt.2 [The Failing Institute Of The Contras, Self-Released] Prefuse 73 - Obtaining Initial Feelings [The Failing Institute of the Human Voice, Self-Released] Prefuse 73 - Pathways NonNon [The Failing Institute of the Human Voice, Self-Released] Rapoon - The Orange King [In These Ancient Times, Klanggalerie]

Regis - A Hollow Moment (Original Mix) [A Hollow Moment, Downwards] Regis - The Empty Centre [A Hollow Moment, Downwards] Rhyw - Salt Split Tongue [Slithering, Avian]

Samuel Sharp - Fireworks From The Tower [Patterns Various, Boot Cycle Audio] Samuel Sharp - Longdown Hill [Patterns Various, Boot Cycle Audio] Samuel Sharp - Winter's Approach [Patterns Various, Boot Cycle Audio] Tamburi Neri - Barritono [Ombre, Worst] Tamburi Neri & Hiroko - Giochi d'ombre [Ombre, Worst]

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Teresa Winter - Emptiness Is Also An Excess [Motto Of The Wheel, The Death Of Rave] The JDs - Kitty Litter (Single Cell Orchestra Remix) [Proust EP, Pretension] The JDs - Proust (V3) [Proust EP, Pretension]

The Orb - Narcotics (Head Crusher) (David Harrow Remix 2) [Abolition Of The Royal Familia (Guillotine Mixes), Cooking Vinyl] The Orb - Queen Of Hearts (Duck Or Drown) (Moody Boyz Remix) [Abolition Of The Royal Familia (Guillotine Mixes), Cooking Vinyl] Time Cow (Equiknoxx) - The President Eats Children [Equiknoxx Meets Feel Free Hi Fi, Digital Sting] Timothy J. Fairplay - Pathfinder Theme [Pathfinder Theme / UFOs Over China, Höga Nord] Timothy J. Fairplay - Ufos Over China [Pathfinder Theme / UFOs Over China, Höga Nord]

Vatican Shadow - All The Molds And Dies Destroyed [SR-71 Blackbird Survivors, Hospital Productions] Vatican Shadow - Nothing Lived There [SR-71 Blackbird Survivors, Hospital Productions] Vatican Shadow - Outrunning Machine Gun Bullets [SR-71 Blackbird Survivors, Hospital Productions] Vulkanski - Selfish Traps [Khidi 002 , Khidi]

#traxelektor #zene #zeneajánló #kritika #underground #electronic #music #idm #leftfield #intelligent #dance

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pluviophile-bookworm · 5 years

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Thoughts/ reaction to AWAE 3x6

That opening scene of the preparations for the county fair makes me nostalgic for some reason. Also, I need this background music in my life. I love AWAE's cold opens.

And... we're off to a bad start. I have a terrible cold and so does Anne. I know exactly how that feels. And to have something important coming up as well... Poor Anne.

Matthew and his radish are the expected golden content of this episode and I'm all in for it.

If this episode consisted of nothing but the colourful everyday life at the Cuthbert household, I would still love it as much as any other episode. Maybe even more than some.

Gilbert is making me laugh. How is a white shirt key in making a good impression to anyone? If anything, I wouldn't seek the approval of people whose opinion of me depends on a white shirt. And what does he need Winifred's parents' approval for? Is he marrying her now? As far as I can remember, he wanted to marry Anne last week. Seriously, Blythe, make up your mind!

"Not thinking that far ahead", my butt! Last week, as far as I remember, you were thinking that far ahead. With Anne in mind.

And there goes our dashing young hero... Who can't figure out whom he likes. Seriously, I want to like Gilbert because I love Gilbert, but he's not making it very easy for me.

Anne is the classical Smitten Teenage Girl™ in this scene.

"Special occasion? - No, not really." Yeah, right, that's why you tried on every single one of your virtually identical white shirts a scene ago. But we wouldn't want Anne's family to think you're dressing up for another girl, would we now?

What is Anne sneaking out for? Since when does she need to sneak out to visit Diana? She's not Jerry.

Diana knows things about Gilbert's subconscious that he's hidden away so carefully that he doesn't even remember they're there: "Maybe it was an excuse... To see you."

Minnie May makes such a good Diana impression... Am I a bad person for thinking that maybe she could be the kind of daughter her mother wants, while Diana embraces her happiness with Jerry?

Look at Anne almost quoting the source material... and I think the comparison with Elizabeth and Darcy is quite accurate, at least on account of my reactions to both couples. I mean, you have two individuals who are very obviously made for each other but will go out of their way to convince everyone, including and especially themselves, that they’re not. Also, Anne reminds me so much of Elizabeth Bennet, AWAE Anne in particular. And of course, this line means that all the visual parallels were on purpose! Poetic cinema is coming full circle by acknowledging itself.

Ok, but Minnie May is such a typical little sister. I love her so much. But why won’t Diana tell Anne about Jerry?

Gilbert is dressing up for Winifred. Meanwhile, Matthew is dressing up for his radish. Spirit animal material much?

And all of a sudden Anne is the typical Smitten Teenage Girl with all the associated behaviours: awkwardness, embarrassment, noticing weird details about the object of her affections (the chin comment, anyone?), and now “he loves me, he loves me not”. Come on, girl, you’re different. You’re better than that. But, of course, the ways of love are mysterious.

The baby horse is still the cutest thing in the world. Along with baby Delly, of course.

And now Anne even has her hair done in the very same style as all the other girls. At least that was different before. I mean, I love the look on her, she’s as beautiful as ever, but I’m getting the rather unpleasant idea that she’s losing her uniqueness and it’s all because of Gilbert; and based on what we saw of him in this episode so far, he’s not worth it.

On the other hand, the books had her become more... conventional, or at least conventional-presenting, by the time she turned 16, so that might count as source material accuracy.

The fortune teller cracks me up. Cigarette smoke in an orb? Really? Also, Anne totally said what I was thinking: “I think I learned more from the daisy”...

“Does my hair look more auburn?” That’s Book Anne right there.

The background music... you can tell by it that the Baynards just entered the scene... also, Derry. Derry! Oh my goodness gracious, DERRY!!!

I love the subtlety of their exchange about the book and the handkerchief. They’re doing this secret romance thing very well.

Ok, a second ago everything was so beautiful and hopeful, and then... first, Diana notices Gilbert before Anne does - and in quite an unpleasant position. And then Diana’s mother goes on about “extricating” themselves from the Baynards... poor Derry. Especially poor Diana. I just wish all this classist behaviour would go to... Hartford, Hereford and Hampshire (bonus points to all those of you who get the reference, and to me for referencing a work about classism in relation to classist behaviours).

Miss Stacy is the epitome of feminism in this scene - wearing trousers and giving all the men a run for their money at shooting. Go, Muriel!

As much as I dislike Rachel Lynde’s general behaviour, the relationship she has with her husband just has to be admired. Maybe she just wants Muriel to have what she has, and she’s failing to see that maybe not everybody needs or wants the same things.

And... Billy’s back. I remember saying back when I was watching 3x1 that if i never saw him again, it would still be too soon. I don’t mean to spread hate, but I’m sick and tired of his sexism and racism and homophobia and toxic masculinity. But well. To each their own.

I love that Prissy is back as well. She made the right decision about herself when we last saw her, and she doesn’t seem to have taken a single step back. In fact, she appears to have moved forward since we last saw her. Good on you, Prissy! But now Josie seems to be headed down a similar rather toxic road to the one that Prissy barely escaped - and with Prissy’s own brother, too. I hope it all works out well.

This is the moment I realise how unfortunate it is that Prissy and Josie aren’t very close. If they were Prissy might have warned her against some signs of toxic behaviour that she herself didn’t recognise back then...

Of course, Billy. Of course the game is “rigged”. But not for Jerry, it seems. In your face, Andrews!

I. Am. Dying! I just want to shout “Derry!” from the rooftops.

The little dog matches her gloves, you guys! Also, every time Diana says “Merci, Jerry!”, I just melt into a big puddle of fangirl.

The county fair is treating my boy Jerry really well, I must say.

Can we talk about Diana’s boldness, though? She’s really living life to the fullest, if only in secret. I hope my daring girl is free to pursue her happiness one day. And that day better be soon.

This conversation must be so uncomfortable for Gilbert. And he’s putting himself through it for a girl that isn’t even meant for him. He knows it, no matter what he tells himself or everyone else.

I just pictured Matthew saying to Gilbert “What are your intentions towards my Anne?”, and now my heart is breaking at the thought that he might never get to say it.

I am totally with Anne on this one, but you have to admit that the fortune teller was right about one thing at least - “The universe works in mysterious ways.” As frustrating as this episode is Shirbert-wise, I stand by my ship and I hope they will both come to their senses soon enough. We wanted angst, didn’t we? We wanted pining and obstacles and a realistic development - well, there it is. Why are we frustrated about it? This stage is not final.

“That boy is not your fish.” No, but he is her lobster. Gosh, I’m full of references today.

“Classmate and family friend.” Oh please. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I like Winifred better than Gilbert in this scene: “Do you spell it with or without an E?” I really wish Gilbert wasn’t in the picture right now because if it weren’t for his role in each of their lives, Anne and Winifred might just be friends.

This was awkward. Really awkward. Gilbert didn’t hesitate for a second when he introduced Anne as his classmate, but now he’s stumbling over what label he should put on his relationship with Winifred. If I were to put it for him, it would be “friend”, maybe even “mentor”, but who knows what he or Anne are thinking during that long pause.

The tension, the suspense... is this MasterChef? Last I checked it was not.

Ok, but Anne in this episode is so much like Book Anne, at least as far as I can remember. It’s been a while since I last read the books. Gilbert is as far removed from his book counterpart as can be, though, and I don’t like it.

Most unusual? What is that supposed to mean? Also, I agree with Anne about entering herself, but maybe not with the connotations of “unusual” she’s thinking about now. She’s all kinds of wonderfully extraordinary, I mean. I hope she never forgets that.

Oh, look, she came to that realisation. I love that; and Marilla is such a mood on the balloon. But seriously, I'm delighted to see Anne coming back to her old self.

Is that Gilbert dancing between Anne and Winifred? Poetic cinema.

Ruby and Moody? I ship it! They are both absolute cinnamon rolls and deserve each other so much!

“Pretty face”? Is that all she is to you? Whoa, things took a turn for the darker pretty quickly.

“I want your pretty face”... and I want you locked up. At the very least. He had no right to do that to her!

Ok, I know we’re in the middle of one of the darkest moments this series has shown us so far, but we need to talk about Ruby being oh so excited about Moody writing a song for her and the prospect of becoming Ruby Spurgeon. Wow, she moves fast! She deserves all the happiness in the world and I’m so happy she’s finally being noticed by someone... someone who is really right for her and will make her happy. #Rudy #Mooby #Spurgillis ?? Somebody please come up with a good ship name for them.

Now Anne is considering Charlie? “Sloane? Sounds like “moan”, “tone”... I guess Gilbert deserved that with today’s behaviour, though.

Miss Stacy asking Matthew to dance just to “drive Rachel mad”... I love it.

Could that be Diana and Jerry holding hands in plain sight in the dance? Could it be? Am I dreaming? Pinch me. Or better don’t. I never want this to end.

Good thing news travels fast so Anne could hear about Josie. Otherwise no one might have ever found out. Victims rarely ever tell and that’s a big mistake.

I so wished Anne would punch Billy in the face Hermione-style, though. The vibes she was giving off suggested she might do it, and yet she didn’t.

The next day at school, Anne is just... completely savage in the best way of saying it. “Need to catch a train to Charlottetown?” She has no time to waste worrying about Gilbert now, she has an important cause. I love it. Too bad nobody is listening to her, though. This is too much like reality. When the activist talks about the real issues and tries to find a solution, people just change the subject and talk about insignificant petty problems instead. And the worst part is that this isn’t just in that time and place - it happens today, it happens everywhere. People still haven’t learned not to cover their eyes when a real problem arises. This has to change.

To sum up today’s episode: the county fair pulls people back into their everyday work while also sparking the fire of youthful courtship among them; Gilbert is not Gilbert; Anne is Book Anne; Shirbert takes a giant step backwards; Jerry takes a cautious little step forward, Diana leaps into the unknown with open arms; Matthew’s radish and Anne’s person are most unusual in the best way possible; the Andrews family has some achievements and some issues; Miss Stacy is a feminist icon; Ruby and Moody are very much a thing; Anne is now an ignored activist.

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krinsbez · 5 years

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A proposal for a Worldbuilding Project: Super Pulp Heroes (Marvel + DC + Assorted Pulp Heroes)

Some years ago, DC released an imprint dubbed First Wave, a line of books that mixed classic Pulp Heroes (Doc Savage, the Spirit etc.) with modified versions of some of their pulpier superheroes, ala Batman, the Blackhawks, etc. This project is an attempt to do something similar, but incorporating Marvel characters, Said DC and Marvel characters would probably have to be tweaked a bit to fit a pulp-y tone. Our setting is, ala Batman: The Animated Series, a weird timeless mash-up; men wear hats, cars have sideboards, the sky is full of Zeppelins, but people have cell phones, cable news is a thing, and gay people have rights. The Big War ended within living memory, and another is brewing, with tensions in Europe and brushfire conflicts in Asia. Bold explorers uncover lost and hidden places and knowledge filled with wonder and horror. America's cities are rife with crime and corruption, the rich getting richer while the poor numb themselves with drugs, booze, and bigotry. And there are darker things brewing; strange cults worshipping stranger gods with rituals of blood and sacrifice, mad geniuses discarding ethics and sanity seeking to learn Things Man Was Not Meant to Know to satisfy their own egos or line their own pockets, uncaring of the damage done by the horrors they unleash. It is in this milieu that extraordinary men and women from every walk of life, are putting on masks, picking up weapons, and hitting the streets to do what the authorities cannot or will not, and protect the innocent.

A tentative list of characters to be included:

DC: Batman, Blackhawks, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Sandman, Crimson Avenger, Blue Beetle, the Question, John Constantine?, Zatara/Zatanna?, Challengers of the Unknown?, Adam Strange?, Jonah Hex? Slam Bradley? Travis Morgan: Warlord? King Faraday? Human Target? Swamp Thing? Jon Valor the Black Pirate?

(I’d like to include Tom Strong, but his whole “born with the new century” thing makes it tricky to make him work in a timeless setting)

Marvel: Blade, the Bloodstones, Ka-Zar, Jessica Jones, Shanna the She-Devil, Black Panther, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Shang Chi, Daughters of the Dragon, Punisher, Black Widow, Nick Fury, Blonde Phantom? Ferret? Golden Age Angel? Golden Age Black Widow? Jann of the Jungle? Agents of Atlas? Man-Thing? Red Sonja?

(I’d like to include the FF, but they’re too superhero to fit)

Pulp: Doc Savage, The Spirit, the Shadow, the Avenger, Rima the Jungle Girl, the Green Hornet, the Phantom, Mandrake, Airboy, Indiana Jones, the Rocketeer, Tarzan, Hellboy, Lobster Johnson, Atomic Robo, Tintin, Jonny Quest and Co., Alan Quatermain? Modesty Blaise? Black Bat? Green Turtle? Miss Fury? Remo Williams? Zorro?, the Lone Ranger?, The Men from U.N.C.L.E.? Steed and Mrs. Peel? Doctor Syn?, Terry Lee?, Scarlet Pimpernel? Operator No. 5?, Domino Lady? Captain Midnight?, Mack Bolan?, Shaft?, Coffy?, Sherlock Holmes? Sheena: Queen of the Jungle?, Flash Gordon?, G-8?, Buck Rogers?, John Carter?, Dick Tracy?, Captain Midnight?, Vampirella?, Athena Voltaire?, Lara Croft?, Conan?, the Spider?, Sam Spade?, the Continental Op? Philip Marlowe? James Bond? Prince Valiant?

I’m welcome to suggestions for additions

(Question marks are a combo of not sure if they're important enough to add, not sure if they fit, not sure I know enough about 'em to do 'em justice, or some combo thereof)

I’ve got a bunch of questions and ideas for discussion I will present if anyone is interested, of which I will start with the following:

-Most of the characters can be squeezed into the timeless period relatively easily, but quite a few are tied to specific past or future eras, and I’m not sure what to do with them. One is to have multiple Timeless areas, so, say...the Lone Ranger, Sherlock Holmes, the Scarlet Pimpernel, Zorro, Jon Valor, Doctor Syn, Alan Quatermain and Tarzan all lived in the same era. Or that Adam Strange, Gullivar Jones, John Carter, Buck Rogers, and Flash Gordon can all interact.

-For purposes of encouraging interaction, I propose we do we away with fictionopolises so, say the Spirit and Green Hornet live in Chicago, not “Center City“, Batman and Black Canary live in New York, not “Gotham City“, etc.

-The enemy in the last war was Hydra. The people who are going to be the enemy in the next one are the Circle Trigonists. Alternately, the other way ‘round.

-Not sure how to make characters like Airboy who need the war to be happening RN to work. Also not sure to have both Hellboy and Lobster Johnson around at the same time.

-How do we want to distinguish Yellow Claw, Shiwan Khan, the Insidious Fu Manchu and any other Yellow Peril villains from each other?

-Speaking of, how do we deal with the fact that lots of these characters either are, or have associated with them, racist stereotypes?

#Pulp Heroes #DC Comics #Marvel Comics #Marvel Fanfic Idea #DC Fanfic Idea #Crossover

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letterboxd · 5 years

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Cannes Premieres.

“I queued for four hours to see this, and knew it had been worthwhile within the opening four minutes.”

With the awards handed out and the red carpet rolled up, we know who the official Cannes 2019 winners are. But the real question is: what stood out for Letterboxd members? With so many of you in attendance, we’ve plundered your reviews and ratings to confidently deduce a completely unofficial, non-verifiable yet utterly impressive list of the top 10 dramatic premieres at Cannes.

Regular readers already know our enthusiasm for Bacurau, and Rocketman really doesn’t need our help (it opens in cinemas round the world this week), which is why they’re not on the list.

So, with the help of our roving correspondent Doug Dillaman and all the Letterboxd folk who made their way to the French Riviera, we present Letterboxd’s top ten Cannes premieres for 2019.

Parasite Written and directed by Bong Joon-Ho

In awarding Parasite the Palme d’Or, the Cannes jury merely affirmed what Letterboxd members already knew: the latest by Korean director Bong was the hands-down best entry in the competition, stealing the limelight not only from Quentin Tarantino (whose film premiered on the same day) but a star-studded directors lineup.

Stina Beana Wood sums it up: “It’s slick, it’s smart, it’s Bong flexing his cinematic strength with unparalleled precision… I lol’ed many a time… and finally, was left with the satisfaction of a sensational, social-status-satire story.”

While you’re waiting for Parasite to hit your shores, be sure to avoid spoilers per the director’s request. In the meantime, here’s a list of films personally selected by Bong to get you in the mood for Parasite!

The Lighthouse Written and directed by Robert Eggers

One of the impossible-to-get tickets of Cannes 2019 premiered in Directors’ Fortnight, in part because of anticipation of the new film from the director of The Witch and in part because of the presence of the rumored new Batman himself.

Our Cannes correspondent was shut out despite waiting 90 minutes in the rain, but those with even more dedication found their efforts duly rewarded, like Blaise Radley: “I queued for four hours to see this, and knew it had been worthwhile within the opening four minutes. Stark, dizzying, stomach-churning—this is a surprisingly different beast to The Witch, but it’s in exactly the same tier… Needless to say, Dafoe and Pattinson are phenomenal.”

Portrait of a Lady on Fire Written and directed by Céline Sciamma

Some see the inclusion of four female directors in Competition as a high-water mark, others as a glaring reminder of how far we still have to go to achieve gender equality. Little Joe and Atlantique both brought home prizes, but the latest from the director of Girlhood took top marks not only as the best female-directed film, but one of the very best of Cannes.

Letterboxd member notmckinzie was more specific than most in her effusive praise: “Someone took all of my interests and did a study about what was gonna make me lose my goddamn mind and then they gave the results to Celine Sciamma and let her do her thing and now we have this! Throw in the mythic allegory, lots of women, 1800s period setting, fine art, pro-choice messaging, and lots of sexual tension?? We have a winner, ladies!” Also: Ehrlich has found his new Carol.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino

The hottest ticket in town became even hotter after Tarantino cancelled the traditional last-day re-screening in order to re-edit the film, meaning those lucky few who got in will be the only ones ever to see this cut. Its detractors called it meandering, but fans loved getting lost in its reverie of 1969 Hollywood. Take Lou Hicks: “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is wonderful. It’s like Tarantino is just dreamily reminiscing for our benefit. Feels innocent somehow—lovely, pure, hilarious, charming.”

Atlantique Directed by Mati Diop

Even before Mati Diop’s freshman feature screened, she was assured of making history, as the first black woman in Cannes Competition. But her otherworldly seaside tale cast a spell on the 4pm audience, earning a lengthy standing ovation, and jury members were equally rapt. It was, as Chin Lin Gan writes : “An awe-inspiring, disciplined, rigorous and terrifying piece of work [that] operates on a hypnotic and almost occult powerful mode of storytelling that makes you think of folk-tales that grip generations and generations.”

Sorry We Missed You Directed by Ken Loach

British activist Loach has long been a staple of the Cannes competition, but for both veteran fans and those new to Loach, his cautionary tale about precarious lives in the gig-economy resonated, not only as one of his strongest films but one of the strongest of the festival. Sebastian Chan heralded it as: “Brilliant, powerful stuff from Ken Loach … Funny, heartbreaking and eye opening; this is one of those must see films.”

And Then We Danced Written and directed by Levan Akin

Call Me By Your Name fans, your new obsession is here. This Georgian tale of first love and dance prompted no fewer than six Letterboxd members to compare the two films (with George Wood going one step further, dubbing it “Call Me By Your Name meets Whiplash”). Other members, though, felt no need for comparisons, with Emma declaring it: “Stunning and incredibly moving. Love poured out of every shot. Films like this are the reason I wanted to come to Cannes.”

Deerskin Written and directed by Quentin Dupieux

The absurdist creator of Rubber and Wrong has divided Letterboxd members fiercely in the past, but early reviews agree that Deerskin, the opening film of the offbeat Directors’ Fortnight, is a giant step forward and his best film yet. What is it about? Let’s let Anton Vanha-Majamaa summarize: “A hilariously odd and an oddly hilarious film about a divorced, worn-out man (the amazing Jean Dujardin channeling Colin Farrell in The Lobster) who becomes obsessed with a deerskin leather jacket that seems to have a mind of its own.”

Papicha Written and directed by Mounia Meddour Gens

The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmão may have won Un Certain Regard, but the debut feature by Mounia Meddour Gens, following a woman in 1997 trying to put on a fashion show in the midst of oppression, pipped it to the post with our members. Clara declared it: “The best film I watched in Cannes. Absolutely loved it. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful. I walked into the screening not really knowing what to expect, but I was mind blown.”

A Hidden Life Written and directed by Terrence Malick

Terrence Malick’s three-hour WWII epic may have come home empty-handed from the Croisette and divided the press, but Letterboxd members loved it more than most (including our own Cannes correspondent). Savina Petkova named it: “The best film you can see in 2019, simply put. A timeless meditation on human suffering, the nature of evil and how it relates to our crooked nature.”

Special mentions The highly acclaimed documentary For Sama, and two films that opened in their domestic territories prior to Cannes: Pedro Almodóvar’s Spain-premiered Pain and Glory and Kirill Mikhanovsky’s Sundance premiere Give Me Liberty.

#cannes #cannes film festival #cannes 2019 #quentin tarantino #bong joon-ho #letterboxd

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fandomoniumflurry · 6 years

Text

Reckless Abandon

Episode 5x10

Millie and Chestervelle

This is for my series that you can check out here

1417 words. language, angst, fluff, implied sex

Taggers: @keepcalmimthecupcake @janai-mcgarrett @hunterswearingplaid @lukecastellamz @elsatxx @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @ambermei @fangirl-moment-x @a-fan-fighting-for-equality @50shadesofsubtext @oneshotsdeanshort @winchester-lover999

“So you got a think for my idiot little brother, huh?” A smirk curled up the corner of MIllie’s mouth as she crossed her arms and leaned a shoulder against the door frame. Jo nearly smacked herself in the face with her hair when she jumped, startled by the sudden company. There was horror etched on the Harvelle’s face and her mouth opened, surely ready to spew excuses to the shorter woman. Millie raised a hand and pushed herself from the wall before approaching the young woman.

Jo was clearly terrified but Millie’s features were as soft as ever, a warm smile wrinkling the corners of her eyes. “Honey, calm down. Ain’t exactly a secret.” That only seemed to further upset Jo so the older woman placed her hands on the blonde’s shoulders. “Dude, chill. Seriously, you’re like bright red. Lobster is not a good look for you.” Thankfully, the taller woman relaxed and steadied her breathing.

In the few years they had known her, Jo had grown so much. She was still that stubborn little spitfire but now she was more confident, beautiful. There was so much more to her now than that rebellious young girl when they met her. She was mature and strong, sure of herself and one hell of a hunter. One thing that hadn’t changed, though better hidden now by flirting and snark, was her feelings toward Dean. And clearly it was still something that got her flustered which only made it all that much more adorable.

She and Dean were a lot alike, Millie could tell but Jo had a lot of attributes that made Dean better, traits that brought out sides of Dean his sister had never seen. That was quite the feat since Millie knew that boy better than he knew himself. That’s what made the young Harvelle so perfect for her little brother. And yet neither of them had made a move or done anything about their obvious mutual pining. The end of the world seemed to make the eldest Winchester less patient. She didn’t have time to sit back and watch and they for sure didn’t have time to deny themselves one moment of real happiness. So the last night on earth, Millie was going to do what she had to to make sure everyone was happy, if just for one night.

“I’m not here to give you a ‘don’t hurt my brother’ speech or anything. Or in my brother’s case, a ‘if he hurts you, I’ll kick his ass’ speech.” That made them both chuckle, easing the tension. “My whole life, I’ve looked after him and his brother. I raised them, took care of them, loved them. I like to think I have a small part in making Dean the man he is today. He’s been through a lot, far more than anyone should have and he will only go through more if this world continues. I know him inside and out, know them better than they know each other or themselves. He has daddy issues and as a Winchester, he is known for being stubborn. But he’s loyal, devoted, determined. If anyone can stop the world from ending, it’s him and Sam.”

She paused and took in a breath, her eyes growing misty. “He doesn’t think he deserves happiness. Like all humans, he’s made mistakes, some big ones. But in the end, my brother is a hero and he can’t see that. He doesn’t see a good man when he looks in the mirror. He doesn’t think he makes the world better, just thinks he’s a nobody who’s life is gonna end bloody. He thinks he has to give up everything for this job. He thinks he’s a curse, poison.” Jo’s eyes were glistening with moisture as Millie carried on. “He doesn’t see himself like I do. Dean doesn’t see himself like you do.

The way I see you look at him. The respect and admiration you have for him. He’s not just some bad boy hunter to you. He’s someone you strive to be like.” Millie searched Jo’s eyes, the blonde seemingly frozen under the weight of the older woman’s words. “He’s your hero. And I’ve never seen anyone look at him the way you do. You make him happy, I can tell, even though he tries not to be. The way his eyes light up when he sees you, I’ve never seen him the way he is with you.”

Her fingers tightened around Jo’s shoulders until she winced a bit. “And you are both too stupid to do anything about it. Life is short, too short to hold back. Time may be up for all of us tomorrow and yet you both keep yourselves from each other. For what purpose?” She dropped her hands to her sides and took a step back form Jo. “You know, my brother doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to relationships or women in general, really. He’s been with plenty but none of them have made and impact like you have.

He’s scared. More scared than I’ve ever seen him. Not of the end of the world or death. No, he’s scared that he may never get the chance to tell you how he feels. He’s afraid he may lose you before he can ever have you. But he’s also scared to let himself feel. He’s got trust issues, obviously, but he wants to give himself so fully to you that he’s afraid to mess it up. He thinks you deserve so much better than this, than him. He thinks he can keep you safe, keep you from getting hurt if he just stays out of your life.

He needs you, Jo, in so many ways. And I’m not going to just stand by and wait while the two of you just let the moment pass. I will do anything I can to make sure his possibly last night is the best night. Now if things don’t go anywhere and you just end up hooking up, well you can at least say you tried. And you got to bang the infamous Dean Winchester.” Jo giggled quietly through her tears. “But if something does come of it, and you talk and you work it out than you both have a reason to fight, a reason to live, a reason for hope. A reason to come home in one piece.”

There was silence for a moment as both women stood with tears rolling down their cheeks, caught in an intense gaze. They were broken from such when a knock sounded on the open door and Dean cleared his throat. Both women quickly turned their head, frantically wiping at their eyes and putting on smiles. Dean smiled sadly in return and came up to his sister and hugged her.

Millie laughed softly into his chest as she squeezed him. When had he grown up? She could remember when she could hold him in her arms, have him sit on her lap, pick him up, kiss his booboos. Now he was this tall man who could engulf her in his warm embrace. She almost felt like a proud mother clinging to her baby. If only it was because her boy was going off to college not going to war against the Devil. When she finally composed herself, she pulled away and smiled up at her brother.

“I’m going to go check on Cas, see if Ellen has drank him under the table yet.” Dean chuckled and ruffled her hair, Millie swatting at him with a laugh.

“Hey, Millie?” Jo’s voice timidly called out. Millie stopped and turned her head, smiling softly. “Thanks.”

The older woman scoffed and shook her head. “Don’t thank me yet.” She looked at Dean then and back at Jo. “Thank me tomorrow.” And then she made her way out the door, closing it behind her. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she waited right outside for a moment to make sure they seized their moment alone.

“Are you giving me the last night on earth speech?” Millie grinned at Jo’s snarky question.

“If I was, would it work?” Dean’s response was not playful or funny but a genuine question that made Millie smile. The smile didn’t last long for her nose wrinkled when all she could hear next was the sound of wet kisses and soft groans. She gagged and quickly darted away from the scene before she could be scarred for life.

#reckless abandon #millie winchester #dean winchester #jo harvelle #supernatural #spn #chestervelle #dean x jo #series rewrite #ofc sister winchester #ofc

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breath-of-the-zora-prince · 7 years

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Lost

Request: Hello! First - I love the blog! Your writing is so nice and it's adorable! Second - may I request a S/O who wanders into the Lost Woods without thinking and gets lost somehow? Maybe BOTW!Link has to go find her in hopes that nothing bad happens? Thank you! <3

For: @briqhtskye

Word count: 3325

Fr tho what’s with me and knocking S/O out? Also I had way too much fun writing this, rip my wrists.

The pale light of the morning sun woke you up, cascading over your slumbering form that had been leaning against your goods for the night, underneath a rock to shelter from the rain. Your fire had dwindled down to ash, and your skin had a gentle coating of dew. The air felt warm, heat emanating from the volcano active behind you. The day was beginning, and you were off to travel to sell your wares once again.

You had actually just gotten back from a stable, where the Legendary hero Link had sold you out of all your wares. Luckily, you were able to collect more materials to make arrows as well as ingredients; it helped that he sold you his own materials. A smile danced across your lips as you thought of the handsome young man, smiling at you as he paid for his supplies. You couldn’t help but blush at the thought that he always came to you, rather than Beedle or any of the other traveling merchants. You scratched the back of your head laughing, before standing up and pulling your stuff on your back.

Pulling out your old worn map, you looked at the trail ahead of you, mumbling to yourself. Trying to navigate, you made your way up a path, not before taking a detour towards a hot spring. You felt uncomfortably moist, and the best way you thought to remedy that was to bathe in the hot waters of the blessed springs. It was nice that they were naturally heated with minerals that made you feel incredible, both physically and mentally. You had a suspicion that perhaps the goddess herself had blessed these little pools. Though it was an outrageous thought, it tickled you. A small giggle erupted past your lips as you approached the steaming area, a smile lining your lips, already feeling comforted. That is, until you heard a mysterious splash.

A chill ran up your spine as you slowly crept towards one of the pools, a figure forming in the water. Slowly, you set down your stuff as the person came into more detail, a very familiar hylian with a ponytail and stunning cerulean eyes. Perhaps it was the heat, or perhaps it was the company, but your cheeks grew deep red.

“O-Oh Link!” You exclaimed, taking a small step back as he turned to look at you, his eyes just as wide as yours. One had shoots under the water while the other lifts up to gently wave at you. He seemed embarrassed.

Maybe because he was naked.

Once you realized that you quickly turned around, feeling more heat get to your head. You heard the water swiftly move behind you, it sounded as though he was getting out. You gulped, feeling ashamed.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I should’ve let you know I was here the second I heard you! Please, don’t get out on my account I’ll just go to one of the other pools and then I’ll be on my way. While I’m here though would you like to take a look at my wares?” You felt yourself rambling when you felt a tap on your shoulder, and you turned, greeted with a shirtless - and pantless - hero. You gulped, a twitch of your eyes gazing at his form. He had slipped on his underwear, but that didn’t stop him from being stunning.His years of training were apparent, from the scars across his smooth skin, to the definition of muscles in his arms and body. You felt your heart seize. Quickly, you turned again, hiding the fact you must’ve looked like a lobster being cooked.

Ironic you were in a hot spring.

You hear him chuckle and walk to the other side of you so you were forced to look at him. You felt a lump in your throat, trapped in the stunning gaze of his eyes.

“Do you want to join me?” He asked, his expression gentle and calm, as if he was asking a simple question. How did this come to be?

Sure, you had always hoped his compliments and his jokes were flirting, you had hoped he thought about you on his dangerous adventures. You had never expected an invitation like this to come from the hero of ages. This man, a man who has been reincarnated into heros throughout the ages, throughout the alternate realities, is asking if you would join him for a bath.

“U-huh,” you responded intellectually.

He seemed to chuckle from that, slowly walking back into the water, making sure his back was to you. You couldn’t see it while you slowly got undressed, but he was just as flustered as you. His hand on his mouth and wondering why he asked you. Did he seem like an idiot? Was it too forward? Why couldn’t he have just asked you out to dinner like he wanted to?! He was having a mental argument with himself when you slowly turned around, lowering into the water so that it was up to your neck. You felt content, Your hands sliding up and down your arms, working the warm water into your tired muscles. You made sure to keep your back to him, feeling his eyes burn into the back of your head. While you felt self conscious, he was marveling at how stunning you were, despite being hidden from his gaze. He had never seen your hair down from its usual ponytail, and he was mesmerized by the way it danced on the surface of the water. The way your body curved under the water caused heat to slide up his face. You were the most beautiful person he’d ever seen, and he was the princess’ personal knight.

“S-so, where are you off to next on your great adventure?” You asked, breaking the silence that hung in the air. He drew in a breath, as if he was returning to reality. He gestured behind himself, but since you weren’t looking, he felt obligated to speak. Which meant the possibility of stuttering from nervousness.

“W-well, you s-see, that mountain behind us?” he gulped, running over the script in his head and forcing the words to grow fluid as you turned, seeing death mountain’s glorious form. “Yeah, there.” You snorted a bit, and as attractive as it felt, his comment made you laugh. It eased the tension between the two of you, and he felt a burst of pride.

It got easier after that, you two ignored the fact that you were practically naked and just enjoyed your time together, without the stress of having to survive. You felt your heart flutter whenever he smiled, and the way his eyes lit up when you brought up something he was passionate about. Sure, the conversation was mostly one sided, but you knew he was engaged. He clinged onto every word you said as you told him about your own life and your travels.

Eventually, the sun rose far past the trees, you two had taken to sitting on a rock while your legs dangled in the water, letting your makeshift suits dry before putting on your regular clothes. You were sharing a bottle of water when Link was finishing telling as story about how he destroyed a moblin camp, and you couldn’t help feel the ethereal air around him.

“You did not!” You exclaimed, mouth gaping. He burst into laughter.

“I did! I just stood at the top of a hill and just kept dropping and dropping bombs, they didn’t suspect a thing.” This was the most you’ve heard him talk, but you loved it. He was opening up to you. You laughed, wondering how such a small man could carry around so many bombs. You didn’t think too much into it, because whether or not it was a fib, it was entertaining, and he was making you happy.

“Gosh, I could never do anything like that. The best I can do is make a fire, but I can’t fight.” You laughed, taking a sip of water and watching your feet create ripples in the waters surface. He smiled and looked at you, feeling his heart race.

“W-well, I could help with that.” He said, watching your face light up at the joy.

“Y-yeah! I’d love that. I travel so much, it’d be good to know some self defense.” You smiled wide. You’d have a chance to spend time with him outside of your duties. He nodded in agreement.

“It’s a date, then.” He smiled, causing your heart to slam against your ribcage. You nodded, handing him the water as you looked away. You felt like a young adolescent again, being asked for a dance at your village’s festival.

You parted after that, returning to the path you had first started on. You couldn’t get the thought of him out of your head as you walked up the path. A smile lined your lips as you imagined his eyes watching you closely, the gentle brush of your fingers as you exchanged water, the way his body moved so elegantly in water. The way he spoke to you, as well. It was enchanting, and you felt trapped in a fairytale with a handsome knight. The best kind of trap.

You giggled, returning to reality long enough to realize you had no idea where you were. Your smile faded as you looked around, gnarling trees surrounding you as a haze faltered your vision. You clinged onto your backpack for support as you realized you were trapped in the Lost Woods.

You muttered a swear, biting your lip. You didn’t want to move, knowing if you did you’d be engulfed in a mysterious haze that altered your reality to place you somewhere else. After about ten minutes of contemplating your choice, you decided to start moving, since nothing would help if you didn’t. You used the fog to help guide you; whenever your vision became too impaired to see ahead of you, you changed directions until you could walk forward without precautions. You weren’t sure where you were going, but hoped you’d make it to an exit. There was no specific trail on your map, so that was useless. This method seemed to be working, your steps were slow, and your movements hesitant, but you were moving.

It took about an hour to walk what felt like a mile. You knew the land wasn’t too big, so you began to feel as though you were walking in circles. It didn’t help that all the trees looked the same and you were beginning to feel frustrated with your lack of focus. After about another half hour, you felt defeated, leaning against a willowing tree as you slid down, placing your bag beside you and pulling your knees up to hide your face in anger. How could you wind up in this mess? Would you ever get out? A sigh passed your lips as you heard a growl rumble around you. The air felt as if it dropped ten degrees as you looked ahead of you, eyes wide and frustration replaced with terror.

“H-hello?” you decided to call out, considering the last time you heard a noise but said nothing, you saw Link naked. Though, that wasn’t a bad thing. This was. Yellow eyes pierced through the fog, starting with one pair, then another, and another. Three wolves broke through the surface of cloud, stalking closer to you. They snarled, a slower burn of horror as you slowly stood up, prepared to run. You felt frozen, and it wasn’t until one pounced that you ran. Your heart pounded as you heard barking close behind you. Tears stung your eyes, and you didn’t care if the fog claimed you if it meant you’d be safe from the wolves. It didn’t, and you were still being chased.

You glanced over your shoulders, seeing the eyes chase after you. A yelp involuntarily fell past your lips as you kept running, wanting to call for help but unable to find the words. Again, you looked behind you, but instead of continuing to run, your foot caught on an intrusive vine, causing you to fall hard onto the cold ground and your head to slam into one of the trees. It throbbed horribly as the wolves stalked their prey, closing in on the injured animal they were ready to eat. Your vision faltered, fading as you felt tears stream down your face. The trees seemed to mock you, and you were ready to embrace darkness.

You heard a yell come through your concussion, seeing a blurry figure slice down the wolves and rush towards you. You felt a sudden jolt, warm and comforting arms holding you close, a calloused hand caressing your cheek as you heard your name called to you. Before you could respond, your eyes closed as your vision faded.

“No...no no don’t sleep Y/N,” Link patted your cheek to startle you awake. He swore, lifting you up and running as fast as he could through the fog towards his original destination. You were fading in and out of consciousness, your arms lazily draping around his strong, narrow shoulders. Before you realized it, you were being laid in a soft layer of warm grass. It was soft against your bruised body, and the beautiful man in a blue tunic was replaced with a small creature, chirping to the man that carried you here. You looked around, trying to ignore the pain in your head. A deeper voice echoed around you, but you couldn’t make out the words. Link lowered to his knees and smiled down at you. He pulled your head up to his lap as he brushed back your hair. You felt at peace.

“Tell me about your childhood,” he said, running delicate fingers against your scalp, and it helped the pain subside. You began rambling broken sentences as he listened closely. He laughed at your bad jokes, his fingers gentle on your skin. Your vision became clearly, but it felt better to keep your eyes closed from the light. Suddenly, you felt something poke your cheek. Slowly your eyes opened and you turned your head to look at a tiny tree looking at you. Your eyes widened in surprise, you consciousness returning as you shot up, your head throbbing again. You heard Link coax you back into laying in his lap, but that didn’t stop you from staring at the creature you had never seen before.

“Miss!” You heard it speak, holding up a pink elixir. “Drink and you’ll feel good!” He held it between his stubs for arms and you felt your heart melt. You nodded, grabbing the drink and sitting up, slower this time. You felt a hand run along your back as your downed the drink. It tasted like nothing, and yet it tasted incredible. The bruises on your body dissipated as the pain on your head subsided. Your vision cleared and you had a chance to grasp your surrounding.

Setting the bottle down, you slowly stood up in wonder, looking around you. Tears of joy touched your eyes as you circled around the area.

“It’s real…” you whispered. Wide eyed and smiling. “It’s actually here, I’ve heard legends but…” you gulped, looking down at the smiling Hylian. “So you’re really… goddess I can’t believe this.” You laughed, beginning to walk around and explore, but not before thanking the small korok who helped you. You walked up to the altar, seeing the master sword in it’s hilt. So it was here, the reason you had a hard time grasping the idea that this man was the hero of legends. He didn’t have his blade.

“It’s good to see you’re well, young one.” Slowly, you looked to see the owner of the deep, calming voice. You gulped, your mouth gaping as the legendary Great Deku Tree stood before you, as grand and as beautiful as you thought. You felt humbled as you watched him.

“A-ah, hello,” you said, intellectually. It seemed to make him chuckle. You heard movement behind you as Link came up behind you, smiling.

“I’ll be right back,” he informed, and before you could protest, he was gone. You let out a huff and looked around, seeing the place littered with small creatures, curious of you as much as you were of them.

“It’s… it’s an honor to be here, sir.” You said, looking back up at the Lord of this forest. He smiled, which was funny to you considering he was a tree.

“Our young hero really cares about you, I hope you know.” You felt your cheeks heat up at his words and smiling.

“I had a suspicion.” You glanced down at the beautiful flowers surrounding you as you looked at the master sword’s detail. It was stunning. You had seen paintings and tapestries of the legendary sword, but you never thought it would be this magnificent.

While you waited for Link to return, you decided to interact with the koroks, who stole your heart instantly. You told them stories while they braided your hair, placing silent princess and chilling violet in the weaves. One sat in your looking up at you curiously and you couldn’t get over how adorable it was. You heard shuffling come from the Lost Woods as link returned with your backpack, and you smiled. He looked at you wide eyed. You must’ve been a sight, surrounding by small koroks who were playing around you, clinging on you. One had climbed to sit on your head. You laughed, reaching up and slowly setting the creature beside you, as well as the one in your lap as you stood.

“Can I keep one?” You asked, laughing as you walked up to him. “This place is a dream, Link.” He seemed flustered as he handed you his bag, but he was smiling widely, studying you.

“You’re beautiful…” He said impulsively, before a deep red lined both his and your cheeks. He walked past you to the hilt of the blade. He began telling the Deku Tree that he’d return for his sword, but the Deku Tree cut in.

“No time like the present, Link.” Link turned to glance at you and blush before looking to the blade.

“You’re right, which is while I’ll be back,” He smiled in response as the Deku Tree seemed to nod in understanding, smiling towards you.

“Good luck, Y/N, stay safe. The next time you visit I hope we won’t have to heal you.” He said, causing you to smile and nod.

“I would love that.” You said, before Link took your hand and lead you back to the Lost Woods. It felt much less intimidating with him beside you. Before you entered the fog, away from the eyes of curious koroks, Link pulled you into a tight hug, catching you off guard. Your eyes widened as you blushed, responding by wrapping loose arms around you.

“I know I know, I was reckless, but in my defense I did ask you to teach me for a reason, and think about it after we have our training session I could come back here alone and find my way back. It’ll also be safer for me to-” you were rambling, and it wasn’t until Link pulled away to press his lips against yours that you stopped.

His lips were warm and soft, gentle against your own as he held you close. Your body fell against his as you kissed him in return. You felt as though you were floating, and his arms were the only thing holding you down. Your lips felt particularly cold when you pulled away, drawing out a sigh as he did. He didn’t need to speak, his eyes told you all they needed to. You felt warm and fuzzy by the color of his eyes as he took your hand and lead you into the Lost Woods.

#Legend of zelda #botw #botw imagine #link x reader #Link #loz botw #link imagine #link botw

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munchix-home-cooking · 4 years

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RP Log: Munchix and Rayena go hiking

@rayenaray :D

Munchix Bogbelly - After a day's worth of rest, Munchix is ready to tackle ‘the big hike.’ In preparation, he’s already asked around about how best to hike up to Yanxia’s hidden tree, to which he was mostly met with looks of confusion. But a few have vaguely directed him eastward, and so, that’s where he’ll go!

Munchix Bogbelly waves to Rayena. “Ready to head out?”

Rayena Corsano raised a brow. "Yes, but, are we sure this tree is even here? A lot of people you asked seemed confused, where did you even hear about this thing?"

Munchix Bogbelly pats Rayena on the shoulder in an attempt to dispel any anxieties she rightfully had about his tree hunt. “Rumors of rumors of rumors, heard first in drinkinghouses in Kugane. But do not fret! I’m sure there’s some inkling of truth in all this.”

Rayena Corsano made a small smirk. "Alright, well, I am ready and have food packed if we get hungry once we're at the tree." she nodded with a beaming smile.

Munchix Bogbelly: “Ah, a tastymost idea! I’ve also packed a few snacks for the road, so hunger should not be a problem.” He momentarily places his backpack on the ground and opens it, revealing an array of neatly packaged bento boxes and wrapped foods. Basically a buffet worth of food. Munchix smiles back as he hefts the cargo back up, and begins marching towards the mountains in the east.

Rayena Corsano beamed at all the bento boxes before making a nod and following him close behind, watching for anything to sneak up on them again.

Munchix Bogbelly confidently walks at a steady pace, absolutely masking the fact that he’s pretty much just wandering up the hill without a clue in the world of where he’s going. But the weather’s nice, and the two find themselves higher up, with a view of the landscape below. Munchix whistles as he looks down. “Hope you’re not scared of heights.”

Rayena Corsano looks around as she easily climbs the hill before pausing to look down below. "No, not really. I am just hoping we don't run into anything and we're on the right path."

Munchix Bogbelly: “At this height, I figure the worst we can run into are birds. Hm, and maybe unidentified flying objects?” He takes a moment to pause, and then continues, banishing the thought from his head. “Anyway, being up here reminds me of home.”

Rayena Corsano smiled warmly. "I can easily toss my chakrams at any birds that come for us. So, where is home for you? Home for me would be Limsa." she nodded.

Munchix Bogbelly conjures up an image of Rayena, tossing deadly chakrams at the local fauna. It’s both comforting and amusing. “Ah, good ole’ Limsa! That’s my home /away/ from home. Have you been to the Bismarck?” He pulls himself up higher, grabbing an exposed tree root to steady his climb. “But ah, yeah. I’m from Dravania. It’s not the easiest place to visit on a whim.”

Rayena Corsano grinned and nodded. "Of course, many, many times, even in my childhood. My favourite thing there was the lobster rolls. Delicious." she beamed. "I don't think I've been to Dravania, I don't venture in that area very often..."

Munchix Bogbelly: “Ooh, yes! The lobster rolls are delicious, muchly. Maybe I cooked you something? I trained there for awhile. Still training, even.” He looks around to find his bearings, then continues hiking. “It’s not exactly what uplanders call, a civilized place. Used to, but not in recent times. Nowadays, it’s mostly inhabited by rough adventurers, goblins, and leftover Sharlayan machina. Which is fun for some?” A curious glance is given to Rayena. Maybe she was the scholarly type?

Rayena Corsano beamed, clasping her hands together. "You'll make me lobster rolls? Well, I won't turn that down." she nodded. "I mostly stick to the cities nowadays, I don't venture much further. What sort of things do you do there?" she smiled.

Munchix Bogbelly is just. Given life at Rayena’s reaction. Cooking for others really was core to what brought Munchix joy. “Duly noted! When we’re in an area with lobsters to roll!” He thinks a bit about Dravania, that wild area that not many passed through, even in its heyday.

Munchix Bogbelly: “My gobfamily would mostly pass from area to area, scavenging any old bobblebits and ekking a living off the land. Wasn’t until I left for Limsa that seeing non-goblins became the norm, rather than the exception. Everyone is...so tall!”

Rayena Corsano smirked. "Well, everyone is tall except for us, female au ra, lalafell and possibly female midlanders, I got used to it rather quickly." she nodded.

Munchix Bogbelly: “You’re a decent height. Though yeah, the first time I saw a lalafell I nearly blew a gasket. Thought I was hallucinating, even!” He laughs at the memory. “In Limsa though...truly, it’s like walking among giantfolk. Roegadyn are simply too tall!”

Rayena Corsano nodded and smirked. "Yes, a lot of Roe there, especially the sea wolves and more so if you're with the Maelstrom or the yellow jackets, have to crane your neck so back just to look at 'em in the face." she giggled.

Munchix Bogbelly bends down to examine the ground. A couple of delicate pink flower petals float on the surface of a puddle. Hm, a sign that they were walking in the right direction? Only time would tell. He gets back up and continues. “Sometimes I just give up. Stare directly in their chest while we talk, neck hurts too much looking up.”

Rayena Corsano smiled. "I always try and look at everyone in the eyes or make it seem like I am by looking at their nose or lips." she then looked towards the ground as he bent down, making a soft audible gasp. "Is that a pink flower petal? I-is this really real after all?" she looked a little surprised.

Munchix Bogbelly groans, like a kitten thoroughly chastised. “I know, I know. But I’ve spent the better half of my life looking down, that I think my head just isn’t used to looking up anymore! All excuses on my part...” He looks onwards, searching for a trail of petals to follow. “Aha, yes, Rayena! And we’re hot on the tree’s trail. Shouldn’t be far now.”

Rayena Corsano smiled. "Well, you can always practice and if your neck gets sore just give an excuse that you need to leave." she beamed, than clasped her hands together. "Oh, I am starting to feel excited! I can't wait to see it." she said, then grinned.

Munchix Bogbelly: “Practice? Like this?” Munchix begins to look up and down, still walking all the same. It’s not exactly conducive to maintaining one’s balance, and a second later he trips on a stray stone. He totters frightfully close to the edge of the cliff.

Rayena Corsano gasped. "Munchix!" she said, moving quickly after him to pull him away from the edge of the cliff. "I don't mean while you're walking, more if you're standing still or sitting." she giggled softly.

Munchix Bogbelly is, thankfully, reined back in by Rayena. He would nod, but his neck is tired from all that practice. “Ach, got it. I might’ve sprained something there...” Munchix massages his shoulder, and then gives it a few good twists. Probably still fine!

Rayena Corsano looked at him with a concerned look. "Should we head back? I could make you a warm compress for your neck, ease the tension." she nodded, giving him a warm smile. "Or..." she said, placing a hand on the back of his neck, he'd feel a soothing warm sensation as she used healing magic on his neck.

Random! Rayena Corsano rolls a 316.

Munchix Bogbelly - The healing magic was somewhat effective, but given that it was meant to treat a shoulder sprain and not a life threatening injury, even somewhat goes the distance. Perhaps it’s the altitude interfering with the magic? Either way, Munchix gives a nod of thanks to Rayena, and feels a little more energized. “Oh, you didn’t have to! But thanks, muchly.”

Rayena Corsano frowned. "Hmm, which it had done more." she said, clenching her hands then spreading her fingers. "I suppose the warm compress will help then. Are you well to move forward?" she asked, smiling softly.

Munchix Bogbelly ‘s tail quivers, then fluffs up. He looks to the right. “I get the feeling we’re very close to our destination, so I’ll be fine to hike up this last part. Though I’ll certainly take that compress when we get there!” He gives her a thumbs up, and then follows the path the petals have laid out for them.

Munchix Bogbelly - After spending several bells climbing, the mountain finally caves in, revealing freshwater and islands of blossoming trees. Munchix nearly faints from excitement.

Rayena Corsano follows close behind, huffing before sitting down once they stop. "Wow, this is real. It's beautiful." she smiled warmly.

Munchix Bogbelly finally recovers from the initial shock, and wobbles down the slope. It’s more than he expected (and in some ways, he expected nothing, so this is infinitely more!). “This is...it’s wonderful! Gobsmacking picturesque!” At the lake’s edge, he cups some of the water and splashes it onto his face, cool droplets refreshing after so much climbing.

Rayena Corsano remains seated as he cools off with the water, slowing her breathing down to a better stance. "Well, this is really nice, you can probably swim and drink the water here." she smiled warmly.

Munchix Bogbelly: “Oh, I’ve heard all manner of stories about mysterious watering holes, of brain eating leeches and vile critters.” He dips his feet into the water and lets out an audible sigh. “....I don’t know why I brought that up. T-this water is probably safe! Scare myself, eh?!”

Rayena Corsano frowned. "Sounds like a story of why my ex was scared of drinking water but, pretty sure this is fine." she smiled warmly. "We can probably just relax here for a few bells."

Munchix Bogbelly dries himself off and takes a seat by Rayena. The air here was certainly crisp. There was something cooly serene about the place - the sound of water, of wind, and the silence in between. He smiles. “Relaxing sounds good.”

Rayena Corsano smiled warmly at him before pulling out a couple sandwiches from her bags and a bottle each of lemonade, handing him a sandwich and a bottle of lemonade. "Well, I say we deserve something to eat after that hike." she grinned.

Munchix Bogbelly takes the food offering in hand. “Ooh, how homey! What’s in it?” He raises the sandwich in particular.

Rayena Corsano beamed. "Slice dodo, some peppers, lettuce, and mayo. The lemonade was also made at home." she nodded.

Munchix Bogbelly: “There’s something about home cooking that’s hard to replicate in fine dining. I think it’s all the love that goes in it.” He scarfs the sandwich down and leans back, satisfied. “I brought some things too! Dried persimmon slices from Namai, and bento boxes...That’s if you’re still hungry. I have at least ten lunches packed, hah!”

Rayena Corsano grinned. "I mean, I can usually always eat." she said, taking a bite of her sandwich. "What's in the bento boxes?" she smiled.

Munchix Bogbelly pulls out one that’s wrapped in a red patterned cloth, and opens it. Inside are two half sausages (fried such that the meat curls up like a tiny octopus) a breaded pork cutlet, an egg omelette, and a salad all served alongside a bed of rice. Each different type of food is carefully in its own little cup, and overall the presentation swings far towards the cute end. “They’ve all got different things. Here.” He hands it to Rayena.

Rayena Corsano looked at the bento box and gasped. "It's so cute!" she beamed, placing down her sandwich and taking one of the boxes and starts to eat it. "Maybe I need to learn how to make this. I am not very good at Eastern food but, fish dishes and baked things, I am pretty good at." she giggled.

Munchix Bogbelly: “Being cute seems to be a big gobbin’ part of bento. I’m still learning myself, but I could teach you what I’ve figured out so far.” He reaches into his bag and grabs a bento for himself, enjoying it alongside Rayena’s lemonade.

Munchix Bogbelly sips the drink wistfully, and slowly shuts his eyes. Sure, there were things he had to get to. Like gathering samples from the trees, and determining whether its petals had any culinary potential. But for now, it was enough to relax under the sun with a friend and good food at his side. It was enough.

#ff14 rp logs #munchix bogbelly #Rayena Corsano #tree? FOUND

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