#‘but everyone knows its a lie’ yeah but the truth makes you sound like a bitch

[formulahs]

watching james consonants reasoning out to the press is so funny like bitch you’re supposed lie

[mad-hunts]

as far as jack could tell, jervis was really out of it; and it made him wonder it was due to something that had happened while he was out with his father, or when they'd gotten here. perhaps both. jack gnawed on his bottom lip, his eyes darting to jervis's hands, which were flexing like he was struggling with something. an eyebrow rose as jack contemplated asking whether he needed some pain medication.

since he didn't receive an answer to his question yet, jack figured he might as well introduce himself. ❝ uhh, well, you don't have to talk to me if you aren't feeling up to it. my sister told me that you fainted in front of her out there — so, i understand if you're still feeling sick. my name is jack, ❞ he scratched at the back of his neck as he continued to observe jervis. whenever the man tried to get up, jack approached him and was about to caution jervis that maybe he shouldn't by lightly touching his shoulder.

but he remembered matilda telling him something about the other really not liking to be touched, so he merely was going to verbally tell him. up until jervis laid back down himself, anyhow. jack couldn't hold himself back from frowning at his poor present state before venturing out of the room with a 'i'll be right back.' and indeed he had been, with two different vials, alongside a few syringes to inject into that IV bag: should jervis want to be medicated. jack figured it'd be easier to just do that rather than forcing him to swallow anything.

he placed those also on the table before tilting his head at the quote jervis had said until it clicked a few seconds later, ❝ that's a quote from through the looking glass, isn't it? and one that the red queen said in the story if i remember correctly. she was basically teaching alice that staying in the same place is falling behind, right? ❞ jack squinted his eyes at that before a thought came to mind. a soft snort left him, but one that was done of an innocent sort of amusement rather than malice. ❝ that is a kind of roundabout way of talking about survival of the fittest. but hey, lewis carroll was all about the whimsy of things, i guess. and its no big deal. ❞

jack pretended not to see the tears that the other shed for jervis's own sake. the blood on his lips was something he couldn't ignore, no matter how hard he tried, though. jack grabbed a washcloth from his pack and held it out towards's jervis's hand. once it was out of his hand was when jack set down that teacup, the slightly too long stripped pants he wore swaying across the ground. ❝ mm, you and dad were both asleep for nearly four hours. sure — i don't think that's silly at all. i keep something on me all the time from when my brother, julien, was still around. ❞ the bracelet he showed the other on his right wrist then seemed to be made up entirely of tiny conch shells.

julien was a big fan of the sea, which jack thought made his death all the more crushing. after seeing the state that the stuffed animal was in, he figured that that bunny must've been really loved; though it didn't really matter by whom it was. the end result was the same, as love changes you. jack knew this well as he'd never wanted anything more than to be embraced by the warmth of it.

he quickly shook that thought off, only to grab the two vials he got from the fridge once more. ❝ eh... the four hours actually went by rather fast. ❞ jack cleared his throat then, ❝ you know, i couldn't help but notice that you aren't looking so hot still, and so i grabbed some meds for you. but i won't force you to take them. i have a pain reliever as well as something that relieves vertigo. are either, or both of these, something you want? ❞

Eigengrau.

A faint hum buzzed in his ears; his mouth was so dry it felt like he’d swallowed a wad of wool.

The thin sheet beneath him brushed his fingertips as Jervis flexed his hands, cracking his eyes open a sliver. The room tilted, everything blurring at the edges. Ah… so he had fainted. Just as he’d suspected. No glasses, then.

"Hey. Ahh, you're awake… That's awesome. How are you feeling?"

The new voice was barely a whisper, young and uncertain—belonging to a boy, maybe sixteen or eighteen by the timber. Was this another of Barton's assistants, a friend of Matilda’s, or perhaps her brother? Jervis couldn’t quite remember; hadn't Barton mentioned something about having more than one child?

He winced, his body feeling heavy, leaden; aching everywhere. Slowly, he exhaled and tried to push himself upright—tried being the keyword. The effort brought only a wave of vertigo, dizzying and blue-hot, making his vision swim.

… ohh, god…

He swallowed thickly, curling into himself. Something wasn’t right. His glasses and gloves weren’t the only thing missing. He was in his socks, jeans, and a now damp charcoal t-shirt, his body slick with cold sweat. His graying auburn curls clung to his neck in tangled ropes. His boots were beside the cot, his messenger bag on a desk across the room. His overcoat and maroon button-down were draped over a chair.

A flicker of discomfort in his right arm. Burning. Tugging.

Jervis glanced down at the source: a plastic tube. A peripheral IV catheter.

"Ah, you know... 'It takes all the running you can do, to stay in the same place,'" he muttered, his voice clipped and hollow; Bermudian accent casual, almost detached. He turned his eyes to the boy; offered him a faint, strained smile. "Keeps things interesting, I suppose... but I appreciate your concern, lad."

He lifted his fingers to his cheek, feeling the moisture trickle down—salt on his lips. Tears, sharp and stinging. Jervis flinched and quickly scrubbed them away with the heels of his hands.

Cold metal pressed into his spine, tight around his neck—the chain with his and Sylvie’s wedding rings twisted against his skin. He must’ve been thrashing in his sleep. There was blood on his lips.

"Forgive me…" His vision swam as he watched the boy set a teacup on the small table beside the cot, just within view. "But I'm afraid I've rather lost my sense of time. How long has it been since I…?" He paused, his voice barely steady. "... if... if you don’t mind, could you please reach into my coat pocket? You'll find a small cuddly toy. A rabbit..." He rubbed his mouth, lowered his eyes. "It sounds foolish, I know... but it... it was my daughter's, you see..."

The boy nodded, moving quickly to retrieve the toy from Jervis’ coat pocket, and placed it on the table beside the teacup. The bunny was missing one of its button eyes, its white fur faded and matted. A pink satin ribbon around its neck was frayed and tattered.

“Thank you,” Jervis said hoarsely. “I must have been out of it for quite a while.”

[grandline-fics]

Forget-Me-Not

DESCRIPTION: Sometimes things happen beyond our control. After an accident occurs your relationship with Zoro is turned on its head and changed forever.

WARNINGS: nothing comes to mind for this one

CHARACTERS: Zoro

WORDS: 2,572

A/N: The next chapter is here. I hope you all enjoy and have a good weekend

*REQUESTS ARE OPEN*

MASTERLIST | PROMPT LIST

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four (here) | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven(coming soon)

———————

The island was drawing closer now and the entire crew couldn’t help but recall what befell them the last time. As much as they tried to look at this as the next exciting part of their adventure they still couldn’t shake the image of your injured, limp body being carried in Zoro’s arms. No one wanted to go through that again but at the same time they knew this was the life they’d chosen and danger was part of that decision. So in the middle of their lunch, conversation turned to the set plan for this island visit. 

“Thankfully from what I can see with this island, it’s populated. I can make out a dense cityscape so we can actually buy supplies we’ve been rationing.” Nami said, setting a quick sketch she’d made of the island. Even for a preliminary outline it was still detailed enough for the crew to get a better idea of what they were in for. “And because there’s a city we have to expect a Marine presence. So we need to be careful.” 

“So who’s staying on Sunny first?” Sanji asked tentatively as he lit another cigarette. Usually it would spark a debate over who would go but now there was a hesitancy amongst them all, even Luffy who still had the usual excitement light his eyes at being in a new place didn’t immediately declare he wanted to explore as much as he clearly wanted to. The group slowly looked to Zoro who continued to eat his meal, not participating in the conversation. 

“Well I know where I’ll be.” Your voice sounded dryly from the doorway, drawing everyone’s attention. They weren’t used to you leaving the medical quarters but here you stood with your empty dishes in hand. With careful steps you walked to the sink and began to wash up. “Unless you’re going to actually let me leave the ship?” 

“You’re not our captive, you can go onto the island with us!” Luffy grinned, only for his smile to falter when you looked over your shoulder and eyed him carefully, still not trusting him. “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to explore?”

“And when I want to go home?” You asked, turning off the water and turning to face the apparent Captain of this group. Your stare was hard and your mouth was set in a firm line, his was the only answer you wanted to hear at this moment. Despite his relaxed nature, if he was any kind of leader, whatever he said was to be followed by the rest of his crew. “If we go on that island and I don’t want to come back here. What then?”

“By that island’s not your home…” Luffy frowned seriously. “Sunny’s your home, you said so.”

“According to you.” You dismissed with narrowed eyes. “Answer my question. Am I allowed to go home. To my island.”

“Uuugghhh but that’s so far away it’ll take forever!” Luffy groaned out like a child being told it was his bedtime, his inability to take your question seriously was making you angry and you hand to reach behind you to grip the countertop to stop yourself from rushing over and smacking him senseless. “If you want to go back we can’t stop you. Nami, you know the way right?”

Nami froze at Luffy’s willingness to take you home to your island given how confident he was that your memories would return and everything would go back to normal. However at his question so slowly nodded. As much as she had secretly hoped Luffy’s stubbornness and selfishness would win out and he’d insist you stayed with them, she couldn’t go against him or lie. Not over this. 

“Yeah, I have the charts…but it will take months of travel.” She said, looking at you hoping you could see that she was telling the truth. “We met so long ago. Your island is near the beginning of the Grand Line, it’s not a quick trip, this will take time.”

“So just leave me on the island we’re going to, I’ll find someone to take me ba-” you flinched when Zoro slammed his bottle onto the table. Finally you tore your gaze from Luffy to watch the swordsman sit back in his seat but still refused to look at you. 

“You’re not being left behind on an island we have no knowledge about.” He spoke firmly and you bit back the urge to sneer at him. 

“I think that decision is your Captain’s.” You forced the words out as calmly as you could. You couldn’t help but think back to the card you’d found in the book. For someone that had claimed ‘love always’ he had a funny way of showing it. “Think about it, the sooner you’re all rid of me, the sooner you get back to your adventures. Win-win right?”

“It’s not happening.” Zoro snapped turning his head to glare fiercely at you. “If you want to go back to the life you had then fine, we’ll see you home but none of us are risking your safety with strangers who could hand you over to the Marines without any hesitation.”

“I’m not a pirate.” You uttered thickly, denying it with every fibre of your being. Over and over you told yourself that no matter what happened, you would be fine, that you were still a good person. Zoro seemed intent on breaking that one comforting thought. You glared furiously as the swordsman rose and approached. When he was in front of you he stopped and looked down at you, his expression even but unrelenting. While the others had been kind and patient with you, Zoro was clearly choosing the harsher path.

“No. You just don’t remember being one. That’s the difference.” He told you coldly. “If we abandon you on that island, you’re easy pickings for any bounty hunter and Marine about because like it or not you have a bounty and that’s not going away. But you’re right. The decision isn’t mine, it’s yours and Luffy’s. So do what you want, if you do end up someone’s captive don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The seconds passed by in heavy, agonising silence. No one dared to move as you and Zoro glared at each other, defiant and locked in an intense battle. Finally your upper lip curled upwards as you ground out a terse. “Fine.” Roughly you  brushed passed Zoro and headed for the door, only stopping to scowl at Luffy. “I’ll continue to take my chances with your crew so long as you promise you’ll take me home after this island.”

“I promise.” Luffy smiled. You still couldn’t wrap your head around this happy-go-lucky Captain and after your heated exchange with his second in command you left the dining area with a firm click of the door signalling your exit. 

When the sound of your steps were gone Zoro let out the heavy sigh he’d been holding. While he hated being so cold and harsh with you, it was necessary in this instance to make you see sense. He felt a small sense of relief when you relented and agreed that they’d be the ones to take you back to your island. At least this meant he could do this much for you, he could see you safely home and still know the feeling of your presence for another few months even if you wanted more than anything to be as far away from the crew as possible. There was no ‘win-win’ situation in any of this for him but as long as you got to live your life content and how you wanted then he could accept that and do his damnedest to ensure you got what you wanted regardless of how much it hurt him. 

————

“You’re sure you don’t mind me going onto the island?” Chopper asked cautiously as he looked over your mostly healed injuries the next morning. The more extreme wounds still caused you some discomfort but you were able to move as freely as you could now and knew your limits so you gave the reindeer a small smile.

“I’ll be fine, you’re only going for a day anyway and I doubt I’ll injure myself here, I’m not that clumsy.” You assured him but still he hesitated. “Chopper, I mean it I’ll be fine. Go and enjoy your exploring. You’ve been looking after me all this time, you deserve some fun.”

“I don’t though.” Chopper protested with a firm shake of his head. “I don’t deserve it.” You tilted your head at his statement. Against your better judgement you couldn’t help but had a soft spot for him. He had saved your life and nursed you to help, pirate or not you owed him a lot and given how much time he’d spent with you in your recovery it was only natural to feel a bond beginning to form with him. Chopper slowly met your gaze and you could see shame in his eyes. “It’s all my fault. That day when the storm started it was my idea to take shelter in the ruins. You got hurt because of me. You hate us because of me…Zoro’s sad and not sleeping because of me.” 

His revelation stunned you and feeling the guilt and weight of his confession had caused a lump to form in your throat. You tried to shake how hearing Chopper mention Zoro specifically made you think of the card you’d found. You weren’t going to entertain the possibility of you being in a relationship with the man. You weren’t going to start to consider that you had chosen this life. It would drive you mad otherwise. Still you couldn’t let Chopper beat himself up over what happened.

“Chopper, I can’t tell you what happened that day and I also can’t tell you that things would have been different had we done something different. I got hurt and lost my memories that’s all I know.” You began as softly as you could. “What I do know is I’m alive because you’ve been looking after me and I don’t blame you for any of it. So do me a favour and go out there and enjoy yourself okay?”

“Thank you.” Chopper sniffled before smiling brightly at you, leaning forward to hug your side as gently as he could. “Will you be okay-”

“Yes! I promise I’ll be fine.” You insisted with a small roll of your eyes. “What’s the worst that’s going to happen?”

“Well it’s just…Zoro’s the only one staying behind.” Okay, now you were reconsidering whether you would be fine on the ship.

————

For most of the morning you avoided going to the deck so you wouldn’t have to run into your only ‘companion’ for the day while the others were away. However there was only so much you could do to pass the time. Ever since you discovered the card you were hesitant to touch any of the other books that were apparently your personal possessions out of fear of finding more evidence of your history with the Strawhats. 

Then you came to the decision, if you were to trust these people to bring you home then it meant you were going to be in their company for more months ahead. Why should you be the one to hide away? You weren’t their captive so you weren’t going to act like one. Leaving the medical quarters you climbed the steps to the deck and saw that it was empty. At first you believed you were alone and continued up the next set of steps to sit in the shade of Nami’s tangerine grove but stopped to see Zoro lying on the grass, sleeping soundly. You waited for a moment but he made no reaction beyond the slow, relaxed breaths. You continued to the seats and sat in the one furthest from the man who was supposed to be the only source of protection to the ship. 

Basking in the sound of the waves gently lapping against the ship and comforting warmth coming down from the island’s summer sun, you sat back in your seat and got comfortable letting your own eyes slip closed. The second your breathing evened out and your head tilted to the side, Zoro’s good eye opened slowly. For a moment he continued to lie on the grass and stare up at the broken streams of sunlight coming through the canopy of leaves and his fingers twitched against his swords that lay against his hip. While he couldn’t sense any current threats nearby, he wasn’t taking any chances.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed until he suddenly he sensed something heading his way, sharply he snatched it in the air and looked to see the tangerine in his hand. Arching an eyebrow he glanced up to see you slowly peeling your own tangerine casually. 

“Thought you were sleeping.” He said carefully while sitting up to press his back against the wooden railing and lightly toss the tangerine you’d thrown at him into the air and catch it, the only thing he could do to occupy his thoughts and restlessness.

“Getting comfortable and sleeping are two different things.” You said simply. “Besides it’s not wise to just nap out in the open when at an unknown island. One near death experience is more than enough.” You added, pretending not to notice the way Zoro’s jaw clenched and his hands faltered slightly at your remark. You did gesture to the tangerine in his hand. “Aren’t you going to eat that?”

“And piss Nami off?” He asked sarcastically. “That’s one headache I don’t need.”

“What she got a rule about the tangerines?”

“Yeah, no touching without her permission or paying.” 

“Funny…” you mused before popping a segment of the fruit into your mouth. You chewed thoughtfully and swallowed, savouring the sweet, refreshing taste. “I don’t remember her telling me.” 

Zoro let out a small huff and smirked, shaking his head before stopping and glaring at the ground. He shouldn’t have laughed at that but for a small moment it had felt like the you he loved.

“Oh come on, that was funny! It’s going against everything in me but I’m really trying here to at least be civil.” You snapped in exasperation. “Or would you rather we fight and glare at each other the entire time I’m on this ship?”

“You’re only being civil because part of you still believes that if you’re not we’ll change our minds about taking you home.” Zoro stated making you freeze. “You don’t trust us, not entirely. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“I don’t have to tell you anything.” You deflected, looking away from him. 

“No you don’t because I already know the answer.” Zoro slowly got to his feet and turned to look at the island the others were currently on, cursing them for forcing him into this situation. He knew that they’d planned this, thinking the impossible would happen but this wasn’t helping him. 

“Okay if we’re playing the truth game then you look me in the eye and answer me this, do you love me?” Your question came suddenly and Zoro turned his head sharply, he hadn’t expected that. You remained sitting in your seat as you stared at him with eyes burning; challenging and intense and as beautiful as always. “Well? What’s the answer?”

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[bri-cheeses]

Evan’s busy reaching across the bar for a couple of drinks, arm outstretched and easy smile on his face, when Regulus walks up next to him.

“Two butterbeers, please,” Regulus nods to the bartender.

Evan turns his head in surprise, clearly not expecting to have been followed. “I was getting you guys drinks, you know. You didn’t have to get up.”

“Yeah, I know. But I needed a bit of a break from all… that.” Regulus tilts his head towards a booth in the corner, indicating the chaos currently taking place there. He’s just escaped the aftermath of Barty attempting to flirt with Remus just to make Sirius mad, which has not ended well. Just like Barty intended. Honestly, Regulus doesn’t know why he puts up with him.

Regulus opens his mouth to continue, feeling somewhat hesitant. He’s not sure how Evan will react to what he’s about say, but he’s going to try anyways. “And also because I wanted to ask you something in private. Or at least, away from them.”

“Hold on,” Evan replies. The bartender’s just handed him his drinks, and he’s trying to find a way to carry them. “Okay, carry on.”

Regulus doesn’t waste any time. “You’re in love with Barty.”

Evan doesn’t look up from the drinks, not giving Regulus’s accusation even a slight reaction. “That wasn’t much of a question, Reg.”

If Regulus didn’t know better, he’d say Evan was completely unbothered by this whole situation. But he does know better, and Evan’s completely straight face as he fiddles with the glasses is a dead giveaway.

“You’re not going to deny it?” He’s genuinely curious. It’s unlike Evan to not, at the very least, try to avoid answering directly.

“Why would I? It’s the truth, and I know you’re not going to tell him.”

“But you’re not really the type of person to be okay with… sharing this sort of thing.”

Evan looks up now, small smile making its way to his face. “No, I’m usually not. But honestly it’s been going on so long that it’s more trouble than it’s worth to keep it hidden. From you, at least.”

“I—” he pauses, not entirely sure what to do with that. “How long has this been a thing?”

“Oh, about…” Evan squints, as if he can look back in time and pinpoint the exact moment it started. “Five years now?”

“Five years?”

“Don’t sound so surprised, Reg.”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

“Because it’s really not that out of character for me.”

Evan flashes another smile and makes to leave, but Regulus blurts out, “Why haven’t you done anything about it? If it’s been so long?”

Evan glances over at their booth. Regulus follows his gaze, where Barty is now gesturing wildly with his hands in what is probably an attempt to avoid death at Sirius’s hands.

“Because,” Evan says, still looking at Barty, “it would ruin our relationship.”

He sounds so resigned to the fact that Regulus’s heart clenches. He feels like a bad friend. He had no idea, absolutely none, that Evan had been feeling this way for such a long time. “You can’t know that.”

Evan looks back at him, amused expression on his face as he asks, “Can’t I? It’s Barty; even if he did feel the same way—which he doesn’t—he would never be able to let himself commit to a relationship. The fear and discomfort would eat him alive. You know that.”

Regulus does, in fact, know that. But it doesn’t stop him from wanting to fix this, somehow. From wanting to try to get Evan to fight for a chance, at the very least. “But you’re Evan. There used to be be bets about when you guys would finally sort out your shit and start going out.”

Evan blinks, clearly not having known that.

“And it wasn’t because people knew you were in love with him—hell, I didn’t even know that—it was because of the way you both look at and act around each other. And I know that you’re too smart to have not noticed any of that, Evan.”

“Well. Maybe. But that’s also just who he is. He looks at practically everyone like that, acts like that with everyone. So you can stand there and tell me that I’m special, but I’m always going to see that for what it is. A lie, Regulus. And I don’t need you to lie to me. This whole thing is already bad enough already, I don’t need you adding to it, too.”

“But—”

“Don’t, Regulus. Just don’t.”

Regulus changes tactics. “How can you stand it?”

Evan gives a sad smile. “Like you said; I’m Evan. I’m always going to be in love with him, no matter what he does, really. And he’s Barty, so he’s going to do a lot of shit. But that’s just the way things are, I suppose.”

“So you’re just going to let him shatter your heart and stomp all over it?”

Evan smiles bitterly. “He’s been doing that for years, Reg. You’re a bit late to the game.”

Regulus hates this, hates Evan’s defeated tone and tired eyes. “How are you just so calm about this? Don’t you hate it?”

Evan considers that. “I did, for a while. I spent a long, long time hating it. But it only cost me energy I couldn’t afford to lose, and it didn’t change anything in the end.”

And there’s not a lot Regulus can say in response to that, so instead he eyes Evan: the regretful smile, the sad slump of his shoulders, and the way his body is subconsciously turned towards Barty, even now. “Are you… going to be okay?”

“Of course, Reg, why would you even ask?” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “This is just the hand life has dealt me. I’m used to it by now. You might as well get used to it, too. Nothing’s going to change between Barty and me.”

And with that, he shoulders past Regulus, drinks in hand. And Regulus watches him go, unable to unsee how painfully in love Evan is. He watches the way Barty’s entire face lights up when he sees Evan, he watches the soft smile Evan gives Barty in return, and he prays to anyone who’s listening that Evan will turn out to be wrong.

[phoenixs-fandoms-and-writings]

Being Around You Makes Me Feel Better

Fandom: Harry Potter - Marauders Era

Pairing: James Potter/Reader

Character: James Potter

Summary: You have a bad day, where you hate yourself and the way you look. You sneak into James’ bed in his dorm and thats where he finds you and spends time trying to make you feel a bit better or at the very least forget for now.

Reader is autistic and so am I.

Notes: I don’t own Harry Potter or its characters. I also don’t believe JKR’s beliefs. This account is safe place for all.

I do not give permission to anyone to repost or translate any of my stories. I also do not give anyone permission to feed my stories through AI or to be posted to any third party website or app. If anyone sees any of my work posted anywhere but here or my AO3 (simplyreflected), then it has been posted without permission.

Posted on AO3 here.

You couldn’t help it. When everyone left for classes, you crept into the Marauders dorm and climbed into James’ bed. You stayed there all day. You felt safe surrounded by his scent and his things. You knew that he could always make you feel better, but you pulled the blankets up to your neck. That's where you stayed as you cried yourself to sleep.

You woke to the sound of the door opening and someone gasping. You didn’t care who it was, if they spoke to you, you’d just ask for James. You only wanted your best friend.

You didn’t hear the sounds of anyone approaching, but when you see them crouch down and see James himself in front of you, you whisper, “Jamie, you’re here.”

“Hey love,” he whispers back in response. He waves his wand and a glass of water appears in his hand. He hands it to you, and you drink it, before he waves it away as he looks at you sadly, “What’s wrong?”

“Jamie, I hate myself. I need you. Being around you makes me feel better.”

He smiled at you softly before he asked, “can I climb in with you?”

You hum in response as you open the blankets for him. You let go of them as he takes off his shoes and then climbs in next to you. He wraps the blanket around both of you, before he wraps his arms around you.

“Why do you hate yourself, love?”

“I feel fat. I look ugly. I can’t stand looking in the mirror. I don’t think anyone but you really likes me.”

“I need you to look at me, lovey,” James told you kindly, which made it hard to resist, you looked up at his beautiful and kind blue eyes. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” you didn’t lie about that. He was the only person you knew you could trust to tell you the truth, even on days like today, when you didn’t even trust yourself.

“Then trust me when I say this,” he tells you honestly as you look at different parts of his face; seeing his beauty, since looking in people’s eyes for too long would become uncomfortable. He didn’t mind and you knew that, as long as you listened. “You are the most beautiful person I know; inside and out. You may not believe it, but I’ll prove it and show you everyday, because I wish I could date someone like you.” He paused as you stopped looking at him and cuddled into him. “No, not someone like you. I wish I could have the courage when you’re not having a day like this, but I want to date you.”

“What about Lily?”, you whispered back.

“What about he-,” he cut himself off, before slowly saying, “I haven’t been flirting with her.” He kissed the top of your head. “I was flirting with you, but when they first asked me, I was embarrassed to say I was flirting with you. You were right there. I was worried you’d reject me and we’d go from being best friends to being awkward around each other to being people the other used to know.

“Jamie,” you knew he could hear the catch in your throat and that he’d probably realise you’d been crying, but they were no longer sad tears. “I’ve loved you since second year.”

He paused. “Really?”

You smiled and nodded, “yeah.” You paused cuddling into his warmth and yawned, lifting one of your hands to cover your mouth.

You listened as he told you, “I’ll spend the rest of my life showing and telling you how much I love you.”

You yawned again and he kissed the top of your head again, and rubbed your back as you whispered, “I love you, James.”

As you fell asleep, you could’ve sworn he whispered, “I love you too, angel.”

———————————

LATER THAT DAY

———————————

You woke up later that day still in James’ arms, with him holding you really close to him. One of his arms was rubbing your back gently and the other holding you as he leaned down to kiss the top of your head.

You hummed contentedly and James whispered, “Love, are you awake?”

You hummed again before yawning and then answered, “yeah, Jamie. Just woke up.”

“I have something I want to officially ask you,” he asked as you moved up slightly so the two of you were face to face.

You lifted your hand up to his cheek, he sighed and closed his eyes, “what is it?”

He opened his eyes, kissed your palm before asking, “I love you and from what you said before, you love me.” He paused and you nodded before he finally asked, “will you go out with me?”

Slowly you started smiling as you moved your hand down to his waist, hugging him, before you answered, “yes, I’d love to.”

You moved closer to him and pecked his lips.

“Do you feel any better now, my love?”

You looked at him as he cupped your cheek, closing your eyes and enjoying his touch. “Whenever you're around, I always feel better. I’m not back to 100% but you make me feel safe and you’ve always found a way to silence the voices. However, unlike today, it's usually your antics or the pranks that help to silence them enough that I stop paying attention to them as much.”

He smiled, before he moved closer, kissing you, with so much love and affection that you melted against him, before he pulled back.

“Are you hungry?”

You think for a moment before your stomach rumbles, answering for you.

He smiled before he kissed you. When he pulled back, he looked in your eyes, “I’ll go get us some food, my love. Is there anything specific that you’d like?”

You told him what you felt like eating and he smiled, before he said, “I’ll be back soon. Wait here?”

“Where else would I want to be?”

He gave you a peck on the cheek before he left, which made you blush. When he came back, he sat next to you before calling one of the house elves, who appeared with trays of food which slowly levitated over to the bed.

Both of you thanked the house elf before they disappeared.

He smiled at you before he leaned over to give you a quick kiss. The two of you ate and just spent the rest of the evening together.

Even when the rest of the guys came in, he just held you close as he talked to them. You joined in the conversation at times, and they were just as happy as always to see you.

That was one thing you loved about his friends; even before you became friends with them, they always included you when you were with James. All of them made you feel welcomed. With that thought, you turned and kissed James’ cheek and snuggled more into his side.

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Hey friends. I always promised that I would write a disclaimer if I ever wrote something sad. So here is that disclaimer: this is sad. Harry is also experiencing some internalized “ace-phobia”, if you will. Just really struggling to believe that being ace is ever enough in a relationship with someone who is not. Yes, the author is hardcore projecting on the poor character.

“I’m sorry,” Draco said, and it sounded sincere, even Harry could hear the ring of truth to it over the splintering sound of his heart. “I just,” Draco swallowed, looked down at the glass in his hands, “I think living alone would be what’s better for me right now.”

Harry nodded, shoving down the emotions, pushing back the hurt, the yearning, as he forced a smile, “no. For sure,” he said, keeping his voice light, pushing every ounce of happy-for-you-undertone that he could. “Yeah. You have to do what’s best for you,” he agreed, and he meant it, even though it hurt the way that it hurt when you sliced open your foot on a piece of glass; sudden and sharp, terribly painful in its unexpectedness.

“It’s not you,” Draco said, reaching across the table and squeezing Harry’s hand, giving him a smile and Harry wondered what the other man could see on his face. “It’s not that I don’t want to live with you,” he said.

He nodded, “right. I get it.”

“And you can come over all the time, we can have a movie night whenever we want since I won’t have Pansy and Blaise to worry about.”

“Yeah,” he said, smiling. Smiling, smiling, smiling. Please Godric, let it be enough that Draco can’t see past it. “Yeah. That sounds great,” he agreed.

“Dinner once a week,” he promised, “and we can cook together!”

He nodded, plastering the smile even harder to his face, “I’d love that,” he said. Not as much as he would have loved doing the shopping together, and cooking together in their shared space but… best not to think about it.

“I love you too much to live with you,” Draco said, like that made any sense at all.

“Yeah,” he said, pushing down the tears threatening to spill, heart throbbing in his throat. “I love you too,” he said. Not too much, he thought, more than his body could hold sometimes but not so much that he couldn’t live with the other man.

“I’m sorry,” Draco said again.

And Harry wanted to make up a lie, wanted to tell Draco he had another appointment or something, but Draco was his best friend. More than that, Harry had thought. They’d started planning a life together; he’d told Draco everything, given him his entire heart. Draco had said that he wanted Harry forever too. Harry’s worked so hard to actually believe him. But that was probably just the mixed signals that Harry sent, confusing everyone that he loved because he couldn’t love them in the way that they wanted. “Don’t be. I still have Ron and Hermione.”

“You could try living alone too,” Draco offered, and Harry knew it was because of the conversations they’d had, about how hard it could be living with people who were in love. About how alone Harry felt even when he was in the same room as them sometimes.

He knew Draco was trying to offer a good solution, “nah,” he said, aiming for casual and hoping that he hadn’t missed the mark by as much as it felt like he had. “I don’t do well on my own. It’s okay. I’m okay,” he assured.

“Okay,” Draco said, giving him a little smile. “I toured an apartment today.”

“Oh,” he said, “tell me about it!” And he let himself get lost in Draco’s joy, lost in how excited he was for his own adventure.

“And it just feels right, you know?” Draco asked when he finished describing his viewing.

“I’m really glad,” he said, genuinely because he loved Draco. Loved him with his entire heart and wanted what was good for him. But he couldn’t say he understood. He couldn’t. Because all Harry wanted was to be able to come home to Draco at the end of the day. All Harry wanted was someone to sit on the sofa with and eat dinner with. He wanted to be able to take care of Draco, to love him on his hard days and to listen to his stories. Harry wanted a place to come home to where he could just shut off the facade, could just be Harry.

But they didn’t want the same things. That was clearer now than it had ever been. Someday, Draco was going to get married. Someday, he’d fall in love with someone else, someone who could love him the same way, someone whose body wasn’t broken, someone who’d want to have sex with him. Someday, he’d meet someone who could be enough, who would have the capacity to accept the love that Draco felt like was too much for Harry.

And Harry wouldn’t deny him that. He wouldn’t stand in the way. It didn’t matter that Harry loved Draco with everything that he had, with all that he was, in every way that he was capable of loving another human. It wasn’t enough.

It hadn’t ever been before Draco. It had been foolish to believe that could have changed.

How could he have hoped that it might be now? How could he have let himself dream that he might ever be enough for the best person he knew?

He loved Draco more than anything, so he did the only thing that he knew how to do.

He loved him with every beat of his bruised and bloodied heart. Harry set aside his own needs, his own wants, his own desires and loved Draco in the way that he needed and not in the way that Harry wanted. Harry set aside his hopes, and dreams, the plans they’d made together and begged his heart to be happy for the other man.

Be good, he begged himself. Be kind.

Love was sacrifice. How could he have let himself forget?

[beestriker015]

Elesa x male s/o headcanons

Being a famous model as well as a gym leader, Elesa is no stranger to people vying for her affections.

Unfortunately for them, she is already in a relationship with someone whom she loves dearly, that being a handsome young man named s/o.

Elesa met s/o on a sunny afternoon in Nimbasa City when she had time off from the gym and her modeling career.

While wearing a disguise to avoid being bothered by her fans and the paparazzi, Elesa accidentally ran into s/o as he was leaving the Pokémon Center.

“Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! Are you alright?!”

She asks the young man while offering him a hand after knocking him over.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just try being a bit more careful ok?”

He says with a small smile while accepting her hand to pull himself up.

“Thank you. My name’s s/o by the way.”

“Nice to meet you s/o, I’m….Elise.”

She greets him after quickly thinking up a fake name to use.

“Tell me, why were you in such a hurry Elise?”

Looking at the ground feeling slightly embarrassed, “Elise” chuckles awkwardly before answering.

“T-to be honest with you s/o, I was just really excited to ride on the Ferris Wheel. I haven’t done so in a long time because of how busy I’ve been lately.”

“You don’t say? Funnily enough, I was on my way there to ride it too! Now this may sound like a strange question, but would you perhaps like to ride it with me?”

Thinking for a moment, the incognito gym leader/model smiles and nods.

“Sure! After all I do owe you for running into you a minute ago s/o.”

“What are we waiting for then, let’s go!”

Gently taking her hand, s/o leads “Elise” to the Ferris Wheel before they get on it together.

Needless to say, the two had a really fun time and enjoyed each other’s company a lot as they talked about various things including their wins on the Battle Subway, favorite pokémon, and fashion tastes.

Once the ride was over, s/o gave “Elise” his number in case she ever wanted to hang out again, causing her to blush a little as they parted ways. “H-he gave me his number! W-why is my face heating up so much?!”

She asks herself before looking at the piece of paper with s/o’s number on it, a smile unknowingly making its way onto her face as she inputting the digits into her Xtransciever before heading back to her place.

Unsurprisingly, Elesa kept in contact with s/o and continued to spend time with him since then whenever they both had the time, leading to the two slowly catching feelings for one another.

Elesa was the first to realize her feelings, which presented a problem.

“How can I think of s/o that way! He’d never return my feelings because he thinks I’m someone else. We’ve grown pretty close over these couple months, so maybe it’s time I tell him the truth. I just hope he understands and somehow accepts my feelings.”

Sending s/o a message via her Xtransciever to meet up somewhere in private, s/o eventually arrives with a questioning look on his face.

“Why’d you want to meet me here Elise, is something going on?”

“I’m sorry s/o, but my name’s not Elise.”

Taking off her disguise (which consists of a hat, sunglasses, and designer scarf in case you were wondering), s/o is shocked to see the beautiful model/electric gym leader in front of him.

“Y-you’re Elesa! I don’t understand, why would you lie to me about who you were all this time?”

“S/o, a lot of people only like me for my looks or my careers rather than for who I am as a person, so I put on a disguise and used a different name to avoid being recognized. When I met you, I was scared that you would be like everyone else if you found out who I really was, but I know you well enough now to see that you aren’t like that. I was always planning on telling you, I just didn’t know how until now. Believe me s/o when I say that I truly enjoyed all the time we’ve spent together, so please….don’t hate me for lying to you.”

Getting over his initial shock, s/o wraps Elesa in a comforting hug, making her blush from the contact.

“I don’t hate you at all Elesa. I understand why you did what you did. Besides, I couldn’t possibly hate the woman I’ve….fallen in love with.”

Hearing those words causes Elesa to tear up as she breaks from the hug and looks at s/o with a smile.

“I love you too s/o!”

He returns her smile as both of them share a passionate kiss, thus beginning their relationship. As a couple, Elesa and s/o are very openly affectionate, neither of them shying away from kissing and cuddling in public. Dates consist of either spending time alone together while watching movies, or partaking in double battles as a couple on the Battle Subway.

Early on in their relationship, Elesa introduces her boyfriend to her closest friends, those being Emmet, Ingo, and Skyla, who thankfully get along with s/o quite well.

(S/o does his best to comfort his girlfriend when Ingo suddenly disappears one day without a trace, but she and his brother Emmet never stop mourning the missing Subway Boss.)

Despite not being a trainer himself, all of Elesa’s pokémon love s/o, especially her two Emolga who enjoy perching on his shoulders, which their trainer gushes over every time they do so.

“That’s so cute! I need to take a picture of this s/o! Don’t move!”

S/o is always extremely supportive of his girlfriend, whether she’s doing a gym battle or a photo shoot, which Elesa is very much grateful for.

“Thank you for being there for me today s/o, I appreciate it greatly.”

He smiles and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“No thanks necessary babe! I’ll support you in whatever you’re doing no matter what! What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t?”

She smiles and kisses him back, happy to have such an amazing partner.

Jealousy in their relationship is uncommon, but definitely exists.

Elesa gets jealous whenever one of her gym trainers (or sometimes the occasional challenger) flirts with s/o or make comments about him, which he wastes no time reassuring her about.

“One of the girls was talking you up today s/o, I would’ve lost my cool if it weren’t for the gym battle I was having being so intense.”

She huffs in annoyance as s/o hugs her affectionately.

“Pay them no mind babe. You’re the only woman who has my heart Elesa, I love you and you alone.”

S/o gets jealous from all his girlfriend’s fans, which Elesa admittedly finds kinda cute.

“Must your male fans act like shameless simps! Some of the things they say just makes my blood boil Don’t they understand that you’re in a relationship?!”

Elesa giggles while calming down her angry boyfriend with a shoulder rub.

“Aww, no need to get upset dear. My love shines only for you. You’re the light of my life, and nothing or no one will change that.”

Speaking of her fans, Elesa will not tolerate anyone speaking ill of her boyfriend.

“I don’t appreciate what you just said about my s/o. Who I date is my choice, not yours! Now either apologize to my boyfriend and keep your opinion to yourself or leave!”

It always makes s/o’s heart flutter when Elesa gets protective of him, and he’ll do the same if any of her fans get out of line.

“Hey! I saw where your hand was going pal! Try touching her like that again and I’ll break every bone in your body!”

Only on special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries will s/o and Elesa ride the Ferries Wheel, as it holds special meaning to them both because it’s where they first met.

For their second anniversary, s/o proposes to Elesa while they ride the Ferris Wheel, earning a very emotional response from her.

“This is the most romantic thing ever! Yes! Of course I’ll marry you s/o!

She exclaims gleefully with happy tears in her eyes before pulling her boyfriend turned fiancé into a warm embrace and kissing him repeatedly.

When it comes time for them to get off, the engagement ring on Elesa’s finger shimmers in the moonlight as she walks home with her beloved s/o, the love she has for him shining brighter than a thousand suns.

[sadesluvr]

harlem nights (pt.1)

ft. kook! pope heyward (obx) and chad meeks- martin (scream 5/6)

w/c: 1.2k

a/n: just a little concept with these two because they're so underrated...black kings forever, snow puppies never! /jk

“You’re playing a dangerous game.” 

“I’m not even doing anything, Kie.” 

“Yeah, because you’re definitely not dry humping your new man in front of the whole block as we speak.” 

Shrugging, you rolled your eyes and sipped your drink, adjusting your hips on your boyfriend’s lap. Chad Meeks was a specimen; a star football player with a chiselled jaw, washboard abs and an all-American smile…not to mention his personality. Kind, dedicated, and a little himbo-ish, he was the perfect distraction to your breakup with Pope. 

Not that you didn’t love him of course. 

Pope Heyward was different. Just as attractive as Chad; the boy was cooler, far more mellow and refined than the latter. Unlike Chad he was an academic wiz, virtually being the smartest guy on campus, if not in your entire state.  

Everyone had thought that you were destined for the altar, but life – and your egos -  seemed to have a way of fucking things up at times that within 18 months of the relationship starting, it was over. 

An impromptu road trip across the country led you to Woodsboro, California, where Chad had returned to visit his family. A chance meeting at a Lakers game led to a mutual follow on Instagram, which turned into a few not-so casual ‘smoke and chill’ sessions. 

It was only supposed to last the summer. Now, you were sprawled across his lap on the hood of a car, dressed in the tightest top you could find as you giggled and whispered in his ear, rum punch spilling out onto your diamond tennis bracelet. 

“Lighten up,” you sighed, earning another frown from the curly-haired girl. “It’s a bit of fun. If you’re so concerned for the guy, you can date him.” 

She snorted. 

“You know I can’t do that.” 

You hummed in amusement, holding the taste of burning taste rum on your tongue before you angled your neck towards Chad for a kiss, which he happily placed upon your neck, all the while his large bicep remained wrapped around your waist.  

Kie gave you another disapproving stare but ultimately brushed it off, too engrossed in the sight of JJ downing a keg of beer. You were all gathered at an annual summer party, known for its rumbling sound systems, exotic liquor, and subsequent high number of pregnancies. It was the type of party that parents looked down upon – especially Heyward, Pope’s dad – and made college teachers shake their heads and try to turn a blind eye. 

In truth, this was your first time going. Pope generally preferred his own house parties, the kind where people like Rafe Cameron –infamous frat boy and hot head - weren’t allowed to even make it up the driveway. This was hot and wild, far more unhinged than anything you were used to.  

Which was why a pit in your stomach had opened upon seeing the familiar nose bridge of a dark-skinned boy by one of the food stalls. 

“Babe,” you spoke, pushing yourself off Chad’s lap. “I gotta go to the bathroom.” 

“Why?” 

“Maybe because I gotta pee, huh?” You lie through your teeth, adjusting the strap of your mini bag. You’d been so relaxed all but a minute ago. “Don’t get into any fights while I’m gone.” 

“Fine. I’ll be a good boy,” he said with a wink, fingers lingering around your waist before he let you go, immediately turning to chat with someone else. You didn’t take it personally; Chad was just like that. Energetic, sociable. Sometimes it made you miss Pope’s equable demeanour. Sometimes. 

Head held high, you strutted across the concrete, fingers hastily fixing your hair as you made your way towards the stand. Whether it was your nerves, or the alcohol taking, halfway there you started questioning whether this was the right thing to do at all. Not ‘bumping’ into him of course, but whether you should’ve brought Chad with you. Pope was always rather  possessive.  

As you waited in line for some punch, you could feel the boy’s dark brown eyes on you, his longing, even judgemental stare burning into your skin. Glancing down at your nails, the boy didn’t miss a beat before walking over to you, leaning against the pole. 

“So, you’re just gonna act too good for me now?” 

Cocking your head, you raised a brow at him. 

“I didn’t notice you.” 

“Right,” he replied, jaw clenching. “I forgot that you’re always one to play games.” 

Pope had never liked your teasing. Well, he claimed not to, but his smirk combined with the hardening of his cock always told you otherwise.  

“What are you doing here, anyway? I thought parties like these were below you.” 

“You know I don’t like that word,” he huffed. “The whole track team is here.” 

You hummed in amusement, taking a swig of your now refilled drink. It was funny, really. You’d left an athlete just to get with another one. Clearly, you had a type.  As you contemplated the situation, you couldn’t ignore (and took a sick glee in) the way Pope’s eyes roved your body; moments feeling like hours as your heart pounded, anticipating him to make the next move, if any. It didn’t help that he was gorgeous as ever, dressed in a bright coloured sports jersey, shorts, dazzling white (and uncreased) trainers with a visor sitting atop his tight black curls. 

Fuck. You kinda missed him.  

“Well,” you said pointedly, adjusting your clothes. “Have fun —“ 

“Is that my bracelet?” 

Pope’s words cut like a knife. Your eyes met as your joint gaze followed to your wrist, diamonds gleaming in the golden dusk. It was only then that you realised it felt somewhat uncomfortable on you; slightly wet, and a little sticky. Almost certainly out of place for a block party. They looked nice, and he hadn’t protested, but didn’t even match Chad’s outfit. 

“Well, it’s mine, because you gave it to me, remember? You can’t take it back now.” 

“It was a gift. I’d never take it back from you.” 

A short pause. 

“Your nails are different.” 

Pope always paid for your nails. He liked nudes or French tips the most. Though, since leaving him you’d opted for something brighter. 

“I —“ 

“Babe, I literally just requested your song, you’ve got thirty seconds to head to the dance floor because —“ 

Chad’s enthusiasm tapered as he laid his eyes upon the boy in front of you, dark brows furrowing as he visibly squared his shoulders before snaking an arm around your own. Though Pope wasn’t scrawny, the lighter-skinned boy was taller and much more muscular than he was, sizing him up rather impressively.  

The taller boy bit the bullet. 

“Hey, dude...It’s Chad,” he began, sticking his hand out, though you could tell that his dialogue was stilted. “Pleasure.”  “Pope,” he replied, returning the handshake. “That’s a nice bracelet you got her. You have good taste.” 

“Ah, that’s not mine, man,” Chad said, sucking air between his teeth. “The real gem is the one wearing it. I’m a lucky guy.” 

“Yeah, you are...” the darker-skinned man nodded, eyes looking you up and down again. With a bored expression on his face and half-lidded eyelids, you knew all too well of what he was thinking – he wasn’t over you, and he was determined to win you back. 

pt.2

[escapingrealtiylovinginsanity]

Rewind, Remix, & Replay Jay & Kim 6x5

You can read the rest of the series here

This one is pretty short but it should hold you over. I’m so excited to write the next four chapters. I have big ideas! That being said it might just be one chapter next week.

The team had all gotten together for brunch. Trudy was celebrating her twenty-five years as a cop. Playing two truths and a lie was always fun and competitive when it was a table full of cops. “And go,” Trudy sat back in her seat waiting to see what the tables consensus was.

“Okay, Dickin’s don’t do Karaoke so that’s the lie.” Kevin is confident and Hailey points at him agreeing with his words. But Kim shakes her head dismissively thinking she knows her mentor better than that.

“No definitely not. It’s soccer. The woman hates moving.” Trudy scoffs at the comment crossing her arms over her chest. Her sharp eyes watched the way that Kim leaned into Jay. Their chairs were pulled close together and his hand was resting on her thigh with her hand on his forearm absently caressing it with her thumb. The familiarity spoke of a long relationship in its natural movements and shared looks.

Jay laughed, “Yeah, there is no way you play varsity soccer in high school.” The table continued their roasting. The team was in high spirits and the last week had been running smoothly. The tension between Jay and Adam had faded along with his impressive shiner. They all lingered even after they finished eating, enjoying the company and teasing of one another.

Jay got up to order another mimosa for Kim at the bar. It was a Saturday and they may have another round if they were going to be there for a while. A shadow fell over him. “You want another drink Sarg?” When Trudy didn’t respond he turned to look at her. Her gaze is still on the table the team is sitting at.

“I haven’t seen her that happy in a while.” Jay’s blue eyes followed her gaze to Kim. She had a huge smile, and Antonio said something that made her throw her head back and laugh. The sound brings warmth to his chest. It’s infectious and makes him smile too. “Don’t screw this up, Halstead. That is my girl, you better take care of her. I promise you, you won’t find better.”

Jay turned to fully face her. Her eyes held a seriousness that he matched. “I know. I have every intention of keeping that smile on her face.” Life was finally settling down. Work was back to normal. Everyone was getting along and had fallen back into a seamless understanding and camaraderie.

Kim’s sister had spent two weeks in rehab. Zoey had been staying with Kim and in turn with him. The pair didn’t sleep apart well anymore. Nicole had gotten out and was more like herself. Zoey had gone home. A peace in Kim that had been missing for too long had returned. She seemed lighter. Less worry furrowing in between her eyebrows. “She is my girl too.” Trudy gave him a short curt nod of acceptance. If Jay didn’t know any better, he might have thought she had teared up a little.

“Good because I like you, Halstead. I would hate to have to kick your ass.” Jay couldn’t contain his bark of laughter. “I mean it Chuckles. You hurt her and you’ll pay the price.” It wasn’t the first hurt her and I’ll kill you spiel he had gotten but he did not doubt that it was the most dangerous. And that was saying something considering he had gotten it in various degrees from Kevin, Antonio, and Voight. Kim was well loved in the team and the men within were protective of the females. Apparently, that protection was limited to outside the group. Jay didn’t mind it though. Honestly, he was happy there were so many people who cared about Kim. If that meant he had to deal with a little more third-degree he would take the tradeoff.

“I do not doubt it. And if I do- I'll let you.” A silent understanding passed between the two. It was broken by the bartender setting a bright orange drink on the bar. Jay pulls out his wallet fishing out a few bills before handing them to the server. “Thanks, man. Her next drink is on me too.”

“A Bloody Mary,” Trudy told the man who nodded and pulled a short thick glass. Jay laughed as he shoved his wallet back into his pocket.

“I should have guessed.” He tapped the bar top before grabbing the drink and heading back over to the table. Trudy kept facing the bar but watched in the mirror. She watched as Kim turned in her seat as Jay approached her, their fingers grazing as she took the glass from him. She watched Kim’s chair slide closer after Jay sat down closing the distance between the two of them. Her hand went to his thigh as he threw his arm over the back of her chair.

The bartender set her handsomely garnished drink on the bar as he spoke, “Ah, to be young and in love again.”

[sammywolfgirl]

(I just copied and pasted this from the comments)

I don't know enough to ask a proper question, but I'm kinda curious abt the entirety of Melody Extract's feelings towards sm?(and maybe the others) if she has conflicting thoughts in regards of her current goals, or if its only resentment(sorry if this is worded weirdly and/or this question has technically already been answered!)

(Thank!)

Haha what does melody extract feel towards shadow milk. (And the rest of thr beasts)

Short answer- it’s complicated. She has a love hate relationship with shadow milk and a civil if tense relationship with everyone else (I haven’t thought too hard on specifics yet)

Long answer-

A mix of horror, sadness, resentment. Melody extract in her perspective last remembers being killed by her beloved after watching all the beasts fall to corruption. Next thing she comes to it’s literal centuries later, she doesn’t even recognize the beasts her friends became, she’s in a body she doesn’t recognize, and her beloved is calling her not his muse and adamant that she’s not like he remembers her. But she hadnt changed at all.

And well, that’s not going to sit well with her, and this isn’t even factoring in if being the beast of vengeance is going to start affecting her temperament. She doesn’t know (I’m unsure either current idea is if left alone too long probably, but it wouldn’t happen in like months it’d take years, decades even)

It’s painful to try and search for shards of the people you once knew and loved. It’s even more painful to see those remnants be distorted like a funhouse mirror.

And that’s just shadow milk, the rest of her friends have changed too much as well, but they’re at least still civil. Though they all say that she’s different, or if she isn’t she will be. Mystic flour definitely went on about the inevitability of corruption and bla bla bla. (Extract wonders when she became so much of a downer.)

But to say there isn’t resentment would be wrong. She just has.. a different perspective.

She’s a mortal turned immortal, the beasts have always been immortal, even before they fell. They just don’t have the perspective of a mortal cookie, and she kinda thinks their current mindsets and the reasons they fell are connected to this truth.

Which ties into her current goals very nicely :3

Her current plan (as of writing this)? Make the beasts mortal to “save” them. To try and save her friends. After all shadow milk keeps saying vanilla extract was a symbol of the beasts last hopes being shattered, perhaps melody extract will be a new kind of hope, a violent hope of change. The tower arcana, destroying everything they once new to force drastic change.

But hey that’s just her thoughts she’s a theatre nerd she’s going to be dramatic about it lol.

So yeah hee current plan is she’s going to play uo the part of a new evil beast, get minions, get a domain, work with Dark Enchantress for now, but she has her own agenda she’s keeping close to her chest. Dark enchantress wants all the beasts soul jam? Well that sounds like the perfect opportunity if she wants to get her hands on them to smash them.

To say she doesn’t genuinely resent the beasts is a lie, but to say it’s not there is also a lie. She’s doing this to save her friends.

But if all else fails and this plan doesn’t work she’s just going to crumble all of them and save the cookie world the trouble of the beast’s rise to power. She only saw the start of thr devastation but a little research and context clues can tell her how much worse it got before they were sealed. Her plan B is just to destroy all of them. She’s the beast of vengeance, if anyone should be capable of that it’s her right? After all, if any cookie wants vengeance against the beasts the most it’s their oldest friend who they destroyed and left behind.

Or something.

Anyways more specific thoughts on melody extracts thoughts on the beasts!

Shadow milk- the love of her life and soooooo fucking annoying. If shadow milk didn’t constantly compare her do some idealized version of herself he built up in his mind they could probably get along again like they used to, it wouldn’t be the same but it’d be an echo of what once was. But for now it’s got major bitter nasty divorce energy lol. She loves him but also she wants to smash his head in with hammers, that make sense?

Mystic Flour- honestly she’s a little disappointed to see her so apathetic. Sure she was always quiet but this is just sad. They’re civil though, and when she isn’t being incredibly doomer or telling her that the past doesn’t matter so forget it they could probably play like Mojong or something. Compared to how bad a relationship could be she’ll take civil apathy.

Burning spice- it’s…. Not bad but it’s strange. He most outwardly encourages her to embrace her beast nature and start destroying shit. Probably because this is something new and could be entertaining. And hey if burning spice constantly asks to spar and train together then she gets better at her new Abilities so that does help her work towards her own goals. Tense but not bad, and his followers value strength, which is something she has to build.

Eternal sugar- okay so this is only a pure vibe read and is likely to change once this cookie releases, but I think they’d either get along pretty well and talk gossip or would be the second worst relationship she has with her old friends. Idk I don’t have much here

Silent salt- this is also a pure vibe read but listen listen listen. I think silent salt is the only motherfucker here who realized melody extract is up to something beyond just beast related antics. I think they know the beast of vengeance has the biggest grudge against the other beasts and is biding her time. But they don’t say shit because why should they? It’s inevitable, to speak out against it won’t stop it from happening. If anything it’d make her more angry. So they’ll be civil and watch as the noose tightens around their necks, they won’t go down without a fight but they won’t act to stop this disaster in the making. They spar probably, one of the more civil dynamics. They can have tea and politely not discuss the past or present. Tea with silent salt feels the most like the good old days…

Bonus points: thoughts on her ancient counterpart Marshmallow fluff Cookie

So marshmallow fluff has the light of absolution. I’m still working on how she gets that but melody extract learns of the ancients ascending after battling their beast and is like “okay, I’ll have to do that for her too” because the stronger the enemy is the day shit goes down the less work she has to do. So yeah she plans to throw fluff in the torment nexus, either she overcomes and becomes stronger or melody gets a complete soul jam and gets stronger anyways.

The idea is melody extract makes plans where she will win regardless of the outcome. She’s Shadow Milk’s muse, she knew him in the midst of his fall. She’d know how to keep pace with a lier like him, she’s probably one of the few if only cookies in the world that could outplay the font of knowledge, who can trick the master of deceit.

Amd if she breaks a few eggs in this little dance of theirs then we’ll… she’s a beast now after all. That’s expected of her now isn’t it?

She hates dark enchantress though, her plan might be to ‘save’ her friends but it’ll also screw her over so haha loosed this is why you shouldn’t have revived her.

So uhhhhh yeah

Oh honorable mention to an idea I’m simmering on. I think when she first emerges she seeks out pure vanilla to give him not only what her ultimate plan is, but her and her friends old names. Someone should remember them after all, and she isn’t sure if she will forget them too. Who better than the light of truth to hold onto these past stories? It was her last request as the cookie known as Vanilla Extract.

[mistymountainsmc]

The Lonely Jedi

Sausage strode through the hallway from the lounge of his ship to the cockpit with Bubbles tapping footsteps clicking behind him, each small sound echoing in the quiet ship. Just like before.

This isn’t something he isn’t used to, but after abandoning that line of work for nearly a year, he could truly see how lonely he was. How lonely he is. Gem and fWhip became family to him, everyone there was either good friends, or practically siblings. Now, he is back to square one: Him and Bubbles.

Sausage only started his voyage 3 weeks ago, not using much of his hyperjump because he didn’t know where to jump to. He only passed Rivelera five days ago. He already said his goodbyes to Scott and Xornoth so there wasn't any point stopping in again. He’d only delay the inevitable. He has to leave, if He could feel his presence even in carbonite, he could jeopardise everyone's safety. But if he hadn't fallen to the Dark side, this wouldn’t have-

Sausage?

Gem’s voice echoed in his head, making him jump out of his skin.

You can’t just do that to a man, Gem! Sausage mentally responded, recalling how Force-Bonds work.

Sorry, but I sensed your anxiety. Is everything alright?

Sausage bit his lip, feeling caught like a boy getting scolded by his mother. He entered the cockpit and sat in the pilot chair. Yeah, I’m good.

Sausage, her tone displaying concern even in his thoughts. Even she could sense his lie despite their distance.

You do know this could be the only option, even if I don’t agree.

Yes, and I don’t want to risk anyone’s life, but what if I don’t see anyone?

“See anyone?”

Sausage swallowed, fearing this sounding too childish. I have been working alone for years before I met you and fWhip, so to now leave you both after being with you…

Ah, you are concerned if you won’t find any friends. Correct?

Sausage sighed, but his stress didn’t cease. Yes, but attachments are forbidden, and even being close to you is dangerous.

Then why am I still with fWhip? Gem said sarcastically.

That’s different. You two are siblings, but me wanting to form an attachment could pose a threat and a window into the Dark side.

A threat for who? Sausage, you are not a threat, remember?

It was hard not to remember: Gem separated himself. He doesn’t have the Dark side within him, his other self is his Dark side.

Yes, but if I am separated, why do I still feel anxious? Sausage retorted. If I am truly a good Jedi, I shouldn’t feel this emotion.

Sausage anxiety is not a Dark side emotion, many emotions thought to be Dark side are not. It is normal to feel anxious when something changes, whether its leaving your home, or doing something new.

He thought through his emotions, trying to make sense of them. This is something everyone has to go through, everyone just responds differently. He doesn't have to worry about him falling to the Dark side, and with Him encased in carbonite, everyone is safe.

Sausage just has to leave to ensure that.

You don’t have to worry about this. Even though we are going to be far from each other, you are not alone. As for finding new friends, the Force will bring whoever it wills to you. It’s going to be alright, okay?

Sausage exhaled slowly, letting the words Gem said embrace him like a hug. Okay, thanks Gem.

Not a problem, I’m here for when you need me.

Although that last statement held less truth, it was the encouragement necessary for him.

Gem snickered, Do you remember when we were on Colos, and that Dewback flung you off?

Sausage chuckled, How could I forget? That thing sent me into that tree like I was nothing. My back hurt for a week!

But you gotta admit that was pretty funny. Gem continued to giggle at the story.

Funny for you, Sausage grumbled, remembering the sharp pain that coursed along his back.

Have some angst, A Force Apart enjoyers!!! I wanted to post this in september during Saustember so yall had some AFA content, but I didn't get around to it... But its here now!

God bless!

[m4rs-ex3]

lines so? fucking raw? i cant believe theyre from tdp

"lots of things are hard. like magic, but you figured that out didn't you?" "...yeah. somehow relationships seem harder."

"history demands nothing! i make history. it does not make me."

"we all want peace and we all want love, but violence tests us. in a twisted way it converts us to its cause. because pain and loss feel so terrible inside, you want to hate. you want to hurt someone else... people are still hurting, and they are still angry. we can't ignore that. or pretend it will go away. somehow we have to hold it all in our hearts at the same time. we have to acknowledge the weight of pain and loss, but open up our eyes and allow ourselves to hope and maybe forgive and love again."

"we gain nothing if we throw away the chance to learn and grow."

"back then, when i was just a little one, the other elves saw me as a doe. but i knew. i always knew, that i was a buck. i chose [this] name." 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

"i'm a mess" "no, you're not. it's okay."

"you're too good to feel this bad about yourself."

"most people believe that reality is truth and appearances are deceiving. but those of us who know[,] understand we can only truly trust the appearance itself. you can never touch the so-called reality that lies just beyond the reach of your own perception."

"it seems i am a crown without and adult, and you're an adult without a crown."

"justice [is] more than fair decisions and fair consequences. true justice [is] a fair system. the blindfold gives us a way to test the system. that i should use it to imagine i had not been born yet, and that i did not know if i would be born rich or poor, what color my skin would be, what culture or practices my family would have. that a fair system should be fair no matter the accident of my birth. that the rights, and laws, and opportunities within the system should stand to protect and empower everyone."

"i've had his letter for a few days now, but i-i just can't bring myself to open it. i don't know. i know it sounds crazy, but it's like, right now, there are words he hasn't said to me, and they're all right in there. they're just waiting to come to life. but then once i read it... once i read the last word... then he'll really be gone. forever."

"i know i'm not your birth father, but in my eyes and in my heart, you are my son. i see myself in you. i'm proud of you. and i love you unconditionally."

"the great lie of history. advisers and scholars will tell you that history is a narrative of strength. they will recount stories of the rise and fall of nations and empires. they will be stories of armies, battles, and decisive victories. but this isn't true strength. it's merely power. i now believe true strength is found in vulnerability... in forgiveness, in love. there is a beautiful, upside-down truth, which is that these moments of purest strength appear as weakness to those who don't know better."

"i've tried to be selfless as a king, but, as a father, i have a selfish wish. and that is for you to be free. reject the chains of history. do not let the past define your future, as i did. free yourself from the past. learn from it, understand it, then let it go. create a brighter future from your own hearts and imagination."

"sweet words can be more dangerous than hidden daggers."

"i feel so overwhelmed with everything, i-i have so many thoughts, things racing through my head." "sometimes you just need to focus on the present, take a deep breath, and just be. sometimes, things can get so complicated that our minds can't quite sort them out alone. but when you slow down and let yourself breathe, your spirit and your body can catch up with your mind, and help out."

"to know something truly, and deeply, you must know it with your head, hand, and heart. mind, body, and spirit. i love you with all of myself, and i always will."

"i think i've heard about this... a philosophy of accepting you are already dead... so you will not fear death. what a beautiful challenge you've given me. i must come up with something you will fear... more than death."

"we're all a mess sometimes. me? i'm usually a mess."

"there is a cycle in the world. life and death. it is at the core of all things. the moon embodies this cycle. bit by bit it will fade away: then bit by bit it will brighten. death is frightening. birth can be as well. yet they are two things that connect us all. kings and commoners, rich and poor, elf and human--each one is equally vulnerable in the beginning and in the end. let that fact be humbling. let it bind us together. remember that as life inevitably leads to death, so also does life come from death. this is a cycle, not an ending. for those you have left behind, think on all they have given you. for those who will come after you, think on all you will give to them. know that you are always connected."

"white lies are illusions you build with your words to protect the hearts of those you love."

"they're gone. i'm never going to be okay with that, but i guess i have to face it."

"you're not doing this without me. i let you jump into [there] alone and i knew right away i made the biggest mistake of my life. i could have lost you. we do this together. don't try to change my mind." hindsight is a bitch

"i like being alive."

plsplspls rb with urs

[george228732]

Fylass Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Three - Memento Momentum

Fylass was the first one to leave the house with Lucid, and the people that were hanging out in the Hatter’s house. The track was the same as before, as a new adventure was about to start joyfully. The kid was a bit uneasy, since there was something in the air that they didn’t seem to grasp that well. They knew that this was a dream, but they couldn’t help but think that this world felt too complex for it to be just that. 

It felt like everyone in there had a mind of their own. They felt as if they were real. Could that possibility become true?

Fylass quickly stopped thinking about that though, when a voice spoke to them from behind.

"Hey. I really wanted to ask this before you got missing. Where’s your home? Or your parents?" Lucid had spoken to them. 

"...Er… Yeah, don't worry, everything is fine related to that.''

"You don’t sound that convinced…" 

Fylass couldn’t just say that they lived in another plane of existence, even if this was a dream, they didn’t want to tell the truth, otherwise, the others could somehow get to the conclusion that this was a dream, and the penguin that is Fylass, didn’t want to take risks. Such a mindset could be ridiculous from the get go. It was clear that this was a dream, so the repercussions would be worthless, and yet, it didn’t feel right.

"I live in the village, that’s it." They knew that a village was around; this was a kingdom after all. They could make up a lie about that easily, and their tone was trying to be as convincing as it could be for the rest to believe that.

"...If you say so." Lucid spoke up again. The rest of the group had different reactions to that; some seemed convinced, others, not so much, but they at least didn’t seem to deny what they were saying. 

"...Hm, I’ve been meaning to ask something else too." Ades said. "Why did you become that? Wings, horns, and that outfit. I’ve seen a lot of things happening in this land, some of them outright bizarre, but I haven’t seen someone coming back from the dead with a totally new appearance."

Fylass pondered about that statement; they didn’t have much idea of how this world worked, which is ironic since they could be considered God of Wonderland, so they couldn’t grasp why they changed at all. 

"I guess I am a paragon among you, guys."

"That would be an understatement. Maybe Dero could know more about this though, he has been here ever since Wonderland was founded, so they should have knowledge about your situation, and if you don’t like it, we may be able to turn you back to your previous state."

"We can hope that’s the case."

"Well, in my opinion, you look amazing in that outfit. It would be a shame to lose such a cool design!" Selene remarked, as she came closer to Fylass, dragging Wisp with her.

"I-I think I read some books that depicted a creature that l-looks similar to you. I can’t remember its name though."

"Well, that sounds like a plan! Not the main plan, but a plan that is sliiiiightly to the side. Don’t you think, Lucid?" Casey spoke up afterwards.

"...Yeah."

Fylass knew what the main plan was, get Lucid back home and maybe even visit Underland. They needed Dolly’s help for sure, since she is The Queen, and the last member of the Suit Bearers; maybe with the suits together, they can achieve that goal. Besides, visiting another kingdom that Fylass seems to have forgotten would be interesting, but time is precious. 

They looked behind to see the group, just for measure, and they realized that Chaos seemingly was having a train of thought; they mumbled as quietly as they could try to be, but Fylass wanted to know what he had in mind. They stopped walking for them to hear Chaos as he approached them, who seemed to not notice Fylass.

"...That place… familiar… have… before?" Those were the only words that they recognized from Chaos’ rambles before they realized Fylass was next to him, and backed down out of reflex.

"A-Ah, do not do that again, if you please…"

"S-Sorry."

The path was becoming slightly more awkward, even though the area looked just as bright and pretty as before, although jovial music beforehand was replaced with one resembling a circus theme playing on a music box, whose tunes seemed really similar from the one that Fylass had at home. Everyone else could hear them, and Lucid flinched.

The blue and yellow lights inside of the pumpkins were replaced with purple and green lights, and the gate of the entrance had the name changed; the circus changed. It wasn’t the Circus of Infinity anymore, it was now the Circus of Serenity.

"...What?" Lucid said loudly for the whole group to listen.

"...Is it back? The circus is back? I thought it vanished…" 

"W-Wait, what? What do you mean? Did it somehow disappear when I was absent? How?"

"Not even us know. When we went back home after you… vanished, the circus was no more. We thought that it would be gone forever though, but here it is again, and I don’t know if that is a good or a bad thing." Chaos remarked, with an uncomfortable Lucid being silent.

"Weeeeell, now that we’re here, we might as well check this out!" Mikuto spoke, as he was silently hit on the back by Kurabe and Fettuccine. 

"Sorry Kuto, but this is not the time."

"...Let’s just see if everything is in order, and then we go to the Card Castle." Fylass said, with some agreeing, and others seemingly reluctant to go in; the last time they entered this place, things weren’t really pleasant, but they had to go through it if they wanted to go to the Card Castle as soon as possible.

The kid took the first steps into this area, and they immediately felt a sense not of dread, but of calm, as if the atmosphere was completely different from the rest of the world around them.

"This place isn’t that bad! Come here, guys!" The kid was feeling happy around, and even if they knew that they had to go to their destination as soon as possible for Lucid’s sake and happiness, they wouldn’t mind staying here for quite some time if that wasn’t the case. The rest of the group entered, and they seemingly could feel the same sensation of calm Fylass was feeling around. 

The sound of laughter from both kids and adults alike was heard on every corner, and it seemed that everything was alright.

"...Wow… Meta and the kids would love this place for sure."

Fylass looked up to the skies, as they were able to see birds made from what seemed to be origami, somehow chirping, making this place even more bizarre, and even yet, lovely. One of the birds was holding a letter on the beak, and it was dropped right above Lucid.

"...Huh…? I don’t think I receive any mail in this land." He pulled out the piece of paper from inside the envelope, which had a lone sentence written on what seemed to be ink. The rest of the group took a peek on whatever the contents were.

"One minute before the start of a wonderful day."

Lucid seemed weirded out by this; the writing seemed familiar somehow, but he couldn’t put a finger on why it was familiar; his doubts only worsened though, as he realized there was something at the bottom of the envelope. It was a small key, seeming to be only useful from the smallest of items that would need a key to be open, or be used.

It was a silver key, whose pallet seemed to have the form of a minute hand, and with a golden gem embedded on the handle. 

"..." Lucid was silent. 

"Uh… Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I am, it’s just that… this key looks exactly the same as the keys of the White Castle in Underland. I know what it is for…"

"White Castle? A-Are you royalty, or something?"

"...It’s complicated. You see, you, along with Chaos, Ades and Dolly, are the Suit Bearers, and in Underland, we have something pretty similar; the Checkmate Bearers. You have the Club, Spade, Diamond and Heart as signatures; us in Underland have the King, Queen, Knight, Rook and Bishop as signatures." Afterwards, Lucid grabbed his hat and showed it to the group. It took a little, but they were able to notice a bishop piece of chess, printed on the hat. "I am the Bishop."

"W-Wait, what?! Why didn’t you tell us?!" Ades said with a bit of annoyance and anger in his voice."

"I did, you were all just too distracted or drunk to hear me properly. Except for Chaos." 

"Wait, you knew?!"

"Yes, I knew, although I thought that it wasn’t important."

"What do you mean "It wasn’t important"?!"

"Look, let’s just stop this for now. We’ll talk about this when we get our goal." Genesis said.

"Tch."

Fylass was silent. How didn’t they know about this? This place was the creation of them, right? Why did it feel so unfamiliar, then? These questions were put on hold however, when another one came to their mind. 

"W-Wait, so, what’s with that key?"

"That key is for the pocket watch, nothing special, don’t worry about it. I still don’t know how it ended up in a random letter in Wonderland, though…" 

Fylass took the small key, and inspected the pocket watch they were given; sure enough, from behind, there was a small lock. They could’ve figured out that using the key will move the hands of the pocket watch, and considering what was in that letter besides the key, they came up with some conclusions.

The kid inserted the key, and used it to turn the direction of the hands to 11:59, as the letter implied; the turning sound was satisfying to hear, but it suddenly stopped as a click was heard from the inside; nothing seemed to happen though, and another clicking sound was heard when the clock reached 12:00.

"...Odd." 

The entire group figured out that nothing was happening, and so, they kept their way towards the Card Castle; Fylass heard whispers from their friends, which seemed to be asking questions to Lucid; he didn’t seem to answer any. There seemed to be another entrance around, leading directly to their destination. Lucid and Genesis were glad that they didn’t have to go through Dull Glass again.

The Crimson Queens that were around the castle seemed to have a lighter color than the last time Fylass saw them, resembling more of a pink color than red. It was clear that this was Dolly’s doing; she has taste. The entrance of the castle had a big stone statue of Fylass, which just led them to more guilt.

"..."

"Are you okay, kid?"

"...I am, don’t worry… Let’s get going."

The knights guarding the entrance seemingly were absent, making it no problem to open the main door.

The inside was much more comfortable for the eye, with a lot more pastel colors filling the inside, and the new curtains seemed to resemble a theater, one that seemingly had a scent of cinnamon in the air; the exact same smell covering Fylass’ house each day. It felt oddly like home.

The group used the stairs to go towards the Heart Floor, since it was sure that Dolly would be there; Fylass was excited to see her again, but also, with a bit of anxiety for the reunion. They haven’t met for what seemed to be like a year in this oniric world, so Fylass wasn’t sure how she would react exactly, that is if she recognized them from the get go, for their new… attributes made it difficult to see who they really were.

They were in front of the Heart Door, and it seemed completely opened, although, before entering, Fylass and the rest were able to hear voices on the other side; they were arguing.

"Urgh! This is all your fault! Your laziness to do your job got us stranded here!"

"Oh, shut up, will you?!"

"If you are going to keep arguing in front of The Queen, I will have no choice but to force you to get out. Keep quiet."

"No, no! Don’t worry, Dero. This is alright! Dolly will fix this in no time!"

Fylass, accidentally was leaning too much on the door, and so, it opened fully, with the kid falling face flat on the floor, making the argument suddenly stop. The Cheshire Cats were on the verge of laughing.

"Kid! Are you okay?!" Lucid exclaimed with worry for the child’s wellbeing.

"Eurgh… Yeah, I am."

The group was interrupted by Dero afterwards, who was extremely confused about the whole ordeal.

"Who dares to enter the Queen’s Domains with that disrespect?! I shall know-"

"Wait! Dero, calm down! Dolly will take care of this!" Dolly was approaching with a face of curiosity towards the group, until she recognized them.

"Oh! You are the Suit Rally! Hi there!" Fylass assumed that the "Suit Rally" was just the name of the group. They looked above, seeing a Dolly filled with curiosity. "Oh! Who are you, sir-..." She realized who she was talking to.

"F-FYLASS?! I-IS THAT YOU?!" She quickly hugged Fylass, still on the floor. "OH, BEST FRIEND! YOU’RE WITH DOLLY AGAIN! S-SHE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!" She was tearing up, she was so glad to see Fylass again.

"W-Woah, slow down, Dolly! I am fine now! Different, but I am fine!" 

"I can s-see it! You look so adorable and cool! But what happened to you?! Where were you?!" 

"...It’s a long story."

"Please, do tell Dolly about it! She must know…!"

"...Ahem, could you please help us right here?!" 

"Oh, shut it!" Other voices were behind Dolly, and Fylass realized that those were the voices that they heard before, having an argument; before they could keep going though, they were sushed by Dero.

"Oh? Who are those?" Fylass asked, when they saw the two having a discussion. Both were seemingly human knights, or atleast, pretty similar to them, with orange and white armor. Both seemed annoyed, one to the other, and the other angry at the world.

"Oh, them? Dolly doesn’t really know…

"Banshee and Unicorn, those are our names. You would’ve known, but sadly, Banshee right here was too loud for you to hear, and for that I apologize." 

Fylass was weirded out by them; they didn’t even remember encountering someone like them before. What were they doing here?

"Er… hi?

"Greetings."

Lucid was prone to speak right after this, for they went here for that only purpose. "Er, excuse me, but please remember why we are here…"

"O-Oh, yeah. Dolly, do you know where "Underland" is?"

"...Underland? No, Dolly doesn’t think she knows, but she can look at the map! Dero, Could you help Dolly, pretty please?"

"As you wish, My Queen." Dero used his sword to reach a little lever that was above the throne, and when being turned, a painting resembling a map was there to see.

"Oh wow…" Fylass and Lucid looked at it, trying to the Underland, or at least a possible entrance to it, but to no avail, nothing was there.

"...Underland isn’t here…" Lucid was losing hope, although, soon, both him and Fylass could see a strange cabin appearing on the canvas, as a clicking sound was heard, and after one entire minute, the cabin had disappeared.

"Uh… What?" 

The kid realized that it had happened one minute since the cabin on the map appeared and disappeared, and they quickly remembered what happened with the pocket watch. 

"Wait, let me try something." Fylass used the clock to turn it to 11:59 again, and as they heard the clicking sound again, the cabin appeared, and one minute later, it was gone.

"...I think I know where to go."

"Oh! You do, best friend?" 

"I am not so sure, but going there wouldn’t hurt, right? Lucid said that the entrance to Underland had disappeared, so this is our best shot." 

Dero seemingly was having some questions on his head, from this, to Fylass’ mere changes, but he finally decided to speak up about them.

"Fylass, how did you become the Wolpertinger?"

"...Eh? I don’t know, really…" 

"I was pretty certain that those were extinct a long time ago, but you seem to be one, so I am at a loss here…"

"...I have the feeling that I might figure out what happened to me, when I get to Underland. I don’t know why, but I have that feeling…"

"Pretty well. Excuse me, I have to leave." 

"Don’t worry, Dero! The Queen says, see ya!" Dolly said, as Dero left the room.

"...Uh, hey. We are still here." Banshee remarked.

"Oh! Yeah, what if you guys go with Fylass and the group? That would certainly help for your situation! Dolly can’t go, sadly. She is trying her best to be the best queen of the world, and for that, I must not leave, since there's a big creature floating the skies, and Dolly thinks this could be a threat, or at least, that's what Dero said, but she assures you that with Fylass on your side, there’s nothing to worry about!"

"...That sounds like a plan." Unicorn said. "Hopefully, this won’t be a liability for them, nor us, soon."

"..Uh… Okay?" It seems that the gang will get two new members for this adventure. How interesting.

"...Well, we shall get going. Goodbye, Queen Dolly."

"Goodbye, Porcelain man! And please, take care of Fylass for Dolly…"

"I will do so. Don’t worry."

Everyone left the room, with Fylass waving goodbye at Dolly. Both were happy to see eachother once again.

"...Goodbye, best friend. Dolly wishes you luck in your endeavors…"

-------

@lostsoulau-ask

@loaflovesdoodling

@galakianexplosion

@kachikirby

@theflutteringdreameater

@monsterhatdoodles

@moon-mage

@den-of-the-blue-dragon

@ilikesillythingswooo

[rustytrident]

nights in your teapot

ch: childe

cw: angst, but it's also fluffy and comforting (relationship is ambiguous so make it whatever u want idc)

wc: 735

a/n: first genshin fic give it up for my first genshin fic!! more so a drabble but yeah, it's kinda all over the place, but so is my head so beware. i love tartaglia sm i wish gingers were real <//3

childe randomly visits your teapot on a thursday night.

confused, you stare at the glowing portal slowly fade away, giving place to a tuft of ginger hair and a mischievous smile. he looked good even like this, tired and messy.

"ajax," you tease him, knowing that hearing his real name gets him flustered.

"traveler," he teases you back, using your alias, the title everyone has started using.

"to what do i owe the pleasure?"

"i just wanted to see you – and honestly you don't look too busy yourself. i mean, come on. why are you outside, on the ground?"

"stargazing"

"you sap. these aren't even real stars"

"are the others?"

he huffed, not answering. you both knew he wasn't going to, but it was still entertaining to see him struggle just a bit. childe sat on the ground next to you, tilting his head up. you watched his adam’s apple bob as he swallowed and breathed in.

"looks like the stars aren't as interesting anymore, huh comrade?" me muttered, voice slow and gentle.

"of course. you're here, how could i tear my gaze away?"

"you flatter me," he blushes and leans down further to rest his head on your lap, trying to play it cool, hide behind a facade of flirtation and hope you don't notice his vulnerability.

"just being honest. you shine even under starlight"

you start absentmindedly playing with his hair, relishing the way his shoulders relax, and his face starts losing its usual edge. like this, you see ajax for what he is deep down: soft and gentle. rounded edges and soft skin.

"hey, can i ask you something?" he breaks the silence.

"sure"

"can you cook for me? i'll help! i just missed your cooking is all"

"i don't have a kitchen here"

"liar! don't try to avoid my humble request!"

you absorb every one of his chuckles like they're your energy source. you want to tattoo the sound waves of his laugh inside your brain, so you never forget what it sounds like.

"right. what would you like? i don't have much but i can get most things for you"

his eyebrows furrow as he thinks of the dishes you could make him. it's not often that he gets to eat something from you, so a lot of thought must be put into it, to make it memorable and sweet.

finally, childe speaks up "this one sumeru recipe you mentioned in your letter. it sounded delicious"

"it was. i'll go make it for you in a bit, i just-" you sigh, turning your eyes to the sky above you before lying down completely, relishing in the way the soft grass feels under your skin, "let's just stay like this a bit longer"

"for as long as you'd like" he, too, looks at the stars, reaching out to hold your hand.

if he could, he wrote you once, he would leave everything behind to travel around with you. it's during times like these that he wishes he could more than ever. ajax imagines all the stars, the sunrises and sunsets he could see with you, how many opportunities he could have to lie down on your lap like he is now, and feel the years of tension built in his muscles slowly recede.

a shooting star passes in front of his eyes, and he thinks he's dreaming. still, delusion or not, he takes the star as a sign, closes his eyes and makes a wish.

"what did you wish for?" you catch him off guard – of course you knew he'd make a wish. he wonders if this was your doing, but he'd rather not find out.

"classified information. sorry, comrade," he smiles.

but you know, and he knows you know, too – of course you do. you don't comment on it, however, and continue twiddling a strand of his hair between your fingers.

"maybe we wished for the same thing," you joke, in a way that isn't funny, in a way that spares your feelings from hearing the blatant truth.

"yeah, maybe" ajax jokes back, and if he notices the flutter in your breath, he doesn't say anything.

he simply keeps looking at the sky for a little while longer, and you do the same, enjoying each other’s presence, and silently, in a way that isn't funny at all, wishing things could maybe be a bit different, just for a little while.

[idkjupiterdraws]

The recoms: 2 truths and a lie?

Ja: Y'all wanna play a game?

z-dog: Yeah sure i have nothing better to do today.

lopez: sure whats the game and it can't be Uno.

Brown: Or any board game that reqiurs one winner kind of

Ja: Its not gonna be that bad i swear.

Mansk: so whats the game name?

ja: 2 truths and a lie

lyle: Sounds easy enough.

Lopez: I'm down

Brown: I guess

Mansk: seems peaceful enough

Z-dog: Ok then

Walker: We all playing right?

Ja: If you want

Fike: Im playing

Ja: ok is it settled?

lyle: Yeah

ja: -Explains the rules of the game- we understand the rules

all: Yes

Ja: Ok i'll go first! I make the most money, I like scary games, I'm the main doctor.

Lyle: You making the most money is a lie

z-dog: and you don't like scary games

Ja:...Z got me... but is do make the most money

Lopez: Me next! Ok so I have a wife and kids, I know two languages and I pray before I sleep.

Brown: You don't have a wife and kids but you wish you did.

Mansk: Yeah its the first one.

Lopez: Yeah it was the first one.

-they continued for a couple of rounds until it got back to walker-

Walker: ok I hear voices in my head, the author is mean to me and I'm better.

everyone:...DUDE?!

Fike: You need help.

Lopez: YOU HEAR VOICES?!

Ja: Ur out cause all of those are a lie.

-After that Quartich came in and shut the game down and told everyone to go back to sleep because they had a mission in the morning-

walker: how could this happen to me...I made my mistakes

-STFU-

[antiradqueer]

radqueers go "OMG THATS HORRIBLE HOW COULD THEY??? THEY DONT BELONG IN THE RADQUEER COMMUNITY!!!!!!" when someone does something bad as a very performative way of deflecting and making themselves seem like good people. like in public theyll go "omg thats HORRIBLE how could someone EVER commit bestiality??" but when you get into their private servers you see them being radically pro-contact claiming that its "not actually abusive". even though they cry and scream about pro-abuse people, when you peel back the "anti-harm, anti-abuse, anti-grooming, pro-consensual contact" aesthetic flags and labels and subterms you find that they support the exact same things as the people they claim to hate. when someone says theyre a "transitioning transnazi" they all freak out over it and claim to completely condemn it, but then you see them making nazi moodboards and saying "yeah i say racial slurs i cant reclaim in private to make myself feel better" and creating nazi ocs and going on and on about how attractive and cool nazis are.

they can deny and scream and defend all they want but everyone who knows about the community knows that theyre just as bad as the people they claim to hate. they can hide behind "pro-consent/anti-abuse" and "anti-transitioning transharmful" and "don't assume someone is being abused based off of stereotypes" and all their other cute aesthetic phrases but everyone knows that when you look underneath those then you find that its all lies and vague phrasing to make them sound better than they really are.

as someone who was in the radqueer community, i saw firsthand how these people would lie and make up cute phrases and repeat the same vague phrasing over and over. its designed purely to trick people and lure impressionable kids/uneducated people in, to trick them and make them think that everything is normal and acceptable until they step back and realize months later that everyone around them is a groomer and an abuser. they give you little bits of truth at a time to make you think that what theyre saying is normal, but those little seemingly-inconsequential things add up until you find yourself supporting adults dating toddlers and humans fucking animals.

they paint everything as "it's okay if it's consensual" but keep the phrasing vague so you just agree and dont question what they consider "consensual". i experienced how theyd say "well not ALL relationships between adults and minors are bad - an 18 year old dating a 17 year old is perfectly normal", something that's pretty true and makes sense, and then slowly make it more and more extreme until theyve manipulated and tricked you into believing "well an adult dating a 10 year old is fine actually, children are known to start experiencing romantic attraction and understanding romance around that age".

once youre too deep in the community and all their lies you dont even notice that any of this is happening. i thought that having to use vague phrasing and manipulate people was a completely normal thing that every community did because thats how they all treated it. you think that everything theyre saying is fine and normal and its actually the "antis" who are wrong and horrible, just listen to the 10 other people in the community, were happy so we must be right, right?

its a fucking cult. they manipulate you into joining by preying on those who are uneducated or traumatized or impressionable or otherwise vulnerable, they convince you that theyre the only right ones who know the "truth" and everyone else is wrong and "brainwashed", they shame and harass people who leave to make people too scared to get out. its entirely a cult and i hope that people are able to realize that and get the fuck out.

sweet jesus this is a long ask i can barely process it all