#yen finally finding her daughter is the most important thing to me

[geraskierficrecs]

Modern AU Stories

when midnights break their sleep by SummerFrost

The first Snapchat that anyone ever sends Geralt is a picture of his own irritated face.

shrike_princess: can u believe this dumbass finally got a snapchat bc a cute boy asked him nicely

"It wasn't even that nicely," Geralt says flatly.

AKA: The one where Geralt is a bartender and Jaskier sings karaoke.

(This is one of my favorite stories in the fandom.  I love it so much!!)

Give Me Nothing, Give Me You by dis

Ciri's kindergarten letter comes in the mail on a Tuesday. Geralt opens it, skims it, and frowns at the class his daughter has been assigned.

Dandelions.

Or: A modern AU with Dad!Geralt and Teacher!Jaskier.

Chopsticks by thisgirlsays22

“Yennefer sent me a check for eight lessons for you,” Jaskier said the following weekend, wearing a beige button-down with--

“Does your shirt have owls on it?” Geralt asked, caught somewhere between amusement and horror.

Jaskier looked down and tugged on the front of his shirt as if he had to remind himself what was on it. He beamed at Geralt. “Yeah! Do you like it?”

“Not particularly.”

The smile swiftly disappeared.

“It’s not terrible,” he amended, stepping back to let Jaskier inside the apartment. Then Jaskier’s initial words sank in. “Wait. Yen did what?”

Hanging up on Yennefer was always a mistake.

New Monster Stories by kathkin

“So do you have a name?”

“Yeah.” The man who had saved his life less than an hour ago – the white-haired, absurdly buff, weirdly sexy man Jaskier might have called taciturn if he was feeling charitable and surly if he was feeling less so – dug into his second burger.

Jaskier waited. “Are… you going to tell me what it is?”

The man paused mid-bite, and looked at him reproachfully as if to say how dare you. How dare you interrupt me. Can’t you see I’m enjoying my cheeseburger. Can’t you see this cheeseburger is the most important thing in my life right at the moment. He swallowed, and said, “Geralt.”

It turns out almost getting eaten by a werewolf can make your whole life go careening off in a new, terrifying, wondrous, artistically flourishing direction. Who knew?

Where There’s a Witcher by ghostinthelibrary

Jaskier is a twentysomething recently unemployed journalist and amateur musician looking for his big break. So when he’s saved from the jaws of a wyvern by the infamous Butcher of Blaviken, Geralt of Rivia, he comes up with a brilliant idea: he’ll follow the Witcher around and sing about their exploits. He’ll gain fame and fortune and Geralt will get a much needed image rehab. Everyone wins. Unless Jaskier goes and falls in love like an idiot.

Only Human Series by ghostintxelibrary

It’s a Tuesday, so someone is threatening to kill Jaskier.

Geralt doesn’t know why he’s surprised anymore.

Geralt moonlights as a superpowered vigilante called the Witcher, but his cover identity is the mild-mannered Geralt Rivia, reporter at The Continental Press. Jaskier is an entertainment writer at the Press and Geralt’s ex-boyfriend. He's obsessed with the Witcher, the vigilante who has saved his life multiple times. When Geralt is blackmailed by a powerful sorcerer into pursuing the Shrike, a serial killer who’s been targeting abusive men, Jaskier gets involved, despite Geralt’s best efforts.

(Seriously, all of her stuff is amazing.  Read it all.)

Thieves and Riches

Geralt is just trying to do a favor for an old friend when he finds himself tied up and shoved into a storage closet by a group of robbers. There he meets Jaskier, an enigmatic cat burglar who is a little too good at teasing a reaction of the normally stoic detective.

I’ll Never Be Free From Your Smile by whisperedstory

Geralt isn't sure how he got here, standing in his kitchen in black gym shorts and a baby pink—baby fucking pink—shirt that stretches too tightly over his muscles and has Toss a Coin written in sparkling gold letters across his chest while Jaskier is aiming a camera at his face.

Or: Jaskier is a YouTuber and Geralt is his best friend and roommate.

Next to You by Bean_Writes

Moving to a new town is one thing. Moving to a new town, becoming best friends with his neighbor and falling head over heels for her dad is something entirely different.

In his second year of college, Jaskier struggles with his undying crush on Geralt, Ciri's dad. It also doesn't help that the man's job involves him looking like an absolute wet dream come true, emerging from beneath a car, muscles flexing, slick with sweat and grease.

He's really fucked.

The Tale of Jaskier's Grudge Against Historians (and how they gave him his happy ending anyway) by notebooksandlaptops

[Text Sent From Ciri] Is there a reason why a love letter to Yen and Geralt is in the British Museum signed from you?? -C

[Text Sent to Ciri] Because Historians are nosey pricks. Do NOT tell your parents. -J

[Text Sent From Ciri] ;) – C

The winking face of a semicolon and a bracket stared up at him, composed of unforgiving pixels. She wouldn’t, would she? No. No. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t.

She wouldn’t.

-///-

Or, an exploration of the reason (immortal) Jaskier hates historians (hint: it's because they keep stealing his shit and putting it on display)

[terapsina]

Why you should watch The Witcher.

(a completely biased TV rec by me)

It is based on a series of novels and video games, though I have neither read or played them so I cannot judge how faithful an adaptation this is. I can only say that the show by itself is awesome.

Also it’s already been renewed for a second season by Netflix.

But back to why it’s totally worth watching.

First of all. Yennefer of Vengerberg.

She is a mage. She is a badass. She’s had a very hard past and she’s sacrificed a great deal to get to where she is. You will see her kick ass, kill people, do magic. But you will also see her be vulnerable and kind (sometimes) and sad. She is the unstoppable force of this series, I know you might think that would go to the Witcher in the show called The Witcher but believe me it’s Yennefer. She does not stop, she never stops, even if it might be good for her, because only she herself decides what’s good for her and what she wants above all else is to have choices.

The next (and related) reason you should watch this show is Yen’s relationship with Tissaia de Vries, the Rectoress of Aretuza (basically Hogwarts only more shady and more kidnappy).

You will think you know who Tissaia is gonna be and believe me you don’t. 

They introduce an ‘evil sorceress’ and then you see her smile at Yen and goddamn she’s actually a mama bear to her girls.

The next reason is Cirilla of Cintra.

She is a princess. Or she was, right up until her entire kingdom got slaughtered and her grandmother sent her off to find Geralt of Rivia.

She is innocent, she is not very experienced. She is the Lion Cub of Cintra. She is also absolutely savage.

And all she wants is to be safe. And every second person she meets wants to adopt her.

She’s also the future daughter of Geralt (and Yennefer, I cannot begin to tell you how much I’m looking forward to that).

Then there’s the Witcher himself. His name is Geralt of Rivia. Is he a badass? Yes. Do people say that ‘his kind’ don’t have emotions? Also yes... but they’re morons. Because you know what else he is? A mushy marshmallow with absolutely terrible luck. Like, the worst.

Can’t even fall in love like a normal person. Has to make it complicated and all angsty by SPOILER spoiler SPOILER. It’s amazing. And don’t me even get me started on how he acquires his future daughter. It’s spoiler SPOILER the most amazing thing you will ever see.

He loves his horse, who he has named Roach because why not (if anything ever happens to that horse I won’t have to kill anyone, Geralt will do it for me). 

And then there’s Jaskier the Bard. He’s going to be responsible for getting a song stuck in your head for a chunk of the foreseeable future. 

He’s also Geralt’s best friend and advertisement consultant. This happened by sheer persistence and because like I mentioned Geralt is a grumpy marshmallow.

----

Finally if this has convinced you all you need to know before you begin is that the show takes place in three different timelines that slowly catch up with the present.

Ciri’s POV is the present.

Yennefer’s POV starts out like fourty-five-ish to fifty-ish years before that.

And Geralt’s POV starts out eighteen-ish to twenty-ish years before the present.

It sounds complicated but honestly it’s not that hard to get the gist of it and the specific times aren’t actually all that important anyway.

[restmyheadatnightcontent]

we’re alright together

Geralt knows something is wrong when he comes home and there’s no music playing. Usually as soon as Jaskier is home, he commandeers the speaker and puts one of his many, many playlists on. He can hear muttered Polish coming from the door of the office. Ah. That means that Jaskiers parents are on the phone which means they have an interesting evening ahead of them.

Dropping Ciri’s schoolbag down by the sofa, he watches as she runs up the stairs chatting gleefully about the toy she has to find because her and Dara are going to play a new game tomorrow and it has to be the red horse, the horse is really important, Dad.

He walks and cautiously pushes the door of the study open to find Jaskier slumped with his head in his hand whilst the other holds his phone up to his ear. Even from here he can see the tension in Jaskiers shoulders and his normally well styled hair dishevelled from no doubt running his fingers through it in frustration. From here he can also hear the shrill voice coming through the phone which means its Jaskiers mother on the other end. He’s learnt that trying to interrupt these calls to check if Jaskier is okay is not as helpful as he thinks, so instead he backs away and quietly closes the door. It’s rare that Jaskier talks to his parents, but Geralt knows from the few past experiences that it is better to wait and be ready to listen to Jaskier vent about whatever bullshit they’ve said this time.

He busies himself by starting to prepare dinner and grabbing all the vegetables he needs out of the fridge. Luckily Ciri isn’t too fussy with food and will eat most things, but he finds that he can sneak even more in if he hides them in a tomato sauce along with some pasta and cheese. If he’s being honest, he has to sneak them in more for Jaskier than Ciri. He’s pretty sure if he gave Jaskier free reign of the kitchen, they would live off of nothing but frozen pizzas and McDonalds.

As he’s just finishing off the prep and about to start the washing up, he feels a pair of arms wind around his waist and a kiss is pressed against his neck.

“Hey” murmurs Jaskier into his neck.

“Hey yourself” replies Geralt, turning his head so he can place a kiss of his own on Jaskiers cheek “everything ok?”

Jaskier just hums and tightens his hold around Geralt. This conversation must have been worse than the other ones as Jaskier has normally started ranting about something by now. Geralt knows that he just needs to be patient and Jaskier will tell him what was said eventually. But still hates not knowing what’s  going on in Jaskiers head and how he can make it better. While he waits, he just places his hands on Jaskier arms and rubs small circles on Jaskiers forearms and lets his boyfriend take the comfort he needs right now.

He doesn’t know how long they stand there but they are eventually interrupted by the timer sounding, alerting them to the fact that dinner is ready.

Jaskier unwinds his arms and moves away but before he can go too far, Geralt turns and gently grabs his wrist. He looks into the blue eyes that he knows so well, and his heart drops at the troubled look he can see there. Raising his hand to Jaskiers face and softly running his thumb across his cheek, he feels slightly better when Jaskier gives him a small smile.

“What did she say?”

There’s no point in trying to pretend that he didn’t hear the phone call and he hopes that the sooner he finds out what the call was about, he can start to help.

“It was-she said that he-I should-“ Jaskier sighs frustratedly and then takes a deep breath “I’ll tell you later, I just need to sort it all out in my head first.”

Geralt hums in response and pulls Jaskier closer so he can press his lips to his forehead until Jaskier squirms away from him with a small laugh.

“I’ll go get the monster for dinner” he says before turning up the stairs.

Geralt is putting the plates on the table when he hears Ciri giggling and looks around to see his daughter hanging over Jaskiers shoulder, swinging as he moves from side to side, exaggerating his movements every time she squeals in delight.

“Jas! Put me down! Stop it!” she laughs whilst smacking her hands against his back.

“As the lady wishes” he says and then promptly drops her face first onto the sofa. She’s up immediately and runs to the table sitting her seat and sticking her tongue out at Jaskier.

He can’t find out anything more during dinner as conversation is dominated by Ciri, who is excitedly sharing the story of her day. As much as he wants to find out what has upset Jaskier so much, it is hard to be annoyed when he sees the smile on his daughters face as she excitedly describes the game she had played today with Dara and all the facts she learnt in science. Sometimes he worries about this whole parenting thing, but looking at the huge smile on Ciri’s face right now, he feels that he must be doing something right.  After dinner he has to get her bathed and settled in bed and Jaskier is summoned for a bedtime story because I’m sorry Daddy but he does the best voices.

It’s not until later when he and Jaskier are stretched out on the sofa with Jaskier leaning back into his chest that he finally gets his answer.

Jaskier pauses the show that neither of them had really been watching anyway and takes a breath.

“My Dad is ill” he says quietly, “like really ill. Something to do with his heart.  Mum was trying to persuade me to go see him. Apparently the doctors are saying he’s got a week at most.”

Well shit. Geralt hums and pulls Jaskier closer to him asking “Do you want to go see him?”

“Not really. I mean I know I probably should but I really don’t think that he is going to have had a sudden change of heart. He has made it perfectly clear how he feels about me and every life choice I’ve ever made and he literally told me that I’m getting fuck all in the will so I’m not sure what she thinks will happen. There’s not going to be some dramatic reunion where we hug and start crying.”

Jaskier slumps back into Geralts chest, seemingly exhausted by the outburst. He turns to look up at Geralt and asks “What do you think I should do?”

“I think its your decision and whatever you decide will be the right thing to do” he replies “I’m sorry I know that’s not helpful and that you want a proper answer” he presses his lips to Jaskiers temple “But whatever you decide and whatever happens, you’ve got a family right here with me and Ciri and Yen and my brothers. We’re here.”

He flushes, a bit embarrassed as he rarely says so much at once, but despite all the words Jaskier says Geralt knows that sometimes he just needs someone elses. Judging by the way Jaskier turns and wraps his arms around Geralt shoulders and pulls him down for a kiss, these words seem to have done the trick.

They part and Jaskier rests their forehead together, Geralt tightens his arms around him seeing the glint of tears in Jaskiers eyes.

“Thank you” Jaskier whispers.

They decide to abandon to the TV, neither of them really up for trying to focus on anything right now so they make their way upstairs. Lying in bed, Geralt can still feel the tension in Jaskiers body. The other man is unlikely to sleep tonight, too many thoughts running around in his head. Geralt presses a kiss into his shoulder and tangles their legs together, hoping that his solid presence will be of some reassurance.

He wakes the next morning to find his head is now resting on Jaskiers chest, with the other mans fingers running through his hair.

“I’ve decided.” Jaskier states, no hint of tiredness in voice so he’s clearly been up for a while “I’m going to go and see him. I’m not expecting anything but I think I’d regret it if I didn’t go.” He looks down at Geralt with a fond smile “And its like you said. No matter what happens, I have a perfectly good family right here.”

______________________________________

can also be found here!

[henryobsessed]

The Widow and the Witcher Chapter 18

Summary: Well its a wedding :) 

Word Count: 2600

Warning: Fluff, Emotions, Acceptance 

A/N awwwwww

Chapter 18 – The Wedding

It was night, the sun had gone to bed and the sky was blanketed with stars. As was the custom in this village he was preparing to ride to claim his bride. Geralt stood dressed in his formal dress blacks, the only Jewellery the medallion hanging around his neck. His thick hair the whitest it had ever been after Jaskier insisted that it be washed with some special soap. He smelt of Chamomile and Honey. Funny, Julia had never commented on his smell except for when he had been around the horses too much. But tonight, he would have bathed in the petals of roses if he thought Julia would like it, and Jaskier did understand the female gender better than he did. The last thing he held was his bouquet of flowers to present to Julia. As Visenna and Yen had walked home with him he had remembered Tobias the day he went to get his bride, and how important it had been that he got it right. Well, this small bunch of wildflowers they had picked on the way back to the inn was not expensive or exotic but they represented him.

His Brothers, Father, Mother, Daughter, and closest friends behind him on their horses moved through town to the road leading to the estate. He was not sure what to expect as he had been waiting at the estate when Tobias and Renee were given to each other. All he was instructed to do was to ride to the house and kneel before Tobias asking for his blessing as the man of the house. As they reached the road leading to the estate, he saw an eery glow, as he got closer, he saw Villagers lining each side. The whole village must have turned out because It looked like the road to the estate was completely lined with Lanterns.

As he slowly pasted each lantern the villagers smiled at him and fell in behind the small band so that by the time, he got to the estate a large crowd was following. Geralt had never felt so accepted and loved. He dismounted at the entrance to the estate and the rest of his family followed suit. Jolna, Petra, and another servant took the horses as the progression walked the final distance to the house.

As he drew nearer, he stopped, the breath knocked from him at the sight of Julia holding her lamp the symbol of her love for him. She was breathtaking, her reddish-brown hair hung in curls around her shoulders and the top part was braided around her head to symbolize a crown. It was dotted with small white flowers and covered with a thin sheer vale. Her dress was made with the finest white silk edged with ivory and a bright royal purple sash accentuated her small waist. Around her neck was the finest lace wire that held the most beautiful mix of purple and ivory crystals. To Geralt she was perfect.

With moist eyes he made his final steps to the house, as instructed he went to Tobias who was standing with Renee. Kneeling before him, Geralt suddenly felt nervous, the whole village was watching, listening, and the words seemed to have gotten stuck in his throat. He looked up at Tobias who was smiling down at him. This gave him courage so he spoke with a clear baritone voice "Tobias Son of Julia of Wolnosci I have come here today to humbly ask for your blessing, I have fallen in love with your mother, and I wish to ask her to be my wife. I promise to cherish her all the days of her life and to honour this family all the days of my life."

Tobias replied to Geralt an unshed tear glistening in his eye "Geralt of Rivia, Renee, and I have watched from the beginning of your time here. We both saw the spark that lit between you during the days of your recovery. It has been an honour to watch as that spark became a flame. I have also observed your integrity, compassion, and gentleness as you worked with the horses, shared chores with the servants, and assisted the community. The greatest joy I had was watching you with Ciri and Julia, your love was evident for them both in every action, tenderness in touch and cherishing of spirit. It would be my honour to give you our blessing and welcome you into our family as a husband to Julia and Father to our house. But I can only give you my blessing, there is only one who can accept your offer."

Julia watched as Geralt humbled himself before Tobias, this tall muscular warrior was on his knees for her. It made her heart swell when he made his pledge to cherish her all the days of her life and her family all the days of his. To know that even when she was gone he would still be there to protect and love her family filled her with joy to almost overflowing. Tobias was talking to her and a chuckle could be heard coming from the crowd making Julia realise she had missed something. Geralt's facelifted in a gentle smile as he looked at her holding out a beautiful bunch of wildflowers "Ohh" Julia spoke softly taking the simple and yet beautiful bunch which spoke of Geralt's heart for her. Turning to Tobias she said with a soft but mischiefs voice "sorry I was distracted by this handsome warrior before me, presenting me this sweet bouquet. Can you repeat the question?"

Laughter bubbled loudly from the crowd as Tobias said with a chuckle "Mother, Do you take this man to be your husband, to fight life's hardships together by his side. To cherish each day and hold the memory's close. As you walk life's journey together?" Julia looked up into Geralt's Yellow amber eyes moist with tears the most precious gift he could give her and said in a firm and loud voice "With every fiber of my being Yes I will"

A great cheer rose from the Village as Geralt lifted her vale and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. Together they turned to Geralt's family. Julia had practiced what she wanted to do next as unlike most weddings she would not be presented to Geralt's mother but before she could speak a woman with red hair stepped from the crowd of his brothers. She looked to Geralt who only nodded the unspoken request. She came close to Julia and held out her hand taking Geralt's and Julia's hands she said in a voice that carried across the valley "My name is Visenna I am Geralt's mother." Julia gasped in shock and surprise at this regal woman standing before her. Geralt's free hand drew Julia close to his side as Visenna continued to speak "I know this is a surprise for you but if you are willing I would like to say a blessing over you" Both Geralt and Julia tears now flowing silently down her cheeks nodded their consent.

Visenna began to sing a lilting melody that floated around Julia and Geralt "May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon the fields. May the light of friendship guide your paths together. May the laughter of children grace the halls of your home. May the joy of living for one another trip a smile from your lips, a twinkle from your eye and today may the spirit of love find a dwelling place in your hearts" Lifting her eyes to the couple before her, Visenna declared, "I pray that life will be sweet for you both but above all that you will live a long full life together." With that Julia pulled the woman into a hug holding her tight. At first, she felt the resistance and fear but the longer she was in Julia's arms the more she relaxed and returned the hug.

Standing back from Visenna Julia looked to the rest of the family. Seeing Ciri she beckoned her to come forward and pulling her into her side 3then smiled at the rest. Julia spoke loudly enough that all the Village could hear "To you Vesemir, Eskel, Lambert and Coen, To you Visenna, Yennefer, Ciri, and Jaskier. This Home is now your home this Village is now your Village and whether you stay a day, month, or a lifetime we will always call you family." The Village once again gave a cheer, Tobias who stood closest to the door now turned and said with his loudest voice "Welcome Family it's now time to celebrate"

Geralt, Julia, and Ciri turned together and were ushered to the front of the line to enter the house. Excitement grew in Julia as they headed to the banquet hall, she had been itching to see what the girls had prepared for her and Geralt. Hannah, Ruth, and Nessie were waiting by the door to welcome them to the banquet. All three of them had bright smiles and unshed tears in their eyes. Pushing the doors open they let Geralt, Julia, and Ciri into the room.

Julia quickly put her hand to her mouth as a sob escaped, the room was almost like it had been all those years ago. But it was oh so much better. The Columns had ivy wrapped around them from floor to ceiling and randomly were hung Crystals of every colour. The tables were adorned with Ivory clothe, Ivory and Gold crockery, and Crystal glasses. The centerpieces were mixtures of wildflowers representing all the colours of spring and Candles surrounded by Prisms creating floating rainbows that danced over every wall. To say Julia was overwhelmed was an understatement. She felt Geralt's hand on her back as he slowly ushered her to the honoured seats of the bride and groom.

The room filled to overflowing and Julia found out later that they had set up chairs and tables in every spare room to accommodate the whole village. This was her family that Wilfred and Julia had cherished and now they were cherishing Geralt and his family. It warmed her heart and so did the warm body beside her. Geralt had tucked her against him as a sign that from today if he could make it happen, they would never be parted. At this, the night progressed with delicious food wonderful music, and the sounds of joy and laughter.

As Midnight approached Geralt leaned down to whisper into his beloved's ear, "My love I think it will be acceptable for us to be excused now." A soft smile lingering on his breath. Chuckling Julia looked up into his handsome face, she could see the candlelight dancing across his strong jaw and white hair which she had noticed had been washed and was right now awash with coloured rainbows. This caused her to giggle maybe she should call him her rainbow boy from now on. Still, it was the look in his eyes that caused her breath to hitch. They were soft and yet held a hunger that she knew they had worked hard to keep in check. Returning his gaze and hoping he could see the same desire in hers she breathed "Yes"

Geralt stood and helping Julia to her feet lifted her into his arms, smiling to the room he declared "Well folks keep eating drinking and making merry, Thank you for celebrating with us but we hope you don't mind we are ready to go do some celebrating on our own." Julia blushed at Geralt's brashness but smiled a farewell to the room. As they left the banquet Geralt walked swiftly down the hall to their chambers while Julia snuggled deeper into his arms. This strong warrior was her husband they no longer needed to steal kisses and keep battling with temptation. Tonight, was theirs to enjoy.

Julia smiled as they entered their chambers, the girls had been busy. The Fire had been lit, and a small table of fruit, cheeses, and bread along with two wine goblets and a flask of wine was now placed near her chair. Around the frame of the bed was threaded with fresh honeysuckle the fragrance lingering in the air. Geralt let Julia down but not relinquishing his hold of her lifted her face to his. His eyes were shining with warmth as he lowered his head to hers. They both were now breathing in each other's scents, enjoying the closeness.

Julia lifted her hand to his hair and fingered it lightly smelling something different she brought it closer to inhale "Chamomile and Honey?" she giggled the only smells she associated with Geralt was sweat, onions, and horse. Grunting a slight annoyance Geralt replied "Jaskier said you would like me better tonight if I didn't smell like a horse. He insisted I wash with this" Julia made a mental note and planned on thanking Jaskier later. She felt Geralt's hand reach around to her back as if searching which made Julia slightly nervous. They had taken pleasure from each other but it was all done in the dark, and without thought. Tonight she wanted to enjoy, to take him in slowly but she was also nervous what if he didn't like what she looked like in the light.

Geralt felt strange, here he was finally able to cherish his beloved, and yet unlike the last few months, he wasn't sure how to proceed. He wanted to see her, to enjoy what up till now had been kept hidden so had started to feel for a tie, ribbon, or buttons to remove her garment. As he did he felt Julia stiffen in his arms. He halted and looked at her closely for a moment. Was she alright? Was she nervous? Noticing the blush in her cheeks He leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips and pulling back whispered "would you like some wine?" he felt her body relax and then she smiled at him nodding.

While Geralt was pouring the wine Julia walked over to the bed and spotted a light blue bundle tied up with a pale green ribbon with a note on top. Julia picked up the note and read "Julia, we wanted to give you this special gift I hope that it will bring you much joy tonight. Love Renee, Ruth, Hannah, and Nessie." Placing the note to the side she started to pull at the ribbon. She felt Geralt come up behind her, placing his hands around her waist ,and resting his head on her shoulder looking at what she was doing. The bundle came apart and she looked in awe at a piece of sheer ivory fabric. Picking it up she fingered it finding it soft, delicate, and almost completely translucent. Blushing Julia heard Geralt's appreciative hum into her neck as he whispered close to her ear "I'd like to see you in that" a shiver ran down her spine as his breath grazed her neck. Nervously giggling Julia leaned back into Geralt's chest. "How about we have some of that wine first"

Geralt turned around and picked up the filled goblets handing one to Julia, he watched as she gently tipped the goblet to her lips taking a mouthful. Her tongue licking a small trickle that had escaped her lips. She smiled a small shy smile at him and picking up the bundle turned and went into the bathroom. Ohh that woman, he didn't know if she knew what she was doing or if she just naturally made his body burn for her.

Previous Chapter Seventeen                                          Next Chapter Nineteen 

A/N Thank you for reading my story to this point. As a new writer, I am very interested in what people think and content, storylines.

What is your favourite path? have I any plot holes?

I have Tagged people who follow me and who I follow if you want to be removed or added please let me know :)

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[joannerowlingfans]

JK Rowling’s Track Of My Years choices:

Cloudbusting by Kate Bush

Heaven by Emeli Sande

Big Country by Big Country

Court and Spark by Joni Mitchell

All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix  

River Song by Dennis Wilson  

Ramble On by Led Zeppelin

Waitress by First Aid Kit

Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers  

Dream On Dreamer by Brand New Heavies

Cloudbusting by Kate Bush – being a student in Paris:

JK: [Cloudbusting] came out in 1985 when I was still a student… because I was studying French I spent a year in Paris… I was teaching students in a lycee, basically a comprehensive on the outskirts of Paris. It was a very particular experience going away, I left a boyfriend back in Britain and we were all quite young and we were all quite broke… we had some wonderful adventures during that time… there’s something very wistful about that track… we were all people who like to travel and there was a sense of being lost, but in quite a nice way I suppose, we were exploring life a lot at that time… I don’t know how I managed to get Paris because a lot of my friends ended up in tiny little towns in the middle of nowhere so we all had very varied experiences. I couldn’t believe that I’d got Paris which was of course my first choice.

Heaven by Emeli Sande – remembering the fear of doing the London Olympics Opening Ceremony

JK: I love this song so much, but I have a particular memory attached to it which was the London Olympics Opening Ceremony. They played this track during the ceremony and that was probably the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done in my life, being part of that Opening Ceremony and, in fact, I told Danny Boyle twice, ‘I can’t do it, Danny, I just can’t, I would be too scared’. I’ve got better, but I find public speaking an ordeal. I’ve got better at it and I’ve made myself get braver about it, but I said to him I can’t do it in front of that large an audience, I can’t do it live, please don’t ask me and he kept asking, kept asking me and finally he just said to me, ‘Look, we’ve got the Queen jumping out of an aeroplane’ and when he told me that I honestly thought, [that] no-ones even going to remember I was there. If that’s happening, that’s sort of takes the pressure off! But I do remember just rehearsing and practising and practising this little piece I had to read and when it was over I cannot tell you the sense of exhilaration that I’d done it, I hadn’t fallen over, I hadn’t messed up the reading so I went up into the stands to sit with some people I knew and then we watched this extraordinary ceremony and they played this Emeli Sande track and I will forever associate it with that night…. I said to my husband on the night, ‘On my deathbed, that will be a moment I remember, going out into that stadium.’ It was the most epic event that I’d ever been involved in and I think all of us who participated would say the same thing, nothing will ever come close.

Big Country by Big Country – first ever gig

JK: Now I had to put Big Country by Big Country on the list because this was my first ever live gig. I went to Dingwalls in Bristol with my teenage boyfriend… and they were amazing live… and I just thought they were wonderful, they really were.

Ken: You’ve lived in many different places, where do you feel home is, where do you feel drawn to?

JK: Well, home now is definitely Scotland. I’ve lived most of my life now in Edinburgh, I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere else, but when I was younger I had very itchy feet and I’ve lived in London, Manchester, Paris, Oporto… I’ve moved around a lot. I also, within those cities, kept moving. I just do have very itchy feet. But when I had my daughter, I decided consciously, not that that has to stop because I love travelling and as a family we travel a lot, but I decided that she needed roots so we stayed in Edinburgh, which I now love and really do consider my home and my city… [Travelling] is a useful thing to have done and to have seen life from a lot of different perspectives… and I love exploring.

Court and Spark by Joni Mitchell – on inspiring her latest book

JK: Before I began writing Troubled Blood… I looked up all the albums that came out in 1974 because the whodunnit… concerns a women who vanished in 1974 and I wanted to peg her disappearance to an album that she would have loved and I saw that Court and Spark… had come out then and I thought that’s perfect, perfect for this character. So then I began listening to it and listening to it and listening to it and then I loved it so much I now literally own everything that Joni Mitchell has ever brought out and I can now honestly call myself a mad Joni Mitchell fan. It was an odd way to discover all her other work, but I think she’s just untouchable, and as a lyricist I think there’s no one better. My husband last Christmas bought me a book of all her lyrics and it can be read like fine poetry. She’s absolutely extraordinary… Court and Spark is now one of my very favourite albums.

All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix  – playing it after a bad break-up and being insecure

Since first hearing this song when I think I was probably 18 or 19, I’ve always had it in my music. I do remember playing it very loudly and drunkenly after one bad break-up and I think the attraction there was the opening line, ‘There must be some way out of here’. But it’s just a great song and he again, what a talent and at the venerable age I have reached now, looking back at artists who died so young is particularly poignant I think. I mean you ache for them because you think what would Jimi Hendrix have achieved if he’d lived to past the age of 27? It’s just extraordinary that people produce work of that quality when they’re so young… I think the thing I admire most is having the confidence because I had the idea for Harry Potter when I was 25 and I’d done a lot of writing before then, but I was extraordinarily insecure and very rarely shared anything that I’d written. I wrote some spoof things for friends to make them laugh, but I never shared anything that I’d written in earnest because I was quite insecure. But of course performers are different and they are driven to share in a way that writers don’t do; obviously we live in a far more introverted life, but… I am drawn to biographies of people like Hendrix because I am just in awe of what they did and what they achieved.

River Song by Dennis Wilson – reminding her of the pandemic during lockdown

This is always going to remind me of the pandemic, this song, because I’ve been listening to his album Pacific [Ocean] Blue which is a bit of an undiscovered gem. I’d had it for a while and listened to it, but it seems to be speaking to me in lockdown and River Song – maybe it resonates because certainly lots of my friends have talked about rediscovering being in the natural world in lockdown – having space and time to appreciate the small things. That’s not to say that any of us wouldn’t change things in a heartbeat, but it has brought a lot of us closer to family. Just having time to enjoy small things has been one small upside of the pandemic

Waitress by First Aid Kit – reminding her of an old friend

I think they’re kind of wonderful. This song in particular reminds me of one of my oldest friends Lynn she and I were in Paris together, we’d never have met otherwise because she’s American. There’s something about our shared nomadic tendencies in this song because it is a song about escape and reinvention. Now I’m very fortunate, I no longer feel the desire to escape or to reinvent myself I am very happy and I have a wonderful family. But I think this is a song about young women feeling displaced and feeling anxious and I think that’s the reason both of us particularly love this track.

On her lack of belief/confidence in writing

You have to push through your lack of belief. Certainly with Potter and with other things I’ve written, I’ve put them down for months at a time. I have got better at believing that I can push through. I remember when I was writing Potter I was writing two other things simultaneously and slowly but surely I realised that Potter was the best of them. And even though I was very insecure I just kept pushing on, pushing on. Actually, the thing that pushed me to complete the book and really to have belief, was having made such a mess of my life generally. In fact I do remember feeling, ‘Look, so you get turned down by every publisher in the country, what’s to lose now?’ Well you know, it was even that I thought it would be a massive success because I certainly didn’t. What I did believe was, I came to a point where I thought, ‘This is a good story and I’m going to put everything into this and see what happens.’ And I’d lost the fear of failing or rejecting that had probably hampered me a little bit early on in my writing.

On the Robert Galbraith books being a desire to that that the writing was as good as she thought it was and it wasn’t her name that was selling?

Yeah, that was definitely in there. I think I had a real yen to go back to the beginning, to go back to what’s important. And to get unvarnished criticism. And so I became Robert and it was a fantastic experience. I can honestly say the rejection letters were fantastic. I know that sounds bizarre and masochistic, but it was satisfying because I was getting unvarnished feedback and I was resilient enough to think, ‘Well that is a fair comment, but no I don’t agree with that comment’ because you’ve got to have faith in what you’re doing but I’ve never been arrogant enough not to believe that I need feedback and a good editor is essential, however successful you are.

Ramble On by Led Zeppelin – growing up

When I was really young, I mean sixteen or seventeen, growing up on the Welsh border, Led Zeppelin was a real thing for me as an adolescent and my oldest friend Sean he loved Zeppelin and it was something we shared. I just love Ramble On.

Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers – on a moving marital moment and lockdown being a special time with her family

JK: Well I think of all the love songs written, this might be my favourite. It’s such a beautiful, simple sentiment, but I have an additional reason for choosing it, which is that it took lockdown for my husband to say to me… I was playing it in the kitchen while cooking something; he walked in, he said,  ‘This always makes me think of you when you’re down in London’ and that was a very moving marital moment so now it has an extra layer of meaning for me. [On lockdown]…. Well, I hope that all listeners have had the happy experience that I’ve had of it being quite a special time. We also have teenage kids and it’s been kind of wonderful to spend that extra time with them.

On being involved with the screen adaptations of her work

JK: Well, interestingly, I’ve been much more involved in the TV show than I have been with the movies. With the TV show, because I’m writing a series about my detectives, Strike and Robin, I have been very involved because I didn’t want the TV show to take them to places that I know they wouldn’t go because I know what’s coming, so that’s been such a happy project. I’ve loved all of it and I think and believe it’s been a very happy experience for everyone involved… a lovely cast and amazing crew, it’s been really satisfying…. It’s always a challenge because certain changes need to be made between novel and screen and I’m always sympathetic to that; different media have different demands, but the tv adaptations of the Galbraith novels I think have been very very faithful.

On fan feedback before it was known she was writing as Robert Galbraith

JK: The first three months I had, when no one knew it was me and I was Robert Galbraith, and Robert started to get letters… and fan feedback which was so genuine and so lovely. I think what people are mostly drawn to are the central relationship between the two detectives and I’m constantly being asked, ‘When are they going to get together?’ So, yeah, I think people will be happy with this book because they certainly do advance in their relationship, though possibly not quite the advance that everyone’s hoping for, but I loved writing that [latest book], it was a joy.

Dream On Dreamer by Brand New Heavies – on dreaming that Potter might be a success

JK: This is such a personal and meaningful track to me. When I was finishing the first Potter book, this track was being played constantly on the radio, and in one of the cafes that I used to write in, it felt as though this song was played every three minutes and I can remember more than once asking myself, ‘Is that who you are, are you the dreamer?’ [for] thinking that this can be published or will be published? But I still had this degree of belief in the story that quelled my doubts and made me keep working, difficult though it was at that time, so it always takes me back to just being on the threshold of the insanity that then ensued, because at that time I could have had no idea what was coming.

[noctisfishing]

The Last One Wins | 04

01 | 02 | 03 | 04

Notes: The final chapter!

I have to share fanart on Twitter by @pen_lem that made me melt especially as I wrote this chapter. It’s so cute! 

Anyway, here we go.. Thank you for reading another one for my Sorato shelf. <3

Chapter 4: The Game Changer

For the most part, Matt believed that he was living a good, happy life. He now had two beautiful ladies in it: he had Sora, and then his first daughter Ayame who had inherited his blonde hair and blue eyes but also Sora's temperament. Ayame had her peaceful days. Sometimes she cried so much that even Sora couldn't get her to stop; but Gabumon and Biyomon usually came to the rescue in those moments.

Over the next year, the other Digidestined were busy settling with their own first-born children, other than Ken and Yolei, who were already pregnant with their second. Tai and his wife were occupied with their son, who happened to be born a few short weeks after Matt and Sora's daughter.

To think, if Matt's first mission in the International Space Station had been pushed a month or two later…

"Baah!" his daughter exclaimed in front of him, smacking her hands against his chest and taking him out of his thoughts.

"What is it, Ayame?" Matt asked. "Got somethin' to tell me?"

Ayame babbled and gurgled in response, her arms flailing.

Matt gasped. "Who taught you that? That's not very nice."

He held his fingers up and wriggled them in front of Ayame, then moved to tickle her, making her giggle with delight. Listening to her laugh was the most joyful sound that he had the pleasure of hearing.

Sora called him from behind the couch where he sat with Ayame, and when he looked up he was met with a kiss. She didn't make it a quick peck as she did just to greet whenever she passed by. Her soft lips lingered against his for a few moments, catching him off guard.

"I love you," she said with an affectionate smile that reached her eyes.

"I love you, too," he said without any hesitation.

It was one of those moments that made him float on air, feeling happy after everything that he and Sora had been through over the years. Along with a great career as an astronaut, he had Sora in his life, and Ayame, and even Gabumon.

He was more than satisfied to care about a silly competition that he had lost against Tai, and he couldn't imagine how his life could get any better.

Until he thought about having a second child.

Luckily, Matt and Sora had Uncle Takeru who offered to take care of Ayame and their Digimon partners whenever they had their date nights. It was during one of their date nights when they both found it hard to keep their hands off of each other while cooking dinner together. They sat side-by-side as they ate, sometimes feeding each other and occasionally stealing kisses. After dumping the dishes into the sink, Matt could no longer resist, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck from behind; and he persuaded Sora to drop the sponge and clean up later.

Pretty soon, they burst into their bedroom crashing onto their bed, Sora holding onto Matt's shoulders as she fell on her back, their kisses fierce and urgent. Sora's dress had already slipped off in the hallway, along with Matt's shirt and then his jeans kicked off at the foot of the bed.

He slid his hands on her chest, and he kissed her neck and trailed down, hearing her laugh softly and exhale his name. Her hands had been running circles on his back, then on the front of his chest where her fingers lowered for a tease. Matt knew that they had both been yearning for more, and he moved back up to kiss her sweet lips that called for him.

When Matt knew the timing was right, he reached over to the nightstand to open the drawer. But just as he did, Sora grabbed onto his arm with her hand to stop him.

"Sora?" he asked, both of them in the midst of racing hearts and heat rising between them.

"We don't need it," she breathed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yama…" she let go of his arm and cupped her hand on the side of his face. "If you're not going to admit it, then I will. I want another baby, and I know you do, too."

Matt looked into her eyes as she waited for him to speak. She smiled her knowing smile.

"Tell me I'm right," she whispered.

Matt took her free hand and laced his fingers with hers. "You're right. I want another baby with you. More than anything."

Sora's eyes twinkled as she stared back at him.

"Well, then, what are you waiting for?"

He met her lips once again, kissing her passionately and holding her close. She kissed him back, her affectionate, persuasive response that she was ready to make that baby.

But suddenly, she stopped Matt with her hand against his chest.

"Hang on," she said. "I have to ask. This isn't about the Takari Bet, is it? About which one of you idiots was going to have a kid last?"

Matt froze on top of her. His eyes might have enlarged before hers as though he was a deer in headlights.

"H...How did you know?" Matt asked.

"Did you really think I wouldn't find out? I've known since the gathering while you were on your first trip in space. Found out right before I called you. Tai has never been good at keeping things to himself."

"Ah…Ahah…"

Matt was at a loss of what to say next.

"Y… You must be upset…" he added. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."

He couldn't read her face and it made him more hesitant.

"I could yell at you all night about this. Maybe longer than that. But… We have a more important matter at hand."

"We do…?"

Sora looked at him with fire in her eyes. "We're going to have a kid last. That was the bet, wasn't it? No way in hell will Tai ever want more than one kid."

Matt paused as he looked at her in disbelief, but quickly realized exactly what she meant.

"I love you more than you know," Matt said, gazing deep into her eyes in utmost admiration.

Sora laughed. "I know."

Sora never ceased to amaze Matt. He had known that they were both in sync with the desire for a second child, but he should have expected that their common interest in winning against Tai was going to shine through, even when it came to this. They made a great team, after all.

~*~*~*~*~*~

About a year later, Ryota Ishida was born.

Tai arrived home late at night after visiting Sora and Matt at the hospital. He was the first of their friends to hold Ryota, who had hair as fiery as his mother's, and a glare that couldn't compare to hers, either.

He was over the moon for his best friends, and could only congratulate them on their second child.

He stopped by his own child's room, who had let out a gasp the moment Tai opened the door. The mini version of him was sitting up in his crib when Tai turned the light on. Agumon had been keeping watch, but was in a deep sleep next to the crib.

"What are you doing, big guy?" Tai asked him.

"I go sleep now…" he mumbled, sliding underneath his blanket.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I sleepy…"

"Okay. Night, buddy."

When Tai closed the door, he sighed in exasperation, knowing that his son would have stayed up longer than his parents had told him to had he not been caught. Heaven knows how Tai's mom was able to deal with him.

Tai was definitely okay with having one kid. One kid was just fine.

Yet...

He remembered the day Matt and Sora announced that they were pregnant. Again. How happy he was for them. Everyone was. But he couldn't help but notice, the way Matt gave him a look, an unspoken announcement of triumph. Even the smile of victory on Sora's face. It was a game changer that Taichi hadn't realized could have happened toward their bet.

Kari had given Tai a hug of empathy, having lost 20,000 yen, while TK joined him at his other side with a smug smile that he had worn right after Matt and Sora's announcement.

That day was still on his mind as Tai joined his wife in bed after washing up and dressing into his pajamas. He felt her shifting at his side, and he turned his body to face her, his eyes falling on her face, with her own eyes closed as she lay still.

Knowing that one small move could make her stir, he glided his hand up and down her arm at her side, and then-

"Don't," she said, her eyes suddenly wide open, causing him to retract his hand.

"I didn't say anything!" he said.

"You were thinking it. Pretty hard, too. I already deal with two children. I don't need a third."

She shifted again, her back now facing him.

Tai knew that she was going to shoot down any implication of a second child. She had put up with Tai boasting about the Takari Bet since they first got married, and then with his silent but obvious sulking after Matt and Sora started talking about Ryota.

With a heavy sigh, he turned to her and kissed the back of her neck before pulling her close.

Then, he stopped and realized what she said. "Wait - 'two children'?"

"That includes you, too."

"...But you love us, right?"

"You know I do."

Tai held his wife tightly. He knew that their son was enough for them, a son that was a handful but whom they loved with their whole being.

That, and he knew that losing against Matt was just something he had to accept.

[linssikeittomies]

I Won’t Be Your Donkeyskin - A Banana Fish WIP

So about a 100 years ago I was talking with my friend @freakyfeline about fairytale AUs and we were laughing about how Yue Lung would be just the bitchiest princess. I originally imagined a Donkeyskin story with a Banana Fish spin, but it ended up being a Donkeyskin-inspired Canon Divergence - Yue Lung runs from his family and ends up hiding with Sing’s family, disguised as a girl. This is the only finished scene I ever wrote for it, and I quite like it.

--

Yue Lung thought back to the cashier’s words. Everyone’s heard by now. The prettiest hair I’ve ever seen. Boys will be fighting over you in a few years. He toyed with a strand, deep in irritated thought. Staying this close to the clan’s area of influence was a lot riskier than he liked, but it was the best he could manage for now. Biting his lip, he cursed that he hadn’t known how important identification documents were in the outside world. Who would’ve thought he couldn’t be a real person without some piece of paper?

Fussing with a strand of hair, he tried to weigh his options – ideally he would find a place on the other side of the country, even abroad. Canada, at least, but preferably Asia, maybe Mongolia – not Hong Kong, where the Lees were a considerable presence. But he had no money, and he could only get so far walking. And it was still cold enough to freeze to death in the night without even getting out of New York City first. Stealing would solve a part of that problem, but where could he find enough money? Pickpocketing might net him some loose change and maybe a few phones he’d need to sell for cheap, saving up that way would take too much time, and he was likely he’d get caught sooner rather than later anyway, since he had zero practice. The house was a no-go as well, Mrs. Sun didn’t keep a lot of money in the house, partly because they didn’t have much to save to begin with, and Yue Lung wasn’t rotten enough to steal from his saviors anyway. Maybe if they were filthy rich, and their finances wouldn’t be affected by a few thousand dollars going missing, but it still wouldn’t leave a good taste in his mouth.There was always the option of finding work, but who would hire a 11-year-old, who apparently didn’t exist because he had no ID? He could hardly ask Mrs. Sun money for helping around the house. He didn’t know how to do anything, except grow plants. He could have maybe sold medicinal herbs and such, had he a place to grow them and the knowledge how to use them – his education hadn’t yet included much but the most basic poisons. He also had a lot to learn about acupuncture, too. What else was there? If he couldn’t steal, and he couldn’t work, what else was left? Twisting and twirling the strand, twitching his foot, gnawing his teeth, there had to be something he could do! Just anything to run, or keep hiding, think! Think! Considering how much Mrs. Sun was gossiping about her newest “daughter” it was safe to assume Yue Lung’s brothers would soon hear about this mysterious girl who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, running from an abusive family, who just so happened to bear the name of the former patriarch’s deceased concubine! Fuck, what a fucking idiot a person can be! Using his mom’s name! Yue Lung might not have been able to do anything about Mrs. Sun’s benign airheadedness but he should’ve known better than be self-sabotaging dumbass! Okay, okay, what’s done is done, what he needed now was damage control. So, to keep running Yue Lung needed money, and he couldn’t get it yet. Which left hiding. Mrs. Sun was his saftest bet for now, and however talkative she might have been, Yue Lung was dependent on her goodwill and criticizing her would hardly endear Yue Lung to her. It had to be accepted that Dai Yu would be a known face around town, though it would be nice if it would attract less attention. Wasn’t there something he could do about that? He couldn’t change his face, apart from scarring it, and that would only make him more noticeable. It would take several years before he could grow a moustache or a beard, and with his genes it was likely to be a bust anyway. Unless he wanted to make a beard toupee out of his hair, and what would look more natural on a preteen than a hairbeard? One that was tangled to death from nervous fiddling. The strand around his fingers was getting knotted to the point of needing scissors to be solved. Wasn’t there anything Yue Lung could do to stay hidden? The strand twirled, frayed and split. ...The hair had to go. It was too noticeable. Having it shorter wouldn’t stop anyone from recognizing him, but it would cut the number of looks thrown his way. That was the key – stay low, stay humble, stay dull. Under any circumstances, do not attract unnecessary attention. Have average looks, have average manners, have average intelligence, be an all-around average girl and soon enough no one would care if you live or die! Blend in well enough and you might as well not exist. Mrs. Sun trimmed her own and her children’s hair, Yue Lung had seen the hair scissors in the bathroom. They were kept in a sleeve that looked homemade, and at least a decade old. One could only hope the scissors themselves were newer than that, or at least kept sharp – no such luck. Most things in the household were long past their glory days, full of holes or chips and dull as a cloudy day or a newborn’s teeth. The unsteady shhhk of the dull scissors trying to cut through a thin strand and Yue Lung’s frustrated grunts must have been what eventually caught Mrs. Sun’s curiosity. “Heavens! Dear girl, what on Earth are you doing?” Yue Lung thought the answer should have been clear as day, but he answered anyway. Mrs. Sun shook her head in disbelief and affectionate frustration. But, since the damage had been done, she demanded to even out the cut. “Aiya girl, you should have to come me in the first place!” she nagged as she snipped. “I would have cut it. I don’t understand why you would want to, your hair is so beautiful, Dai Yu.” Feeling that Mrs. Sun wouldn’t quit until Yue Lung gave some excuse to his haircut, he decided to play on a bit of admiration. He had found that often a transparent flattery would fall flat and have the opposite effect desired, and it was better to be less direct about the approach. It tended to work best with a bashful admission. “I wanted it to be like yours”, he mumbled quietly, affecting an embarrassed tone. It worked exactly how he had wished it to – Mrs. Sun cooed at him, calling him a silly girl but leaving it at that. Once she was content with Yue Lung’s new haircut, she called her sons to take a look. Yue Lung twirled around, supposedly pleased and proud. Yen Tai just said it looked fine and left like the moody teenager he was, but Soo Ling stayed quiet and thoughtful. Yue Lung thought he might have caught the longing look he had thrown at the long strands abandoned on the floor. He was weirdly silent for a few seconds, before saying “Dai Yu looks nicer with short hair.” Some kind of dam broke inside Yue Lung. He looked at the arm-long strands strewn about, curling around each other in embraces soon to be broken to clean up the remains of a burial. Dignity shed, thrown aside to further the selfish ends of another. A once treasured possession turned to trash. “How could you say that?” said Yue Lung, throat constricting, and his voice wasn’t any easier to mask than the tears falling to the floor. With a sharp inhale he tried to mask as anger, fully in vain, he broke down with a sorry mewl. “Aiya, it’s okay, it’s okay! It really looks nice on you!” Mrs. Sun tried to comfort. “Dai Yu, it’s alright. You look so pretty with your new hair! It makes you look so much softer!” Soo Ling ran to the kitchen and came back a little while later with a few almond cookies in hand. He offered them to Yue Lung, while Mrs. Sun still petted his back and muttered Aiya, poor girl, and I knew you would regret it. “Dai Yu, don’t cry. It’s just hair.” Just hair? Of course a boy would think it was just hair. He jerked at the look Yue Lung threw at him, like it had physically stung him. The Dai Yu he knew was distant and stiff, even cold, but always reserved, so he wasn’t prepared for the concentrated vitriol pouring out of the girl. He hesitated little before wisely fleeing from the girl. All this was hidden from Mrs. Sun, who unknowingly dried the tears of a beast and privately chided her son for being so rude to a crying girl. “Dai Yu, why don’t we gather up this hair and braid it. You can keep it safe until your hair grows back.” Silently, exhausted, Yue Lung nodded slowly. “I’ll do it myself. I’m sure you had something else to do before I disturbed you.” “Oh, it’s no trouble. Go find some pretty ribbon in the –“ “Please let me do it alone.” Mrs. Sun finally understood he needed a moment alone and left to find the ribbon herself. Yue Lung quietly, slowly, gathered the strands together. His neck itched. The short hairs from the last clean-ups had stuck to the skin. The ends of the dead tail of hair were uneven. It was an ugly thing, gathered up from the floor, not bundled together before being cut off. A dead keepsake, a far cry from the real thing, and the pain of it was more pressing than the dear memory. He would give it a proper burial. This one thing would escape the legacy of Lee Hong Lung and gain back some of its dignity in death.

--

I couldn’t find Sing’s mother’s name, so I decided to call her Sun Ci-Hui. Also I’m currently watching a k-drama called Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung, and the prince is one of my favorite characters ever because he’s so sweet and innocent, and right after finishing an episode I go write calculating bitches like Yue Lung and Ivan:D What can I say, I like variety.

[words-writ-in-starlight]

🍪 take a cookie because you deserve it :),, also please tell me about geralt and yennifer and also is the witcher easy to watch without knowing much about the source material ???

I watched three episodes of Witcher with zero context whatsoever, understood everything, enjoyed it hugely, read about 200K of fic, watched three more episodes, read the first book in the series, and finished the show.  As long as you are prepared for the fact that, A, the timelines of the three main characters converge, they are not concurrent, and, B, it’s not Game of Thrones and it’s not trying to be Game of Thrones, you will be ABSOLUTELY fine.

(Do critics just…not use critical thinking skills?  Half of everyone I’ve talked to said that this show was impossible to follow.  It is not impossible to follow.  Yennefer and Geralt are just really old.  Also, everyone and their cousin is like “well it’s not GoT” yeah???? Obviously????  “This isn’t chili” “No, it’s chicken pot pie” “I wanted chili” “Then go have some chili I guess???  This is chicken pot pie.  Still a food, just not that food.”  It’s not Game of Thrones.  If you want Game of Thrones, go watch that instead, or read the books, or maybe watch some Avatar and calm down.  Stop crucifying every fantasy product for not being Game of Thrones II.)

TL;DR: Yeah dude you’ll be totally fine, watch this show.  And then if you don’t mind spoilers for the rest of the (book and game) series, read Astolat’s Witcher fic.

ANYWAY

Geralt and Yennefer.  This got…very long.

Here’s the fairly unique emotion I’m feeling about this relationship: I think it’s absolutely in-character and believable, I’m completely convinced that Geralt and Yennefer would end up together, and I am equally convinced that their relationship has a pretty hard expiration date on it.  I’m not sure I’ve ever actually been interested in a relationship dynamic that I took one look at and went “oh, wow, this is going to break down hard the second your need to help people even when they hate you and her need to get revenge on people who hate her are in conflict.”  That’s very novel for me, because normally I like endgame relationships.  I find breakup drama exhausting.  I have dumped two people ever and both times I was very nice for ten minutes and then very short-tempered for the rest of the conversation.

But I’m really invested in the breakdown here.  And I’m really invested in how completely inevitable the relationship is, despite what I consider to be the equally inevitable calamitous breakup.

The thing is, Geralt has lived his entire life as a witcher, which means that the world is divided into two groups for him: people who are dependent on him as a witcher, and people who hate and fear him as a witcher.  (There are also Other Witchers, but with so few of them left that they fall pretty heavily into the ‘people who depend on him’ category.)  There is a not-inconsiderable amount of overlap in that Venn diagram, but that’s pretty much how it is on this bitch of a Continent.  The people who Geralt is drawn to, in whatever context, tend to be the rare handful who fall outside that binary metric in some way.

Renfri could use help from him, but she’s more than able to handle herself.  In fact, when the chips are down, her final gamble is to just remove him from the field of play, and try to resolve the situation alone.

Triss needs him in a professional capacity, but she brings just as much to the table as he does, both in terms of political knowledge about the striga situation and in terms of dragging his battered ass out of the castle before he can quietly bleed out.  She’s not looking for a rescuer, she’s looking for a tank to complement her glass cannon.

Jaskier needs Geralt to save him (in the show)…but only because he was usually the one to get them into trouble in the first place.  And he sticks around once he’s been saved, once he isn’t depending on Geralt to get him out alive anymore.

Even Ciri, who is absolutely dependent on him in a very literal and legal sense, is distinctly different from the general populace, who need a witcher to pull them out of trouble.  She’s one of probably very few people who’s ever been dependent on Geralt as a person, rather than a hired killer.  Sure, it’s helpful that he can kill anyone who looks crooked at her, but she also needs to eat, and to learn to use a sword, and to be trained in things like magic and languages, and all the things that a kid needs from a parent.  That’s radically different from Geralt’s experience of being depended on as a witcher.

But Yennefer…Yennefer doesn’t need Geralt.  She’s not dependent on Geralt.  She’s not afraid of Geralt in any way, let alone just because he’s a witcher–in fact, she barely seems to notice that he’s a witcher, except in the way that it makes them alike.  Geralt’s taste in partners is obviously “people who are not afraid of him” with very few other requirements, and Yennefer is a powerful mage, someone who would be able to take down a witcher without difficulty.  She’s also well-educated, very clever, and completely fearless about the world in general.  That’s everything Geralt finds compelling, all with the added bonus of an extremely pretty face.  It makes complete narrative sense that Geralt is in love with her.

Incidentally I do not believe that Geralt wished for Yennefer to be in love with him, because it wouldn’t track with the rest of his character and would be a level of vulnerability he works hard to avoid.  I do believe that he might have said something rash like “I wish I wouldn’t lose her” and now they are here.  It’s important to think your wishes through when dealing with an angry wish-granting being.

On Yennefer’s end of things, she has only ever wanted two things: to be respected and to be wanted.  In any capacity that might be available to her.  I think this is really the major driving force of her desire to have children–she’s not overwhelmingly interested in children as a phenomenon, and I think that in another life she wouldn’t want them.  But she said it herself, she wants a child because she always wanted to be important to someone.  It’s not about the kid.  She’s obsessed with the idea that she will always be important to a child.  A child would be completely dependent on her, completely devoted to her, no matter what.

(Side note: this is a bad reason to have kids!  Geralt is right and she would be a bad mother.  She’s also obsessed with having kids because she can’t handle the revelation that she’s not happy with the deal she made, and she’s focused all that discontent into the literal, tangible loss of being able to carry a child.  But “Yennefer actually probably does not want a child and is rampantly projecting all her issues onto the most readily available problem she can find” is a separate post.  Probably the first pregnancy-centric plotline I’ve ever been able to handle without feeling violently dysphoric, though.)

The thing is, when she meets Geralt during the djinn fiasco, he needs her.  He’s dependent on her.  She’s important to him because of what she can do for him, which is how she’s set up her life.  When he comes back to save her, though, he’s not doing it for payment, or for a favor, or for any of the other clean, linear exchanges that Yennefer is used to.  He just…comes back.  For her.  Because she’s a person.

Yennerfer has never been important just as…a person, before.  She’s important as a mage, she’s important as a student, she’s important as a project or a protector.  But from the second Geralt comes back for her, she’s important to him as a person.  The fact that almost any person would be on the level of “important enough to save from a rampaging djinn and their own stupidity” to Geralt is completely superfluous to how hard that hits Yennefer.  Of course she’s in love with him.  Of course she keeps looking for him, keeps pouring on the charm whenever she’s with him–she wants him to keep wanting her.  Because that’s how she knows to make herself important to someone, is to make them want her.

(This is also where it gets interesting with Ciri, because…well, if Yennefer really just wanted kids, she could do worse than the news of the girl who’s Geralt’s daughter in the eyes of the law.  But she’s furious, because her views of family are intensely skewed and limited by her experiences.  Also a separate post that I will probably make after reading some more of the books.)

Regarding the inevitably dramatic breakdown of their relationship (beyond the falling out over the djinn thing, which, see above), I think they’re under the impression that if they do it right, they could stand the test of time.  They’re both extremely long-lived, so the test of time has the potential to be a while, but I frankly don’t think they’d make it outside of a conflict-heavy environment (like, say, a war).  When they have a mutual goal, or at least a mutual enemy, Geralt and Yennefer work together like a right and left hand.  When they do not, they fall apart something fierce, because they’re driven by intrinsically different motives.  Geralt, for all that he tries to be as cynical as possible, has been trained his entire life to protect people, and considers it a worthwhile goal in and of itself.  Yennefer, on the other hand, is as innately self-motivated as Geralt pretends to be, which means that she’s driven heavily by what feels best for her in the moment.  Sometimes that means healing a wounded bard and talking quietly with a witcher about their mutual scars!  Sometimes that means leaving a woman to die for calling her a worthless bitch!  This is a morally neutral statement that I’m making, there’s a generous and an ungenerous way to read Yen’s decisions, but I think we can agree that she’s not exactly following a rulebook here.  Yennefer has her goals and she’s going to achieve them, and fuck you for getting in her way.

Including Geralt.

I think that, virtually without question, Yennefer’s self-oriented hedonistic drive and Geralt’s protection-based code will clash, and their relationship will break down in spectacular fireworks.  Having to self-determine, during peace time, is practically guaranteed to bring those two motivating factors into conflict eventually.  Because during peace time, Geralt will be back to being the hated witcher and Yennefer won’t have a better enemy to focus on than the civilians he risks his life for on the regular.  And Geralt demonstrably does not respond well to that.

[despressolattes]

AFTERMATH | CHAPTER NINETEEN | LEGACIES

book masterlist » book one masterlist

< PREVIOUS CHAPTER

———•———

Previously on Aftermath... They learned more about Landon's past, about his parents, about Seylah. They got the urn from her. Landon and Hope are finally official. The yen is hidden, no one remembers going to Malivore but Hope and Lilah. Lorelle left with Kol and Davina to give Lilah space. Matt Donovan is overjoyed that the Mikaelson's stay in Mystic Falls was brief, but he knows it won't be for long.  Not with the Mikaelson children at the Salvatore school.

Lilah's deteriorating mental health.

No one wants to talk about it with her, afraid of her breaking point. She seems exhausted most days, with bursts of productivity where she was in a good mood and happy. She stays in Roman's room for the most part, laying there instead of going to classes. Some days, she'd be in the kitchen baking things.

—

"It's stress baking," I had told Rafael when he saw down in the kitchen after curfew. I offered him cookies, and smiled softly when he said they were good.

"I just have a lot going on," I told him.

He frowned, but nodded and just ate more cookies. He leaned against the counter top I was working at, watching me in a comfortable silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. "You and I are usually good at talking about our emotions together."

I chuckled, smiling at his kindness. Rafael was such a pure soul. I had been around long enough to be able to weed good guys from the bad. I don't think I've met any guy at the Salvatore School that was a bad guy, other than maybe my own boyfriend for a moment, but that was history.

"I guess i'm just trying to pretend that I didn't overhear my boyfriend talking to Dr. Saltzman about how he needs to be careful breaking news to me about leaving."

"Leaving?"

"That's all I heard. I didn't get much of the context from behind a door."

"You and your vampire hearing," Rafael snickered. "You should talk to him. Sienna loves you."

"Yeah, vamp hearing. Blessing and a curse."

I was on my way to class when I had heard them in Alaric's office.

"Be careful," Alaric had said. "When you discuss this with Lilah."

I had stopped walking to class when my vampire hearing picked up my name.

"I know," my boyfriend's voice replied.

"Also, don't be too afraid of leaving her," Alaric had warned. Leaving me? "Lilah may be fragile right now, and I love how much you love her. It's amazing, it's exactly what Hailey would call an epic love... but this is your life, too. You should be able to go if you want to."

Leaving me? Go somewhere? Was Roman planning on leaving me?

"I know," Roman said, and I could just picture his solemn face from his tone. "But this being my life doesn't change the fact that I'm apart of hers."

"A part of it, yes. Not the whole thing."

I thought about the conversation for the rest of the day. It was one of my better days, where I found a way to get out of Roman's bed to shower, eat something and pull myself to the classes I didn't even have to attend, but did to enjoy a childhood for once.

It was all work and material I technically lived whenever I got to history class, math I hated, and English that I understood without modern translation. I had met Shakespear before, after all.

"There you are," a soft voice spoke.

Roman walked into the kitchen, raising an eyebrow to see Rafael next to me. The wolf raised his eyebrows at him in curiosity, his mouth full of cookies.

"I'll leave you guys," Rafael mumbled, grabbing a few more cookies before making his way out, him and Roman nodding at each other as they passed.

"You never came to bed," Roman said.

"Yeah, wanted to bake," I said, turning away from him and going back to rolling balls of dough.

"Babe," he said softly, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. He placed his cheek onto the top of my head. "What's wrong?"

"What were you talking to Alaric with earlier?" I asked.

He knew from my time that I had most of the story, and I just needed him to fill in the gaps.

He sighed, and tugged on my hips, turning me around to face him. He kept his hands on my hips, staring down at me with his loving eyes.

"Dr. Saltzman asked me to go help with recruiting," he said, looking away from me as he continued with the sentence.

"Oh?" I said. "And you want to go, right?"

He let go of me, unable to look at me at all. It broke my heart, knowing he was so bothered by the thought of hurting me that the conversation was paining him, too.

"I told him I wanted to—of course I'd want to, yanno? I'll be traveling, can probably go see Antoinette for a bit. I love traveling, and I feel like I should do what I can to help Dr. Saltz after he forgave me for the things I've done. Find kids that need help like I did, like we did. But being here for the amazing woman who needs me is so much more important to me."

I sighed, walking to him since he walked away from me. I stood in front of him, placing my hands on his face. He leaned into my touch, grabbing onto my wrist lovingly.

"Oh baby... Roman, you should go. I'll be fine," I said, even if I was unsure if I would be.

The thought of not having him around scared me, but that was was codependency looked like, and I needed to get back to the independent girl I once was. The strong daughter Elijah remembered me as.

"I have the twins, Hope, Ric. New Orleans. I don't want to keep you from opportunities. I know you used to always want to help with recruiting... and Alaric's giving you that opportunity. Don't decline it on my behalf. Remember, I can't die, honey."

"Doesn't mean I want you to suffer with your problems all by yourself," he said.

"You're so cute," I said, pinching his cheeks. "But you should go."

"Would we stay together if I did?" he asked.

There it was, his real fear about leaving me. I was taken aback from the question, and I realized traveling and being gone for so long could be difficult for a relationship, even if we were stable. What if he met someone while he was out there?

"Maybe what we need is a break," I said, though I didn't want to. He frowned, tears forming his his eyes. "Just for now, baby. So, in case you meet someone else, we can break up in person instead of over text, miles away. I love you, and I will never doubt you loving me. If it's meant to be us, we'll come back to each other. We have eternity together."

A tear fell anyways, and I wiped it away.

"There's a lot of things going on in my life right now," I said, trying to formulate the right words because I knew I would only get to say it right once. "And I'm blessed to say that I got through a lot of these past few years alongside you. But right now, Rom? I think we both know that I have a lot of figuring things out to do. I'll be right here when you come home. I love you, Roman Sienna."

"And I love you, Lilah Rae Mikaelson," he said, kissing my forehad and pulling me for a hug. "My first epic love."

CHAPTER TWENTY

[365daysoftododeku]

4th April 2019

Author: Rasha

________________________________________________________________

A Thousand

Izuku’s first dead memory was when he was five years old. One of Kacchan’s friends had turned into a behemoth of a monster when he pushed Izuku into the dirt. One second it was a five-year-old child with pudgy red cheeks and brown eyes. The next moment Izuku was flooded with the memories of another life, another dream.

He saw a small village filled with wooden houses. He knew exactly which one was the baker’s house, the butcher’s house, his mother’s house. Everyone in the village had a name that Izuku could just put his finger on, and that included his attacker’s name. It was Ritzu he was the butcher’s son from the next town over. He was in the market looking for a thief, a sense of impending guilt washed over Izuku’s stomach as he hid behind buildings, carefully dodging out of the way.

The contact broke and Izuku went skidding across the pavement. Izuku was back in his own time, locking eyes with the attacker.

“You stole my horse,” the other boy blurted.

“You’re the butcher’s son! Wait, why did I steal your horse?”

“I don’t know, why did you steal my horse?”

The two came to an awkward silence, trying to find the answer in the other’s eyes. The answer could have been right there if they just held out hands again, but the experience was so jarring that Izuku would have preferred not too.

Later that night he recalled the account with his mother, remembering the brief moment of an aged village and the neighboring butcher’s son. Apparently, Izuku had stolen a horse.

Inko laughed and laughed. She shared her first dead memory with Izuku about watching a Roman boy take a shit in the street before throwing it at her vegetable stand. Sometimes dead memories weren’t all too glamorous when they were dug up from the bowels of time.

It was years later in battle when Izuku experienced his second dead memory. He was carrying a young girl to safety away from a battle when the two were overwhelmed with memories. A small hole in her stockings and a burnt glove revealed more than Izuku cared to remember.

It was the bowels of London in the late 1700s. Izuku was an elderly woman with more than a penny to spare and a vacant soul. An elegant young man was calling out for his goods.

“Memories for sale,” the young man called out. “Memories for sale! A copper for a touch. Memories for sale!” Izuku had indulged, he had never seen a memory seller before and it was worth such a small coin. The two held hands and nothing had happened. They had never encountered each other before that life. But the man did not flinch, instead, he flipped back the coin with a wink.

“Pay me back in our next.”

Izuku blinked back to reality in the second he was gone. The little girl in his arms held out her hand with a serious expression.

“A deal’s a deal,” she whispered.

Izuku went back after the battle and gave her a hundred yen coin.

The third time Izuku had a dead memory was one night in the late spring. He was sitting in front of his best friend, Todoroki Shouto looking down at a pale palm. The two had been messing around on Shouto’s floor, scrolling through social media and discussing the latest hero scandals.

The hero Manuel was fighting a villain earlier that week when they touched hands and discovered that they had been married just over a hundred years ago. The fight had stopped altogether in an instant and the villain was taken to jail.

It was so scandalous to have to share your memories with others, but there was no other way to explain Manuel’s sudden win and his desire to escort the villain to jail. The two had a lot to talk about.

“It’s just so strange,” Izuku said, scrolling through his phone. “None of my memories were ever with people I was intimate with before, just a few strangers.”

“I’ve never touched anyone I’ve shared a life with,” Todorki confessed with a well-hidden blush.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’ve never had a shared life with my family and… I haven’t touched anyone else.”

The two sat in silence, their phones falling asleep.

“Would you like to try?” Izuku asked sitting up to look back at his best friend. Todoroki looked determined and frightened all at once. Todoroki looked serious.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Todoroki whispered, letting the darkness take the brunt of his words. “I’ve just never done it before and I… I want to try it with someone I trust.”

Izuku was honored that Shouto wanted to be his first. The two had grown close over the past few years, even moving in next to each other in the dorm halls. They were inseparable in their final year, constantly pairing up for training exercises and whispering in each other’s ears about going to the same hero agency. Their mailboxes were full of recruitment letters from similar agencies. Shouto just had one request of their future plans that Izuku accepted without a second thought, not Endeavor.

Izuku looked at Shouto’s open palm with curiosity. He had only ever seen his mother’s hands before. With the way the world tried to stay in the present, it was a rare and precious sight to see an open palm, let alone barred skin. The two were grateful to have never shared a past so they could focus on the here and now. Shouto’s hands were larger with dark brown calluses going across his palm and fingertips.

Izuku removed his gloves without a second thought, letting the thick polyester gloves fall next to him.

“What if we’ve never met before?” Izuku asked. “What if nothing happens?”

Shouto just shrugged in response, he had no clue. Likely, their shared relationship wouldn’t change. They’d still be best friends, just two friends with a shared past.

The moment that Izuku touched Shouto’s hands the two fell silent as the memories swarmed their minds.

Izuku was young, a bride on her wedding day. She had just turned 16 and her father had decided it was time to go to another house, someone more powerful and rich. Someone she had never met before. She was garbed in a deep crimson that was customary of her religion and her father was giving her hand over to her future husband. He had a kind looking face, dark earthen skin, and dimpled cheeks. The moment that their hands touched the world changed again and the two were lost in their memories.

Izuku was a soldier that worked hard for his position in the army. His life was difficult but good. He often sent his spare wages back to his sister and her family. He didn’t know what to do after the war. It was his best friend and fellow foot soldier that gave Izuku life. The two shared stories under the stars and hushed whispers of a friendship that could get them killed.

It was the last night of their leave and Izuku had to ask if Milo- Shouto- would stay away from the barracks for the night. Just one night. It didn’t take much convincing, especially when Milo’s lips tasted so sweet for their first kiss hidden behind a curtain.

Izuku was the same woman again, the one with too many coins and not enough things to spend them on. A new jeweler had opened his doors and Izuku was delighted to see what stones were for sale. A young woman stood behind the counter wiping away non-existent dust. Izuku pulled her aside and began to grill her on the wares in the store. She passed with flying colors.

It was an accident that caused them to touch. Izuku’s purse had fallen to the ground and the two both bent down to get it at the same time. They bumped heads for just a second but it was enough to transport them back in time.

Izuku was a widow with seven children sitting on his front porch. He was looking out over the grape vineyard that was his home when a young man came by. He was tall with dark blond hair and mismatched eyes. “Sir, I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but I’d heard from the next town over that you’re looking for farm hands.”

“Aye.”

“Well, may I work for you? I’m very strong and I need work to support myself.”

Izuku thought for a moment long and hard. All of his daughters were off with their husbands. Only two of his sons remained around the area and came to help with the harvest and the planting. Most of his fruits and vegetables were already planted earlier in the year. But he still needed help with the soil tilling and weeding.

“I can offer you twenty francs a week. Does that sound like a fair price?”

The young man nodded, walking up to Izuku and extending a hand.

“That sounds mighty fair to me,” the man said.

The two shook on their decision and were transported back again.

Again and again, Izuku and Shouto went back memory after memory. A town crier. A baker. A thief. A prince. A knight. A solider. Again and again, the two had met in each life they had ever lived, touching each other and gasping with delight.

It was eons previously when the two’s journey ended. It was a Neolithic era, deep in the bowels of their memories. Izuku was a young hunter, not 18 winters old. Shouto was a different hunter only 17 winters old. The two had known each other for years, hunting alongside each other, keeping watch on each other’s backs. Izuku was infatuated. Shouto was enamored. They were inseparable. They were in love. The first time they touched was such a passionate kiss that their souls imprinted on one another, melding into one whole soul. It that special kind of moment that you never forgot. A first kiss was always important.

When Izuku woke up only a minute had passed, and Izuku was lightheaded. A thousand first touches were still fresh in his mind. But something was different. Izuku wasn’t sitting up, gently caressing an open palm.

Izuku was lying on his back, his fingers running through soft hair, curling and, twisting. His eyes were closed, when before they had been open. There was something heavy on top of him, a dense weight that ran across his entire body. His lips-

Izuku gasped, pulling his partner in closer. This was Elliot the farm hand, or maybe Maliek his husband. Was is Alyssa the jeweler? Milo the solider? Puta his business partner? Edward his prince? Petra, Connor, Shita, Kut, Robin, Kisha, Shouto.

Shouto.

This was Shouto the hero. Shouto his friend.

Shouto.

Shouto pulled away from the kiss and blinked owlishly down at Izuku.

“Hi,” Shouto whispered, looking down at Izuku’s deep green eyes.

“Hey.” Izuku was flabbergasted at what he just remembered. Every life he’s ever lived he can remember as clearly as the days that he had died in those lives. Some lives were short. Some were long. But each one had a fateful encounter with Shouto.

“Is it always like this?” Shouto asked, still lying on top of Izuku.

“Never,” Izuku swore. “It’s usually only a second, just the first time we touch. But this… I remember every second we’ve ever been together. I didn’t think it was possible.”

Shouto grinned. “You remember that horse?”

“Oh my god, you always bring that up! You dared me to steal it!”

Izuku and Shouto both fell into each other with laughter. Izuku wrapped his arms around Shouto, letting his soulmate embrace him. How strange that just a minute ago he wondered if Shouto could ever return his feelings, but now they didn’t even need to say it. A thousand lifetimes had already screamed it enough for the message to be clear.

“I love you,” Shouto whispered, letting his head rest on Izuku’s chest.

“I love you too,” Izuku whispered back. “I always have, and I always will.”

________________________________________________________________

Would you like your work to be featured in the 365 Days of TodoDeku Project? Apply here! (≧∇≦)/

[star-shapedfruit]

A sort of KH3 review.. thing

Well dang that was a wild ride wasn’t it? It’s been about 2/3 weeks since I finished the game (took me 5 days which is record time for me considering it was a pretty big game) so I’ll try my best to condense my thoughts on it below

Please note this is my opinion so you may agree or disagree with me on some parts and that’s totally fine!

And it’s gonna be long

Alright let’s get the bad out of the way:

-The pacing

I’m not the first and I definitely won’t be the last to complain about the goddamn pacing. Kingdom Hearts in general is pretty bad when it comes to a well balanced pace and this was the same. Everything felt rushed and crammed towards the end with it feeling like ‘quick let’s wrap this up ASAP!’.

It was literally Disney world after world with bits of important story in between and then the actual plot of saving everyone kicked in and probably made up of about 3 hours of the whole game. It could have been better if we’d have rescued Aqua and Ven earlier then towards the end save Roxas, Xion and Terra (and Namine) but nah.

Even the ending itself felt rushed and half assed at times. We didn’t get to see Sora save Kairi it was just Keyblade Graveyard ending- everyone being happy at the beach- credits. That was... kinda dumb? Also when you’re wrapping up a 17 year old saga you don’t tend to end it like that. You know what I’m talking about.

-Characters

They gone did Kairi dirty again. AGAIN. How many times are we gonna do this? My poor girl got shafted right at the end just to fuel Sora’s anger and then didn’t explain how she got back to the islands anyway but who fucking cares y’know.

She was hyped up after being confirmed to be a guardian of light and in training with Lea and they did fuck all with it. It’s like you’re so excited to see Santa and you get up on his knee to ask what present you want this Christmas only for Santa to laugh and smack you in the face.

I could go on and on about Kairi but I’d probably be saying what everyone else has already said. I was expecting more character interactions ie the famous Roxas and Ven one we’ve been looking forward to for years but we got a funny glance and that’s it. Again, probably due to pacing but there was so much potential for some great new friendships to blossom and they just... didn’t.

-Worlds

Ok this is mainly Twilight Town being so teenie weenie. Come on, in KH2 we had TT, Hollow Bastion, TWTNW, Yen Sid’s Tower but for 3? Two sections of TT that’ll do. ??? Why??? It looked gorgeous and I couldn’t wait to explore the whole town but for some reason we were reduced to it being two rooms. Also missed out a good opportunity to have RG playable again but nah.

I get the feeling Disney we’re very pushy with this title? Like they had more input than usual and Square couldn’t really argue with them which would explain why the OG worlds were kinda dull? Idk I hope they learn to butt out a little and let Square do their thing. I’m not saying get rid of Disney god no. I just think there needs to be less Disney and more OG in the next title.

Alright the good stuff now!

- The graphics

Holy shit this game was BEAUTIFUL

Everything was gorgeous to look at and Unreal Engine made all the worlds look unique and specific to their Disney world. Like o can’t fault how this game looks it’s just that pretty

-Voice acting

Hayley, Hayley my man you did fantastic. I was getting worried that he’d sound off like in DDD but the man delivered. Everything was spot on and his emotions came across so much better? That scream? The crying?? The joy?? Beautiful. And Vanitas sounded so goddamn evil and Hayley sounded like he was having a blast voicing him 👌

Jesse did amazing as always with Roxas and Ven making them sound different. Just wish they coulda talked to each other xD I really liked Alyson’s Kairi too! I miss Hayden but for the most part Alyson pulled it off great along with Xion.

Like everyone sounded so much better I could go on and on. Can’t really fault much of the voice acting tbh. Xehanort grew on me but Nimoy will always be the better Nort

-Minigames/side quests

I absolutely SUCK at the cooking mini game but I still found it loads of fun. The only one I could do properly was the salt and pepper shaker one 😅 The 100 Acre Wood stuff was very samey samey but still cute and fun regardless.

I only did one flan mini game (the one in Toy Box) and that was awesome too! Hunting for ingredients and lucky emblems was tricky in parts but I loved the satisfaction when you finally find the damn thing! They were just a nice little touch and even though I only got 17 out of 90 I enjoyed looking for them.

Also that Tangled dancing game. My FAV IDK HOW MANY TIMES I’VE PLAYED THAT ITS JUST SO WHOLESOME AND GOOD

-Attraction Flow

LOVED this gimmick. What can I say I absolutely love Disneyland and being able to use the rides to fight in battle was a blast. I especially loved the mad tea cups (“Bring it in!”) and the pirate ship they were loads of fun :D shame I only got to use Thunder Mountain twice because it’s one of my favourite rides xD

-The gummi phone

Who doesn’t love this. Finally I can take selfies with Disney characters! It was so cute I’m glad they added it. I’m definitely gonna use it more on my next gameplay at inappropriate times during the final battles 🌚

-Final battles

Being able to fight alongside Riku, Mickey, Aqua, Ven, Kairi, Lea, Roxas and Xion was at the top of my wish list for 3 and it finally happened ;-; Ok we’re with Kairi and Lea for two minutes but I ENJOYED THOSE TWO MINUTES. Kairi actually does some decent damage too so she can fight. You did amazing sweetie. And how OP is Roxas? You can just sit back and let him do all the work while you and Xion chill out. Granted they weren’t difficult bosses but I don’t care I got to fight with my sons and daughters by my side <3

I’m nearly done now promise. Just wanna say my favourite worlds ❤️

Corona: Gorgeous and (mostly) tranquil. Rapunzel and Eugene make great partners and the hair swing thing was awesome to jump to different areas. Also the little quests with Rapunzel were adorable and made the world feel more alive.

Monstropolis: I think what made this world for me were the character interactions and the music. The world itself was just inside the factory but the way everyone played off each other and dealt with Vanitas at the end was amazing. And Sora doing his funny face again. You little treasure <3

Toy Box: YOU. ARE. A. TOYYYYYY. Everything was so gigantic and interactive and gsjsksksla it was just loads of fun! Loved Woody and Buzz as partners and the whole world was such a treat- nothing like we’ve ever had in a KH game before. Can we also talk about Woody absolutely wrecking Xehanort though? Iconic.

Well I think that’ll do me for now. Overall I’d give it an 8.5/10 with the major issues being plot pacing and lack of character development. Also the camera sometimes did this weird thing in attraction flow mode where it’d just zoom into a rock or a tree :/ I really enjoyed KH3 despite its flaws and what was done well was done really well

Maybe get some more new writers and let Square properly take the reins for the next one yeah? And let Kairi finally have her time to shine. You’ve set up a rescue mission after all, Square 👀

[phantomrose96]

Machine of Ice

Rei is 18. She’s working through the summer at the ice cream shop five blocks down from her house, just like she has for the previous four summers. The manager likes her for her quirk. She coats the bottom of the display case with ice, and so long as she does this two or three times a day, the ice cream never melts. The sublimating ice fills the shop with a cool vapor. The manager painted cartoonish mountain ranges along the wallpaper some years back. They’ve renamed the shop ‘Mountain Top Ice Cream’. The mist makes them popular. The popularity makes them profitable.

And more than that, Rei saves her boss a small fortune in cooling costs, and he pays her under the table every month for it. It’s illegal, Rei knows, being paid under the table and using her quirk for work. But she’s not sure how illegal, and her family needs the money.

Her dad has a quirk work permit. The process for getting one is long and complicated and costly. Rei assumes eventually she’ll have to get one too, and follow in her father’s footsteps of supplying industrial cooling for meatlockers at the same places he does. She can’t work illegally forever, and she doesn’t have many skills to offer beyond her quirk. She’s started the paperwork now that she’s graduated. She’ll need work beyond an ice cream shop that’s only busy in the summer.

Rei got paid today. It’s in physical money, so that it doesn’t appear in any books. An ice cream shop hiring an ice-quirked person with no quirk work permit is cause for suspicion, her manager’s told her, so this is a benefit to them both. He gets her quirk. She gets a tax-free salary.

Rei counts it as she walks back home, hot sun bearing down on her neck as she hunches over the money afraid the sight might raise suspicion. Vapor coils off her neck, ice sublimated instantly to steam. Rei is forever comfortable in the cicada-swamped heat because of it. She finishes counting. It should be enough to get her family through enough meals until her next payment. And with 1,000 yen to spare, for when her mom inevitably asks to borrow some…

She stops just shy of her own driveway. The front door is cracked. Low and clipped voices sound out, muffled, from within. Mom must have guests over. Rei shoves the money deep in her bag and keeps her head low. She can hopefully make it to her room unnoticed.

“Rei!”

She’s seized by the hand the moment she cracks the front door. It’s her mother’s grip, wiry and weathered fingers ribbed with the silver bands of rings. She pulls Rei in close and flashes a smile, eyes squeezed shut, necklace clanking with the snap of her head. “This here is my lovely little Rei. A gorgeous doll, isn’t she?”

Rei steadies herself, jarred but not totally unbalanced. She gets a clear look at her company for the first time—it’s a tall, brawny, broad-shouldered man with piercing red hair and an unkind face. He’s well dressed in a suit that Rei can tell is real satin, a look posh and proper that her mother has been trying to imitate for years. He exudes a pressure of someone raised to believe they are always the most important person in the room. Rei doesn’t say anything.

He extends a hand to her. “Enji Todoroki.”

She takes it, and his grip is firm, restrained, as though signaling that he could crush her hand if he felt so inclined.

“Todoroki,” Rei’s mother whispers in her ear, a quick jab to her daughter’s ribs. “He’s related to Endeavor.”

Related…

That word holds a particular weight when it comes to Rei’s mother. “Related” is played like the winning card of a deck when her mother is passing judgement on someone. Related means blood-ties to wealth, connections to influence, networks to power. “Related” is everything Rei’s mother envies.

Enji barks a laugh. He shakes his head and loosens the tie away from his neck. “My apologies. I guess I’m not entirely recognizable like this.”

Flame erupts with a snap along his jawline, his eyes ablaze. Rei’s mother lets out a shriek of joy, and Enji cracks a smug grin.

Rei recognizes this man. She doesn’t follow hero news all that much, but even she knows this face. He’s the man second behind All Might. He’s the man who controls fire like the Gods. He’s the man Rei always found unsettling on the news for his anger and his sternness and his cold, cold eyes under a halo of flame.

Rei takes a step back. Enji’s flames vanish, and Rei bows. “It was nice meeting you. I can make you some tea if you like, but unfortunately I’m very busy today. I have to continue job hunting, if you’ll excuse me.”

Rei ducks to leave, but her mother’s grip finds her shoulder again. When they lock eyes, Rei knows there’s a piece to the conversation she has missed. The impish smile on her mother’s face curls wider, rapture in her eyes.

“Don’t worry about that another second. Enji here can burn those papers up for you I bet.”

“I need those forms!”

“Shhhhh,” her mother answers. “You don’t need them, dear! You’ll never ever have to work another day in your life dear!! None of us will. God finally. Endeavor wants to marry you.”

“I’m sorry…?”

Enji lets out a laugh. His eyes seem a bit softer. “This is ironic. Usually asking a woman’s parents for her hand in marriage is the hard part. But let’s not be too hasty. I’m not looking to marry you, Rei Nagase. I’m simply interested. We can start with dinner. I’ll leave everything up to you after that.” He reaches out, and takes Rei’s hand once more. His grip is softer now, but his hands are still so much stronger than hers. “I do think our quirks are very, very compatible. I think any children between us would be a great benefit to this world. I think I can help your whole family out greatly, move them out of this hovel, and give them a life of comfort.”

Rei’s hand is sweating. She’s uncomfortable with the heat now, in a way her quirk can’t seem to cancel out. She feels the money burning in her pocket. Just 40,000 yen, enough for the month’s electricity and water, a month of instant meals, and 10,000 yen for her mother to shop around with. Not enough to fix the leak in the ceiling with mold around its seams. And not enough manage the cockroaches in the ground floor cabinets. And not enough to replace the fridge, which burnt out four years ago and which Rei freezes over twice every day to keep working.

“I don’t… have enough money to go out to dinner, sorry Mr. Todoroki.”

Enji laughs again. His grip becomes firmer. “I’ll pay for the whole thing of course. I’ll even pay for the inconvenience of stealing away a few hours of your night. How does 150,000 yen sound?”

150,000.

Rei balks.

Enough to fix the leak

Enough to kill the cockroaches

Enough for a new fridge

Enough to quit the ice cream shop, where for the last four years her boss had been—

“What do you say, Rei Nagase?”

“I…” Rei drops into a bow. Her whole body feels numb. “I would be honored to, Mr. Todoroki.”

“This Friday at 7?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you. I’ll sure we’ll have a lovely time.”

“I’m very pleased,” Enji responds. He releases her hand and angles himself toward the doorway. “I’ll make it a magical evening, my flower, I guarantee it.”

The door shuts behind him.

Rei pulls herself back up.

Her mother is speaking, wildly fast with sentences running through one another. She’s crying with joy, it sounds like.

Rei’s ears are buzzing. That face had filled her with cold dread for so long. Endeavor has been a hero since she was a little girl. He’s scared her since she was a little girl. How old must he be now? 26? 27?

Her mom is grabbing the phone, dialing, still rambling. Rei feels at her purse to ensure the money is still there. Maybe she won’t even need it anymore. 150,000 yen for a single night of her time. Just a single night. What kind of life does this man lead? What sort of life is he offering…?

Her mother is hugging her. Rei hesitates, and returns it.

Maybe his cold eyes aren’t dangerous. Maybe he is sweet under that shell, and it’s all just a show for the media and for the villains. Maybe he can be a caring husband, and a good father. Maybe he wants just one child, and Rei won’t owe him anything beyond that.

Rei hopes.

Rei hopes.

[myaekingheart]

3. Competition in Konoha

read the scarecrow and the bell on ao3

index | from the beginning | < previous | next >

Konohagakure buzzed with villagers conducting their daily routines. And of course, so many of those villagers were ninja racing to the front gates to set off on a daring mission. Rei peered out the window at them all, the sun glinting off the metal of their bandanas, and sighed. She could feel the pull of her own in the upstairs bedroom begging for her to go out and fight. She desperately wanted to join them but until the hokage called with something for her to do, she was stuck.

“Rei, did you restock the fiction shelves yet?” a voice called from the stairs. The young chunin shook herself from her daze and turned to catch her mother descending into the shop. A stack of books towered over her head, swaying to and fro, threatening to crash down.

“I’m, uh, I’m working on it, mom” Rei muttered. She turned back to the shelves looming down at her and resumed her work. For as long as she could remember, the Kaminoki Bookshop has been her family’s pride and joy. Passed down from generation to generation, every new child was expected to carry on the family legacy. Rei rolled her eyes. That bandana upstairs flashed in her mind once again.

“Let me know if Mr. Tomoya stops in at all—his order is right here on the counter” Rei’s mother, Hana, announced. Rei watched her creep back upstairs before glancing at the books awaiting their most loyal customer. Nobody loved to read more than Mr. Tomoya. Rei envisioned his stout frame and round little glasses swinging their door open and announcing jovially that he was ready to receive his purchases. His appearance certainly fit his reputation. She wondered if he was always this way, or if there was ever a time when he yearned for more. How can anyone possibly live a fulfilling life just reading about things rather than going out and actually doing them?

As she organized the titles in the D-F section, the little bell above the door rang in the quiet air. “Good afternoon, Mr. Tomoya” Rei said, her back still turned. He said nothing back. Rei arched a brow. Weird. Mr. Tomoya always says hello back. Sucking in a deep breath, she prepared to inform the man of his orders but as she turned, she discovered it was not Mr. Tomoya who had stepped foot inside. Instead, standing before her was a rather tall young man with wild white hair and his bandana covering his left eye. A mask hid most of the rest of his face. Kakashi.

“Oh…it’s you” Rei murmured. She couldn’t look at him. Her chest ached and she prayed he would just disappear. “Is there anything I can help you find, sir?”

Kakashi shook his head. “Not particularly. Just looking around” he said.

               He circled the store a few times, slowly. She swore she could feel his eyes burning holes into her back. Even worse, his presence was far too distracting—she could barely focus on her work. She was constantly fearing what may come next, what he might say to her. She didn’t have the strength to hold an actual conversation with him.

               The door swung open once again, the bell chiming to alert Rei of a new guest. “Good afternoon, Rei!” a jolly voice called to her. A wave of relief washed over the young chunin. “Has my order arrived yet?”

               “Oh, yes, it’s right over here” Rei replied, scurrying to the counter. She began ringing up the prices for each book in the stack until reaching a total of 5000 yen. She wondered how Mr. Tomoya could even afford so many books, but it meant good business for her family so she wasn’t about to complain. Their financial situation was already tighter than they’d prefer.

               Just as Mr. Tomoya was fishing out his cash, Kakashi sidled up behind him clutching another book in his hand. Rei eyed him for a moment, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest. It was the same routine every Wednesday: Kakashi enters, Kakashi wanders, Kakashi decides, Kakashi purchases, and then Kakashi leaves. Damn, you’d think I’d be used to this by now, she thought to herself. But no, there was never any getting used to this. Kakashi’s visits felt like stepping into a graveyard.

               “Thank you so much” Mr. Tomoya replied, taking the canvas bag Rei had stuffed all of his books into. “And tell your mother and father I said hello!”

               “Mr. Tomoya, wait! Mom’s just upstairs, I can go get her if you’d like? And then you can say hello in person!” Rei offered desperately. Mr. Tomoya raised his hands in surrender, shaking his head.

               “Oh, no, don’t go to the trouble, it’s perfectly alright. I’ll see her next time I stop in” he replied. He waved goodbye and exited the store, and then that was the end of that. Rei and Kakashi were completely alone.

               Rei cursed Mr. Tomoya for walking out so abruptly, but then scolded herself for ever thinking such vile thoughts to such a dear friend and customer. It wasn’t his fault. He probably had someplace important to be and couldn’t waste time dilly-dallying in the shop. However, that didn’t subdue Rei’s anxiety. She rummaged around on the back counter a bit, trying to organize some of the new releases, before Kakashi cleared his throat to capture her attention.

               “I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but I had a question” he said. Shit. He has a question. Rei turned slowly and prompted him to continue. “I’ve already read this book and was wondering when the next installment is due to come out, if it hasn’t already.”

               Rei took the thin little novel from his hands and studied it’s title and author: The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi by Jiraiya. The young chunin wrinkled her nose and flipped through the pages. “Uh…you do know this book received really poor reception, don’t you?”

               Kakashi nodded. “I know, but I still enjoyed it and was hoping there would be a sequel.”

               “Well, it looks like you’re shit out of luck. I don’t think Master Jiraiya planned on releasing any more novels under this title considering the awful sales this one received. No one even showed up to his book signing, you know” Rei informed, sliding the book back across the counter. The jonin sighed and tucked the book back under his shoulder, approaching the shelf where he had found it.

               “That’s really a shame” he said, staring quizzically at the shelf. Rei watched him a moment before sighing and walking toward him, taking the book and putting it back herself. She knew if she let Kakashi do it, he’d probably screw up the shop’s meticulous organizational system.

               “Is there anything else I can help you with, sir?” she huffed, locking her eyes on his collar bone. Anything to avoid eye contact. Even then, she could still feel him staring at her in a way that made her outrageously uncomfortable. Almost a sense of longing restrained by fear, regret, pain. It was enough to make her stomach flip.

               After a moment of silence, Kakashi shook his head and took a few steps back. “No, not really” he sighed. She bid him a good day as she walked back to the cart on the other side of the room, listening to his footsteps as he approached the door. The minute he stepped outside, she collapsed against one of the shelves and sucked in a deep breath as if she had been submerged underwater and was finally able to surface.

               “Is restocking shelves exhausting you, Rei?” Hana chuckled, stepping back into the shop. Rei’s face burned bright red as she straightened her back, smoothed down her hair, and pasted an unsuspecting grin upon her lips.

               “Not at all!” she exclaimed. Her mother raised an eyebrow as she dropped off some more new releases. Rei watched her inch back up the stairs and prayed her mother bought her lie.

               A few weeks passed and business at the Kaminoki Bookshop slowed to a crawl. Not even Kakashi or Mr. Tomoya was showing up as regularly as before. Rei leaned against the counter and watched the vacant streets, daydreaming about all the exciting missions she could be taking part in instead. Why hadn’t the hokage called for her yet? Was she a bad ninja? Was she incapable? She didn’t dare humor the thought. No, she had worked far too hard to get here. She shoved the thoughts out of her mind.

               “Still no one?” Hana asked, eyeing the empty store. Rei shook her head. That trademark crease popped up between Mrs. Natsuki’s eyebrows. “Your father isn’t going to be pleased with this” she muttered. “I wonder where everyone has disappeared to? Konoha looks like a ghost town” she then added, peering out the window.

               Rei shrugged. “Maybe there was some sort of cosmic explosion we didn’t know about and we were the lone survivors” she offered with blunt drama. Her mother shot her a glare before shaking her head and wiping her forehead with her apron.

               “That’s not funny, Rei” she replied, exasperated. She slid back behind the counter and patted her daughter’s back kindly. “Go on ahead. No reason for you to stand guard with business this slow.”

               The young chunin blinked a few times, looking at her mother quizzically. “Y-you mean…take the afternoon off?” Hana nodded. “But…but won’t dad get mad?”

               She swatted at the air with a sour expression. “Don’t you worry about him. Would you rather he get upset with you for being idle or for investigating our village’s recent mystery?”

I’d rather not get in trouble at all, Rei thought but ultimately decided her best bet was exploration. She tossed her apron to the stool behind the counter and embarked into Konoha hungry for discovery. Though dry, she was relieved for the fresh air and empty streets. She could run and prance however she pleased without any crabby citizens shouting at her to knock it off. The ultimate freedom. Or at least, almost. The real freedom lay beyond the village walls, but that was a privilege reserved only for those on assignment. Shit.

As she wandered around the village, she caught sight of a familiar face exiting her home. “Hey, Naru!” Rei called, running up to her friend. A large grin spread across Naru’s face and Rei’s heart sang. If she had to run into anyone today, she hoped it would be her. “Where is everyone?”

“You didn’t hear?” Naru asked, shocked. She always seemed to have the latest gossip in Konoha, so Rei wasn’t surprised she knew what was going on. If she hadn’t decided to pursue a ninja career like herself, Rei was certain that Naru would make an excellent journalist. Perhaps when she was older, and no longer physically able to pursue shinobi duties. Rei pressed her to continue. “There’s a new bookstore opening down the street. They call it the Pink Bookstore. Everyone has been talking about it.”

The Pink Bookstore? No wonder Kaminoki was so quiet. So far, the Natsuki clan had owned the only bookshop in Konoha since it’s founding. She should’ve known they’d find competition sooner or later, but that didn’t make the news sting any less. Naru reached into the pouch at her hip and pulled out a flyer she had snagged from around the village advertising the grand opening. A scantily dressed woman peered over her glasses, an open book covering her bare breasts as she sat upon a stack of novels.

“What kind of advertisement is that?” Rei exclaimed.

“The kind that gets you business” Naru commented matter-of-factly. “Pink has gotten so much attention in the past week that they have to regulate how many people are in their store at a time. I heard they even had a breach in security the other day—too many people tried to squeeze in at once and they had to call the police to sort everything out.”

We’ve never had business like that… Rei thought to herself in defeat. If Kaminoki didn’t find a way to get it’s customers back soon, her family would undoubtedly go bankrupt. Then her father would really be upset. What made the Pink Bookstore so great, anyway? Were the people of Konoha really that quick to abandon tradition for some shiny new place?

“I was just about to head over and check it out for myself” Naru continued. “You’re welcome to come with me if you want. Might be good to scope out your competition!” she nudged Rei on the arm. The kunoichi, however, was unamused. This was no laughing matter. Her family’s entire livelihood could be in danger. Like hell she was going to turn down Naru’s offer.

Sure enough, her friend was right. A crowd of anxious villagers piled up outside of the store, hollering and chanting of how desperately they wanted to get inside. Though it was hard to get a good view, from what Rei could tell, all of the titles displayed in the window were of “adult” books, novels that required you be eighteen years or older. She shuddered at the thought.

“Excuse me, sir” Naru said politely, tapping a man on the shoulder. He turned to reveal himself as none other than Mr. Tomoya. “What’s a man like you doing waiting to enter a store like this?”

The stout man blinked a moment before laughing and replying, “Haven’t you heard? This store is doing what no other store in Konoha will do! They’re selling the books us adults want to read. Never have we had such easy access to erotic fiction!”

Erotic fiction. Rei vomited a little in her mouth. So that was this place’s aim then. Her father refused to sell anything inappropriate in their store for fear of abandoning their moral compass. I want us to be respected in this village, he had said. And you can’t earn respect by selling cheap sex books. Unfortunately, it seemed the rest of Konoha disagreed. Rei had never seen such a crowd itching to get into a bookstore of all places.

Just then, another man piped up, “I read an excerpt for a new book in the newspaper, Makeout Paradise! The other store won’t sell it, but this place has copies in spades! Everyone wants one!”

Naru spread her arms out as she turned back to her friend as if to say “There you have it!” Rei simply shook her head and rolled her eyes. What a bunch of pigs. She had seen just about enough of this. As she turned to head back home, however, she smacked right into a familiar face who didn’t seem to be paying much attention to where he was going.

“Kakashi?” Rei exclaimed. The jonin’s face reddened as he looked up from his book. The cover read Makeout Paradise. “You have got to be kidding me” she added, stealing the book from him. She flipped through it in hopes of finding out whether it really lived up to the hype. Before she could get a decent look, Kakashi snatched it from her and wagged his finger in her face.

“What do you think you’re doing? You’re not eighteen” he said. Rei rolled her eyes and glared up at him. Curse him for being so much taller than her. And older.

“What? Am I not allowed to inspect the book that’s going to put my family out of business?” she fired back. “How can you even read that crap?”

Kakashi tilted his head curiously. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just glorified porn—there’s no depth!” she explained.

“It has depth” Kakashi argued.

Rei’s face went deadpan. “I mean meaningful depth, not how far someone can jam their dick up someone’s asshole.”

“Rei!” Naru shrieked, her face turning bright red. For someone who knew all the gossip, she sure had a hard time handling vulgar content.  

“I just have one question for you: where did you get that?” Rei asked, rubbing her temples. She already knew the answer, but she still wanted to hear him say it.

Kakashi paused a moment. He could see the temperature gauge of Rei’s tolerance rising, nearing explosive proportions. Any sane person would know they had to be careful, but Kakashi wasn’t exactly one to pander to other people. A shit-eating grin spread across his masked face as he pointed toward the rousing crowd and replied, “The Pink Bookstore.”

Boom. In one swift motion, Rei stole the book from Kakashi’s hands and did everything in her power to try to destroy it. Ripping it, biting it, stomping on it. The only issue is that she lacked physical strength, especially for a shinobi. Everything she tried failed. She couldn’t destroy the book. Finally, she resorted to just throwing it down on the ground with a shriek and stomping off back home. She didn’t care if people stared. She didn’t care what Kakashi thought. He had betrayed her. And The Pink Bookstore was certainly going to run Kaminoki into the ground.

Another few weeks passed with very little business. Rei swept the floors thrice over just so she had something to do. When her father found out she had not only left her post but discovered the source of their decreased business, he definitely got upset with her. Not enough to hit her, of course—he wasn’t at all a physically violent man—but enough to grow frustrated with the village’s “lack of morality”, as he put it. Essentially, he reacted just as Rei expected him to.

As she swept, a little chime captured her attention. It sounded like…no, it couldn’t be. They hadn’t had a customer in weeks. There was no reason for them to have customers anymore. She went about her business, ignoring what she swore sounded like the clearing of a throat, until a gentle finger poked her shoulder. The circumstance was then completely unavoidable. This was no illusion: they finally had a customer.

Rei looked up to find Mr. Tomoya’s chubby cheeked face smiling down at her, a hunger for knowledge in his eyes. “M-Mr. Tomoya, how wonderful to see you!” Rei exclaimed. She leaned her broom against the wall and darted behind the counter. “What can I help you with today?”

“I’m looking for this particular book, on the machinations of the cogs inside of a clock” Mr. Tomoya explained. “You see, my alarm clock has broken and I decided I’d like to learn how to fix it myself! I can’t afford to be late to work again.”

A sweet, innocent grin spread across Rei’s face. He just wants to fix his clock. “I’d be more than happy to help you find what you’re looking for” she replied, guiding him towards the instructional texts. As she helped Mr. Tomoya search for just the right manual, she could’ve swore she saw a familiar face through the window out of the corner of her eye. Tall, white hair, mask. When she turned to peek, however, there was no one there. Perhaps she was just imagining things. No matter. All she cared about right now was what she wasn’t imagining and that was Mr. Tomoya standing before her asking for her help. Finally, Kaminoki was receiving the love it deserved. And sure, maybe the Pink Bookstore was more popular than they were. The old adage definitely seemed to ring true—that “sex sells.” But sex isn’t everything. Perhaps there was hope for Konoha after all. Perhaps there was hope for Kaminoki. So long as people like Mr. Tomoya had things they wanted to learn and belongings they wanted to fix, she was now sure that her family’s company would undoubtedly live on.

[dhoine-dyaebl]

TW3 # 03

Date: 14.5. 2018

Hours played: 3:05

Quests finished: Contract: Devil by the well, On death’s bed, Beast of White Orchard, Scavenger hunt - Viper school, Deserter gold, Imperial audience, Lilac & Gooseberries

Summary:

I took on a contract to kill the noonwraith in the village Hovel. Geralt channeled his inner Sherlock Holmes and pointed out the most obvious things. Found out the noonwraith was a girl named Claer who insulted the local lord or something. I think it’s a bit harsh to kill somebody for insulting you. Although these were the Middle ages so… When I jumped into the well my first thought was “this is weirdly big cave for a well…”. Nevertheless I found the bracelet keeping her here and then burned the body and killed the noonwraith.

Haha, just kidding. Spend the next 10 minutes trying to find alchemy ingredients for the Specter Oil and then went to the herbalist, Tamara. I chose to help the girl there, Lena, who was injured by the griffin. I thought it would help her and it did, but apparently shortly after it melted her mind and the ingame journal entry said: “This was not the first time a cure had proven worse than the disease.” You know what? Fuck this game. No matter what I choose somebody dies. Ok THEN I went to kill the noonwraith.

Geralt: “Hey, I think it worked.”      No shit,Sherlock

But that tongue… Isn’t it weird? It should decompose under a month and most of the tissue is gone so why the tongue stayed? Thoughts?

After I killed it,  I didn’t take the girl’s dowry as a payment, because it felt wrong. And Odolan (her father) gave me an emerald, which is 3 times more valuable…So win-win.

I finally moved onto the main quest and went after the griffin with Vesemir.

Geralt: “Man spends his whole life learning.”

Vesemir: “Not unless he wants to live long.”

I killed the griffin and then severed his head with that little hunting knife. The Nilfgaardian told us that Yen is in Wyzima.

Then I did a couple of locations (16) and one bandit camp glitched and a pack of wolves killed the bandits, while I was stuck in a tree… Then I went to collect the Viper swords and crafted them. It was huge improvement from the previous ones. Of course, we had to finish a brawl in the tavern with the local hotheads.

Geralt comes out of tavern and sees Yennefer                                            Geralt: “That brawl? We didn’t start it.”

Rode with Yennefer to Wyzima and got attacked by members of Wild Hunt. Then had an audience with Emhyr var Emreis. I hate that prick so much. I recently finished the books. And what kind of psycho you have to be to even consider doing the do with your daughter. When asked I chose this decisions from TW2: Aryan lived, I sided with Vernon Roche, went to save Triss, Sheala de Tancarville was killed by her megascope, I let Letho go. I think I forgot to write down some of them, but I think these are the most important.

The audience went as expected with a lot of veiled threats and a mission to find Ciri. Yennefer then caught Geralt up with what they know: she was seen in Velen (contact: spy Hendrik), Novigrad (contact: Triss) and Skellige (Yennefer is going there). Found an Easter egg in the garden. When I pushed a stone I found a chest with some money and a note how to turn princess Adda back into striga.

Previous =/= Next

[wildflowerswildhorses]

What do you mean Luke doesn’t own a hole in the wall bookstore??? Basically I refuse to believe that Jocelyn is dead because she’s fucking not, okay??

Luke found the old abandoned building when he first came to New York and turned into a bookstore while he was looking for Jocelyn

It’s through his search for Jocelyn when he realizes that he’s good at searching for clues, finding people and getting to the bottom of things so he decides to become a cop. And of course Jocelyn supports him.

It may or may not also have to do with the fact that Luke wants to be able to protect the two most important women in his life. And it also lets him work through his guilt of his involvement in the circle  

So the top part of the old building is turned into a loft apartment and when he’s not working at the station, he’s running the shop

Now that their apartment is basically destroyed and Clary more or less lives at the institute, Jocelyn moved in with Luke

A corner of that loft apartment becomes Jocelyn’s studio where she gets back into painting to pass the time and to keep her mind off the Valentine bullshit

Sometimes, Jocelyn will run the bookstore but mostly, it’s Maia (when she’s not bartending) or some of the other younger wolves to give them something to do. And to stay out of trouble.

When the demon attack happens, Alec doesn’t kill Jocelyn but he does highly injury her and she ends up in the infirmary for a couple of days. And even then he still feels guilty and refuses to talk to anyone because like he could have killed her and he wouldn’t have remembered what he did and he has a hard time dealing with that

When Jocelyn finally gets out of the infirmary, she tracks down Alec and tries and make him see that none of it was on him. “I don’t blame you, Alec.” and it’s the words that are an echo of Clary’s that make him stop and face her. “I’m still sorry.” “You don’t have to be, it wasn’t you.” “I’m just…I’m glad you’re okay, I don’t think I could look Clary in the eye if I had…” “Well, good thing we don’t have to think about that.”

Clary and Jocelyn actually get to have a sit down talk where Jocelyn apologizes for keeping this part of Clary’s life a secret from her. “After meeting Valentine, I can understand why you did it even if you thought he was dead but that doesn’t make it right.” “There was always a part of me that never believed he was actually dead. And I know that..I was going to tell you –but then things got out of my control and I –” “You mean when you sent me with Dot through that portal?” “I had always planned on telling you when you turned 18 and then everything happened and it was too late. And I don’t think there’s enough I can do to make it up to you.” “That’s why we have all this time to try.”

Jocelyn is the one who sees that something’s going on with Izzy and Jocelyn brings it up to her one day. (oh and guess what? It isn’t Yen Fin, it’s an actual recreational drug that’s made from vampire venom). Izzy tries the same excuse she tried on Magnus but Jocelyn sees through it and doesn’t back down. “I have a daughter, I know when teenagers are lying….I also know what withdraw looks like.”

When Isabelle finally caves and tells Jocelyn the truth (when Izzy realizes that Jocelyn actually does want to help), Jocelyn lets Izzy crash in Clary’s old room at the apartment until it’s out of her system. Luke lets her have one of his old shirts to sleep in the first day she crashes there 

Jocelyn calls Alec and lets him know that Izzy’s fine and because she knows that he was worried about her because she knew he found out about the drug the last time she was at the institute. So guess what, no Azazel summoning happens.

Isabelle finds that she wishes she had the kind of relationship with her mother that she knows Jocelyn and Clary have had. “I’m sure she’s made terrible decisions in that past, but I know she cares about you kids.” “My mom doesn’t care.” “Trust me, she does - even if she doesn’t always show it in the right ways.”

Jocelyn goes to the Jade Wolf looking for Luke and they both find Raph and the vamps threatening Izzy and Simon. “Look here vamp, if you go after anyone with the last name Lewis, I’ll chop you into a million tiny pieces and feed you to my cat. And you, blondie, threaten to bite her again and you will suffer the same fate.” 

Jace shows up one day and Jocelyn apologizes to Jace for everything that’s transpired between them. “Does this mean that he’s still out there, somewhere?” “Who, Jonathan?” “Yeah.” “Maybe, but maybe he could be dead.” “If he is, do you think he’s actually like how you thought I was.” “Knowing the things Valentine has done? Yeah, maybe.” “And you think he may come and help Valentine or go after Clary?” “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

It’s in her little makeshift studio, one day where Jocelyn realizes just who Sebastian is - she knows in her gut who he is but this time she just keeps quiet because there’s actually nothing to back up her claim, but she just bides her time and hopes she’s wrong (even though she’s not)

Maybe the upstairs studio is where Jace goes whenever things become too much. Maybe he crashed with Luke and Jocelyn instead of Magnus. Maybe Jace finds solace with the woman who he thought was his mother for those short few weeks.

Jace goes to Jocelyn and also Luke when the truth comes out that he’s a Herondale because well, Maryse isn’t at the institute at that time, and Luke and Jocelyn were the only other ones he knows who would have known his parents.

Luke gets called into the station but Jocelyn tells Jace about Stephen and Celine. “Imogen may have been right about your bold defiance, but you also have the same vulnerability that your mother had.” “Really?” “I’m honestly amazed that I never saw it before…I should have.” “We all fell for Valentine’s tricks.” “But I should have known better…I once knew Valentine better than most people - well besides, Luke.”

Simon goes to Jocelyn when he learns the truth about Jace and Clary because he didn’t know where else to go. “I just…I just know what to do.” “I don’t know what to tell you, Simon but I do know that you should talk to Clary”

It’s Jocelyn who realizes that Jace’s feelings for Clary haven’t gone away and that Clary’s feelings for Jace haven’t gone away either. Jocelyn doesn’t interfere and just stands by but hopes that the boy she’s always saw as a son doesn’t get hurt in the process.

Whenever Maryse and Robert come back to the institute on whatever business it is, Maryse spends whatever free time as far away from Robert as she can (and that may include a trip to Jocelyn). Sometimes she takes Max just to expose him to something that isn’t the institute or his parents fighting.

It’s Jocelyn who somehow manages to convince Maryse to come clean to Izzy about Robert’s cheating. “Isabelle adores Robert, it will destroy her.” “Maybe it will or maybe she already knows, children aren’t blind.” “I don’t want to take that chance.” “Which is why you should tell her, it shows that you’ve care about her and that’s something she needs to know. A girl needs her mother, Maryse.”

When Maryse tells Isabelle the truth, Izzy shows up at Jocelyn’s apartment. “Did you know? Did you know that my dad cheated?” “It wasn’t my secret to tell, but yes I did.” “And all this time, my mom didn’t tell me because she know how much I loved dad and she didn’t want that to change?” “I can’t know for sure what your mother’s reasons were, but I can assume.” “All this time, she’s cared about me and has protected me but I’ve just never known?” “I think, in her own way, Maryse has always cared about you, but hasn’t always been the best about showing it.”

Max learns to like the little studio and he finds Clary’s old comic book collection and the next time he sees Clary he asks if he can look through them and of course she says yes.

Upon hearing this, Simon starts bringing different comics he thinks Max will like and soon, Simon may or may not become one of Max’s favorite people and his opinions on downworlders start changing - and because of this he starts warming up to Magnus too.

Basically I have a lot of fucking feeling about one Jocelyn Garroway Fairchild and what her role in the show could have been.

Hell maybe I should just say fuck it and write my own damn fix it fic from 2x04??? and on.