#{ Did you get mysterious messages? ~ MM }

[laniluvsuu]

Lust.

GhostfaceErenXblackreader!

I apologize for typos if there are any!!

You bit the inside of your cheek in curiosity, while you sat your blunt in its holder, and read the description to the phone number link your friend sent you as a joke. You contemplated on the outcomes. One was possibly dying because this is some sketchy shit, the other one was getting fucked…this should’ve been a harder choice for your intoxicated mind.

You played with your thumbs after you sent the first text, thoughts flooded your mind like are you the only one texting him tonight?…Are you going to go to him or is he going to come to you? Your rapid thoughts were interrupted by a ding coming from your phone.

The text from the number was an auto-generated message. You were supposed to send in your name and address and he would be on the way shortly. After this any person in their right mind would’ve stopped, but you weren’t in the right mind so you sent it anyway.

You decided to watch a movie to wait out the time, took two hours until you heard a knock on your door. When you approached your door to look out your peep hole you saw ghost face. Confusion ran through your body until your phone went off once again with a text that confirmed your “bootycall” was here.

“Hi Mr Ghostface.” You said as you stared up at the man in front of you with the black costume.

“Hi pretty girl.” You heard from behind his mask. It was a bit muffled put you could still understand it clearly. You moved to the side to let your mystery ghost guy in. You watched as he made his way into your house and turned his body back to you and said.

“You just gonna stand there all tense or you lead me to where you want me for the night?” He said as he watched you through his mask.

“Well how do I know you wont kill me or something?” You said tilting your head to the side as you asked the question, leaning back onto your now closed door.

“You dont.” You heard come from him as he chuckled and continued to say. “But im here to fuck you baby, not kill you.” He said answering your question.

“Mm..okay, whats your name then?” You said turning your head back waiting for his response.

“ “Ghostface” isn’t good enough for you?” He said letting out another one of his chuckles once you shook your head. “Its Eren, and yours is?”

Instead of responding, you just nodded your head and made your way to your bedroom with him following close behind.

“So ghostface, are you gonna fuck me with your mask on? Or are you gonna take it off?” You asked him as he sat down on your bed, man spreading as he stared up at you.

“Are you gonna tell me your name?” He asked tilting his head to lay on his covered shoulder. His head fell back once you shrugged. He got up so he was towering over you, with his head now down looking at you.

“Then I dont know either. But what I do know is Im going to fuck you regardless.” He said as he wrapped his arms around your waist and gripped your ass and moved his head towards your ear and whispered. “Get on the bed pretty.”

You did what he said, lying on your back watching him pull your tights and panties down. You couldn’t see it but behind his mask he had a huge smirk on his face, while his eyes glistened looking at your pretty pussy seeing her already dripping in arousal. He watched as your face reacted once he started playing with your pussy.

Soft moans fell from your lips as his fingers went into your dripping hole, keeping his thumb moving side to side at your clit. He moved sickeningly slow, which made you cry out to him.

“Please Eren!” You said as you reached your hand down to his, his strong hand slapped yours away quickly.

“Please? Please what?” He knew what you wanted, but he also wanted something from you. You whined before answering.

“Move faster please.” You said looking at him, fluttering your eyelashes while you spoke. You threw your head back once you felt his fingers start moving faster, it was the right pace made you feel like you were on cloud nine.

Soon you were brought to your release, seconds from it until his fingers slowed back down. Your teary eyes shot open at him, your lips formed a deep frown.

“Eren…please. Im so close.” You said while you pushed your hips into his hand, desperate to cum. You pouted once he took his hands away and turned his body the other way to take his pants and shirt off, leaving him in his underwear.

“You know what I want from you pretty, you’re not gonna cum until you tell me your name.” He said as he continued to take his underwear off and stroke his hard cock with the leftover arousal on his hand. He heard you sigh before you answered.

“Y/n.” You said while you laid back and relaxed your body, ignored the shuffling coming from him until you felt his tip right at your puckering hole. You jumped as you looking between your legs, his dick was huge and so pretty, made you even more wet just looking at it.

“See? That wasn’t so hard, now was it baby?” Eren teased as he pushed into you throwing his head back feeling your warm pussy tighten around him.

“Mmph fuck!…you’re so big ren.” You let out in broken sobs as he fastened his pace. You couldn’t think about anything else but the way his veins on his cock rubbed your insides. You couldn’t take it.

“Ren!..let me see you!” You moaned out to him as you moved your hand to his pelvis trying to slow him down.

“Fuck. Move your hand mama.” He groaned out, upset since you tried to stop him. “You wanna see me baby? Hmm?” He said as he smirked behind the mask watching your face then letting his eyes fall down to your chest. He moved his hands up to rip your tight tanktop open, his cock twitched inside of you at the sight of your perky nipples moving with each of his thrusts.

“Yes! Yes Eren..please!!” You said as you felt the knot in your stomach begin to tighten. You moved your hands to rub on his chest, everything felt so good to you, you’ve never been fucked like this and you needed to see his face.

Eren didn’t say another word just removed his mask, your eyes were closed shut because of all the pleasure.

“Look at me Princess.” He said as he leaned down to kiss your cheek, moving faster making it harder for you to breathe.

“Ouhhh! Ohhhh f-fuck ren! I cant!” You cried out as you scratched down his back, tightening your eye lids at the pleasure he was feeding your body. You felt him grab your face tightly to look at him.

“If you aren’t going to look at me, im going to stop.” He said waiting for you to open your eyes, and slowing his thrusts down. He smiled once he saw your teary brown eyes looking up at him. He could cum just from looking at your pretty face, he didn’t let you say anything, just sped up his thrusts once again faster than before and leaning down to kiss you.

It wasn’t long until you threw your head back moans spilling from your swollen lips. You brought your hands up to pull his long hair. Listening to his nonsense spew from his pink lips as you came around his cock

“Doing so good f’me baby….pussy’s so good mama, want me to fill you up baby? Hmm? Gonna be my good girl?” He whimpered out as he felt you cum, tightening around his cock, he moved his hand to press down on your stomach, as he gave his last deep thrust before he came.

“Yes! Yes!!” You cried out still coming down from your high. You moaned louder once you felt him paint your walls, hearing him whimper and moan into your neck as his hips stuttered emptying his load into your pussy.

[johnsgunbelt]

https://www.tumblr.com/honestlyhiswife/738465618711412736

This! This as well!! Please!

I know I'm just spamming your asks now.

Forgive me. 😭😭

"Just a one-night stand? Really?" - Ghost/Price

I’m SOOO happy people are spamming my inbox please don’t apologize and I am actually sorry the other owner of this acc with me is swamped with other irl stuff so I’m trying to get to as many as I can <3 I think you wanted Ghost for this but this also suits Price I think!!

Pairing: Ghost x GN! Reader/ Price x Gn! Reader MDNI

Warnings: Mentions of one night stand, other than that fluff.

Price:

You woke up with the most horrific pounding headache and the light from the window did not help. And then you took a good look around... This is NOT your room, it was some random guy's room and you scanned it carefully trying to recall what happened the night before but all you remember is getting really wasted.

You checked your phone and saw a text message from your friend asking if you were okay but you didn’t have the energy to respond and apparently not the muscle to either seeing as you were tangled up in this guy's arms. 

You slowly started to try and get up as you slipped out of his arms and walked to put your shoes and jacket on. He started to stir awake and turned to face you.

“We didn’t do anything...Right?” You asked him as You got a good look at his face and Your jaw dropped. He was surely handsome but also seemed like he was older than you.

“Mm well, you did ride me for a while...Otherwise, no nothing else, come back to bed.” He grumbled at you as he opened his arms for you to lay in. “Sir, I don’t even know you-” “You knew me well enough to ride me just come lay down, please. I’ll explain everything later.” He then sat up a little and ended up pulling off your coat as you slipped your shoes off. 

“Oh- okay well I guess it couldn’t hurt I have nowhere to be.” You said softly to him as he wrapped his arms around your waist. “Mhm..I don’t want this to just be a one-night thing so we can talk when I fully wake up.” you were shocked to hear that from a man you had just met but you decided not to argue about it and just went back to sleep with him.

Ghost:

You woke up with a slight pain in your legs and a little headache, the room seemingly dark. You checked your phone to see it was 9:12 AM but the room you were in had black curtains so no sun was peeking into the room...Wait…This isn’t your room?

You silently panicked as you turned around to see a broad man's chest in your face and you jumped back a little. “Shit.” You thought to yourself as you tried slipping out of his arms he just clanged tighter as you looked up at him.

“If you’re gonna ask, yes we did have sex. Now stop moving, I'm just trying to cuddle you.” “Sir-?” “We can talk later can’t you just enjoy the moment, cause you seemed to enjoy a whole lot last night..” He interrupted and it shut you up quickly as you looked up to see who the mysterious man telling you this was.

WOW. He looked to have blonde hair and scars on his face with a little face stubble. He was handsome and oddly had a comforting look on his face for a man You had randomly hooked up with. You tried to move up more but your legs were so sore you winced in a bit of pain.

“Ow..” “Hm? Oh. Here let me massage your legs.” He slowly raised you up so he could reach your legs as his calloused hands massaged your soft and tender skin. You felt a lot better no doubt.

“We’re definitely not keeping this as a one-night stand, you’re far beyond too pretty for me to try and let go of.” “I- okay I don’t know what to say, what's even your name-?” “Shh, just let me take care of you, it’s Simon. We’ll talk later.”

AHHH I LOVED WRITING THIS!! Def gonna try and write some more as I'm also in a different state right now but I'm not too busy so I could probably write a lot more, please send in any requests <3!!

[teaberrii]

Chapter 5: Our First Dance

You and Dan Heng are a match made in heaven until fate takes him away from you too soon. Years later, you think you moved on with a mutual friend who shared your grief and stuck with you during tough times until you meet a mysterious man with a striking resemblance to your past lover and a hidden motive. You’re determined to get rid of him, but how are you going to get rid of a god?

Dan Feng/You

Notes:

Cross-posted on Ao3

Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail crossover

Female reader

Chapter index at the end of chapter one

Support my writing

Later that evening, you’re on a video call with Stelle and March. After telling them about the bizarre scenario you’re in—besides being glad you got your neck back—they’re more than happy to help you pick an outfit for Signora’s wedding. Dan Feng had messaged you earlier, telling you that it’s a dark academia and masquerade-themed wedding, which you think is an interesting choice.

Your phone is propped up on a table near a body-length mirror near the door. An open suitcase with your clothes sits on a chair, but another pile is growing on the bed.

“Mm…” You see March shake her head on your phone screen. “Too flowery. Next!”

You toss the knee-length, strapless dress onto the bed and hold up a long, black halter dress that reveals your back and has a flirty side slit.

“This one!” March and Stelle say at once. Then, March smiles. “I bet Dan Feng will be blown away.”

How funny, you think, that this dress is the one you wore on your first official date with Dan Heng.

You were putting the finishing touches on your makeup when you heard the doorbell. After giving yourself one last look in the mirror, you went to the door where a handsome man was holding a small rose bouquet as soon as you opened it. Dan Heng smiled as soon as he saw you, and he didn’t shy away from admiring you in the dress that you knew he would like.

“Ooh, those are beautiful,” you said, taking the roses when he handed them to you.

“Not as beautiful as the woman standing in front of me.”

You laughed and welcomed him inside. “Where did you learn that pickup line, hm?”

You were walking to the kitchen when you felt his strong arms hug you from behind. “...I was just speaking what’s on my mind.”

As soon as you felt his lips against your neck, you turned around and put your arms around his neck. “Easy there, soldier. We’re going on a date, remember?”

Dan Heng kissed your forehead. “I know.”

But that didn’t stop you from leaning in for a kiss, which he gladly welcomed.

“...I’m not wearing it to impress him, you know,” you deadpan.

“Regardless,” Stelle says before March can retort, “It’s a nice dress. Not too flashy and not too underwhelming. You’ll fit right in.”

“This dress looks kinda familiar, though…” March says, leaning closer to her phone.

“Wait a minute,” Stelle says as if it just hit her. “Didn’t you wear this dress on a date with Dan Heng?”

The silence is loud, and you force a little smile.

“I did,” you say, “but that doesn’t mean I can’t wear it again.”

“Well…” March has her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands. “As long as you’re comfortable with it. If you are, then it’s gotta be this one.”

You put the dress aside just as your friends start talking about makeup and accessories, and it isn’t long before Caelus, Stelle’s twin brother, pops onto the screen. He gives you a quick wave while eating an ice cream cone.

“I heard everything from Stelle,” he says. “...I can’t believe Dan Heng has a lookalike.” He takes a bite out of his ice cream. "What’s he like?”

He’s not Dan Heng, that’s for sure.

“...Could we meet him?” Caelus continues.

“Yeah, I second that,” March says. “We didn’t get a proper introduction yet!”

“You two need to calm down,” Stelle says. “They aren’t even friends.”

“Oh, sorry, I forgot,” Caelus says, rolling his eyes. “They’re”—he bites onto the cone and uses his hands to make finger quotations—”’acquaintances.’”

“No,” March says. “They’re partners in crime!”

“Aren’t they neighbours?” Stelle asks.

Caelus looks into the camera, which he’s supposedly looking at you. “You and Dan Feng are a lot of things, aren’t you?”

“Thanks for helping me pick out my outfit, guys,” you deadpan. “Will keep you updated on the wedding tomorrow.”

And then you end the call before they can say anything else. Of course, that doesn’t stop the texts from coming. But after taking a glance, you clear the clothes off your bed, grab your pyjamas, and head for a shower.

◆◆◆

That night, you are asleep on your bed. The windows are closed, and the room is dimly lit with a small night light on the wall beside your bed. You quietly stir in your sleep, but slowly you feel a breeze brush against your skin. The smell of washed sheets changes into fresh flowers, and soon, you hear footsteps and soft conversations all around you. At first, you can’t open your eyes. Your body feels oddly light, and your head starts spinning.

Slowly, your eyes flutter open, and your heart almost stops.

You’re standing in the courtyard of the Xianzhou palace. You spin around, seeing people dressed in traditional robes and clothing walking from one place to another. You take a step forward and open your mouth but nothing comes out. No one notices you either, despite you being dressed in pyjamas, something that’s clearly out of place in this strange world.

You must be dreaming, and you’re about to pinch yourself when you see a young boy and girl running across the courtyard. Your eyes widen as if the sight sends an electrifying jolt through your body, leaving you speechless.

Is that who you think it is?

You’re about to follow them when another young boy runs past you, and your eyes immediately fall on him. That’s… That’s Dan Feng. At least, a younger version. His features are not as defined but look too similar to call it a coincidence.

“You two are cheating!” he yells.

“You’re too slow, Brother.”

You turn towards the other young boy a short distance away. And that’s… that’s Dan Heng. You're certain. His slightly puffy cheeks and wide, innocent-looking blue eyes. He looks the same when you first met him. Except this time, he’s holding a young girl’s hand.

“We’re going to leave you behind if you don’t hurry!” she yells with a smile.

Dan Feng pouts and immediately runs after them, and his hand brushes against yours. Surprisingly, you feel it. At least… you think you do. It’s like a gentle breeze that runs through your fingers. He stops and turns and you’re staring at each other, except all he sees is nothing.

“What are you looking at?”

The young girl leaves Dan Heng and walks up to Dan Feng. She also looks at you, but of course, she sees nothing.

Suddenly, Dan Feng grabs her wrist and holds it up.

“Looks like I still got the last laugh,” he says.

The girl frowns just as Dan Heng walks up. “You sure about that?” He nods at a nobleman who doesn’t look pleased as he approaches them with his hands behind his back.

“Are you done with your games?”

“If we say no…” Dan Feng says. “Can we keep playing?”

The nobleman frowns. “The three of you can come with me.”

As you watch them obediently follow the nobleman elsewhere in the palace, you hear a woman’s voice a short distance away.

“Who is that girl?”

You turn and see two maids talking and looking in their direction.

“...The only daughter of that famous calligrapher.”

“Ah… Now, why would he bring his daughter to lessons with the young masters?”

One of the maids shrugs. “I heard it was an innocent enough reason… His wife passed away recently, so he’s been looking for ways to get her out of the house a little more… Perhaps befriending the young masters is a way to try to get over her grief.”

“...Or a way to sneak her way into the palace’s fortune.”

Then, their voices start fading until you can't hear anything. And when you close your eyes and open them again, the courtyard is empty.

Suddenly, a strong wind forces you to lift your arms and shut your eyes. The winds get stronger… and stronger… until…

Your eyes snap open.

And you see the shadows of the lights on the ceiling and smell the washed sheets. You immediately sit up, feeling your heart racing in your chest.

It’s a dream. Of course, it’s a dream. But it was unexpectedly vivid. You glance at your hand; you can still feel the breeze and when you close your eyes, you can still hear their voices. You flip off the covers and head to the washroom, but as soon as you turn on the light, you almost gasp when you see the young Dan Feng behind you. You immediately spin around, but all there is is your necklace hanging off the little makeshift jewelry holder.

Once you’re back on the bed, you’re wide awake. As hard as you try, for God knows how long, you cannot fall asleep. You twist and turn, wondering why you'd have a dream like that. Who is that young girl? You must’ve seen her somewhere before... You sit up and glance at the wall separating you and Dan Feng's room before your head hits the pillow again. This time, when you close your eyes, your body relaxes.

And, for the rest of the night, you have no more dreams.

◆◆◆

The hotel is bustling with visitors when you enter the large ballroom reserved for Signora’s wedding. As soon as you enter, a tall man wearing a black and white suit hands you a white masquerade mask outlined in gold. You take it and look around. Of course, no one is without a mask. So, you put it on and walk further inside where there are floating LED candlelights around the room that are reminiscent of a popular fantasy story about witches and wizards. A giant crystal chandelier invites the eye upwards, mesmerizing its audience with all its sparkling splendour. You catch a hotel employee opening a door on the far side of the room, catching a glimpse of the grand dining hall just beyond it.

A man carrying a tray of filled wine glasses is making his rounds, and you grab a glass before he escapes your reach. As you take a sip, you hear:

“Oh…? Is that who I think it is?”

You turn around and see a tall man with short orange hair wearing a dark gray and white suit with a red tie. His mask is white with black glitter, and his eyes are as blue as you remember.

“Long time no see,” he continues, walking up to you. “You look as lovely as the day we met.”

You couldn’t stop fidgeting the entire ride to Dan Heng’s house. Today was the day he was officially introducing you as his girlfriend to his family, and you couldn’t be any more nervous. These were people of power and high status. It was intimidating to think that they would be scrutinizing and questioning you. Once you arrived, and Dan Heng parked the car, his hand found yours.

“They aren’t as scary as you think,” he said. Then, he smiled reassuringly. “They’ll love you.”

“I… Well… That’s the hope!”

He leaned over and kissed your cheek.

You and Dan Heng got out of the car, and he held the door—leading into the house—open for you. You stepped inside and Dan Heng led you to a spacious living room with beige marble floors and dark gray carpets in areas where there was furniture, which was all white with dark wood. The lights were part of the dropped ceiling with a design that looked like tree leaves. But, you had no time to admire the interior design as you were suddenly the center of attention.

Many faces were staring at you when you and Dan Heng walked in, and one of them was a tall ginger with blue eyes. He was the first to walk up to you and looked roughly the same age as you and Dan Heng. Before the mysterious man could say anything, Dan Heng asked:

“...What are you doing here?”

“Something came up,” Dan Heng’s mother said. She glanced at a woman who looked a bit older than her. “We were just sorting things out.”

“But then again… We’re family.” the ginger said, “And family is always welcome, aren’t we?” He ignored Dan Heng’s cold stare, stepped past him, and extended his hand toward you. “...I’m Childe, Dan Heng’s… brother from another mother, if you will.”

“I’ll be honest,” you say, looking away and sipping your wine. “I never thought I’d see you here.”

"You and me both, my dear." Childe stops in front of you, his eyes wandering down until they reach your necklace given to you by Dan Heng. "What reason do you have to be here?"

“I was invited.”

“Invited?” he asks doubtfully. “Enlighten me, love—”

“Don’t call me that.”

“You still keep in touch with Signora?” He puts a hand on the round table behind you and leans closer. You're about to walk away when he steps in front of you. You glare at him. “...What reason would you have to do that?”

You’re too focused on Childe to hear calm, steady footsteps approaching you. Just as a pair of sleek black loafers come to a stop, you suddenly feel someone’s hand around your wrist. You quickly turn and see Dan Feng wearing a black mask with red glitter that almost covers his entire face. You wouldn’t have recognized him if it wasn’t for his long hair combed to perfection. A black tie with red rose patterns rests over his dark red, pressed-fitting shirt made of velvet. It’s tucked neatly into his black pants that emphasize his long legs. Looking closer, his black blazer has an artistic pattern with light sparkles of gold.

Dan Feng smoothly pulls you back and steps in front of you, forcing Childe to step back. You smell a whiff of his cologne that reminds you of fresh lavenders in a forest.

“You’re getting a little too close for comfort,” Dan Feng says.

Childe narrows his eyes. “...Who are you?”

You catch Dan Feng’s stare when he looks over your shoulder. When he looks back at Childe, Dan Feng gives him a cheeky smile and says:

“Her partner.”

While that’s not exactly a lie, it’s easily misinterpreted, and you’re almost certain it's on purpose.

“Partner, huh?” Childe asks, looking at you. “Moved on, have we, love?”

“She’s not a fan of nicknames,” Dan Feng says. “...So, keep those to yourself”—he looks at Childe’s hair—”Carrothead.”

Childe glares at him, but there’s also curiosity and confusion along with annoyance.

“...Have we met?” Childe asks.

Oh? Has Dan Feng found himself another possible friend or acquaintance of his brother’s? Looks like staying close to you definitely has its perks. Dan Feng turns around, offers his arm to you, and says:

“Let’s go.”

There’s a brief pause before you take it and walk away with him as calmly as you can.

“The dress suits you,” he continues. 

“...Are you like this all the time?” you ask quietly.

“Like what?”

You glance at your hand around his arm. “Like… this.”

Dan Feng chuckles. “You just don’t know me well enough.”

“Is that so?”

Just then, soft classical music fills the ballroom, and a few couples are heading onto an open space. You’re looking away from Dan Feng when you hear him ask:

“Shall I surprise you even more?”

You turn back just as he walks in front of you. Then, he offers you his hand.

“...Care for a dance?”

You want to refuse, but as soon as you meet his gaze that’s warm and inviting, your hand is in his before you know it.

Dan Feng leads you onto the dance floor, and just before the official music begins, he twirls you once and pulls you close to him, his hand just barely touching the skin on your back.

“May I?”

As soon as you nod, his hand touches your back, his warm touch sending a brief adrenaline rush throughout your body.

“...Actually, this might not be a good idea," you say quietly, looking at the others. "I don’t really know how to dance."

“Don’t look at them.” His low voice takes you by surprise, and when you turn back, you’re once again staring into his warm, inviting eyes. “...Just focus on me.”

So, you do. You have one hand in his and the other is on his shoulder as he guides you on the dance floor.

Childe, with a glass of wine in his hand and the other in his pocket, watches you closely near the back of the crowd.

“...Not going to dance?”

Childe doesn’t turn his head but flashes Signora a look.

“Now, what’s the bride doing way out here?” Childe nods at the dance floor. “It’s your wedding day, and you’re not dancing?”

“This isn’t my song,” Signora says as Rostam walks up beside her.

Childe scoffs. “What’s the real reason you invited her?” Signora glances at him. “She has nothing to do with us anymore.”

“Someone sure sounds a little defensive.”

“The man she’s with.” Childe nods at Dan Feng. “...Who is he?”

“Why? Does he remind you of someone you know?”

“I’m not interested in playing games, Signora,” Childe says bitterly.

“I have a feeling you already have the answer you’re looking for,” Rostam says, and Childe’s stare turns cold. “...He’s a man who’s supposed to be dead.”

Dan Feng dips you on the dance floor and says:

“You’re a fast learner.”

As soon as you’re upright, you smile. “I try.” Then, your eyes land on Childe who—as soon as he makes eye contact with you—he disappears into the crowd.

“...Who is he?”

You quickly turn back to Dan Feng who still has his eyes on you.

“Childe. Dan Heng’s distant cousin… I suppose. The nephew of a distant relative of Dan Heng’s mother.”

“And what was his relationship with Dan Heng like?”

“Not good,” you answer, holding his stare. “All I know is what Dan Heng told me, which is that Childe wanted power within the company. But, they wouldn’t give it to him.”

As the music picks up, Dan Feng picks you up and twirls you around with your arms around his neck.

“Let me guess,” Dan Feng says after putting you down. “After Tsaritsa took over, she gave him a position of power at Lunae."

“...You did your research, I see.”

“But, there’s something I can’t seem to figure out.”

“And what’s that?”

“His relationship with you.”

You can’t hold his stare after that and look off to the side. But as soon as you do, you also almost step on his foot to which he asks:

“Is that something you don’t want to share?”

“We weren’t friends,” you say. “I barely knew him.”

Dan Feng continues staring at you. Are you telling the truth?

“I’ll take your word for it. But whatever past you have with him”—Dan Feng twirls you one last time, dips you, and pulls you close just as the music comes to a dramatic end—”you might have to start putting those feelings aside.”

You’re looking at his Adam’s apple when the song ends, and when you look up, his eyes are on you. His gaze is curious and it sends an unexpected thrill that makes your heart beat a little faster. But you sense something more beneath the surface. It’s almost predatory as if he’s waiting for something.

He lifts your hand and places a light kiss on the top of your hand where you can still feel it burning even after he lets you go.

“...Thank you for the dance.”

And then he walks off, feeling your stare on him.

The wedding is still going on when Dan Feng steps out for the men’s room. His mask is on the clean, marble sink beside him as he washes his hands. Then, the door opens, and as soon as Dan Heng looks in the mirror, he sees Childe with a look that’s an ugly mix of disbelief, confusion, and anger.

“...What the fuck?”

Dan Feng casually turns around and leans against the marble sink.

“Someone’s angry,” he says calmly.

“How… You… Who—”

“I’m very much alive if that’s what you want to ask.”

Childe walks up to him. “Who are you?”

◆◆◆

You’re sitting at a table, on your third glass of wine, when you notice that Dan Feng has been gone for a while. You glance at the empty seat in front of you and then at your phone.

Signora and her husband had just finished giving a speech, and the guests around the dining hall raised their glass for a toast. You and Dan Feng happened to glance at each other before a chorus rang around the room.

“Cheers!”

You’d wanted to ask about what he meant by putting feelings aside, but ever since you separated after the dance, other guests began flocking toward you and him. But that didn’t mean you didn’t catch each other’s looks from time to time.

Once you sat in your seat, your phone buzzed.

Carrothead has been keeping his eye on you. You didn’t lie… did you?

Without moving your head, you looked at Dan Feng from across the table.

Me? He’s looking at you. You’re the doppelganger.

Dan Feng crossed one leg over the other.

And are you not scared I’ll bring bad luck?

You almost raised an eyebrow at his response, and it took you a small moment to respond.

Then, I wonder if it’s bad luck I’m alive.

Once again, you and Dan Feng made eye contact, and you were about to put your phone back inside your purse when you felt it buzz.

Guess that’s up to you to decide, but…

You weren’t sure why you were anxious about his next response.

I’m glad you are.

…So I can kill you myself.

Dan Feng saw that you still put your phone back inside your purse, but you were almost refusing to look at him now, making it obvious that his words had an impact. Then, he stood and headed towards the men's room outside of the dining hall.

“Where’s your acquaintance?”

You turn and see Signora with a hand on the back of your chair and one holding a half-filled wine glass.

“No idea,” you say.

Then, she nods for you to follow her. So, you stand and start walking with her.

“He’s probably with Childe,” Signora says quietly.

You look toward the table Childe is supposed to be sitting at and find his seat empty.

“...Isn’t that bad?”

“Depends on how you look at it, I suppose,” Signora answers. “But, I’m sure Dan Feng can handle him.”

You hope so.

“It won’t be long before Tsaritsa finds out about him,” Signora continues once reaching a rare, quiet part of the dining hall.

“It sounds like this was your plan all along.” Signora gives you a little smile. “You invited us here because you knew Childe was going to be here, didn’t you?”

“He may be an annoying little brat, but he’s oddly loyal to Tsaritsa. He’s like her eyes and ears.”

“Guess that can also apply to everyone else,” you say.

“True… But, now that he knows… it’s only a matter of time before this gets to Tsaritsa. And, as a result, it’ll get your handsome acquaintance a one-way ticket into their little humble abode.”

“...In other words, you’re throwing him into a lion’s den.”

Signora chuckles. “That’s a good way of putting it. But”—her expression turns serious—”he’s not the only one who’s going to get roped into this. You can either say he’s just a man who looks like Dan Heng… or…”

It was that morning at the hotel restaurant that Signora proposed the idea.

“As risky and entertaining as that idea may be,” Dan Feng said, “it would be too easy to find out the truth. As soon as they take DNA, it would prove I’m not him.”

“You work in law enforcement, don’t you?” Signora put her teacup on the plate. “Tsaritsa pulled strings to make this family completely disappear without a trace. Surely, you could do the same if those records even still exist.”

“And am I supposed to believe you’re doing this because you and Dan Heng and his mother were such good friends?” you ask, keeping your eye on the door to see if either Dan Feng or Childe has returned. “There’s another motive behind your incredulous suggestion, isn’t there?”

“Don’t we all have motives?” You glance at her. “I want to get away from Tsaritsa. My company is still under her control whether I like it or not. Dan Feng… He also seems to have motives for getting close to the family. Whatever that is, well, it doesn’t matter to me because we have the same goal. And, as for you…” Signora fully turns to look you in the eyes. “...You can get closure.”

“...Dan Feng posing as Dan Heng…” you mutter. “That’s…. That’s too risky. They’re nothing alike.”

“Appearance is all that matters, my dear,” Signora says. “People change.”

Finally, the door opens, and Dan Feng walks in. But, Childe is nowhere to be seen.

Signora puts a hand on your shoulder but says nothing and walks off.

◆◆◆

Childe’s phone buzzes just as he leaves the men’s room. He has one hand in his pocket as he reads the text message in the “family” group chat.

It can’t be him.

Childe is thinking of how to reply when he sees a flurry of messages from the same chat.

Should we kill him again?

You’d be wise to watch what you say.

Childe slides his phone into his pocket, ignoring the continuous buzzing.

“...I think that’s a question I should be asking you,” Dan Feng said, holding Childe’s cold stare. “I have no idea who you are.”

“Playing dumb, are we? It’s not like you, Dan Heng. You were always so straightforward when you were with me.” Childe slowly started pacing. “Just like when, in a rare occurrence, you lost your temper when asking me to leave your girlfriend ‘the fuck alone.’ Did you forget about that?”

This man was testing him.

“Did I?” Dan Feng walked right in front of Childe. “Well, considering how you were acting towards her earlier, I wouldn’t be surprised if I did.”

Childe stops in an empty hallway and pulls out his phone. The last text is what silenced the group. A message from Tsaritsa.

Keep an eye on him.

Childe enters the dining hall, and his gaze sweeps the room.

You and Dan Feng are nowhere in sight.

◆◆◆

“I didn’t say who I was,” Dan Feng says.

It's just you and him in a small room somewhere in the hotel. You had texted him before he got back to the table that you wanted “to talk privately.” Without moving his head, he had looked in your direction and saw you nod at a door leading elsewhere in the hotel.

“...You’re not really going to pretend to be Dan Heng, are you?” you ask, keeping your voice low.

“Regardless if I do or not…” Dan Feng slips a hand inside his pocket. “I think”—he gestures to his face—”how I look is simply enough.” You cross your arms. “I bet Carrothead is already thinking of ways to get rid of me, and if they are”—Dan Feng looks you in the eyes—”it means they’re guilty.”

“I just don’t want the lies to get out of control,” you warn. “One lie comes with another and another… until they’ll see right through you.”

“Are you worried?”

Your face remains serious. “I'd be a fool if I wasn't.”

“...I understand you're worried about yourself." Dan Feng leans against a wall. "It's still early. You can still say you have nothing to do with me despite what happened earlier. And, whether I take on Dan Heng’s identity or not, I can say that you’re a woman who simply caught my attention. That explanation wouldn't cause any harm.” He pushes himself off the wall and walks towards you. “But then again, we’re partners and partners talk things out.” You slowly look at him. “So, what's your take on what I should do?"

Before you can say anything else, you hear someone rattling the door handle. And just before the door opens all the way, you act upon instinct and push Dan Feng against the wall beside the door just as it fully opens.

Chapter 6

Tag list: @lunavixia @aerithsthingss @boomie-123

[graywrites5567]

Detective Trio (Poe x Ranpo x PM (neutral) reader)

since season 4 is out and I’ve already binged it all hehe I thought some cute fluff of a little mystery gang. Also just saying Ranpo has been one of my favorites from the beginning so seeing his backstory made me so happy. Might add a part two if asked… Anyways here you go filthy animals!!!!

You messaged the groupchat, “Hey fellas! A new bookstore opened up in town and they have a cafe! Please come with me I don’t want to go alone ☺️” with a small grin on your face, you pressed send. 

The phone immediately dinged as you just closed it, looking at message Ranpo was the first to respond, “Do they have sweets? If so I’m down fr” a little giggle. All that boy ever cared about was food. Poe’s response was very blend, “I wouldn’t mind going.” Typing out a reply to Ranpo’s question to make sure he won’t skip. 

“I believe they do, Ranpo. But if we are all down to go I’m available tomorrow evening.” Pressing send and placing my phone on my work desk trying to finish my latest case. Seeing as all of my mystery buddies are from different organizations some would believe it was awkward but it wasn’t, we never brought up work only books and Poe would show his new project. It felt so refreshing to have friends that share a liking with my hobbies. 

You grab your bag with files and got ready to leave. As you were leaving the warehouse, you decided to check the chat,

     5 new messages 

P - “Evening, like what time evening because I don’t want to be too early?

R - “No need to stress Poe, actually bigger question how can I get there? I hate buses and trains they’re to complicated!”

P - “I don’t have a car but maybe Ranpo we could meet up and go together via Taxi” 

R - “Yeah but we could just force (Y/N) to take us because they have a car and then we wouldn’t have to pay!!” 

P - “mm I guess we could ask but from the lack of replies they probably are finishing work.” 

“Wow these moochers” you whispered under your breath giggling  as you’re walking down the corridor to leave. “Ahem Mx. (Y/N) what’s the giggle about?” The man spoke but you didn’t want to look up and see his face. “Hello boss… nothing just a few personal thoughts…” looking at Mori’s shoes trying not to break underneath the stare he has. “Hm that’s nice. Did you finish the case I’ve assigned you?” You nodded at the boss’s question trying to finish this interaction as soon as possible. “Ah thank you I’ll take the files now then, also take tomorrow off if you already finished..” You finally made eye contact with the man and reached into your bag taking out the file. Handing it to him with a question,  “Are you sure you don’t need anything tomorrow?” It wasn’t that you like working it was that you needed the money. He nodded his head and walked off, you should have known not to question his judgment. You just walked out to your car not wanting to look stupid.

Finally in your car, you felt safe enough to answer the messages.

“Okay moochers I’ll give you two a ride, I’ll pick you up at the ADA if that’s fine with you Ranpo.” Pressing send and putting the phone in a car holder to speed out the parking lot. 

3 new messages 

P - “I am not a moocher! It wasn’t my idea to force you to drive, I asked nicely”

R - “ Yeah I’m fine with being picked up from the ADA as long as we don’t have to PAY 😈”

P - “Thank you very much 

(Y/N)” 

Being home was such a nice atmosphere, the feeling you get from coming home after working with a deadly mafia that constantly overworks and threatens you is a different type of relief. You planned on checking your phone after making dinner, showering, and getting ready for bed. But that didn’t work after you kept hearing it go off in your bedroom. Walking over and seeing new 6 messages from the chat. 

R- “Wait I FORGOT I DON’T HAVE MONEY” 

R- “POE pleaseeeee pleaseeeee pay for me I’ll pay you back”

P- “The other day you were bragging about having enough money for snacks”

R- “EXACTLY I SPENT IT ALL ON SNACKS” 

R- “IT WAS A GOOD CHOICE I HAVE NO REGRETS!”

R- “POE I KNOW YOU ARE READING MY MESSAGES!!! ANSWER ME!” 

Goodness these two boys could never get enough of their own little games. You made sure to put extra money in your wallet before going to bed for the night. Deciding what time to set your alarm and finally hitting dream land. 

  One new message 

P- “Last time you said you would pay me back, it took 5 months just to convince you to pay me back” (sent 3am)

    * The next morning *

Finally ready, you looked in your full body mirror to check your outfit. Grabbing your keys and heading out the door. Opening your sliver SUV driver door ready to head off for your trip. Starting the car, reading your mental list of everything you have to make sure you didn’t forgot anything. 

Outside the ADA office honking your horn to tell Ranpo you’re here about 5 minutes early.  Ranpo walked to the window looking at the window waving seeing you wave back. With a loud giggle from the shorter boy he says,”Come on Poe, they’re here” before the boys can leave, Dazai looks out the window seeing you hanging out your driver window. Dazai makes an ahem to catch Ranpo’s attention, “Ranpo what are you doing with a detective from the Port Mafia?” Dazai’s glare was sweet but laced with questionable intentions. “Oh (Y/N) I don’t see a problem with their occupation. I’m the world’s greatest detective I would be able to see if they had bad goals. So (Y/N), Poe, and me are going on a trip.” Ranpo set things straight and walks out with Poe. “Let’s not tell       (Y/N) about what Dazai said. My friends care about me so they have the right to ask questions, but (Y/N) shouldn’t feel as if their job affects our friendship…” Ranpo tells Poe before walking out the building to your car. 

Connecting your music to the car radio and waiting for the boys to figure out seating arrangements. Ended up in a fight and you had to pick. Ranpo in the backseat in the middle which left Poe the passenger seat. “OH Come on (Y/N) again with (fav artist) don’t you have any better taste!!!” Ranpo whined as if he didn’t compliment your music a few days ago when you sent him a song. “I think this music is quite good..” Ranpo said quietly. “WOW don’t be a suck up POE BE YOUR OWN MAN!!” Ranpo said with a grin and you couldn’t help howling with laughter.

Pulling into the parking lot of the library, which to our pleasure was mostly empty. You and Poe share a dislike for public eyes to stare. Turning off the car and hoping of the car with the boys, putting your keys into your pocket, “What genre of book are we getting first?” You say thinking really hard. “I want to look into the mystery of course” Poe said walking behind the car to be beside us. Ranpo made a face then spoke, “Maybe thriller I don’t know first I’m checking the menu” with a laugh you three walked in.

[doberbutts]

In regards to Doctor Who, I also stopped around the same time as you and recently picked it back up.

I like some of late Capaldi, but the early stuff was really uninteresting to me. His episodes suffered from a few writing issues, but the second half of his run was okay in my mind. Some episodes better than others.

I liked Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor, but I wanted to scream at the writers the entire time. We'd get to a point of understanding where the mystery or theme of the episode finally got revealed, and I'd start to get interested. And THEN they would spoon feed it directly to the audience, like noooo, let me be lost in the horrors for a bit before you spell it out like the end of a children's TV program, PLEASE. I promise I'm capable of exploring the implications for 5 seconds before you read out the message like the back of a cereal box, I beg of you. Her specials were alright, though, they were kinda fun, if a little out there...

Haven't seen the new specials, but I really REALLY hope they do the new Doctor justice. A lot of fans kinda ate Jodie alive, but it wasn't her fault. I'm gonna be really upset if they set him up for failure! People are already making assumptions based on bias. I really want them to set him up for success!

I honestly just think Capaldi isn't the type of actor I want to watch play the Doctor. So when he was announced I just sort of went "mm. Meh." and then stopped. And I had a hard time connecting with Clara, so the combination of a Doctor who I was fairly meh about and a companion I also was fairly meh about more or less killed my interest in the show.

I've said before but not super recently I think but I actuallyyyyyyy am not very interested in alien or time travel stories because I think individually they are very boring and together they are a bit contrived. Unfortunately that is like 99% of the point of Doctor Who so 9, 10, 11, and their companions were able to keep me from going "wow I really don't like alien or time travel stories" because I was invested in their personal character arcs. But if I start off already not really liking the main character draws to the show, then I have to actually focus on the alien and time travel plots, which I don't want to do, because I don't like those genres.

[it's why torchwood worked for me but not star trek, I can focus on something other than aliens in torchwood because I'm mostly having fun watching Jack and Ianto shenanigans, but star trek is *about the aliens* so unfortunately Spock shenanigans were not enough to distract me from disliking the other 99% of the show]

However. Hot Black Doctor. But then I feel like I'd have to watch 12 and 13 to catch up to Hot Black Doctor. Also I am trying really hard to reserve judgement because maybe it makes sense plotwise but I am somewhat annoyed that we have Double Doctors with one of them being a white dude who has ALREADY PLAYED THE DOCTOR AND IS SUPER POPULAR AS POSSIBLY NEW WHO'S FAVORITE DOCTOR [albiet, a white dude whose Doctor I did really like] who is at extremely high risk of majorly overshadowing Hot Black Doctor. Can't even have a standalone black generation without white people making sure they're included.

[yoo-jeongneon]

the sticky tab series | sticky tab four: 4B

× minors/ageless/empty blogs dni. you will be blocked. ×

× series masterlist × main masterlist × × <- previous × next -> × seventeen (ot13) x gn!reader genre: thriller, mystery, drama warnings: journalist!reader, unknown occupation!vernon, explicit language, vaping, reader kinda gets called out, two undisclosed member mentions, written as a journal entry in the first person, dates given in dd/mm/yyyy word count: 1.6k taglist: @hipsdofangirl × @strawberri-uyu × @asyre × @minhui896

"How about I phone him and let him know his master plan worked?"

Joshua said the two words so sarcastically I almost snorted. We had talked about the message, and I even gave it to him to read. Joshua wasn't surprised, but he also couldn't believe it.

His suggestion put me at odds. Aside from the man from 3A, the guy who wrote the message was the one I felt most worried to be confronted by. Joshua recognised this in my expression. "Trust me, Vernon's not a guy to be scared of." He unlocked his phone and tapped a few buttons.

Vernon.

The dialling tone rang so loudly I could tell Joshua had it on speaker. Eventually, a low voice spoke. "Joshua? What do you want?"

"You actually decided to run your smart mouth off in a note and leave it on the desk at reception, didn't you?"

Vernon cackled at that. "I told you I would, didn't I? Nobody believed me, well, apart from Soonyoung."

Soonyoung?

"Yeah, well your attempt at being funny has kinda cost you a bit."

The whole world seemed to go silent. Vernon didn't speak until he muttered a genuinely perplexed, "What?"

Joshua looked at me with a smug grin on his face. "Leave the door to your apartment open, you'll see why in a sec."

My face grew.. unamused at this. It was clear to me that at least some residents here were no strangers to playing games and pulling pranks but, to be pushed as a mystery to be revealed didn't feel so great.

I suppose at that point I realised just how some of them felt.

Before Vernon could reply, Joshua ended the call. He set his phone on the table and stood up, inviting me to leave the apartment with him and go downstairs to meet Vernon. I shoved my journal and pen back in my bag and followed him out of his home.

We headed down to the fourth floor. Music was coming from 4B, and 4A was comparatively quiet. I wondered if the Soonyoung that Vernon had mentioned on the phone lived in 4A..

Joshua waltzed over to 4B, but before he could knock, the door opened, and Joshua let out an, "Ah!"

"The fuck is going-" When he noticed me he jumped. "Fucking he- who the fuck-" I myself flinched at his reaction. He pointed towards me and spoke to Joshua between gritted teeth, words I couldn't make out, but I knew they were no short of bewilderment.

Joshua waved a hand. "Calm the fuck down, they just read your note and y'know.. everything you put in it."

Vernon looked as though his entire life was going to shatter. "I just put that note there to be funny! I didn't think anyone was gonna come here and read it!"

"Well, someone has! You've got a lot to answer for. Have fun!" Joshua waved, then passed me by with a smile before going back up to his apartment.

Vernon and I stood in the hallway at a distance that seemed like acres apart. I didn't want to take a single step forward, visions of the floor collapsing running rings around my head. He clutched his short, black hair and muttered something to the effect of, 'you've gotta be fucking kidding me..'

His words came back to me - 'I just put that note there to be funny!' - and told him that we didn't need to talk about it if it was all just a joke that I took way too seriously.

He let out a long, drawn sigh and said, "Do you have the note?" I confirmed and took it out of my bag to prove it. "Did you.. actually go up to 6B?"

I explained about the phone ringing at reception, and how it was 6B - Junhui - that called. I went on to tell him what subsequently happened, and he nearly disintegrated into the carpet.

"So that's the noise I heard not too long ago? Junhui and Wonwoo arguing again because.. And now you're here because.." I hid my lips and stared at the floor. "Fucking hell, Junhui."

"Again, I can leave if you-"

"No- No, um.. I guess.." He stepped to the side. "There is something I'd like to say."

name: hansol vernon chwe

date of birth: 18/02/1998

date moved in: 06/05/2019

The first thing Vernon did was turn the music off. It was 2000s indie rock, a band I probably knew but couldn't place. He exhaled and turned back to me. "I still cannot believe you read the fucking note."

I answered him honestly, "It caught my attention. Reading through it I could sense frustration. I didn't know anyone lived here, I thought it was empty just like everyone else. Finding this note is what told me differently."

"And then Junhui decided to phone reception and.. here we are." He took a seat on a bean bag chair in the corner of the room near a widescreen TV and pulled something out of his pocket. Right away I could see it was a vape. He told me to take a seat on the sofa across from him, and so I did.

I unfolded the piece of paper in my hand and decided to read some of it aloud, "'You are kind of a nosy fucker though.. And you're probably a journalist. Even worse.'"

Vernon snorted a laugh and took a hit of his vape. "I said that 'cause really, who likes journalists?" I hummed to myself; it is true, journalists aren't particularly loved. "But I don't really mean anything by it. Honestly, I was kinda freaked out that someone would genuinely visit this place and wanna write a story about it. I figured if someone did turn up, they must've done a lot of digging to work out there were people living here."

That was exactly what Wonwoo had said. I looked up at him. Vernon asked me for my name, so I told him. I then mentioned the footnote he added about not going to 3A.

"Okay, that was a bit mean of me, I must admit," he said. "He's not rude, he just doesn't like journalists. He probably won't wanna listen to whatever reasons you have for showing up. That's why I mentioned Junhui. If there was anyone who would actually wanna talk to a journalist, it was him since.. he was one, y'know."

We sat quietly for a while. I was unsure of where to take the conversation. By this point I was in way too deep, and understood more about Drawbridge than I ever thought I was going to, or cared to know for that matter.

Vernon eventually questioned why I even showed up. I explained, and I did think myself a broken record, but I knew if I ended up meeting all of them, they were all going to be curious.

"So.. you thought this building was completely empty?" I affirmed this. "Nowhere during your research of this place did anything turn up that there were people living here?"

"There have been theories, but I dismissed them as speculation." Which was true; people had wondered for months whether or not someone had actually taken up residence.

"You fell into the narrative of the 'Silent Dweller'."

My jaw clenched.

"Seriously.. who could really actually believe that no one had lived here at all?"

My heart stopped.

"I'm kinda glad you picked up the note, even if I did just leave it to be funny. Proved my point that if someone wants to go snooping, they'll latch onto any kind of evidence."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Vernon hopped up to answer it, and I was left frozen to the sofa, head emptying of any and all thoughts.

Upon opening the door, I heard one name, "Wonwoo."

"Is that journalist still here?" It was quite muffled, but I still picked up the words.

"Over there." I could feel both pairs of eyes boring into my back.

"N, is it?"

When Wonwoo called my name, I felt compelled to stand up and face him. Out of shock more than anything, but in retrospect it's no surprise that he learned my name; I think it must've been from Junhui.

"Can I.. have a word?" Vernon shot him a look, but Wonwoo ignored him. I rolled my shoulders back as best as I could and promptly left 4B. Behind me the door slammed shut, which startled both of us. Vernon had nothing more to say to me.

"Junhui and I have had a.. chat. You wanna know some things about Drawbridge, huh? You're not one of those.. shady journalists about to put us on billboards?"

Vernon's words stuck with me. At the end of the day, I did read the note. I did pick up the phone. I did answer Junhui's call to go to 6B. And now I was standing here, in front of Wonwoo, having met five out of thirteen men already and thinking I've understood more than I ever bargained for.

I shook my head before I could even think.

Wonwoo nodded once. "Let's go up to 6B. By the sounds of things, Minghao might want a word too."

I knitted my brows and followed him back up to the sixth floor. Who was Minghao?

Details of note from our discussion:

vernon shared nothing with me about the apartment, except the fact that it's hard to believe anyone fell for the 'silent dweller' narrative

he himself admits that he was mean with his note about 3A

× yoo-jeongneon ×

[aradiamegido]

Vampire Roommate #3

Nikolai sits me down on the couch. His expression is one of stern concern. “I’m worried about you, Stephen.”

I wave my hand. “I’m fine.”

“You’re clearly not. You’ve been drinking more and more, not to mention the illegal substances.”

“Pot’s legal here, dude.”

“Not on campus.” He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Look. I understand your breakup with Jeremy was rough—”

“Fuck that guy,” I interrupt, reaching for my beer. Before I close the distance between it and my hand, he’s taken the beer and is standing at the sink, pouring it out.

I blink. How did he move so fast? Wait, he was on the track team in high school. That checks out.

“As I was saying.” He finishes pouring out the beer and resumes his spot on the couch. “You cannot spend the rest of your life wallowing in misery over someone who is probably already over you.”

“He’s not over me,” I insist. “He keeps messaging me, asking if we can get back together. I haven’t responded.”

“Good, don’t. He’s not worth it.”

I scoff and reach for the non-existent beer, then stop. “You don’t know that.”

He rolls his eyes—eyes that are dark and mysterious, eyes that almost glow red in the light of the dorm. “I don’t need to read his mind to see that. He treated you like garbage, and you’re better off without him.”

“He didn’t! He didn’t.” My voice trails off as I start to think about Jeremy. “I mean, maybe he wasn’t the most considerate dude on the planet, but he meant well.”

“Did he, or are you just making excuses for him?” Nikolai arches one of his perfectly manicured eyebrows.

“I—I’m not making excuses. He said he loved me.”

Nikolai’s voice softens. “But did he really mean it?”

Silence falls between us. I’m still a little drunk, so it’s hard for me to think clearly. At last, after what feels like a century, I pull my knees to my chest.

“I guess not.” My voice is barely above a whisper. I can feel the tears starting to well up and I inhale deeply, trying to push them away.

More silence. I continue to try not to cry, and eventually, I fail. Tears slowly roll down my cheeks, but I hardly pay them any mind. Maybe I had already known that Jeremy wasn’t a good guy and that I needed to leave him, but realizing that still hurt.

Nikolai gestures to get my attention. I look over. He’s offering me what looks like a square of fabric. There’s some sort of embroidery on it, but I can’t be bothered with the details.

“Here.”

I take it from him and wipe my eyes with it. It’s perfumed—lavender. “Thanks.”

He nods. “Keep it.”

“Are you sure? I could at least wash it and return it to you.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t really need a handkerchief.”

“I mean, neither do I,” I point out.

“Yes, but this is a gift.”

“Oh.” I look down at the handkerchief. Now that tears aren’t blurring my vision, I can make out the details of the embroidery. The edges are decorated with thorny roses that look like they’re bleeding.

“Hey, Nikolai?” I look back at him. The odd lighting in the dorm room makes his shadow appear longer, predatory.

“Yes?”

“...Thank you. For talking to me about all this stuff.” I manage a small smile. “I probably should’ve been seen by a counselor, but it feels more real coming from you.”

He smiles back. “I’m glad I could help.” His smile fades. “Sometimes I find that hard.”

“What do you mean?” I tilt my head to the side.

“It’s…complicated.” He sighs and settles back into the couch. “Let’s just say that not all of my abilities are put toward helping people.”

I nod. “I get that. You have to help yourself before you can help others. Putting on your own mask before helping someone else with theirs, as it were.”

“Mm, I suppose.” He glances over at me before looking back at the TV, which is off. Something in the air feels different, but I can’t put my finger on it.

I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, but my head is also pounding, which means I can’t tell if this is nerves or leftover from the alcohol I consumed earlier in the evening. “Do you, uh, wanna watch something?”

“Sure.”

I grab the remote and turn on the TV, putting on Netflix. “Got anything in mind?”

He shrugs. “I’ve never really been a television person.”

I flip through the new releases. “Let’s see. American Psycho, The Big Lebowski, Dracula, Scarfa—”

“What was that?” He perks up considerably, but in a way akin to an animal hearing an alarming sound.

“Which one? Scarface?”

He shakes his head. “The one before that.”

“Oh, Dracula? Looks like some old horror movie.” I look at him and now it’s my turn to raise an eyebrow. “Didn’t know you were a horror movie fan.”

“I’m not,” he replies sharply. “I do not enjoy popular depictions of vampires.”

“Including Twilight?” I ask with a grin.

He looks disgusted. “Don’t even get me started.”

I chuckle. “Alright, I won’t.”

Eventually, we decide on a romantic comedy, one I’ve never heard of. As soon as the movie starts, I can feel myself beginning to drift off.

Nikolai notices this. “Do you want to go to sleep?”

“No,” I mumble with a shake of my head. “Don’t wanna be alone.”

“Alone?”

I sigh. “I’m prone to having nightmares. And I know that even if I’m surrounded by people in the waking world, they can’t help me while I’m asleep.”

“I see.” He pauses. “May I see that handkerchief again?”

I pass it back to him. He studies it, muttering something that I can’t make out (though I’m fairly certain it’s not English he’s speaking). He folds it in several different ways, and for a moment, I wonder if he’s going to do some sort of origami with it.

Then he passes it back to me. “Keep this under your pillow. It should help with your dreams.”

“Seriously?” I look down at the folded cloth, which I notice has a small brown stain in a corner.

He nods. “If it doesn’t work, I’ll buy you dinner.”

“Is that a date?”

“If you want it to be.” He shrugs.

I blink. I had been joking, but he doesn’t seem to be. “I, uh. Alright.”

He pulls out his phone and checks the time. “You probably should sleep, though. A regular sleep schedule also helps with bad dreams.”

“I guess.” I sigh and pass him the remote. “Have fun watching the movie or whatever you end up doing. I’ll see you later?”

“That you will.” He smiles at me. “Sleep well, Stephen.”

“Thanks. You too, Nikolai.”

There’s a slight pause, and then: “Call me Nick.”

I nod. “Then in that case, goodnight, Nick.”

“Goodnight.”

[loop-deloo]

no idea what album thing that anon was referring to but BOY DO I HAVE RECS:

hopping off their billy joel talk, MY personal favorite bj album is glass houses. some of his best work, everyone’s a banger. i feel like i have some credibility here being from long island, so i have many opinions about our boy billy and their all right.

other albums hmmm. i LOVE the kink’s village green. mystery jet’s twenty one is one of the best early band albums out there, the shit that they pulled being so new is INSANE. also the doors’ soft parade.

one of my favorite albums of all time has to be the lemon twigs’ go to school. it’s an experimental musical about a chimp raised by humans who experiences culture shocks and it’s insane. those boys are my everything, THE THEORY. THE KEY CHANGES UGHHHH

what else what else uhhh talking heads’ more songs about buildings and food is up there for me. moondog’s h’art songs. PAUL MCCARTNEY’S RAM THAT’S THE ONE THAT’S IT.

kinda went off oops my bad. these are just some off the top of my head 🤪 anyways love you let me know if you take a listen i love music talk <333

ok claude you sent this like a month ago, i’m so sorry. it takes me SO long to listen to albums bc i have to listen at least 5 times to be confident that i’ve actually listened to most of it. i get distracted :/ i’m sorry. anyway. i am very much working my way through

here are my thoughts so far but i’ll keep going later.

you definitely have lots more authority than me i’m from philly. tell me more opinions on bj though i’d love to hear. i think i was like a solid 8/10 on glass houses. good story. fantastic work album listened to it for most of the day while i organised boxes of pipette tips and inputted hours of mind numbing data oh my god. also some bangers for cleaning the kitchen. i liked you may be right (kitchen dancing). honestly i liked all for leyna even though it was giving slightly musical theatre vibes. just. solid. and erm also v much enjoyed sleeping with the television on. c’etait toi was very sweet and the smooth voice mm, his accent threw me off a bit but that’s my problem. and close to the borderline was a good second-to-last always brought me back when i’d zoned out. did catch myself singin along when my coworker came in the back room where i was which was. er. we’ll oh well (i can’t fucking sing).

ok i have to go now but i’ve been alternating village green and twenty one in the shower (i lost the songs a lot in here so my thoughts are really jumbled and half done but i’ll write me down soon) and making my sister play doors n lemon twigs in the car. bops. i drive in a car like maybe once a week though so it’s slow going. i will sit perhaps soon and report back.

jesus that was a lot. oh welll. there’s more coming ;D

p.s. thank for this message it’s been making me happy when i come back to it.

GIVE ME MORE (not just putting this on claude. all of u come broaden my horizons pls)

[spellbook-gayboy]

Cape-Watch Monthly Bulletin- November 2022

Hello everyone! I’m Robert Keoghan, and I’m sure you must be wondering why I’m doing this month’s Bulletin and not Christina. While she certainly didn’t go down without a fight, she was forced to take medical leave in order to recover from some injuries she sustained, leaving me to fill in for her. While my style may be a little unfamiliar to you, I hope you can make it through this edition without getting too bored! That being said, November has posed some challenges for the world’s heroes unlike any seen before! Read below for more:

Invaders From Beyond!

It only seems right that the first story on the list be the most important one, as well as the one that landed Christina in the hospital. On the morning of November 8th, multiple cities around the USA, including the newspaper’s native Seattle, were suddenly overwhelmed by hordes of alien invaders that flooded the streets and grabbed anyone they could get their appendages on. The people attacked by these aliens, that we now know as ‘Sequids’, seemed to take control of these civilians, acting as beacons that directed the rest of their forces. Fortunately, these people were later freed by rescue efforts led by the Guardians of the Globe and several others, including the veteran Frontline as well as several newcomers. However, the precedent of this invasion was not lost on the government liaison to the American superhero community, Peter Schlottman, who had this to say about the attack:

‘The threat posed by the Sequids is unlike any we have ever seen before. While Earth is certainly no stranger to threats from beyond the stars, never before has an invading species been able to weaponize our own people against us and use them to further the invasion. This has been a worrying development, but the American people can rest assured that we will take every necessary step to counter any future invasion by the Sequids.’

Lastly, as I mentioned before, Christina was also injured in this attack when the Sequids attacked Cape-Watch HQ in downtown Seattle. She was also, for a short time, under their alien influence, staying this way until she was saved by Guardians member Monster Girl. The attack and her subsequent controlling left her with serious injuries that she is still recovering at the time of writing. Despite this, she still managed to find the strength to personally warn me that if I did this wrong, she’d ‘hunt me down and force-feed me the rotten leftovers from her niece’s Quinceanera’. Wish me luck, folks. 

Who is ‘The Kid’?

Our next story on the list is a bit of a weird one, I’ll admit. Rather than reporting on any particular event, this piece is instead dedicated to a rather open secret that still skirts the line of factuality: the mysterious case of ‘The Kid’, also known as ‘The Child’ or ‘The Small One’ depending on who’s talking. For those unaware of this particular urban myth, the long and short of it is as follows: there is a child, commonly believed to be a young girl no older than ten or eleven years old, who is raised not by a single parent or even a couple, but by the vast majority of the American superhero community. Before we delve any further, I feel it important to add a disclaimer saying that what I am about to discuss is mostly speculation, and that no concrete proof has yet been produced that confirms or disproves the existence of such a child.  

The beginnings of this theory can be traced back to a post made back in August on the popular online message board Oracl3s, containing an audio file that the poster claimed was a secretly recorded conversation between them and the Martian hero Shapesmith. The file’s authenticity is debatable, filled with white noise and distortion, but one phrase quickly attracted the attention of internet sleuths: ‘I’ve got only the kid for a couple more days before MM gets her’. The name MM is likely a reference to the Californian hero and close associate Magic Man, which prompted another user who lived in the mystic’s home city of San Diego to reply with a blurry photo. In it, the figure of Magic Man was visible next to a young girl and another adult, which the user claimed was him handing off the child to another hero. The discussion snowballed from there, hundreds of posters adding their own ‘evidence’ to support the theory, dragging in everyone from Fight Force to the new Guardians of the Globe and even members of Capes Inc USA. In response to the growing questions, the government liasion to the superhero community, Peter Schlottman, made the statement below:

‘While I cannot give a definitive answer to this question, I can say that as far as I am aware, there is no ‘Child’, nor are they being raised communally as those on Oracl3s believe so fervently. If there is such an occurrence, I can assure the American people that it would not be anywhere near as malicious as some would like you to believe. Any further information will be made available if it is available.’

In my opinion? I doubt there is a kid. I think that these online sleuths have simply fallen into the same pitfall that befalls a lot of ‘true crime’ communities: relentlessly pursuing a seemingly worthwhile story, without any concerns for either the actual truth of the matter, or for the privacy of those involved. The audio file that started this whole thing is dubious at best, while the supposed ‘proof’ of the photo may simply have been Magic Man talking to some civilians he had just helped. Overall, I would suggest that anyone interested in pursuing this idea further should take a handful of salt with it, as well as remembering two very important facts: a) that what you believe to be going on may not be correct, and b) that even if you are right, there is still an actual child at the centre of this, who doesn’t deserve to have their privacy violated for the sake of solving a mystery.

Biggest Event of the Season

This next story is no doubt well known to many of you who read this newspaper. Last week, it was officially announced by the Twitter account of famed superhero legend Frontline that the try-outs for his new team Breakthrough had officially begun, taking place in multiple government facilities around the globe. Since the pool of potential members is so much larger than any other team in the world, the recruitment process is expected to run not over the course of a few days as is typical, but over a minimum period of three months, meaning that the team will not have taken shape until late January at the earliest. 

While only just beginning, members of the public have already begun to pick favourites on who they believe will make the final cut: by far the most popular pick is the Nigerian heroine known as Omi, whose water-based powers and exceptional public presence have made her a celebrity in her home city of Port Harcourt. Another of the top choices is the size-altering French hero Quark Crusher (or Broyeur de Quarks in his native language), who has made a name for himself protecting the city’s 13th arrondissement, as well as serving as a role model for many of the children in the Parisian-Jewish community he hails from. 

Among these favoured choices also comes a very controversial contestant: one of the confirmed applicants from the facility in Bueno Aires is the Bolivian vigilante known only as ‘Vaquera’. The figure has quite the mixed reputation, with some praising her staggering progress in toppling the largest organised crime families in her home country, while others raise questions about the brutal methods that she used to achieve said progress. Already, there have been calls to exclude her from the qualifying try-outs, but these have been rebuked as ‘shameless attempts to justify discrimination against a potential member’, which is arguably true. Alongside the more valid concerns have come a slew of both racist and ableist comments against Vaquera (who is not only Hispanic, but also blind), which have only served to push the authorities to support her application. Vaquera herself declined to comment, citing preparation for her upcoming match against the Argentinian hero Devastador.

A Small Afterword from Christina

Hey, y’all! I really wanted to thank all of you for tuning in to read despite my absence, and for giving the new hire a chance to learn how to write. Not that he’ll ever write for the Bulletin again. I’d rather burn the office down than let him.

But regardless of who writes for this little segment (which is still me, by the way), we at the office want to take the time to again thank all of our supporters for their generous donations, as you guys are the ones that keep the lights on and keep all of us nice and warm during this Rainy City winter we’re going through right now!

One more thing that I’d like to make you guys aware of is that starting tomorrow, Cape-Watch will also be starting the annual charity drive, the proceeds of which will be used to help alleviate the horrible conditions faced by Seattle’s homeless this holiday season, so if you can spare the cash, we’d really appreciate you guy’s help. 

--- 

And that’s all for this month! Once again, we’d like to thank our donors who help keep the paper running, and we’ll be seeing you next month for the Cape-Watch Holiday Special Bulletin! This has been Robert Keoghan, reminding all of you folks at home to stay safe, stay hydrated, and to enjoy the holidays as best you can!

[harsheeys6]

stolen love

Chapter 1 David

 I look deep into her eyes I see pain; I see her desperately screaming for help. I do not know the cause of her pain, but I want to be one of the people who will pull her out of this living hell. I am a naturally sociable person for as long as I can remember I was always surrounded by people. Unlike her though she is well known, she was no stranger to the spotlight but she was an open book but yet a mysterious puzzles, a puzzle whose pieces are gone missing. Emma Sinclair, who or what did this to you I thought to myself. CUT screamed the director, UGH why so fast I thought to myself as I had to release my hands from her face. The crew members then started to pack up for the day. Wish it was not over just yet, you see I would use any excuse to spend time with her-Emma.

5 months  ago

My legs were shivering and I had no control over it. I was nervous beyond words. My first ever shoot for a movie .my dream was going to begin FINALLY. i kept getting messages from my friends like “good luck man, David you can do it”broo make us proud” and then came a message I was longing for ”son you can do it, me and you mom are very proud of you “ dad , mom I will not disappoint you. Trust me. David called the producer my legs followed the sound, ‘how are you he asked ‘fine’ David meet Emma she will be the female lead for this film. in front of me stood a lean and slender young a bit shorter than usual women her with chestnut brown eyes and her long golden locks waving with the wind and a warm smile on her face. I was mesmerised by her that’s when Emanuel charter -the director added “Emma, Emma Sinclair the daughter of the famous actors Bennet and Sophia Sinclair’ all of a sudden the smile from her face disappeared. ‘Nice to meet you David, I’ve heard a lot about you from MR charter’ ‘the pleasure I all mine MRs Sinclair’ ‘‘oh please, don’t be so formal you can just call me Emma’. ‘Nice to meet you Emma’

MR charter was introducing Emma and I  to the rest of the crew members all recognised Emma due to her parents popularity her bright smile from the beginning was now gone . we then started shooting, it is true saying’ when you do something u desire time runs fast’ and I never knew how time ran so fast. Then it was time for lunch me and Emma had lunch together when the rest of the crew sat together with their groups. ‘how was the shoot’ she asked, a smile spread over my face ‘great just as I expected, what about yours?’ she just nodded her head then with a timid voice replied’ it was fine I guess’ I did not want to question her more about the day so I tried to divert the topic. So we just told each other random facts about each other

‘I find the kitchen as a war zone’ she said

‘The  kitchen?’ I said in astonishment

‘Hmm-mm’ she nodded

‘Ok now something about you’ said she

‘Okay let’s see, I wanted to become a singer until 3 years ago’

A singer? That’s surprising but I’m sure you’ll be a great actor ’

Generally people question me why I became a actor if I always dreamt of becoming a singer but she did not she encouraged me . She was different. She intrigued  me .i wanted to get to know her more

‘You work out?’ she asked

‘Well..ya at times’

‘Would it be fine if I could join you ?’ she asked in a hesitant voice

Ya sure no problem at all’ I was glad I’ll get to meet her, not just in the production house now even in the gym .

CHAPTER 2 Emma

‘Emma! Where are you going’ questioned  Olivia

Olivia to me is one of those people who know everything about me. She is my shoulder when I need help, my backbone who always  supports me, a guide who guides me, a tutor who teaches me and my best friend who does stupid things with me.

‘To the gym’ I replied

‘GYM! You? What happened to you, who are you and what did to the Emma I know’

‘Haha!very funny’

Okay okay so why are you going to the gym

MR charter wanted me to take care of my so called ‘figure’ I don’t know why but that makes me feel like people see the film for the leads appearance and not the story. How typical.so ya I am now having to join the gym luckily for me David allowed me to accompany him

David who? Babe tell me honestly

David is my co-star in the film, he is also a new comer in the industry and to be honest something about him makes me comfortable

Olivia smiled at me ‘ I am glad you found someone with whom you feel comfortable like him ,again ‘ I tried to smile whole heartedly but she saw through me,

It’s okay’ she reassured me’ I know it’s yet hard for you ‘

 I have my lips pressed together in a thin line, a nod as words fail me.

I check the time and I realise that I will be late if I I do not start right now. Just as I get up from the chair I receive a message from David

David-hey I’m waiting outside your house’ your ready o go?

Me- ya..um I’ll be out in a minute

Olivia David is waiting out for me , he came to pick me up ‘ i said

‘then go what are you waiting for’ she said

It’s not that we never agreed on him picking me’ I replied

‘Don’t be your overthinking self he is just trying to be nice’

‘Okay I’ll get going then ‘ I said pointing at the door

‘Byee enjoy in the gym’ Olivia said trying to cheer me up about going to a gym

‘I’ll try my best’ I tried to be optimistic

                                                                      ………

I close the front door and then I spot David in the car’s driver’s seat he looks up from his phone and then at me. Our eyes interlock each other’s I walk up to the car, he gets out of the car and then opens the door to the passenger’s seat for me. What a gentleman. He then sits in the drivers eat resting his arms in the steering wheel, I can help but notice who handsome he looks with his deep blue eyes staring into mine his biceps are clearly visible, his chiselled face and cupid bow lips seek attention, this man is such a beautiful creation ‘what the fuck are you thinking Emma Wilson stop thinking this utter bullshit right now’ I scolded myself for thinking that I mean how could i?

As I go on scolding myself he interrupts my train of thoughts ‘ a penny for your thoughts?’ ‘oh uh..me..i was ju-just..uhm’ he inturrepts me ‘ you don’t have to tell me if you’re not comfortable’ he says with a re assuring smile. Why are my word failing me so much today? ‘sorry I did not mean to make it awkward” I say while fidgeting with my fingers.

He places his hand on my lap while his eyes are fixed on the road , ‘you do not have to be sorry, everyone takes their own time,  I totally understand’ his hands are yet on my lap and his thumbs rub to and fro across my skin thanks to my shorts. I look at him my eyes are fixed on him i am so glad that he is this understanding once again I try to speak but not a lot of words escapes ‘th-th….than..thanks”  finally those six alphabets  escape my mouth.

He starts laughing and I gaze out of the window and laugh at myself

Chapter 3 David

she looks so cute when she blushes with that tint of red that bush that flushes through her cheeks  hers and the look on her face is just  adorable . I want her to feel comfortable around me I do not want her to be worried that she’ll be judged I want her to feel free.

We reach the gym and we get out of the car I was planning to open the door for her, but I failed. Wh then entered the gym .After we go to the gym she is eyes wide open there is a minute or two’s  silence

‘I might break a limb if I do this’ she says

I laugh I can’t help she looks adorable right now

‘Ay! This ain’t funny’ she says while looking just adorable

‘Relax you won’t break your limbs’ I say trying to reassure her   

‘Sighs! Fine but no intense training today’ she asks unsure of my answer

‘Okay okay no intense training’ I say

‘So, what do we do now? Which exercise do we start?’

Lest start with something moderate, like, the treadmill

Cool! I can do that ‘she says with her eyes twinkling

I look at her climbing on the treadmill her curves perfectly visible in her skin tight short and a bra .i take the treadmill next t hers  as time progresses I can’t help but look at her chest inflate every time she takes a deep breath. She starts to sweat soon a drop of sweat glides through her forehead and the fall down on top of her breast. FUCK what is wrong with me .i stop and go to have some water. Emma looks and asks me what happened. I reply that I am fine and ask her to continue. David what the fuck I wrong with you, stop acting like a pervert all such thoughts went through my head.

                                                                       ………

After the gym session I rode her back home there was a conversation, a conversation that might take place between two friends but I don’t not want to be just her friend I want be more than a friend to her.

While getting into the car she sorry ‘sorry did I hold you back today’

‘Oh not at all’ I say trying to reassure her, she looks dull

She did not reply but just smiled, but this smile was confusing, it looked like she was sad, she was in pain, I was lost

I did not want to ask her anything else that might cause her pain so we remained in silence throughout the car ride. She was looking out of the window this made it so much more difficult to read her face.

What did I do? Did I hurt her? Is she in pain?  Is she mad at me? All such thoughts ran through my mind. This was making me crazy I could not bear looking at her right now

I’ve known her for two days and she is doing so much to me. I’ve surrendered to her, surrendered to her beauty, childishness, her bubbliness her elegance and grace, her smile and her mysterious eyes.

We reached her place she turned towards me, her eyes wondered everywhere but my face and thanked me for the ride and rushed out .

WHAT HAPPENED EMMA, EVERYTHING WAS FINE, RIGHT? WAS IT BECAUSE OF THE WAY I ACTED A WHILE AGO?

Chapter 4 Emma

We reach the gym and I get down on my own not waiting for him to open the door, if he opens the door I will be  the hot mess I was, stutteringnot knowing what to do, and I do not want him to know that he can do this to me. Not that I want this to happen to me when he is around me.

Everything over looks so tiring and everyone looks so well-built. I cannot fit in here I will for sure stick out as a sore thumb.  Why am I doing this? May be the film industries was never mean for me! Just because my parents did it doesn’t mean I can do it! ‘Ah! Such overthinking is common for you Emma Wilson but never let your chronic overthinking be your hurdle’ I told myself when I started to drown in my own thoughts and all of a sudden I blurt out some of my thoughts and then the conversation actually went better than expected

I went on one of the treadmill and he took the one beside mine. Everything was fine but all of a sudden he rushes down the treadmill and takes a huge gulp of water and he stays there for a while he looked confused and agitated. I was now starting to get worried. And as for the rest of the time is was very diplomatic it was not like this previously, I do not what happened , did  I screw up again, as usual? I feel terrible for some reason. And when we were out of the gym his face at the beginning flashed and his smile reminded me of HIM. I miss HIM so bad. I don’t deserve to be happy! I don’t deserve to live this life! After getting into the car I apologised for holding him back. He told me not to worry about it and it was totally okay. I did not what to say so I just tried to smile. The rest of the car ride is completely silent. This was the loudest silence I ever had to endure... after reaching my place I thanked him for the ride, I did not have the guts to look at him right now he reminds me of HIM do much . I rushed out of the car.

 I could breathe again thank goodness, it was the toughest car ride ever. I hate it why is David reminding me of HIM? I feel like I am taking advantage of him. I do not want this to repeat ever again.

‘Emma’ olivia yells as she enters my room after me sitting in solitude for an hour breaking the silence. Right after seeing her I burst into tears

‘olivia I do not know what to do, this confuses me’ I say pleadingly

She hugs me. I am sitting on the bed and she is standing beside me. My face buried right below her ribcage. I was crying uncontrollably. I was nodding my head right to left. Her hands were rubbing my shoulder.

‘Shhh…shh it’s okay, it’s alright, it will all be okay’ she says

‘Will it?’ I ask her

‘Yes’ she says in a fable voice ‘nothing is permanent’

  I just cry more and more

‘What happened’ she asked

I narrate her story; we both are lying on my bed right now, staring at ceiling. We both say nothing she hold my hand and rubs her thumb on the back of my palm. I don’t know how she consoles me even without saying a word.

She then says it's okay you can’t help certain things

‘I can’t think about him when I am with David can I now?’

‘Ok I understand it, first of all, try to digest the fact that-‘                          

I exactly know what is she going to tell and I am not ready to listen to it so, I interrupt her ‘pleas no ‘I plead her

She gets up and sits on the bed and then looks at me ‘it’s not a crime you know that right ?’

‘It’s not but it feels wrong’ I say

‘its not wrong to get close with someone ‘

I can’t find any words so I stay silent

Olivia continues ‘you know you do not need to be romantically interested in him he could just end up as a good friend’  she said ‘don’t overthink all these situations just go with the flow’

That hit he, it hit me hard, this is the advice I needed the most. I sit up erect and I hugged her I felt light right now ‘i am so glad that I have you’ I said ‘thank you , thank u so much babe , I love you’ . She smiled and said ‘now relax and don’t be your usual overthinking self ‘ I furrowed my eyebrows and pouted, she started laughing and the way she laughs makes me laugh , we both continue to laugh like two crazy lunatics.                                                

                                                                    …………

 Olivia and I spent the rest of the time we had together discussing about shit, shit that made up laugh, we spoke complete nonsense.  I am so glad to have her, she knows everything I went through, she was always there for me and most importantly she understands me she puts up with my mood swings and so much more.

I see my watch and jump out of the bed, ‘oh , soot I need to get ready’I said ‘ my shoot will start in like 30 minutes ‘

‘Go get ready ‘ said Olivia 

                                                                  …………

‘Tada !! how do I look’ I asked

Okay-ish was the reply I received

Seriously?

Okay, fine, you look good

I was ready a to head out,  I was just going through the script that I did not hear Olivia scream my name and after her yelling my name at least thrice I give her my full attention, she tells me ‘em, don’t worry and especially don’t overthink’ I just keep nodding. I then smile back and say ‘I won’t do the same mistake twice’.  Olivia flashes a bright smile and hugs me . I wave her bye and we walk out to the car and we part ways.

                                                                       ……………

Chapter 5 David

I drive to the set and the first thing I see once I enter the set is her, all I see. Emma is sitting in the chair next to MR Charter, she is going through the script and seems much more joyous than earlier today. I feel a sense of relief. I stand there for a movement and admire her .what’s wrong with you David I think to myself, you are a love-sick puppy aren’t you? My train of thought had come to a halt when MR Charter calls out my name, “hello MR charter I respond”  Emma turns toward me and smiles, “come over here and rehearse your lines with Emma “ says MR charter. I walk toward them and sit beside MR charter, I don’t sit beside Emma as I don’t want to make her uncomfortable again.

Have I made you wait long? I ask MR charter, oh no you’re not late MR charter reassures me. And the two you MR charter says don’t call me MR CHARTER you can call me Emanuel itself I’d prefer that more sure Emanuel says Emma with a smile on her face, MR charter, sorry Emanuel lets out a breath of relief

Emanuel had to go as he was goin to shoot another scene of the film “be ready the two of u the next scene is yours �� informed Emanuel. Emma and I went to and fro with the dialogues . we might have rehersed the script atleast 7-8 when Emma I a fable voice asked “ would it be okay if we stoped right now”

“Sure”I said “actually I was going to ask you the same thing”

“great minds do think alike” she said “ though my mind is not great at all”

“maybe you’re not great intellectually however you will be great at something else” I say “ nah I don’t think so “ she say

“that cant be true, every one is really good at something or other”I say “then what are u good at” she asks me

“ME” I ask, she nods her chin resting on her fist and her lips pressed into a thin line well I do like photography and cooking gives me pleasure  ”

“Cooking, how do u do it, “I said

[nicsnort]

Trial by Fire (part 36)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

Kurt was mindful of his presence. He kept close to the roof to minimize the risk of being seen. Not that he intended to stay there for hours at a time like a gargoyle, but a few minutes would be plenty just to have anyone who saw him think they had lost their mind for a second. In any case, he wanted to observe the journalist -- he often had, since the fight in Genosha, lamented not being anywhere near her when he had the chance. Had he known…

His eyes narrowed as he watched her, trying to focus on something. There was color on her wrist, both wrists, that looked odd. Kurt’s heart fell when he realized what he was seeing. Bruises? But it made no sense. Why would they have kept her chained up? Why would they do that and allow her to return to...here? To let her message him? Did she know he was an X-man? No, that went without saying. But did they? She said something, but he wasn’t close enough to hear. Kurt had to quickly duck when she turned. None of this made sense.

It was only when she went inside that he teleported back to Logan. For a second, he wondered if he should have grabbed Bedelia and teleported away -- but since she hadn’t seen him in his true form, he didn’t think she would take well to that. He relayed the information to Logan who only grunted. “Stockholm syndrome is a thing.” He pointed out.

Kurt made a face. “Nein! I refuse to believe that! Not in this.”

“How else do you explain what you say?”

“I...am not sure. Maybe Frost did something to her.” It wasn’t as though he could ask her. Even if he had his inducer and could change to his disguise, it would be alarming to her for him to show up on her doorstep...and it would set off Quicksilver. The best bet would be the cafe. “I need to get to the cafe in case she shows.”

“Just go easy on the coffee, elf.” With that, they teleported away.

Quicksilver had returned just at that second, looking around as he stopped at the front door. Had he heard something? He looked around with sharper eyes. No...no, he didn’t see anything of alarm. He walked inside and locked the door behind him, spotting Bedelia with the laundry basket. 

“So, what are you working on next?” Work was a safe topic. The articles were a safe topic. The growing suspicions and guilt that mixed uncomfortably in his gut were not.

“Well, I have a couple of options. We can’t flood the market with stories about the Brotherhood. But I’ve started grouping those interviews with the refugees together. I can start writing about why they went to Genosha. Once a few weeks have passed, follow-up interviews would be good. For the piece on the Brotherhood. How you have helped the refugees to resettle…”

As she spoke, she started folding the clothes for the sake of doing something with her hands. “But, I also need to do some research…” she thought about the USB sitting in her laptop. “In a few of my photos, I saw some Essex Corp. boxes had labels from New York. I know it isn’t precisely Brotherhood related, but if I can go to the archives, I might be able to find something now that I know they are here and related to Genosha.”

The archives were near the cafe bookstore where she wanted to meet with Kurt. If Pietro could give his permission for her to go there, perhaps she could also convince him to let her swing by the cafe. He had seen the texts between Kurt and her. Even if she was going to let Kurt go, he deserved a proper send-off and apology. She wasn’t going to ghost him purposely this time.

“Mm, yeah, your archenemy.” He remarked, recalling the previous conversations. “If it leads to more press about Genosha, have at it. Could be nothing, though.” He pointed out, a reminder lest her hopes get too high just like he had reminded her and shot down her hopes about that German guy.

Yes, it could be nothing. There could be nothing in the archives or city records. She had never found anything there before. But it was the best she got. It wasn’t like Pietro was going to let her fly off to London or any of the other cities to search through the archives there. And it wasn’t like he would let her spy around the docks to find more Essex boxes. No, the piles of information on the USB and the city archives had to be enough. Bedelia just needed to shift through it all.

Pietro walked around the living room, glancing out the windows. Nothing was off, nothing evident at least. Still, he had sworn he heard something when he returned to the front door. “Listen,” he said with a hint of distraction, “I’m thinking of getting Scarlet Witch...or…” he paused, thinking of the remaining Brotherhood members he trusted. Azazel would be insulted to have another babysitting job, particularly at Quicksilver’s request, though he was good. Blob and Toad were lost causes. Avalanche was an ego wound refusing to scab over, and that spelled disaster. Mystique had just returned to the bunker, and no doubt was needed elsewhere. Trance was too new a member, and Frost would laugh. Riptide? “Or someone to take my place for a few days.” He finished lamely.

As Pietro moved around the living room, Bedelia watched him closely. He was on edge. His following words were distracted and distant...she could tell that he thought something was off. “Of course,” she told him. “Far be it from me to say no. So long as it isn’t...well, you know. I’m sure you must be sick of playing sitter to the Brotherhood’s pet journalist.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw someone moving outside the window. It could have been a bird or anything…

There was a sudden knock on the door. Bedelia jumped just a bit and looked at Pietro. Another knock. She moved to the door and peeked outside. “It’s just a girl scout,” she told him, a bit of relief in her voice. “Looks like she’s selling something.”

She opened the front door leaving the screen door in place. “Hi there, can I help you?”

“Good ma’am,” the young middle-school-aged girl said in a practiced voice. “I am from troop 2432 here in New York; we are trying to raise money for our troop to help supply homeless students with school supplies. We are doing this by selling cookie dough! Would you be interested in buying some for this worthy cause?”

“Cookie dough,” Bedelia said with a big smile. “I love cookie dough. Let’s take a look.” Pulling down the screen, she was given the booklet with her potential purchases. She saw the girl eye the bruises on her arm, but the girl didn’t say anything though Bedelia did see a concerned expression. It turned into one of even more worry as Pietro appeared behind Bedelia. Looking back at him, she saw him wearing a hat to cover his distinguishable hair and eyeing the booklet.

“Oh, don’t worry about him,” she told the girl. “Pietro, back up; you’re scaring the poor girl.” She shooed him back just a bit and handed him the booklet to look through. The girl didn’t seem wholly convinced but still gave a smile.

“I’m fine,” the girl quickly said, “sorry. We were just doing classes on bad relationships. Not that I…” Red entered the young girl’s face. “Sorry.”

Bedelia laughed, “it's okay, they’re from work...now then, cookie dough. Pietro, what do you want from it?”

“Don’t think the girl needs an explanation.” He remarked, thinking more that the unasked story would only raise more flags than settle them. He said it in a neutral tone, but Pietro didn’t like the uncomfortable sensation of being...of waiting. Of being off-guard. Not again, not so soon. 

He glanced at the booklet. “Anything with nuts.” He finally decided. “Just not oatmeal raisin.” He was a man who ate nearly anything and had his preferences, but in his experienced opinion, raisins didn’t belong in cookies. Pietro looked out over the girl but, again, saw nothing. So why was he uneasy? 

Pietro thought for a moment before stepping away from the door. Once he was out of sight, he ran out the backdoor to a chain store a couple of blocks away. He lifted a good fifty bucks from a customer waiting in line after he knocked the wallet from his hand -- slowpoke. When he returned to Bedelia’s home, he walked out from behind the door once more. “Here.” He handed the fifty over to the girl, a gleam in his eye. He knew Bedelia would guess where the money came from -- in other words, not his own wallet -- but that made it all the funnier to give it to a girl scout. A real Robin Hood, he thought.

Bedelia took the order form from the girl and began filling it out. Name, address, phone number. The cookie dough came in tubs, each two batches of cookies. She ordered 1 peanut butter, 2 chocolate chip, 2 sugar, 1 macadamia, and 1 snickerdoodle. Nearly the whole array of cookies types they had for sale. The total was 96.77 after tax. Bedelia donated 3.23 to the girl scouts directly to round it up to an even 100.

As Bedelia pulled money from her purse, her eyes found their way across the street. A man was standing between two of the houses. He was short but muscular and seemed to be watching across the street...watching her house. Bedelia narrowed her eyes just a bit. He looked like...no. It couldn’t be…unconsciously, her hand went to her throat, rubbing it. If that really was who she thought it was, Magneto would surely kill her if she tried anything.

Pietro reappeared and handed over some cash. Bedelia broke from her inner thoughts to cover the rest. Looking back across the street, Bedelia couldn’t see the man anymore.

“Thanks so much!” The girl scout said with a big grin. “The order should arrive in about two to three weeks!”

“Of course,” Bedelia told her with a big smile. “Good luck, and have a nice day.”

Pulling the screen back up, she shut the front door. “Well, that was a nice surprise. The cookie dough the girl scouts sell is just as good as their cookies...I’m going to go work.”

Bedelia moved past him, heading back to her office. Sitting in her chair, she rubbed her face.

Being watched by Pietro and the Brotherhood. Possibly being watched by Wolverine and the X-men. And most likely being watched by the FBI - the Girl Scouts in this area were not troop 4232. Bedelia had been a girl scout and bought cookies each year; she knew the troop. If it was the FBI at play, then the government now knew the Brotherhood was holding her - hopefully, it would get them off her back for a while.

Though it raised the question of whether she should tell Pietro or not, no better to feign ignorance for now. She couldn’t be sure, and she had just been let out of the bunker—no reason to give them a reason to put her back there. Besides, as this morning proved, all thoughts of escape had left her. She was the Brotherhood’s journalist.

___

Next

Fanfic Masterlist

[pesterloglog]

Jane Crocker, Jake English, Roxy Lalonde, Fefetasprite

Act 6, page 5521-5540

golgothasTerror [GT] began pestering gutsyGumshoe [GG]

GT: Greetings!

GG: Oh. Hello, Jake.

GT: Im not interrupting anything am i?

GG: Um, not really? Roxy and I are just setting a few things up here.

GT: Ah i see. I would be happy to message you again later if it would spare you any inconvenience.

GG: No, it's fine! It's really nice to hear from you, actually.

GG: I was starting to worry you might have forgotten.

GT: Uh.

GT: Forgotten?

GG: Oh no...

GT: Forgotten what now?

GG: Never mind.

GT: Wait dont tell me.

GT: Is it a tomb or a crypt or somesuch? Are you preparing for another grist seeking expedition??

GT: Oh shit did you schedule my assistance for the raid and i forgot all about it???

GG: No, Jake.

GG: We didn't need your help raiding a tomb. But thanks for thinking of us.

GG: I don't know what this clueless pair of damsels would do without you.

GT: Blast.

GT: Well what in the name of willy howard tafts great tub choking bottom could i be forgetting then?

GT: This is going to drive me CRAZY! Can you give me a hint?

GG: Yes. It has to do with the day I was born, which was almost exactly sixteen years ago.

GT: Of course! Your birthday!!!

GG: Didn't you get Roxy's invitation?

GG: It was my understanding that she gave you and Dirk notice weeks ago.

GT: Yes thats right. Now i remember. The date sure snuck up on us quick didnt it?

GT: Sorry you know how things can slip my mind. The gourd on my shoulders isnt the steel trap it used to be. Nothing like the well oiled puzzlebuster you've got up there.

GG: Mm.

GT: Well damn.

GT: Looks like the egg monster took quite the spirited dump on my face this time.

GG: Jake. I... what?

GT: I feel so dumb. Ill be right over.

GG: Well, if you recall, the party is actually tomorrow.

GG: Like I said, we're just setting a few things up.

GG: Roxy is putting up some decorations. I baked a cake. You were of course free to join us early too. I just thought since I hadn't heard from you in quite some time, you had better things to do.

GT: You baked a cake for your own party?

GG: Yes. So?

GT: I dont know something seems amiss about that. Isnt that against tradition or inviting bad luck or something?

GT: But I guess it makes sense since you love baking cakes. Its like a present you give to yourself!

GG: Jake, what was it you actually wanted?

GT: Oh. I just wanted to get your advice on some stuff.

GT: But since ive been a heel and forgotten about your party maybe i shouldnt bother you with that?

GG: Mmm.

GT: So sixteen big ones huh! The ole sweet sixteen.

GT: Last one of us to notch the vaunted one sixer. Its a big step! I knew youd make it, i always said i believed in you didnt i?

GT: Just kidding, the inexorable nature of times passage virtually assured you would get that old so you didnt really have anything to do with it. I mean not that i dont still believe in you, i do.

GG: ...

GT: I cant believe its already been...

GT: How long?

GT: What, like a year already since we entered? Holy moly, where does the time go.

GG: It's been more like five months.

GT: Oh.

GT: Well thats still a pretty long time.

GT: I have to admit its been a longer stint than i expected. Certainly one involving more downtime than i would have guessed.

GT: I really thought we would have been treated to more action, what being legendary players of a mysterious cosmic game. But no, it seems the primary duty of the so called nobles is to wait around twiddling our thumbs.

GG: Mmhmm.

GT: I am really beginning to wonder when these fabled heroes will arrive? And are they really going to be those we have been led to believe?

GT: I sure hope so. Id so love to meet my pen pal. Dear old departed grandma. But as a feisty youngster! What a hoot thatll be. And you with your poppop. Lets not forget about him.

GT: Not to mention the young strider and lalonde relatives. I bet theyre a barrel of laughs. I met them once but i was too shy to say anything. Then i got in a fight. Did i ever mention that jane?

GG: Yes.

GG: Many times.

GT: Not to say its been all downtime and doldrums. Exploring has been great. Finding treasure, solving riddles, becoming better friends. I wouldnt trade that for anything.

GT: And maybe we are getting close to something big happening regardless? Every day it seems like more and more undead creatures crawl from out of the shadows. Bigger ones and stronger ones. Does their presence herald something worse coming, just as the legends indicate our presence heralds something better?

GT: I just wish we could actually kill the fucking things. Even the little ones can absorb so much damage before yielding any spoils!

GT: Remember jane? Remember at the start how we kept trying to kill them?

GG: Mmhmm.

GT: We would all gang up on like an imp skeleton for an hour just clobbering it repeatedly. Knocking its bones down, waiting for it to reassemble and keep coming at us. Only to finally be rewarded with a shitty pittance of grist!

GT: But i guess the silver lining was it forced us to explore ruins more often and scavenge for loot there. So i think weve learned a lot more this way.

GT: But it sure makes resources hard to come by, having to get them exclusively from chests and whatnot. Sometimes i wonder if weve been missing out on a really rewarding part of the game by neglecting to build up our houses? Makes you wonder. But it just costs so much! Better to stick to making more practical stuff dont you think?

GG: Mm.

GT: Sometimes i wonder if the heroes had the same problems in their game. Do you think they found an easier way to kill skeletons?

GT: Were they just as shameless as us when it came to splurging our precious grist on swanky new duds?

GT: Did the same enigmatic bard haunt their game? And if so which hilarious dead trolls did he throw into the flashy blobs?

GT: Mr erisol tells me he knows many things about the heroes because he saw them in action when he was alive. But he wont tell me a thing about them! These troll sprites sure do love keeping their secrets dont they? Heheh.

GG: That's nice, Jake. I'm kind of busy though.

GG: What did you actually want to talk to me about?

GG: Actually, why don't we just talk about it tomor-

GT: Okay we can talk about that if you insist.

GT: Really jane you sure know how to twist a fellas arm!

GT: I just wanted to get your take on what you might call my own personal ultimate riddle.

GT: It involves dirk.

GG: You don't say.

GT: Its true. I havent seen him in a couple days.

GT: I have been laying low for a while but i just received another series of pushy inquiries from him.

GT: Maybe i shouldnt be too hard on the guy since he was probably just concerned, not having heard from me and all.

GT: But i still couldnt help but detect a tone of desperation, like he could sense i may be having doubts.

GT: This kind of thing has been all too common unfortunately.

GT: Im not sure its going to work anymore.

GG: Mm.

GT: He can be so needy!

GT: If only he could just relax and trust that i wont spontaneously tire of his company.

GT: Although the irony i guess is that his overbearing tendencies are beginning to fulfill his own paranoid prophecy.

GT: Its such a shame. Weve had so many capital adventures together.

GT: I dont know why he has to be like this. He always was an intense fella. But in person... holy cow.

GT: I wonder if it has to do with the fact that he grew up alone in the middle of the ocean? And now he doesnt know how to deal with people without suffocating them?

GT: But then again i grew up under similar circumstances and i think i turned out pretty much ok socially, at least i hope so. Do you think so jane?

GG: Mmmm!

GT: Actually it just occurred to me. Its funny he didnt mention your party in his text.

GT: Im SURE he wouldnt have forgotten. He never forgets ANYTHING what with all his calculations and his computerized brain. Both figurative and literal.

GT: I wonder what his game was? He invited me on an expedition without mention of your party as a potential conflict...

GT: If he sensed i could use some space perhaps he was concerned that if we both showed up to the party it would be awkward?

GT: Or maybe he didnt want to mention he was going to the party in case it would spook me away from attending?

GT: Argh! Do you see jane?? This is what his endless machinations do to you!

GT: Anything he says could be part of some grand convoluted scheme and it just makes you agonize and boggle and wonder until your brain hurts and you just KNOW its a battle you cant win.

GT: You know what i mean jane?

GG: Mmhmm.

GT: Do you think i should just bite the bullet and end it?

GT: Its probably the right thing to do.

GT: Boy am i not looking forward to that conversation though.

GT: Its going to be a doozy. What did i get myself into here?

GT: I think ive made a lot of mistakes honestly.

GT: Not the least of which was getting this shitty tattoo, now that i think about it.

GT: Yes yes i know we all thought it was a riot at first.

GT: I guess it still is maybe? But lately ive been wondering if it might not have been an act of sound judgment.

GT: Can you believe that jane?

GG: Hmm!

GT: I dont know. Its a real pickle im in here but i do feel better just being able to get it off my chest.

GT: You are such a good friend jane, always ready to listen to my relationship woes. What a trooper!

GT: It never ceases to amaze me how excellent you are at this friendship business. Where would we all be without you?

GT: In a way you really have been the glue holding us all together on our adventure. Gosh youre a standup gal.

GT: Oh which actually reminds me of ANOTHER thing thats been bugging me about dirk.

GT: He can often be almost hilariously self absorbed. Dont even get me started on when he starts going off on these long monologues about his philosophical gobbledygook.

GT: I'm not sure he actually has much of a filter when it comes to what others regard as interesting points of conversation.

GT: Not to rag on the guy too hard but i guess at times i would just like to see a little more self awareness from him is all.

GG: Jake.

GT: Did i tell you what happened on our last expedition together?

GG: Jake.

GT: I cant remember if i mentioned. Oh man but thinking back on what happened its even more ridiculous in retrospect.

GT: Where do i begin?

GG: Jake!!!

GT: What?

GG: Shut up!

GT: Huh?

GG: Shut up!!!

GT: Errr.

GT: Did i say something wrong?

GG: JAKE.

GG: PLEASE.

GG: STOP TALKING.

GT: I dont...

GG: JAKE.

GG: I SAID SHUT UP.

GT: Wha...

GG: JUST,

GG: SHUT,

GG: THE FUCK,

GG: UUUUUUUUUUP!!!

GT: Ay caramba.

GT: What in tarnation is the matter jane?

GG: WHAT'S THE MATTER?

GG: WHAT'S THE MATTER???

GG: I AM SICK.

GG: AND FUCKING TIRED.

GG: TO DEATH.

GG: OF YOUR INSUFFERABLE BLITHERING BULLSHIT!!!!!!

GT: Whoa there.

GT: You seem really worked up. Maybe we should just calm down and talk this through like sensible adults?

GT: Also youre going kinda heavy on the caps there arent you? Sort of makes it seem like your shouting. Just saying.

GG: I AM SHOUTING!

GG: THERE ARE LITERAL SHOUTS OF ANGER COMING OUT OF MY ACTUAL MOUTH, AND THEY ARE DIRECTED AT YOU!

GT: Yikes.

GT: Well ok then.

GT: Can you tell me why youre so upset with me?

GT: Is it because i forgot your birthday party? Because i do feel awful about that.

GG: OH MY GOD. WHY ARE YOU SO CLUELESS?

GG: I CAN'T STAND IT!

GT: Really i feel like a tool about forgetting. You know how i am. I forget stuff.

GT: I mean...

GT: Shucks buster. If i knew how to make it up to you i would.

GT: If it ameliorates matters any i am sighing pretty much the shucksiest buster of contrition i can manage.

GG: IT'S NOT ABOUT MY BIRTHDAY!!!

GG: THE FACT THAT YOU FORGOT CERTAINLY DOESN'T HELP, BUT THAT'S NOT IT. SEE, YOU JUST DON'T GET IT!

GG: OH, AND COULD YOU PLEASE STOP SAYING SHUCKS BUSTER?!

GG: SHUCKS BUSTER WAS MY THING! AND YOU STOLE IT!

GT: I thought shucks buster was...

GT: Sorta our thing?

GG: NO, IT WAS MY THING, BUT I ALLOWED IT TO BE OUR THING! BACK WHEN YOU USED TO GIVE A SHIT! BUT NOW IT'S JUST MINE, AND YOU CAN'T HAVE IT ANYMORE!

GT: Uhh.

GT: Ok?

GT: I suppose i could go with shoot buddy. Or...

GT: Fudge junior?

GG: .................

GT: Or maybe forgo an analogous catch phrase altogether heh.

GT: But i clearly stepped in it big time with you and id really like to know what i did.

GG: JAKE, LET ME ASK YOU.

GG: DO YOU EVEN REMEMBER THE LAST TIME WE TALKED?

GT: Hmm.

GT: Wasnt it a few days ago?

GG: NO. TRY A FEW WEEKS AGO!

GG: AND EVEN THEN, YOU MESSAGED ME JUST TO TALK ABOUT SOME STUPID SHIT THAT HAPPENED WITH DIRK.

GG: A TEDIOUS GESTURE WHICH YOU THEN SAW FIT TO REPRISE ON MY BIRTHDAY OF ALL DAYS, WHILST CONSIDERATELY FORGETTING ABOUT IT!

GG: AND EVEN WHEN I REMINDED YOU ABOUT IT, YOU STILL BARGED AHEAD WITH YOUR SELF-INDULGENT RELATIONSHIP CLAPTRAP ANYWAY!

GT: I didnt realize it was so long ago. Sorry about that.

GT: Again all i can say is where does the time go? I guess i have trouble keeping up with everything im supposed to. Which it would seem includes personal relationships as much as calendars.

GT: Im not much of a leader of people. Not like you are jane. I think when it comes to adventuring maybe im more of a solo act?

GT: Which now that i think about it might be contributing to my problems with dirk. Maybe thats part of the reason why i needed some space?

GT: Oh brother there i go again blustering about my problems. I guess i see what you mean.

GT: But really if you wanted to talk sooner then why didnt you get in touch with me?

GT: It feels as though im always the one to say hello to you lately.

GG: YEAH! THAT'S BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE TIME WE CHAT, YOU DO NOTHING BUT TALK ABOUT YOURSELF!

GG: YOU NEVER ASK ME HOW I'M FEELING OR WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO. YOU JUST LAUNCH INTO YOUR ROMANTIC PROBLEMS, AND I JUST LISTEN LIKE AN ACCOMMODATING FOOL AS ALWAYS!

GG: SO I JUST STOPPED BOTHERING! WHY SHOULD I SUBJECT MYSELF TO THAT REPEATEDLY?!

GG: YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY BE THE MOST THOUGHTLESS, SELF-CENTERED PERSON I HAVE EVER MET!

GG: I CAN'T BELIEVE I USED TO FEEL...

GT: Huh?

GT: Used to feel what?

GG: JAKE, HAS IT EVER OCCURRED TO YOU HOW IT MUST FEEL FOR SOMEONE TO LISTEN TO HER FRIEND GO ON AND ON ABOUT HIS BOYFRIEND PROBLEMS WHEN...

GG: WHEN ALL ALONG SHE...

GG: BUT SHE JUST COULDN'T SAY BECAUSE SHE BLEW IT AND IT WAS TOO LATE TO...

GG: I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I'M BOTHERING TO EXPLAIN THIS TO YOU. NEVER MIND.

GT: Now hold the phone.

GT: Jane i think i may finally understand whats been going on here.

GT: In retrospect i cant believe ive been this blind.

GT: Youre right i really can be deplorably thick sometimes.

GT: Looking back i can see how many of our conversations must have been torment for you.

GT: You really should have told me how you felt sooner!

GG: YEAH. I...

GG: I know. :(

GT: If you told me you had the hots for dirk i would have backed off without another word.

GT: What are friends for!

GG: RAAARARRAAUUUAAAAUUAGHGHGGHGGGGHHGH!

GT: Wait...

GT: Did i say something dumb again?

GT: Consarn it.

GT: I think maybe something is getting lost in translation over our respective chat clients.

GT: Maybe we should wait until tomorrow and just clear the air face to face at your party?

GG: NO!

GG: YOU AREN'T COMING TO MY PARTY!

GT: Aw come on jane. Be a sport.

GG: YOU AREN'T COMING TO MY PARTY, BECAUSE THERE ISN'T GOING TO BE A PARTY!

GG: GO RAID SOME TOMBS WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND. GO MAKE OUT WITH HIM OR BREAK UP WITH HIM, OR WHATEVER IT IS YOUR FICKLE, SELFISH HEART DESIRES!

GG: I AM AT THE END OF MY ROPE WITH YOU!

GG: I AM FED UP WITH YOUR STUPID MOVIES AND YOUR STUPID ADVENTURES AND YOUR STUPID OLD TIMEY CHARMS AND YOU STUUUUUUPID DASHING GOOD LOOKS. WHO NEEDS ANY OF IT?????

GT: I say jane. Before you do anything rash...

GG: OH, WILL YOU PLEASE,

GG: JUST,

GG: STFU BUSTER!!!!!!!!!

ROXY: jane

ROXY: yo uh

ROXY: janey

ROXY: u ok there

JANE: I WILL BE PEACHY FUCKING KEEN ONCE I STOMP THIS NOVELTY MUSTACHE HEADSET INTO OBLIVION, AND NOT A MOMENT SOONER!

ROXY: janey uh

ROXY: that aint a reasonable thing you said

JANE: AU CONTRAIRE.

JANE: I BELIEVE YOU WILL FIND THAT ONCE THIS PIECE OF SHIT HAS BEEN REDUCED TO SUBATOMIC PARTICLES, WE WILL ALL COME OUT SMELLING LIKE FUCKING ROSES.

ROXY: jaaaaane

ROXY: stoppit :(

ROXY: ur upsettin fefeta

ROXY: just

ROXY: think of fefeta is all im asking

ROXY: poor fefeta :'(

FEFETASPRITE: 3833 < 383

JANE: OH POOR FEFETA MY SWEET PATOOTIE!

JANE: YOU AND I BOTH KNOW FEFETA HAS HAD TO DEAL WITH GARBAGE FROM JERKOFF BOYS BEFORE.

JANE: SO DON'T GIVE ME THIS POOR FEFETA CRAP.

ROXY: lol yeah

ROXY: my girl fefeta knows whats up

ROXY: she been around the d bag block a time or 2

ROXY: em i rite fefeta

FEFETASPRITE: 3833 < 3;3

ROXY: shit yes gimme a paw bump

ROXY: BOMP

ROXY: jane u want in on this action

ROXY: come give us a fist fulla sugar

ROXY: complete the 3way for max girl power + solidarity against dumb dudes

ROXY: janey jeez dont leave us hanging here

JANE: SIGH.

JANE: FINE.

ROXY: jane that was the piss poorest paw bump ive ever seen

ROXY: that was like a negative bump

ROXY: we are going to have to bump long and hard into the night to dig us outta this fuckin bump hole you dug us into

ROXY: w/ that tragic bump

ROXY: that bump was like

ROXY: shakespearean

ROXY: makes me want to weep softly and leave a bouquet somewhere

ROXY: someone plays a sad trumpet in the distance

ROXY: look fefeta just sniffled a little at how sad that bump w-

JANE: SHHHHHHHH!

ROXY: ok god

ROXY: was just tryin to cheer you up

ROXY: take ur mind off whatever the hell that was

ROXY: you werent serious about calling off the party were you

ROXY: here let me just get the chess guys to help put the table back on the roof

ROXY: and maybe salvage the cake out of that sand dune over there...

ROXY: aaaaand NOPE the chess guys just finished eatin it

ROXY: lets just bake another k?

JANE: NO, I WAS SERIOUS!

JANE: I'M NOT...

JANE: I'm not in the mood for a party anymore.

ROXY: so it sounds like

ROXY: u got jaked

JANE: >:(

ROXY: why yes

ROXY: that is the face of a girl who just got english'd with extreme prejudice

ROXY: he was a block head and forgot your birthday didnt he

ROXY: im sorry jane

JANE: Yeah, me too. Can we maybe not rehash the whole terrible conversation though??

ROXY: yeah we dont have to

ROXY: just maybe try not to hold whatever dumb shit he said against him forever?

ROXY: thats just how the guy is

ROXY: its like

ROXY: he doesnt mean to be a douche

ROXY: but its just kind of a byproduct of the whole ridiculous jake english experience

ROXY: like his dunkass shenanigans leave behind a residue that looks like douche and tastes like douche but it aint the real thing?

ROXY: like douche substitute

ROXY: "i cant believe its not douche"

ROXY: um

ROXY: im just trying to say not terrible things about him in hopes you dont start hating each other but i guess this isnt what you wanna hear now

JANE: >:(

ROXY: soooo yeah

ROXY: i guess jakes dumpin dirk soon?

ROXY: hahah like the writing wasnt so on the wall with those two from day one

ROXY: poor dirk

ROXY: ive wanted to say something to prepare him for that but

ROXY: never had the heart to bring it up i guess?

ROXY: what can u do....

ROXY: hey

ROXY: but the silver lining is

ROXY: i mean if you can forgive him for shitting on your bday and stuff

ROXY: maybe this is finally your chance to make a play 4 the j man??

ROXY: ehhhh??? ;)

FEFETASPRITE: 3833 < 38D

JANE: ROXY, PLEASE.

JANE: AS IF THAT ISN'T THE FURTHEST THING FROM MY MIND RIGHT NOW!

JANE: I AM SO DONE WITH THAT WHOLE TRAIN OF THOUGHT.

ROXY: so you really think youre just

ROXY: completely over him?

JANE: YESSIREE!

JANE: IF JAKE'S THE RAINBOW, THEN JUST CALL ME A LITTLE HOUSE FROM KANSAS!

JANE: WHEEEEEE!

ROXY: wait rly

ROXY: as in like you dont give a shit if he dates anybody or

JANE: MMMMMMMHM!!!

ROXY: i seeee

ROXY: iiiiiinteresting!

FEFETASPRITE: 3833 < 38O

JANE: WAIT...

JANE: WHAT??

JANE: WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN???

ROXY: nothing!

ROXY: i was just...

ROXY: it was a joke!

JANE: WAS IT REALLY?!

ROXY: ok maybe not a total joke

ROXY: but still mostly a joke!

ROXY: im only

ROXY: trying to

ROXY: blurgh

ROXY: i dont know

JANE: ROXY, I GET YOU'RE TRYING TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER, BUT A LOT OF THINGS YOU'RE SAYING HERE AREN'T REALLY HELPING!

JANE: DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING HALF THE TIME?

JANE: I THINK I LIKED YOU BETTER WHEN YOU WERE DRINKING!

ROXY: jaaane no

ROXY: dont say that

ROXY: i had a problem :(

FEFETASPRITE: 3833 < 38(

JANE: OK, YEAH!

JANE: I WAS WAY OUT OF LINE THERE AND I'M SORRY!

JANE: THAT STUPID CONVERSATION WITH JAKE JUST PUSHED ME OVER SOME KIND OF EDGE AND NOW I AM FEELING REALLY, REALLY DISTRAUGHT!

JANE: THIS GAME IS SO MUCH MORE DEPRESSING THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE! EVERYTHING IS DEAD AND EMPTY AND FULL OF GRAVES AND ALL WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO IS JUST KEEP WAITING AND WAITING AND WAITING! BUT FOR HOW MUCH LONGER? AND I STILL DON'T KNOW WHERE MY DAD IS, AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO REACH CALLIOPE, AND WHAT IF THEY'RE BOTH...

JANE: AND NOW ON TOP OF ALL THAT, I MAY HAVE PERMANENTLY DESTROYED MY FRIENDSHIP WITH JAKE!

JANE: AND NOW...

JANE: Now...

JANE: I just want to be alone.

ROXY: jane wait

JANE: I have to go!

ROXY: where are you going!

JANE: HOME!!!

ROXY: good lard

ROXY: all my friends are being disasters

ROXY: welp looks like its just us

ROXY: party nite w gcat and fefeta

ROXY: fefeta???

ROXY: oh dangit

ROXY: hey you know i could have used some support there

ROXY: where was all that profound shippin expertise when we really needed it!

ROXY: usually i can barely shut you up girl

ROXY: maybe you just clammed up at all the drama?

ROXY: hehehe youd have loved that pun

ROXY: the one i just said about the clams

ROXY: aw its ok you had enough drama in your lives

ROXY: you deserve some rest

ROXY: good night sweet princess

ROXY: sooo

ROXY: gcat

ROXY: i guess that just leaves the two of us

ROXY: wow this is

ROXY: great?

ROXY: you gonna behave urself

ROXY: not do anything too uh

ROXY: vexing or cheshire catty

ROXY: i hope?

ROXY: oh mother fuck

[jsbsam]

Oops I've done it again!

Saturday 18th November

A very lazy day today as we wait to start our 3 day crossing of the Uyuni Salt Flats tomorrow. There really is nothing much to do in Uyuni, we've wandered the dusty streets a few times now to kill time but there's nothing to see or do. It's a one horse, scruffy town and it's only raison d'etre is as a jumping off point to the salt flats. You get the feeling that there might be a gunfight any minute, but we haven't seen one yet!

I feel that at this point I should make a confession. If you're still following this story you probably think that, despite the disruption that it MM, everything is pretty much under control and going according to plan. Well, the truth is that this little section of our trip has been giving me sleepless nights since we got here. Why?

Most people set off from Uyuni, travel round the salt flats and then return to Uyuni before heading off wherever. Not me, oh no, far to clever for that! I'd arranged for the tour operators to drop MM and myself off at the Chilean border at Hito Cajon so that we could then cross the Atacama desert, get ourselves to Calama and then fly down to Santiago from there. "Ooh, that's clever" you might think. I certainly did until I realised that the border at Hito Cajon is extremely isolated with no public transport, hotels or anything at all. Consequently, I asked the tour provider to quote for a transfer from the border to San Pedro de Atacama, only 35km away. "Ofcourse" they said "£205 please". I thought they were kidding so decided to sort something out when I got into territory. Whilst in Peru, I was contacted by a chap called Joseph who reckoned he could sort it all out for US$160. This still seemed very expensive, but I checked with a UK tour guide in territory and he explained that it was a very good price, but to be absolutely sure of everything because it really isn't a good idea to be stuck at the border as it's not a very safe place at all and there's no where to go.

Well that put the pressure on a bit so I have been constantly chasing Joseph who has been lax in responding and evasive when pushed for details. By yesterday, when we arrived in Uyuni, I was getting quite anxious, Joseph was not responding to messages, I couldn't get through to the UK salt flats tour provider because my phone mysteriously stopped being able to make or take calls, but was working on data, and the local Bolivian tour provider would not accept an order unless it came through from the UK tour operator. The hotel in Chile offered to help but, in the end, came up with nothing.

Today is our last day with data cover as we won't get any on the salt flats apparently unless the hotels have weak signals in the evening. As a last resort this morning I WhatsApp called young John and asked him to get through to the UK tour operator, explain the contact issues and tell them what I needed. Fortunately, he got through and we've now got it all sorted - hopefully!

I've started to breathe again now that I know I've done everything to keep MM safe for you all. The only other option would have been to return to Uyuni after the salt flats and then head south by bus to Chile - but I hate travelling backwards, don't you?

[liopleurodean]

Season 8, Episode 8: Hunteri Heroici

I have friends there

Interesting

A heartbeat

Something's up

That's so weird

Poor girl

Man, I miss Dean's ring

Right

Wow

Houseboat. Nice

Cas.

Wait, so Angel Radio is real radio?

Interesting choice

Yeah

I'd go

Also, was that supposed to be a White Christmas reference?

That sounds like a great idea!

I love his smile at that 😂

THIRD WHEEL no Cas

Oh, Cas...

Yeah, it does

You've gotta take the road trips, too

Sorry, Cas

Thanks, Cas

Whoo, boy

Right

Cas is really helpful

It's great!

Dean!

Huh.

Detective work!

Really witchy

Don't be mean

Probably, but it's Sam, so

Cowboys? Really

Irregardless I can understand, but I've never gotten the moist thing

Sam Winchester!

Oh. He meant the dog

Yeah, well

Almost?

For a while

Sure

It really doesn't, but okay

Ouch

Cas, no

AS COLUMBO

CAS NO

Yeah

So they were friends?

Cas!

Interesting

That's just whack

Dean.

Nice cutoff, but what?

Don't do it, dude

What.

That's just sick!

Ooh, that sucks

Oh! It's a cartoon! With the heart thumping, and the whole look-down-gravity thing!

That's what I was thinking!

No, Cas...

Yup!

Oh. cas

Right...

Whatever floats your boat, Cas

YEAH IM FREEEEEEEEEEE FREE FALLIIIIIING

He doesn't sleep

That sounds awesome

Dean. Honey. please sleep more

Listen, if angel radio is on a frequency, then it makes sense that Cas can hear fm

CAS AS STITCH IN THE ONE RECORD SCENE

Loony Tunes!

Anvils.

It flips.

Portals?

Of course!

Ew

X marks the spot

Ten Commandments of Road Runner, Cas, come on!

Great question

A lot of weird scene cuts today

I'm looking at that laptop with all the ports in the side, and I'm envious because my new one is "streamlined" and "modern" and "only has room for one USB slot and doesn't support micro-SD"

That's true

Actually, bad idea

Ouch

Oh, Cas...

And the guilt

Oh, Cas..!

It's likely

Triangles

I'm sure they did

Nice

Animaniacs!

More leads

Duck season!

Cas needs more education

I kinda grew up around nursing homes, so I'm cool with it

Like. Bing Crosby? White Christmas Bing Crosby (that's the second time)

Fun!

Dean, when it comes to flirting, it's you I worry about

Nice

Wow!

Oof

We can tell

THE CAT

Tom and Jerry

A little

Sam can relate

Sounds like a Winchester meal

Yeah, well. Sam wasn't a fan either

It didn't take a tour for that.

Sam. It's exactly what you're doing

Completely valid

Fred Jones? Like Scooby-Doo???

Nice

Wait, that explains a lot. Dean's first beer was given to him by the Mystery Machine dude

Worth a shot

INTERROGATING THE CAT

ASDFGHJKL

Well, he watches cartoons

Oop

It's possible

Whoa!

That was fun

No!

Dang it, Cas

That's true

THE BLOOPER

Uh oh

He's changing the channels

Oh no

That's horrible

Exploding firecracker

Suspicious

Probably

Interesting

Oh, that looks uncomfortable

Wow

They believe it

Scumbag

Poor guy

If something happens to Baby-

He's not wrong

Okay

Sort of. It's Dean's, but Sam keeps it

And he doesn't even mention Dean. I guess he's traumatized

Fair enough

Whack!

Yeah

Probably not

Cas probably can

What did he do?

Are they in his brain?

Nice

Fun

That's just weird

Yup

Mm, not really

That's a lot of dots

Not much, Bugs

Pretty much

Losing it

Pfft.

My great grandmother was in a nursing home because we simply didn't have the resources and ability to take care of her. Most people are in professional care for that reason. What a jerk

You get paid! You're fine!

THE BANG GIF

It's stabilizing?

Dean knows about that

HUNTERUS HEROICUS

And grotesques villainus 😭😭😭

Actually, it's really funny that he's called Dr. Mahoney, because there used to be a nursing home near me called the Mahoney House

Ouch

This is great

Nice

I love the error message background

Oh, Sam

Looks like he woke up

Go Fred!

Yikes

Gotta love quippy one-liners

Well see

Oh, Fred

Maybe Cas can turn off the psychic powers?

Okay

Define okay

Good song

Hey!

Have business to take care of?

So... she's got the St. Peter role?

Okay

Baby stories

That sucks

Yeah, he's great

Uh oh

He's alive, isn't he?

Nice

Peaceful

[wodenscild]

mmh not me re-reading all out old conversations and being brutally reminded how wholesome you are and how cool your hair looks.

Also I'm just bullying red jacket friend for having a crush on a TikTok boy (all in good fun Ofc) even tho she doesn't i like to joke about it <3

I'm just gonna talk shit about her except I'm only gonna say nice thing and then I'll tell her i say bad stuff even tho I'm not >:D it is all part of my evil masterplan to get her to join Tumblr !!

her hair looks so fluffy and it has curls and i love her jacket and hhhg- this kinda sounds like i have a crush on her... uhhh i don't? I think? I do this with all my friends? Oh yes i also do this with you. I talk nice behind your back >:D

Also Fenix is so nice !! everytime i send them an ask i just talk about my story and their reactions are so wholesome and really lift up the soul i don't have :D

Mm yes make Nosoulperson look sus operation has started

I didn't say anything no no wdym that was just the wind, or a cause of hearing voices!

WAIT NOOOO MY YARD-TIME- the gaurds are dragging me back to the endless void. I will see you in uhh 2 hours?

-mystery anon 1

AAAAAAA ANON BELOVED SHUSH 🥺🥺 I am sobbing rn that means so so much to me ToT today has sorta suck again- I have been trying not to cry to Cavetown all day FKFKSKDKLALSKS

But I am actually feeling clearer after all of that. I didn’t reply to the ask last night cos me & a few friends were having our own self help group session which was nice. I think I understand my romantic attraction more now- I can’t distinguish between them because my love is unconditional? I just sorta love everyone I care about equally & deeply- there is no threshold for me that I can distinguish romantic & platonic love like that. Tho I am extremely open to a committed relationship I believe. So you know what? Realising that? I think I am confidently aro :] that is nice to accept now! Oh & btw, love you so much Anon!! :D I would actually fight for you

LMAOOO YES anyone who crushes on an eboy (even if they don’t) deserves to be mocked <33 dkfkskdk if you need any like- out of context messages about her- lemme know!! WELL PULL HER INTO TUMBLR

HA Nah I don’t think that is a crush :] you just adore this person a lot & that is a okay!! & HEY I DONT MIND I ACTUALLY DO THE EXACT SAME WITH YOU WHENEVER I GET THESE ASKS!!! SO I TALK NICELY BEHIND YOUR BACK TOO >:3 cos you are amazing & funny & make me _/ & thank you for being a good friend <33

GODS YEAH FÉNIX IS THE BEST & I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!! It is so adorable whenever they send like a 10-15 letter keysmash- it just makes me ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 Cos they are cool like that ^~^

ALSO WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU MATE?? GAOL?? WHAT DID YOU DO??? TOT

[frozcnhearts]

@diverse-hearts-ocs​ asked: “ you make me feel safe. like i’m allowed to be anything i want. ” - Ella to Sehun

Everything she wanted to be?

“ Is this like one of those ‘they said I can be everything I want, so I became an unicorn’ joke? “, he asked cautiously, knowingly that he might upset his girlfriend slightly by saying that. Was it such a romantic line in the ears of others for sure - but Sehun wouldn’t be Sehun, if he would just leave it without one of his usual comments. The atmosphere of romance truly wasn’t his most of the time.

“ If so, then please make sure to become an animal that can talk at least. I don’t want to go to a vet or doctor and do the whole explaining myself. Seems bothersome, no? “.