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pinkacademiaprincess · 1 year ago

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Hi! I’m about to start uni in October (law)

Can you give me a list of to-dos to mentally and physically prepare for this new journey? Like, things to bring, items to buy, notebooks etc 🥹💘

Operation Straight-A Student: A Comprehensive Guide to Prepping for a Successful Uni Experience 🎀📚💗✏️

ty for the ask! i'm not a law student, so this is gonna be more general uni advice that i hope can apply for you. best of luck in your journey, you're gonna do amazing things!!

step no. 1: plan, plan, plan!

for me, being organized & prepping ahead of time has been so helpful. even if things get a bit hectic or tough, having a routine to fall back on is key. here's how i do it!

google calendar

as soon as i have my class schedule, i input all my class meeting times on google calendar. then, based on whatever free space is left over, i allocate time for schoolwork and studying. here's the schedule i designed for this upcoming term:

make sure your study/ classwork time accounts for whatever online courses you're taking too. you should also include blocks for work, club meetings, etc. if they're recurring. i have google calendar linked to my phone so i get notifs for each time block.

planner

i recommend having a good planner. whether this is online or physical, depending on your preference, a weekly planner of your own is helpful for staying on top of work & having peace of mind.

the planner i use is the moleskine weekly planner. here is what it looks like inside:

on the left side i write all the tasks i have on each weekday (similar to the google calendar). on the right side, i list all the tasks i have to complete during that given week - i open the syllabi for all my classes and input whatever hw, assignments, projects, etc. are upcoming. i write them down in a checklist along with the date they're due. then, during my study blocks, i can check this page & decide what to work on!

note-taking & classwork

you should also have supplies for note-taking. some ppl prefer to take digital notes, so this means using your laptop or a tablet & stylus. personally, i like to take handwritten notes, so i bring loose-leaf lined paper & pencils to my lectures. i write the class name & date as the header for each page. when i'm done taking notes, i write the key topics in the top left-hand corner of the pager (in "no-man's land") so i can easily find the notes on specific topics when i'm flipping through them.

in terms of classwork, i recommend having a folder for each of your classes where you can store notes, assignments, tests, etc. i know some people use one big binder for all classes, but if you have a separate folder for each, you don't have to carry them all around on days when you only have two or three classes. i like the brand five star bc the folders are very durable and i've had the same ones all throughout uni!

for me, i've never been a huge notebook person b/c i like to keep my subjects separate so i rarely fill up an entire notebook. you can buy one to start with, and see once school starts if you think you need more!

other supplies

in terms of supplies, i'm honestly pretty minimalistic. the necessities for me are my planner, a folder & loose-leaf paper, and a pencil pouch with plenty of pens & pencils. i also bring my laptop & charger with me to school bc i use that for my online classes.

i do enjoy having cute supplies! i have a cute pink pencil pouch, glittery mechanical pencils, and fun pens. i also put stickers all over my laptop to give it a personal touch. i did a bit of embroidery on my backpack as well. you don't need to spend tons of money on aesthetic supplies, especially if it's something you won't have for long. but, finding simple ways to add a personal touch to your items can be fun & motivating!

step no. 2: make an action plan

i feel like it's easy to tell yourself you wanna do certain things or be a certain person during school. for example, i always want to be super studious, outgoing, & involved, but i used to struggle sm to actually do that. instead of only thinking of how you want to be, create actual steps/ tasks for yourself. here are my action items for inspo:

sit in the front row of every class - this can be daunting, but in my uni experience, wherever you sit in the first week becomes your (un)official assigned seat. get to class early, take a deep breath, and sit yourself down at the front! you'll be forcing yourself to stay at the front, but i promise it's fine! i really prefer this b/c if you & the prof get to class early you can chat a bit. also, when i wanna participate, i can speak at my regular volume & they'll hear me (rather than if i'm in the back row and had to scream). if nothing else, you'll become a familiar face!

attend office hours for each class at least once - i sometimes felt nervous/ anxious to go to office hours and talk to the professors & ta. but when you do it once, you realize they truly just want to help! getting to know the ppl who grade your assignments can be super useful. they might give you advice or info you don't get in lectures. plus, they are super knowledgeable!

raise your hand once per week - this forces you to be engaged with the content. i used to have such horrible social anxiety & the thought of speaking up in class & getting an answer wrong was my worst nightmare. and when i set this rule & began forcing myself to participate, i did make mistakes. but guess what... everyone moves on immediately. you might feel like the world is ending. it haunted me for weeks after 😢 but no one else cares! in the end, ppl will only remember that you were confident enough to raise your hand & speak up, not what you said. pls don't let your education suffer just b/c you're afraid some classmates might judge you! if raising your hand to answer problems is too daunting, start with asking clarifying questions & slowly build up to whatever you're able to do.

start a conversation with a classmate - having classmates that you're friendly with is so important. if you miss a lecture, need help on a concept, etc. you'll have someone you can turn to. and that's the least of it - you can end up making long-lasting friends! yes, it's scary to talk to a stranger. so, force yourself to do it as early as possible in the semester. an easy one - if you see someone sitting by an empty seat, ask if that seat is taken. if not, yay! it's go time 😊 sit by them and find something else to talk about - give them a (genuine & non-creepy) compliment, ask them if they've seen the syllabus, ask if they know the prof, etc. just something to get the convo started!! figure out their name, major, and other stuff too. once you've talked with them long enough to feel like you're getting along (whether that's after one class or multiple) ask for their number/ discord/ whatever so you can keep in touch! if they share your major, you should keep in contact with them b/c you might have other classes together in the future. but, again, in the best-case scenario, you have a new friend!

wear a cute outfit once per week - sometimes i would get a bit embarrassed or self-conscious to dress up for class. i forced myself to do it once per week, starting the first week of class, to set a precedent for myself. slowly i eased my way into wearing cute, fun outfits every day! no one is judging you as much as you are judging yourself, so have fun & be true to you.

step no. 3: study smarter, not harder

attending class is one thing, but you've got to put in the effort to study if you truly want to succeed. but, not all study methods will work for every single person. figure out how to study so you don't waste time with methods that don't work for you.

determine your learning style(s)

there are a few widely accepted learning styles. you've probably tried all of them throughout your time at school, so think back on which learning experiences have been most and least successful for you. then, connect them back to these learning styles to figure out ways you can most effectively study.

visual: if you learn by seeing info visually, such as with maps, graphs, diagrams, charts, etc.

auditory: if you learn by getting info in auditory form, aka when it's heard or spoken

kinesthetic: aka hands-on, if you learn by doing & applying

reading/writing: if you learn info best when it’s in words, aka by writing it down or reading it

you might find that multiple of these learning styles are effective for you, maybe there's one that sticks out as the most similar to your style of learning, or maybe one that just doesn't work for you. now, you don't need to assign yourself one and forego the rest, but you can adjust the time you spend on various study methods based on how well they work for you.

for me, i've realized over time that i am NOT a reading learner. in high school i would diligently read all the textbook assignments, spending hours getting through the chapters, only to retain none of it & do poorly on assignments & tests.

on the other hand, i respond really well to kinesthetic learning - when applying concepts hands-on, such as with practice problems, i have a much better understanding of concepts & retention.

fast forward to college - i spend very little time on assigned readings. in fact, sometimes i skip them all together 🫢 b/c if i spend an hour reading the textbook but retain none of it, that's an hour wasted. especially if the content from the textbook is going to line up with the lecture, i'm much better off paying attention & taking good notes in class, and then spending my study time doing practice problems. if i really do need to read the textbook, i have to make it interactive for myself - i answer the questions at the end of the chapter, take notes, quiz myself, etc.

now, my advice here isn't to skip textbook readings!! that's not something i recommend b/c for so many people, it IS effective and helpful! when it comes to studying, play on your strengths. don't try to force yourself to learn in a way that doesn't work for your brain. make modifications & prioritize your learning! here is an awesome guide to different methods that work for the various learning styles.

find your ideal study environment

you can also maximize the effectiveness of your studying based on the environment you're in. if you can decide what factors help or hinder your studying abilities, it will help you decide where you should make your go-to study spot!

at home or in public? sometimes, studying in a public place can be unproductive. it might make you feel more stressed (like the sensation of having your teacher look over your shoulder during a test 🫣) or distracted. for me, studying in public is actually useful b/c i'm less likely to get disctracted. if i'm in my room i might get tempted to open up tumblr or pinterest, but in public i feel like ppl might see me get off topic which deters me LOL. however, studying at home is nice b/c you're in the comfort of your own personal space - you can change into pjs, cuddle your pet, grab a snack, etc. i do a mix of studying in public & at home b/c i feel like they both have their benefits

quiet or noisy? do you study better in a silent environment, or do you like some sound/ white noise? personally, i cannot deal with ANY noise when i'm trying to study, it totally breaks my focus 😭but some people like the ambient/ white noise of a coffee shop

music or silence? similar to the last one, does having music help you stay focused, or distract you? i know ppl will swear by different things - classical music, upbeat music, songs in different languages, etc. again, i personally cannot handle any sounds 😅 but if music keeps you alert, plan accordingly - have earbuds or go to a coffee shop that has a playlist going

nature or indoors? maybe you find it stuffy to be indoors all day & studying out in the open air helps you stay grounded and calm. on the flipside, being exposed to the elements might just make you more distracted. if you like studying outdoors, try public parks with benches, and also see if your campus has outdoor seating areas. some libraries do too. for a happy medium, you can study someplace with large windows/ nice view.

independent or collaborative? do you study better on your own or in groups? you can join a study group or go to office hours to get a sense of studying in a group setting vs. alone. group studying can help hold you accountable, make it more interactive, and keep you focused. that being said, i def prefer studying independently. i like to go at my own pace, and tbh i get easily distracted w/ others and will begin to just chit chat

based on how you answer those questions, you can decide what your ideal study environment is & pick a go-to place! for me, based on my preferences, my most effective study environment going to the library alone or studying in my room.

that's all for this post! i feel it got very long but i had so many tips to share. there's no "one size fits all" guide to navigating uni life. but i think everyone can benefit from prepping in advance & being mentally prepared. knowing your own strengths + having a plan of attack will guide you in stressful/ uncertain times!

overall, take the time to get to know yourself & figure out how you can be at your very best. apply whichever bits of advice resonate, and ignore anything that's not gonna serve you. this is YOUR journey!

and remember, even with all the planning in the world, things can go unexpectedly. you are more than equipped to deal with whatever life throws your way! when you are faced with unexpected things - pause & think, assess the situation, & determine your best course of action. above all, YOU'VE GOT THIS! 💗

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heartbrkr · 2 years ago

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Hii!! I was wondering if you could write scenarios of what TxT members would do for their significant others birthday?? It's my birthday today and I need some cute fluff rn T-T

what txt would do on your birthday

REQUEST What TXT would do and get for their significant other on their birthday.

PAIRING (separate) ot5 txt x gender neutral!reader

GENRE lots of fluff!

WORD COUNT 270+ to 310+ per member

AUTHOR'S NOTE happy birthday to you! thank you so much for sending in this request. i hope you enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it <3

MASTERLIST | REQUESTS: OPEN!

YEONJUN gets you material things, mostly, aside from his love for you.

He would definitely get you something you’ve been dying to buy for yourself; it’s either you haven’t saved enough for it yet or it isn’t a priority as of right now. He knows that, and he’s more than pleased to buy whatever you want and anything you don’t need, but insists you do.

Yeonjun walks up to you while you’re seated, focused on a mundane task. It sucks to be busy on the day of your birthday, so he does his best to put a smile on your face, even the slightest. Yeonjun lets out a noise in greeting to get your attention and you whip your head, eyes immediately aligning with the gift wrapped item. You look up at him with an adoring look, honestly not expecting anything too grand for your birthday. He barely gets to open his mouth before you get ahead of yourself. “Yeonjun…”

The patterned paper hides a box, not too big that he hides behind it, but not too small that his hands completely cover it. It’s now in your hands and you can’t help but bite your lower lip out of anticipation.

“Open it!” You’re easy to talk to, so you do as he says. You’re shocked because not only did he get you the very expensive thing you wanted, the box is filled with other individually packed little things for you. You were frozen in place.

He preens, giggling at your reaction, enough for you to snap out of your trance. You abruptly stand up, mindlessly shoving the box on your desk, kissing his face while thanking him repeatedly. “I love you. Nothing but the best, for the best.”

SOOBIN handwrites you a letter. And something else.

The gesture he does goes a long way, especially if you’re a very sentimental person. He would give you a handwritten letter, everything he wants to express to you in three papers filled back-to-back with beautiful words. He tells you that the three pages weren’t enough for him, but was worried you’d get tired of reading. You probably wouldn’t.

After you carefully fold the letter and place it back into the white envelope embellished with your name at the back and a little Pokémon sticker to seal it, you turn in your seat to face Soobin again. He mustn’t have heard you shift since he’s stuffing his face with your birthday cake, not realizing you’re finally looking at him. He munches to himself and it takes him about two whole minutes to notice. Slowly giving you an unintentional side eye, he’s surprised to catch your own.

“What are you...? Oh! You finished the letter. What d’you think?” The affection he’s showered in says enough, but Soobin’s still hiding another gift behind him. He tries to get you off him for a moment and you complain that it’s too early to stop appreciating him.

“Wait! Before we continue, I have one last gift. Close your eyes and put out your hands.”

You, although suspicious, oblige. The thing he drops into your hands feels like it's in a small mesh pouch with something that has the slightest weight to it inside. He tells you to open your eyes.

“I know you like keychains, so I got you one of me!” You look up at his real face, blinking. “Now, I’ll be wherever you go.” He continued.

You supposed the thought was sweet…

You feel like BEOMGYU's courting you all over again with his guitar skills.

He's naturally a very playful person, but when it comes to important occasions— especially yours— he can and will take them super seriously. Being his other half meant that he knows your likes and dislikes, including your favorite song. Ever since you’d told him, he started learning the chords of the tune on his acoustic guitar to a T. He was so excited to finally play it to you, and get you to cry. Half-kidding, of course…

Beomgyu pulls you out onto the garden rooftop with the sun setting in the background. It’s perfect, the both of you think to yourselves and Beomgyu gives himself a mental pat of the back. A chair designated for you awaits in the middle and you make a beeline to it, not noticing Beomgyu suddenly going missing; the moment you do is when you’re settled. And in the same second, you hear a familiar intro on the strings. You gasp, looking for the source of the melody.

“Is that—?”

You’re impressed with the way he walks from behind you, to your right, and lastly in front of you all while strumming the song’s intro. He gives you a homey smile, and from your seat, you feel the warmth emitting from it engulf you. “Happy birthday. I’ve learned this song ever since you told me you loved it.”

He gets past the intro, singing and playing the song so beautifully, and you’re left wondering how in the world you were so lucky to have him in your life.

Beomgyu got what he wanted, you were in tears by the end of it.

TAEHYUN isn't big with words, but his actions speak louder.

Among the members, he would realistically be the only one to take you out on a proper date on your special day. Not to say that the others’ actions aren’t thoughtful, he’d just want to spend some quality time while spoiling you. A little change of pace and environment. He wouldn’t be one to give you a long sappy message, but he’ll show you how much you mean to him through his actions.

Taehyun has heard you talk about this restaurant in passing before, mentioning how your friends thought you’d enjoy the food a lot, but weren’t able to as you have a certain budget for a night out. He didn’t tell you where he was taking you, just to dress nicely, so it was safe to say you were surprised to hear the name of the place when a waiter greeted you both. The moment you sat down at your reserved table, you couldn’t help your string of questions.

“I— how’d you know I’ve wanted to try it here? How’d you get a table? I couldn’t possibly let you pay for the bill!”

He chuckles at your shock, holding your hand across the table, effectively pulling you back down to the ground. “Calm down, babe, we just got here. Don’t worry about the bill, it is your birthday, after all.”

You wanted to protest again, but he pulls the “ah, ah, ah!” card when he sees your mouth open again, so you ultimately let him go on with his plans to treat you. “Thank you. This is perfect.”

Little did you know, he has a little surprise in his back pocket; it’s the necklace you eyed during your last date, with his and your initials carved at the back of the little pendant.

(“Kang Taehyun, you did not!”

“Oh but for you, I always will.”)

HUENINGKAI is soft for you, just like the plushie he got you.

He's out in the mall the day before your birthday to find a gift for you; he’s been pacing around the mall, worried that you might not like whatever he’ll get you. Poor Kai just wants to get you something perfect. Ultimately, after the most stressful hour of his entire life, he steps into a cute little store with the most adorable trinkets and plushies.

Something I can work with, Hueningkai tells himself while looking around diligently. His pacing is a little slower than earlier, his nervousness dissolving with every step. After a little bit, he stops in his tracks when he spots the cutest thing he has ever seen in his life and it immediately reminds him of you. He hit the jackpot.

The only thoughts going through his head as he walks to the counter are about what you’d think about the gift, how you’d react, what you’d do. This precious boy is so in love with you, please never break his heart.

Kai, out of question, would be the first to wish you a happy birthday. He came over to your’s an hour before, doing his best attempt at hiding his gifts from you. You noticed, but didn’t have the heart to tell him. Eventually, after hanging out a bit, he excuses himself to “go to the restroom” at around 11:57 P.M. In reality, he goes straight to your kitchen to light the candles and turn off the main living room lights. As he’s singing to you at exactly midnight, carefully bringing you the cake he got, you admire the way the candlelights illuminate his face. He’s ethereal. “Make a wish!”

You blow out the fire. He rushes to turn on the lights again and comes back with a poorly, yet endearingly, wrapped plushie.

Your face lights up when you finally see it, hugging it tightly. “Wah, it’s so cute! Thank you, Hueningie, I love it; I love you!” He sighs in relief, feeling silly for worrying so much.

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lazzarella · 5 months ago

Text

Reluctantly, I'll admit I wasn't 100% feeling it this week, but I don't like to be negative in the tag so I'll leave it at that. And I still wrote three pages of notes 🤣 so, here we go:

(Okay, so while writing these notes up from my handwritten ones, the issues I had with the episode while watching don't seem as important and helped me see the episode as a whole, and how it furthers Yak and Dee's story. I still hope we get more from Dee's side of his past, but I'm also just trying to accept media on its own terms, instead of what I wish it would be)

- Right in the deep end with the family drama!

- Yak saying 'can you hug me?' in that little voice just broke me!! And then crying as Dee hugs him! ;__;

- Awww! Dee looks so proud and happy when Yak eats <3 god, I love Dee!

- "Your hug is really warm!" That's so cute! And that whole conversation was really lovely

- "I love you the most, more than anyone" Ahhhh, my heart! I bet Dee's never heard that before, or been prioritised like that, except for by his grandma

- Picking Dee up and spinning him around! I am WEAK for this!

- Okay, I love them both doing their own thing in Dee's apartment! Very domestic and boyfriend-y

- Shoulder rub!! Yak is so sweet and attentive <3

- When Yak said his own big brother is his idol, I just about melted! No matter how angry he gets at Yei, it's always been obvious how much he idolises him <33

- "You'll always have me by your side!" DEEEEEEE!

- Ahhh! Yak looks so disarmed when Dee hugs him without being asked!!

- I just want more Yak and Dee :( (I can't remember what was going on in this part now lol but I was pouting about not enough Yak and Dee on my screen, but see note at top about how that doesn’t bother me as much now 🙈)

- Gosh, Yak is so pretty!

- Aww! Dee went with them!!!!! I mean, of course he did, but that actually surprised me?

- I love how Dee managed to both deny being Yak's bf but also not? Or, well, when Yak said close enough he didn't deny it <333

- also!!! Yak not only saying this is my boyfriend but he is the one???!!!! Damn!

- "Are you two cursed?" LMAO! Pretty bold to be cracking jokes about your estranged sons Papa Phadetseuk lol

- "We settle conflicts with punches" well, that's healthy! XD

- "Let me help you!" Oh, Yak <3 "Let me help. A hundred years or so from now, I believe, a famous novelist will write a classic using that theme. He'll recommend those three words even over I love you." (Time to break out the Star Trek quotes)

- "If it's heavy you can put it down" aaaaaand that's when I started bawling ;__;

- That house looks familiar 🤔

- LMAO! I love Yak's shirt that says "Why fall in love when you can fall asleep?" Wise words, sexy tank top, wise words!

- Cher already getting Dee in on calming the waters between Yei and Yak—he's truly a part of the family!

- Cher saying Yak and Yei's mum would be happy that her son's sweethearts were helping and Dee not deflecting and just being happy! Also, how cute was Dee when he was apologising to Yak’s mum for not making the wreath well?? Fuck, I love him ;__;

- Dee's smile when he's talking to Cher and Yak's step-mum about whatever it was (I was SO tired last night)—choices and love, I think—and it kind of looks like he's made a decision about Yak maybe? Just the way he's smiling?

- not entirely sure I understand what was going on in the ceremony—is the touching thing for family? Was it a way to show they've accepted their step-mum? I don't really know what to google to figure that out, but maybe when my brain is on I'll think of what terms to use lol

- this is nice, but I just want Yak and Dee!! 😭 (sorry, lol, I’m being a brat)

- But Yei asking for a reward from Cher! lol he and Yak truly are brothers haha

- the karaoke song is cute! This whole scene is very cute!

- Ahhh! Cher and Dee in the family photo! Idt Dee has ever really felt like part of a family so this is so important for him ;__;

- OMG LITTLE DEE!!!! Nooooo! He's so tiny and this is so sad! D:

- YES! FINALLY! Yak and Dee alone lol (...is the background music rockabye baby?????)

- Oh, I KNEW IT! I KNEW he had absent parents even before they died and that he never felt loved by them! VINDICATION! (Okay, not that much vindication because the show made it kind of obvious but still lol)

- Fuck! Is he so good at hugging because he puts all the love he wished he'd felt from his parents into them??

- Oh damn, crying again with Yak stroking Dee's hair! ;__;

- (This whole conversation just broke me! Like, I knew this was what was going on with Dee, but hearing him talk about it... Ahhh! Dee <33333)

- Yak going to Dee's grandma is quite lovely

- THE VIDEO!!! Ahhhhh, fuckkkkkkkk. This episode made me cry like no other has made me cry D:

- Oh, Dee! He has such a big heart and so much love and warmth!!

- MORE KISSING!!!

- Okay, but the moments leading up to the kiss, where you see that realisation on Dee's face... That just made me so happy!

- ...lmao, okay, the preview is all serious, serious, serious, CLOWNS!

- INN'S SONG! YAY! I really like this song! It's so cute :3

#wandee goodday #long post #lazzarella watches tv

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loftec · 5 months ago

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Ooohh ho! not missing my chance for a lil peek into that noggin of yours!! <3

📓

Hah! Sorry for taking ages to do this, I quite honestly decided that I would use this opportunity to tell one of you poor sods brave enough to ask about my epic Merlin canon divergent daydream story I've worked on since 2012, and then I spent 2 days just THINKING through the general plotpoints, nevermind writing them down, and then I remembered I have a big deadline coming up at work and had no time for daydreaming at all.

So maybe let's not do that one… but what else, what else? My problem is that I consider all my Shameless daydream stories to be actual drafts for actual fics (that I probably won't ever write but I simply must still believe!) so I’m not sure… Hang on, I've seen you politely like some of the Dead Boy stuff I’ve reblogged, haven't I? I will take this as an invitation to tell you about my Other DBD daydream story!

Open on Crystal and Charles carefully walking down a corridor lined with doors on both sides, bickering. They're looking for something and Crystal wants to kick down doors and rifle through things, and Charles is doing his LEVEL BEST to be the stand-in think-first guy in their unbalanced kick-first-think-later duo. They're inside Edwin's mind, and Charles is like look, Edwin would hate this, he doesn't even take off his jacket in mixed company (by which Charles means any company besides Charles) and now we're walking through his thoughts and memories and you know what he's like about his books, how do you think he'd feel about having us mucking about in his mind??

Cut back to earlier with some context for how they ended up there. Edwin had just shut down at some point (for magical reasons or some delayed reaction to, you know, all the trauma) and they figure out that he's somehow trapped in his own mind and Crystal says she'll go in and figure him out, and Charles insists that she must not go alone because Edwin's got a great big old mind, right? She needs a guide or she’ll get lost or make things worse or see something she shouldn't. Crystal isn't impressed with his lack of faith in her, but she can see that he's at his wits' end and concedes that he has a point. If anyone can navigate whatever's going on in Edwin's mind, besides Edwin, it's Charles.

It's an endless system of warmly lit hallways, dark patterned carpets and soft worn wooden floors, wallpapers and wall sconces and doors, so many doors. The doors have labels on them, and the hallways connect in octagonal sitting rooms and mind-breaking MC Escher stairways, different wings of the sprawling structure organised after subject. History, Arcana, Language (there's a door in there labelled "English (Charles)" that our detectives won’t see, but which I want you to know about just for fun), and so on.

In a more brightly lit wing of Edwin's mind palace (hah) labelled "Friends and Acquaintances", looking a bit like a new addition to the house, Crystal finds a door with her name on it and finally argues her way into getting to open a door and snoop a little. She's surprised by how nice it is in there, a big comfy chair next to an open window, sheer curtains billowing in a mild breeze, sounds from a distant city below. The walls are lined with bookcases, most of which are empty. She grabs one of the few books neatly placed on one of the shelves, where one would naturally assume the start of an indexed collection would be. She opens the book to a random page, filled with tidy handwritten notes. "Likes Pro Wrestling (Ed. Ask C about Pro Wrestling) Americans, honestly!" is next to "Visibly distraught at mention of Niko (Ed. Offer comfort next time.)" and "Must she be here quite this much?" and ”I wish she would have never darkened our door.” and "Likes coffee (Ed. Look into supplies)”. She closes it again, and carefully puts it back. There’s so much space for more books in this room.

(I meant ”Ed” as ”Editor’s note” but just realised it looks a bit like he’s referring to himself as Ed in his own mind, which is pretty funny.)

Charles leads them through the building, unsure of what they’re looking for but surprisingly sure of where they’re going. He casually mentions the most tender and meticulous observations when Crystal asks for reasoning behind going this way or that, or why they’re not checking one door over another. One door is labelled ”The Dollhouse” and Crystal jokes about wanting to check it out, wondering if it’s something formative from his childhood, and Charles tells her don’t go near it, trust me. You don’t want to know. And Crystal hears him and follows his lead and doesn’t mention the very notable absence of a ”Charles” door, even though she really wants to. Charles is nothing if not observant, he must have noticed too.

He also doesn’t seem phased when they find the whole-ass Charles wing. Door after door after door after door, ”Charles (Jokes)”, ”Charles (Open Cases)”, ”Charles (Closed Cases)”, ”Charles (Unsaid)”, ”Charles (Secrets)”, ”Charles (Daily)” ”Charles (Pre-Afterlife)”, ”Charles!”, ”Charles?”, ”Charles (Smiles)”, ”Charles (Scores 1993-1999”) and on and on. Charles peeks into one or two, suddenly unsure if he knows what he’s doing or where he’s supposed to be looking, and the rooms all look like the office. Some at night, some flooded with sunlight, some muffled by snowfall, some rattling in a storm, all of them filled with a homely warmth and absolutely stacked with shelves upon shelves of books and archive boxes stuffed heavy with files. In ”Charles (Scores 1999-2010)” Charles can’t help himself and pulls out a file from a dusty box close to the doorway. ”November 11, 2009. Pictionary. Win: Charles.” The ghost of a lump forming in his throat, Charles looks through the attached appendices, smiles at the memory of Edwin’s outraged ”Charles! That is not a penguin, in what world is that a penguin?”, his fingertips tracing the beaked blob on one of the wrinkled papers.

At the end of the very long hallway there’s a small door, looking more like a janitor’s closet than another room, and there isn’t a proper plaque on this one, but a handwritten note stuck to it with tape. It says ”Mr and Mrs Rowland”. Charles can’t even comprehend what Edwin knows about Charles’ parents that wouldn’t handily fit in the ”Charles (Pre-Afterlife)” room, but would need the extra closet space. Curiosity gets the better of him and when he opens it, he finds it just stuffed to the brim with scribbles, actual cartoony scribbles that fall out in a big pile over his feet and up to his knees, ”Mr and Mrs Rowland” written over and over and over and swept into a dark closet. Like, you’re not a 14 year old girl with a crush, but you’re gay and you’re a ghost and you’re from 1916 and you’re in love with your best friend who has made you watch enough modern media to influence some tiny annoying and persistent part of your mind to subconsciously do an abjectly silly thing you know makes no sense, but will only do it more if you try to reason with it.

Crystal very kindly doesn’t comment on it as she helps him kick the bouncing scribbles back into a pile they can shove back in the closet. Charles is a little red around the ears, but he doesn’t seem surprised, so this is yet another thing Crystal has underestimated about him. Charles for the first time since Crystal got them in there, feels lost. He followed his instincts and he was so sure, until he ended up in the Charles wing and maybe got a bit distracted? Does he actually think Edwin is somewhere in this part of his mind palace (heh) or is he just being a massive self-absorbed knob wishing he could go back in one of his rooms and just go through memories until Edwin would find him, instead?

Then Crystal notices one of those fold-down ceiling ladders above them. Even this is labelled, a neat little sign saying ”Uncategorised”. He pulls the string and folds down the steps, carefully climbing up and sticking his head into… an attic. The attic. As cluttered and dusty as he remembers it, the first rays of early dawn shining through the dirty window and filling the space with shadows and twilight.

So this is as far as I’ve gotten, I’ve mostly just enjoyed having Charles and Crystal walk around in Edwin’s mind, exploring and talking about things (Edwin, and hell, and feelings). Also I more or less finished my deadline yesterday and told myself to go to bed early to finally get a full night’s sleep, and instead I stayed up until 1 am and wrote this and I don’t know if it makes any kind of sense, but there it is!

(On a sidenote; I genuinely couldn’t tell you how it is that the opening to Dreamcatcher at some point became foundational to my personality, when I’m pretty sure I’ve never actually watched all of Dreamcatcher.)

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seitmai · 2 months ago

Text

You know the drill 😅

The way he strutted around the house naked was highly distracting, but you had so much to do.

I 100% would not be able to get ready having Bradley setting around naked lol

You wanted to argue that it was his big day, too. He could do anything for his presentation, and your kids would eat it up. But for you, Career Day was always a chance for the fourth grade teachers to show off who they were able to get in their classroom. Who had the coolest adults. It was ridiculous, but you were still excited about it.

Yes, let's show off the most amazing line up of adults !

Bradley's idea of breakfast was an enormous bowl of cereal, toast, muffins and a banana. "I don't have time to finish all of this!" "I'll eat whatever you don't eat," he promised. And he did.

That is very Bradley, but I love that for him haha

Second, he was already hoping and praying that Natasha was going to be able to distract you the way that he wanted. He needed a little bit of help from your students to make this extra special.

Nat truly is his Wingwoman in very situation

And third, just because he thought his mom's retro ring from the early 1980s was cool didn't mean you would. But that was really the least of his concerns. He wanted you to have it if you agreed to marry him, but he'd buy you something else if you so desired.

So sweet and thoughtful 🥹

You sighed against him. "It's ridiculous, but I want my guests to be the coolest ones. The other fourth grade teachers all rolled their eyes at me for even writing to an aviator in the first place." "Joke's on them. You can't even get rid of me now," Bradley murmured, making you laugh. "You've got Nat and Marty. And one of your kids' parents owns a pizza shop. You're golden, Baby. Coolest fourth grade teacher ever."

Facts ☝🏻

"Jesus, Nat. I already told you I was anxious about this!" She huffed out a breath. "And I already told you that you could put in literally no effort at all, and she would say yes. You could hand her a ring and grunt, 'Marriage?' and she would start planning a wedding."

I love Nat's bluntness and nonchalance so much haha

Bradley laughed as he organized the pages again. "I want it to be special. Butterflies and all that shit. She makes me feel incredible."

🥹🥹🥹

"Why are you making me go after Lieutenant Trace?" he whispered as she engaged with the kids.

Oh no, poor Marty. He's gonna do great!

"I mean, once again, it would be Hangman and Coyote flying them, but even those two can handle holding a simple formation."

Hahaha iconic

"Do all of you think you can help your pen pal out with something for a few minutes?" Eyes went wide, backs went straight, and Oliver even saluted him as he started handing out the papers. "I brought all of the letters you kiddos sent me last year when I was deployed. There are a lot of them, and I'm going to use them for something special. A surprise for your teacher."

Aww it's so cute that he is gonna involve the kids in some way 🥰

"I can't tell you that," Bradley replied with a wink. "It's classified."

Perfect answer haha

"Are you really going to marry our teacher someday?" Violet asked as he handed her three of the handwritten notes. Bradley froze, unsure how to answer. "If she wants to marry me, then I definitely want to marry her."

Violet knows what's up

If you knew one thing about Ruby Masters, you knew she loved it when kids got excited about learning something new. And if you knew one thing about women in general, most of them loved a man in uniform. Right now, Marty was absolutely rocking his ensign khakis and his pins, and Ms. Masters stood up a little straighter when he turned your way with a smile on his face.

Uhhhh😏🤭

"Oh," Ms. Masters said. "It seems like Marty is... really good with his hands." Your lips parted in surprise. "I'm sure he must be," you replied, trying not to squeal as she smiled and covered her face in embarrassment.

"Not a quiz!" complained Jackie, but Bradley held up his hands in mock surrender.

Jackie is a mood, hahah

"Marty... Ms. Masters is hot and single, and she was flirting with you. She wanted you to ask for her phone number."

Go Marty!!!

The whole school was buzzing with excitement as everyone emptied out onto the lawn and the parking lot. Something must have happened earlier, because Marty and the school librarian were standing awfully close together in all the chaos. As far as Bradley could recall, he'd never seen that man smile so much before.

Ahhhhh yes!! 👏🏻🥳

Bradley put his own earplugs in before the sound of the jet wash hit. You and everyone else stared up at the sky where his colleagues were flying overhead, but he kept his eyes on you. He was in love. He had Carole's ring and the paper planes. He had all of these words that he wanted to say to you, but mostly he wanted to promise that he'd feel the same way about you forever. And he wanted to hear you say the same thing.

He is so in love I can't even 🥹🥰

Yours Truly, Bradley Bradshaw Part 25 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Career Day arrives, and you definitely have the coolest collection of adults visiting your classroom. Bradley orchestrates a surprise, hoping you don't realize it's just a cover for something even bigger.

Warnings: fluff, adult language, 18+

Length: 4200 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female teacher!Reader

Check out my masterlist for more! Yours Truly, Bradley Bradshaw masterlist

You were up before your alarm, too excited to stay in bed for a minute longer. When you tried to roll away from Bradley, his knee dug into your butt, and you groaned.

"Morning, Gorgeous," he grunted, arm wrapping around you like a boa constrictor until you were snug up against him again.

"Bradley," you whined, trying to squirm away. "I'm sore from being spanked."

You could hear his soft rumble of laughter as he released you, and you dragged yourself out of the other side of the bed. You weren't sure how you were going to make it through the day like this. You didn't even know if you'd be able to sit down. Still, you couldn't stop the smile that bloomed across your face, and soon Bradley was wearing one to match.

"Maybe we should have saved that for tonight," you whispered, gingerly rubbing your butt as you pulled your most capable looking dress from the closet you now shared with Bradley.

"We can revisit that activity tonight if you'd like." Just when you were about to argue there was no way that was going to happen again just yet, he let his hand slip down to the right side of your butt which went untouched last night. He gave you a little squeeze and whispered, "I'll get breakfast ready. I want you one hundred percent ready to go for Career Day, Baby."

The way he strutted around the house naked was highly distracting, but you had so much to do. You wanted to make sure your hair and makeup were perfect, and you wanted to get to your classroom early. So you got started, and at some point when you were in the bathroom, Bradley must have put his flight suit on. He was wearing it when he knocked on the door, and you told him to come in while you rooted around under the sink, trying to find the lotion you wanted to use.

"What are you doing?" he asked, panic lacing his voice as you glanced up at him.

"Looking for my lotion. The stuff in the blue bottle." You turned back to your task, and a second later, Bradley was in front of you, snatching up the exact thing you were looking for.

"This it?" he asked anxiously, nudging the cabinet closed with his knee as he handed it to you.

"Thanks," you muttered, wondering why he was acting strange as you smoothed the lotion all over your hands and arms.

"Let's eat breakfast before you're late for your big day."

Bradley's idea of breakfast was an enormous bowl of cereal, toast, muffins and a banana. "I don't have time to finish all of this!"

"I'll eat whatever you don't eat," he promised. And he did. You watched him inhale the rest of the food as you double checked that you had everything in your bag, and then the two of you went out to his Bronco with travel mugs of coffee.

------------------------------

Bradley was nervous about today. He couldn't pinpoint one reason why, because there were several. First of all, he'd spent so much time in your classroom already, maybe it wasn't the best idea to have him scheduled for last out of all the Career Day participants. The kids were bound to find him stale at some point, and Marty had just scratched the surface of his many talents. He didn't want it to be his fault if things ended on a low note for you today.

Second, he was already hoping and praying that Natasha was going to be able to distract you the way that he wanted. He needed a little bit of help from your students to make this extra special.

"You're so quiet," you mused softly, and Bradley almost forgot he was holding your hand while he drove. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said before clearing his throat. "Just going over what I want to talk to your kids about."

"What are you going to talk about today?"

He smiled and tilted the sun visor a little bit more. "Remember that video I posted on YouTube before I left in December? When I said there would be a quiz? I'm going to quiz them on everything they've learned with me. Stuff from the video and their field trip. Things I talked about in my letters. I'm going to try to stump them."

"I don't think you'll be able to," you said, lacing your fingers with his. "They hang on your every word. Just like I do."

Oh, he wanted you to have an engagement ring on that hand in the worst way. His life had changed so much since your first letter, but he knew pretty early on that he had feelings for you. And he knew as soon as the first date that he would end up here, completely in love with you.

When he pulled into your school parking lot, Bradley drove past all of the empty spots to drop you off at the front doors. "Aren't you coming with me?" you asked him, but he shook his head.

"I don't want to be a distraction for your morning routine. I'll wait out here for Nat and Marty and come inside with everyone else at nine."

"Okay," you replied, but you were looking straight ahead now. "I'm a little nervous."

"Why?" He shifted into park and reached for you.

You sighed against him. "It's ridiculous, but I want my guests to be the coolest ones. The other fourth grade teachers all rolled their eyes at me for even writing to an aviator in the first place."

"Joke's on them. You can't even get rid of me now," Bradley murmured, making you laugh. "You've got Nat and Marty. And one of your kids' parents owns a pizza shop. You're golden, Baby. Coolest fourth grade teacher ever."

You kind of rolled your eyes at him, but you smiled and kissed him before you climbed out. "I'll see you inside."

Bradley had a while to wait for Nat and Marty to arrive, and he considered running to Starbucks for his newest addiction. Instead he grabbed the bag that was tucked underneath his seat and started to sort through all the notes inside. It was a sizable collection now. All of the letters you and your students wrote to him made a stack a few inches thick. Some of the pages were creased and worn, but they would work perfectly for what he had planned.

When Nat tapped on his window, he jolted, sending pages flying.

"Why are you so jumpy?" she asked, opening his door.

"Jesus, Nat. I already told you I was anxious about this!"

She huffed out a breath. "And I already told you that you could put in literally no effort at all, and she would say yes. You could hand her a ring and grunt, 'Marriage?' and she would start planning a wedding."

Bradley laughed as he organized the pages again. "I want it to be special. Butterflies and all that shit. She makes me feel incredible."

His best friend leaned against the door, crossing her arms over her flight suit, and asked, "You still want Marty and I to help with your distraction scheme?"

"I need you to."

"You got it."

--------------------------------

Your students were on their best behavior. The guests were all excited to be there. Bradley kept smiling at you. Your rear end was still sore, but it turns out there was no reason to be nervous at all. Even the music teacher and school librarian decided to hang out in your classroom for part of the day, because your kids talked it up so much.

Nia's mom, a pediatrician, gave a presentation about keeping your body healthy. Oliver's dad talked about designing skyscrapers and then let the kids build with Lego blocks. Now you were listening to Natasha talk about the challenges of landing a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier, and even the parents were enthralled.

"What do you think would happen if I flew in too low?" she asked, pointing at Jackie who had her hand up.

"You could like miss the deck?"

"Absolutely," Nat replied. "And what if I came in from too high?"

Jayden's hand shot up this time. "You could crash!"

"I could indeed," Nat answered seriously. Five more hands shot up in the air as she talked about velocity, and Marty, who was standing next to you at the back of the room, leaned in closer to you.

"Why are you making me go after Lieutenant Trace?" he whispered as she engaged with the kids.

You smiled at the older man in his khaki shirt and dark pants. "You can hold your own, Marty. Trust me." You knew for a fact he arrived with two tool boxes and some engine parts you couldn't even identify. You were already excited for what that meant. He would be just fine.

Suddenly the room erupted in applause as Natasha finished up, and you made your way up to the front of the classroom. "Thank you so much, Lieutenant Trace. Next we will hear from our favorite mechanic whom we met on our field trip to North Island. Marty needs a few minutes to set up, so in the meantime, Nia's mom is going to share some healthy snacks that we can enjoy."

You were going to go stand with Bradley while your classroom dissolved into the soft hum of conversation, but Nat cornered you first. "I just got a text from Maverick about something so exciting, but I need to run it past you first. Can we talk in the hallway?"

"Uh, sure."

You looked around the room before deciding on asking Ms. Masters the librarian to help you out. "Would you mind monitoring things for a couple minutes?"

"I'll take care of it," she promised with a nod, and you knew everyone was in good hands as you slipped out into the hallway with your boyfriend's best friend.

"How would you feel about a flyover today?"

You stared at Natasha, blinking silently at her words. "A flyover?"

"Yeah," she replied casually.

"Like over the school?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed, buffing her nails on her flight suit.

"Are you serious right now?"

"Yes."

You felt like she was being kind of purposely slow to give details as your mind swirled. "You're talking actual Naval aircrafts?"

"Of course," she said with a grin. "I mean, once again, it would be Hangman and Coyote flying them, but even those two can handle holding a simple formation."

Now you were really excited. "How is this actually happening?" you whispered.

"Bradley and I asked Mav about it the other day," she said with a shrug. "Any chance we can walk out to the parking lot and make sure there's enough room for everyone to stand safely?"

When you tried to peek through the rectangular window in your classroom door, Natasha slid her body in front of it. When you tried to look over her head, she seemed to grow several inches as she went up on her tiptoes.

"Yeah... we can go look at the parking lot."

You were wearing your key card on your lanyard, and Ms. Masters could probably keep your class under control for an entire day if you needed her to.

"Well then, let's go."

----------------------------------

As soon as you walked out of the room with Nat, Bradley jumped to action. It wasn't his intention to steamroll Nia's mom or her packs of apple slices, but he had something important he needed the kids to help him with. Marty was setting up some sort of demonstration with tool boxes on the desks in the front row, but Bradley grabbed the stack of papers he brought with him and cleared his throat.

"What kind of surprise?" Henry asked, crunching through a piece of apple.

"I can't tell you that," Bradley replied with a wink. "It's classified."

"Are you really going to marry our teacher someday?" Violet asked as he handed her three of the handwritten notes.

Bradley froze, unsure how to answer. "If she wants to marry me, then I definitely want to marry her."

"She wants to marry you," Violet said easily. "What are we doing with all of these letters?"

"Paper airplanes," Bradley announced, holding up the last sheet of paper. Even the parents and Marty seemed amused now. "We are folding them up into the best looking paper airplanes we can make within the next six minutes or so. Watch how I fold this one, and then work on as many as you can, okay?"

He folded it up using the top of your desk when he needed to smooth the creases, and then he held it up for everyone to see. "Start folding!"

There was a flurry of activity as he walked around helping, and even the librarian and music teacher were getting involved. Bradley whipped through a few himself before walking around the room with an open trash bag.

"When you're done, drop them in here."

"But what are they for?" Oliver asked, dropping three airplanes into the bag. "Are you going to have airplane races with our teacher?"

"Not exactly. All of you are really doing me a favor here though. I promise."

"Do you love our teacher?" Jayden asked. Bradley thought maybe he should have felt silly admitting it in front of all of the adults, but he did it anyway.

"I absolutely do. I'm going to use the paper planes for a little project to show her just how much, okay?" He got several nods in response as he checked the time. You and Nat left seven minutes ago, and he knew he couldn't hope for much more than that. "Time's up! toss everything into the bag. And you can't tell her about any of this!"

You were smiling when you walked back in with Nat. He thought that things must have gone well for everyone as he tied up the bag. Marty was ready to give his presentation, and the kids all scuttled back to their seats.

Now he had everything he needed to make this the best weekend of his life.

------------------------------

Marty looked a little nervous as he started out by greeting everyone and telling them a bit about himself. He told your class that he had a lot of fun the last time he saw everyone on the naval base. You already knew about his decades-long Naval career, and your students already thought he was extremely cool, but he was about to get even cooler.

"I brought three identical intake manifold pieces from jets exactly like the ones that Lieutenant Bradshaw and Lieutenant Trace fly. Does anyone know how they work?"

Several of your students raised their hands, and you watched as Marty walked around the room with the engine parts and let them answer his questions to the best of their ability before he took over.

"This is fascinating." You turned to your right where Ms. Masters was watching Marty, completely absorbed. "I can't believe you got military clearance to take your class to visit North Island," she whispered.

You were about to tell her that it was really all thanks to Lieutenant Bradshaw when you realized she was perhaps looking at Marty even more than she was paying attention to the engine parts in his rough hands. You cleared your throat softly and said, "You know, meeting Marty was probably the highlight of that whole day. And that includes touring the air traffic control tower."

"Really?" she murmured.

"Mmhmm. He put on a brilliant workshop for us. And he's just the sweetest man. Really takes the time to connect with the kids."

"Okay, time for some fun," Marty said as he headed back to the front of the classroom. "One manifold has been put together correctly." He held it up in the air once again. "Two are in pieces on these desks. I'm going to take this one apart and put it back together while you watch. Pay close attention, because after that, we're going to have a race."

Your kids looked absolutely delighted, and you had to ask Oliver not to sit on his desk while he watched the demonstration. Even all of the adults in the room were watching intently as Marty worked with a wrench from one of the toolboxes until he finished reassembling everything.

"Pretty simple, right?" he asked. Your kids all nodded and answered yes. "Who thinks they can race me?" You gasped in delight when a few of your students raised their hands. "What if I made it a little easier? What if I was blindfolded?"

"No way," you whispered, meeting Bradley's eyes across the room where he was holding a garbage bag for some reason. "Is he serious?" you whispered.

"He's so serious," Bradley confirmed, and sure enough, Marty pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.

"I'll let your teacher pick my opponent," Marty said as he tied the square of fabric so it was covering his eyes.

You needed to pick a child who would be a gracious winner or loser, but you were almost convinced Marty was going to be able to beat any of them. "How about... Jayden."

You set him up next to Marty, making sure he had all of the tools he needed lined up. Then you gave them a countdown and stepped away again. The room erupted in cheers as Jayden puzzled his way through the task. Marty seemed to be moving smoothly, using muscle memory to do something he'd done hundreds of times before.

"Oh," Ms. Masters said. "It seems like Marty is... really good with his hands."

Your lips parted in surprise. "I'm sure he must be," you replied, trying not to squeal as she smiled and covered her face in embarrassment.

It turns out Jayden didn't stand a chance. "Marty wins!" boomed Bradley's voice, and you watched as the older man peeked out from his blindfold with a hesitant little smile on his face.

You were still applauding his effort as you thanked him for joining your classroom today. You were almost overwhelmed by how wonderfully the day seemed to be going. Bradley was your last guest, and then there was the flyover that Nat promised.

"Our last guest really doesn't need an introduction," you said with a laugh.

"Is it Lieutenant Bradshaw?" Oliver asked, ready to climb on top of his desk again as your boyfriend strolled up to stand next to you.

"Yes, of course it's Lieutenant Bradshaw." You smiled at him and said, "Take it away, Lieutenant."

There was a little smirk on his lips as he turned away from you to address your kids. "I know you all learned a lot about aviation this year, but right now, we're going to see just how much. I hope you all remembered that I said I was going to give you a quiz."

"Not a quiz!" complained Jackie, but Bradley held up his hands in mock surrender.

"If you pass, I can promise with one hundred percent certainty that you'll love the prize."

"There's a prize?" Violet asked, perking up.

"A secret prize," Bradley confirmed.

"Alright," Oliver said, still a little skeptical. "Let's do it."

Bradley started calling out questions, letting your students deliberate as a group to come up with an answer, and you leaned against the back wall near where Marty was packing up his toolboxes.

"That was absolutely fascinating," you heard Ms. Masters tell him softly. "I'm Ruby Masters, the Mira Mesa Elementary librarian."

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Marty with pink cheeks, wiping his palm on his shirt before shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet you," he whispered while Bradley continued to try to stump your kids. "This is the first time I've ever been to a career day."

"Well, you're a natural with the kids," she replied, still holding his hand. "And obviously very smart. I'm kind of new to the topic of aviation, but always interested in learning more."

"Oh. There's an endless amount to learn," he muttered, staring at Ruby like he couldn't look away.

"If you're ever free and feel like it, maybe you could show me how you rebuilt that manifold so quickly?"

Bradley had your kids taking turns writing at the board now, but you couldn't stop eavesdropping as you witnessed Marty go silent. The crash and burn was painful as he just stood there while Ruby finally extracted her hand. You were silently begging Marty to say something. Anything. But the seconds passed, and Ruby took a step away from him toward the door.

"Okay, no worries. It was nice to meet you." She gave you a forced smile as she slipped out into the hallway, and you rounded on Marty who was standing there like someone just stole his favorite toy at recess.

"I don't mean to overstep, so please feel free to tell me to mind my own business," you whispered.

"Uh. Okay?"

"Marty... Ms. Masters is hot and single, and she was flirting with you. She wanted you to ask for her phone number."

His eyes went wide as he gaped at you. "She did? Are you sure?"

You cradled your forehead and groaned softly. "I'm positive. She can't have gone far. The library is out and to the left, and then another left."

He nodded before dashing out of the room, leaving you alone just as Bradley said, "Are you sure you're all still in fourth grade? Or is this a grad school level physics class? You win. I can't even stump you. Come see me or Lieutenant Trace to get ear plugs for the Super Hornet flyover."

Your classroom was probably louder than the jet engine would be.

-------------------------

"Ear plugs in! And then hands over your ears!" Natasha shouted, giving a safety demonstration. "Do it just how I do it!"

It was almost time. Bradley tried to keep the hand holding and cheek kisses to a minimum, but it was so hard when you were standing right next to him. You looked tired but happy as you put your orange, industrial ear plugs in place. With a dreamy look on your face, you leaned up and kissed him right on the lips, and that familiar roar of an F/A-18 engine approached.

As soon as you had your ear plugs out again, you threw your arms around his neck with a huge smile. "Thank you, Bradley."

"For what? I barely did anything."

You laughed and shook your head. "You did everything."

-------------------------------

I love Career Day. Marty is the man. The oblivious man, but the man nonetheless. And our boy Bradley is ready to go! Thanks @beyondthesefourwalls

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663 notes · View notes

poisonmedani · 3 years ago

Text

The first letter | Calum Hood

Calum Hood One Shot

words 1.4k (~7min)

fluff, angst

note: maybe there'll be a part 2, idk yet. let me know if you like it <3

MASTERLIST || REQUESTS

You were always writing. Whatever it was. You were writing. A grocery list, a page number on which you stopped reading, a day (because you always forget whether it’s Wednesday or Thursday), your plans for the day, and, of course, little notes you wrote for me every day – sometimes I would find more than one, because you were leaving them in most absurd places and just forget about it (to be honest I wish there are more left in the house, I found one today and it made this nightmare of the day more bearable).

So, I decided to write to you as it is your language of communication. Frankly speaking – as you often used to say – I never understood how can you like my handwriting? But I try not to think about that much, I just hope you’ll like that piece of writing too (if I ever get the nerve to actually send it). Maybe it would’ve been more sensible to type it, because it’s easier to send (or correct; or delete) – at this very moment I feel just like you: can’t seem to stop speaking (in this case writing) because it feels like there’s not enough words to say what I actually want to say – but it’s soulless, it’s no fun – another thing you often used to say and then you proceeded to wink, oh to see that again.

I guess I could just tell you this one thing using, like, six words, but what’s the point then? I hope you will get through my mumbling.

As I found your little note my heart dropped, I looked inside, and it said ‘do you remember the day we met? you were trying to be so tough it was hilarious. I’m glad you showed me who you truly are <3’.

I remember.

I’ll never forget. I hope you won’t too.

This one probably was old. ‘Old’ like in ‘before-what-happened-old’.

I told you before, but every time I remember something new that you thought was important – every single time, it’s cute how you love little details – so I’m going to tell you one more time, maybe you’ll see something important.

It was the 1st of February, Friday. I just turned 23 few days before, so I felt like I was this wise old man that knew everything – I guess you can say it was one of the reasons why I was acting like a jerk. Guys and I went to this stupid party that someone threw – I don’t think there was anything worth celebrating though. I saw you as you entered the room, but frankly speaking – see what I did here yet again? – I didn’t put too much thought into it. I just remember I glanced at the door, there were you and some dude you were with, my mind said right away: ‘she’ll never look at you’. Of course, she wouldn’t, I thought to myself. So, the next twenty minutes I was just living my life – chatting with someone I cannot remember for the love of me. And then there you went, you passed me, and – I didn’t want to, but – I breathed in your scent. You smelled of cherry. You were headed to the balcony, and I noticed you were holding a lighter. I excused myself and followed you – I don’t know what I was thinking really, I was so done with the people that were talking to me (it was more of a monologue), I wanted to either hear nothing or you. I almost ran to that balcony just to be the one to offer you a cig (so pathetic of me, now I say it). You were right in front of me, lighter in your right hand, still nothing to light. You reached the edge, took a deep breath and turned, there was me – kind of funny to say that – I pretended to take a cigarette out of the pack for myself, but what I really wanted is for you to ask me for one. You did. I looked tough maybe but inside I was burning, I wanted nothing more but to hear you speak, actually speak not just throwing a brief question. You took a cigarette (that was meant for you) and lit it. You were so perfect at this moment. Then you smiled, not just smiled, but smiled at me! Do you remember what you were thinking about when you gave me your first smile? I certainly remember. I thought how weird it was that I actually cared whether you were smiling or not. I nonchalantly asked if you knew the host – maybe a stupid question but I was desperate to hear you – you said no, I didn’t either, I think we bounded. After that you offered your name. Still think it’s pretty. I offered you mine. You smiled once again. Don’t really remember the rest of the conversation, just remember we laughed a lot, even though I was trying to be tough – I was trying to impress you really.

I’m so glad I asked for your number that night. I reckon, if I didn’t, this would’ve been the biggest mistake of my life. I called you a taxi and made sure you got home save. Perhaps some thought I was weird: why would I care about some random girl getting home save, but you weren’t just some random girl. After your text I sent you another one wishing you sweet dreams, but you weren’t planning on sleeping just yet. I thought you’d leave me on read (I would still ask you out first thing in the morning), but you called me, I loved the initiative, it gave me much needed confidence. We talked all night long, I sometimes think back to that phone call when I couldn’t get enough of your stories, your voice, your laugh. It was 7 in the morning when we said our goodbyes because your phone was dying. But right before you hung up, I asked, asked to see you again. So, we did, we met that very evening. And I like to say that we were together ever since.

The first handwritten note you gave me was on our third date. I feel so foolish still. How couldn’t I see the signs? The signs you were giving me so I would kiss you. God, I wish I kissed you earlier than I did. We went to the theatre – I remember you mentioned that you wanted to go there but no one cares as much as you do so you were almost okay with the fact that you were missing on the production – as we were discussing the play while walking through the park near your place you stopped just for a sec when you saw the fountain still working at this late hour and you rushed to it nonchalantly grabbing my hand and leading me with you. You sat at the border and faced the water; your fingers coyly touched the water. My eyes were fixed on you. You looked up at me and playfully splashed me with a bit of water that was on your hand. We laughed – we always do – I sat next to you, I was so hesitant about kissing you (I think you saw that), you smiled and went through your purse, you finally found what you were looking for, you hand it to me still smiling. It was a paper napkin from the café we visited the day before. Inside it had the prettiest handwriting I ever came across. It read ‘will you kiss me already?’

I still have it. It means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me.

I don’t know if you’re going to read this letter or not, or if you manage to read to this point, but I hope you do.

I’m maybe a coward but I’m just scared that I’m going to lose you forever. I need you. I need you back.

Or I’m going wherever you are. I love you.

I hope shortly after you receive this letter we will meet. Just so you know I already bought the tickets. I’m going.

What I said that night you left… you know I was stupid? I am stupid. Need you to at least listen to me. If you don’t want to, it’s fine. But I hope you still have it in you.

Forever yours,

Calum

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ppangjae · 4 years ago

Text

THE STORY UNTOLD | Jaehyun

SEVEN LETTERS | THE STORY UNTOLD

SUMMARY. Jaehyun finds himself catching feelings for you, his best friend. But the problem is that he’s in a relationship with someone else. In hopes of receiving a sign, the last sign he expects to receive is a letter. A letter from his future self.

GENRE. soulmate!au | childhood friends to lovers!au | fluff | angst

WORD COUNT. 6.6k+ words

author’s note. BEFORE you read this, i strongly suggest you read Seven Letters. this is a sequel to that fic. if you haven’t read Seven Letters, you’re probably going to get really confused when you read this sequel. also, i just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who read Seven Letters. the amount of feedback i got is just so overwhelming and i never expected things to turn out like this omg. happy reading!

—Future

This is impossible.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

Johnny frowns. “Like that.”

Jaehyun lets out a scoff. Johnny lets out a soft snort, shaking his head at his best friend who’s sitting across from his desk. Johnny adjusts his glasses before clasping his hands on the table. “Do you not believe me or something?”

“This feels stupid. No, this is stupid.” Jaehyun mutters, gesturing at the blank piece of paper on the desk. “You want me to write a letter to my past self? About what?”

“You do know that I charge my patients an extra fifty bucks for every half hour past their scheduled appointment time.” Johnny reminds me. “If I were you, save your fifty bucks and start writing your letter.”

“Stop lying, you don’t do that.” Jaehyun scoffs again. “What is a stupid letter to my past self gonna do? Change my future?”

Johnny points at him. “Bingo.”

“And you expect me to believe you?”

“Why don’t you just try it? Besides, if it doesn’t change your future, at least you did yourself some self-counselling. Closure. Don’t you want closure?” Johnny folds his arms. He has a point. “As your best friend, I care about you. But I’m tired of having you come here for counselling sessions.”

“You’re not helping—”

“Just give a try! God, you make me want to pull my hair off my scalp and I’m already losing hair from all the stress you’ve been giving me since your divorce.”

—Present

“Jaehyun, you have mail!”

His mother is waving an envelope in the air just as he steps out on the front porch. He squints his eyes at the envelope with suspicion. “Who sends letters these days? We live in a world where technology is evolving—”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just take your mail, Jaehyun.” His mother disregards his ramble by placing the envelope into his hands. “Your father wants us to make a trip to the grocery store. Do you want us to get you something?”

“I’m good,” he replies. He’s too busy staring at the familiar handwriting on the envelope. The strong familiarity bothers him.

As his parents are hopping into the car and pulling out of the parkway, Jaehyun’s heading back inside of the house. He’s gently closing the door shut before making a beeline for the kitchen. He pulls out the kitchen scissors and cuts the envelope open.

“Why is this letter so thick?” He thinks aloud, pulling out a 10-page letter. “If this letter isn’t life changing and if I waste my time reading a thick ass letter, I might just combust—”

He stops mid-sentence when he finally realizes it. It’s his handwriting. He’s confused. Why would he send himself a letter? In fact, why would he send himself a 10-page letter when he can literally just type it all out in an email instead? He tilts his head in confusion. He decides to start reading it.

To Jaehyun,

Don’t be alarmed. You recognize the handwriting, right? It’s because it is your handwriting.

I am you from the future.

You’re probably wondering how and why you’re getting this letter. Trust me, I’m not even sure if you’ll get this letter. But if you do, then damn, what the flipping fuck?

Read this letter carefully because it will be a lot to take in.

He lets out a laugh. Is he going crazy? Him from the future? Sending him a handwritten letter? For what? What kind of sick joke is this and who is pulling it? Who is the culprit? Oh right, it’s him from the future.

I made the biggest mistake and I need you to fix it.

Do you remember Y/N, your childhood best friend? Y/N is your soulmate. You are destined to be with her. As I write this letter to you, I have lost almost all forms of communication with Y/N.

I made the biggest mistake of falling in love with someone else. I fell in love with someone who I am not destined to be with. I married this person and have been married to her for three years. We had just filed for a divorce a month ago.

His eyebrows knit together in confusion. His future self must have fucked up that bad that he resorted into writing a letter to his past self. But why?

I don’t want you to experience what I went through, past Jaehyun. I don’t want you to lose Y/N. I’m sure you don’t want to lose Y/N either. Y/N is everything you could ever want.

He’s almost done reading the first page of the letter before carelessly shoving the letter back into its envelope. He’s rushing out the door with his car keys. He’s literally running out the door in nothing but a pair of sweats, a hoodie, and his infamous pink house slippers. There’s only one thing on his mind right now.

Here are three things I need you to remember:

The moment you realize you’re in love with Y/N, you must tell her before it’s too late.

Y/N will be moving out when you get this letter. Y/N will be moving into another city and won’t tell you.

Y/N’s going to board the train at 4pm. You must get to her before then if you plan on confessing to her.

It’s funny how all it takes is one sketchy letter from what claims to be his future self to make him realize the truth; he’s in love with you.

Those feelings you have for Y/N? Yes, they are true and sincere. Y/N has been in love with you for the longest time. It was my biggest mistake of thinking it was a joke and letting her become the one that got away.

—Future

Jaehyun puts his pen down onto the table and picks up his cup of coffee. He can already imagine his past self cussing him out for making the letter too long. But he made sure that he stated the most important points on the first page of the letter.

There are many things that he regrets doing. He hopes that his past self will make things right.

“Where are you, Y/N?” He thinks out loud as he looks out the window.

It’s the first snowfall of the winter season. There are couples scattered down the sidewalks, enjoying and taking advantage of this romantic day. He can’t help but remember the first snowfall that changed the way he saw you. He remembers it like it was just yesterday.

He picks up his pen and continues to write his letter.

If you get to Y/N on time, tell her that you love her. I wish I told her.

I regret not telling her.

You’re probably wondering why the fuck is this letter so long? But trust the process. I’ll tell you all of the things I regret doing in this letter because it’s the only way to give myself closure.

I caught feelings for Y/N on the night of Christmas Eve. In fact, I was probably already in love with her before that. But on the night of Christmas Eve, that’s when I realized that I was in love with her and that she wasn’t just a best friend.

He sucks in a deep breath and places the pen back down onto the table. He shuts his eyes and remembers that night.

“Y/N!”

You’re standing right in front of him, snowflakes slowly falling from the sky and landing on the top of your head. He feels warm with his thick scarf wrapped around his neck, but your presence makes him feel much more warmer; like home.

“Jaehyun!”

You finally spot him when you hear his voice. He feels overjoyed. He feels like he’s floating among the stars that scatter across the sky. This is the first time he’s felt this way in weeks. Heck, probably months.

He stops to look up at the sky. “It’s snowing!”

“The first snowfall of the season.” You add, letting out a soft giggle. “Long time no see, dork.”

He remembers looking at you in awe. Your hair had grown longer and you had matured. The snowflakes that fall from the sky make you stand out more. You’re smiling at him so wide that your eyes form into beautiful crescents. He remembers feeling his heart stop. He remembers wondering why he always felt this way whenever he was with you.

“Do you know what the first snowfall of the season means?”

“First snowfall means first love. It also means that the person you’re with on the first snowfall of the season will be the love of your life.”

“Do you believe in it?” You let out a lighthearted chuckle. “If you do, then that means I’m the love of your life.”

“Why? Are you in love with me or something?” He chuckles as he makes the joke.

He swore he saw your smile falter. He swore he saw you look taken aback. He swore he saw you look serious for a split second before mustering up a fake smile and saying—

“Me? In love with you? No, you’re my best friend!”

“You’re joking. Stop joking around, Y/N. Are you in love with me?” He asks for reassurance.

You shake your head. He swore he felt his heart shatter. He swore he felt disappointed. He swore he felt heartbroken hearing you tell him that you weren’t in love with him.

Because he’s in love with you.

He’s caught feelings for you.

“I see you as my best friend, Jaehyun. Nothing more and nothing less.”

But who would’ve thought that it would be a lie?

—Present

He hopes he’s not too late. He hopes he’s not too late. He hopes he’s not too late—

If you get to Y/N on time, tell her that you love her. I wish I told her.

I regret not telling her.

Don’t be a hopeless fool like me.

You’ll regret it. Ever since I married someone else, all I’ve ever done was reminisce and regret.

I hope you get to her on time. You must get to her on time. Or else you’ll be a little too late… again.

She’ll be waiting. In fact, all she’s done was wait for the perfect time and moment.

“Y/N!”

He spots you sitting on the waiting bench. You’re holding what seems like a letter. You’re shoving the letter into your pocket. He starts jogging up to you after running across the entire parking lot. He even bought himself a train ticket just to get inside the station to find you.

And he’s glad he did.

“Jaehyun?”

He’s rushing over to you. He watches you stand up to greet him until he crashes you into a tight embrace. He shifts all of his weight on you as you stand there, completely caught off guard. “Jaehyun, what are you doing here?”

He pulls away from the hug. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? What are you doing here?”

You look up at him with a confused look. “I—I got hired at a company out of town. I moved out. I’m moving into an apartment in another city—”

The letter from his future self was right. You’re moving out of town for your job. You’re moving out and you didn’t tell him. The letter was right. What kind of magic is this?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He frowns.

“I figured it would be best not to tell you because I knew that you would hold me back. And if you held me back, I don’t think I’d ever move out.”

“But you should’ve told me. I came over to take you out for lunch only to find out that you’re moving out of town and into a new city. Do you know how sad I felt?”

“I’m sorry—”

“And then I started wondering why you didn’t tell me about this. I started to wonder if I did something wrong. I couldn’t think straight. I drove all the way here in hopes that I don’t miss you and that I catch you right before you ride.” He finds himself rambling. “If I didn’t catch you on time, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

“Jaehyun—”

Before you go to the train station, I want you to break up with Yeona— “I broke up with Yeona.”

Y/N will probably get mad at you for it. “What?! Why would you do that?!”

He looks at you for a brief moment. You are mad. A laugh of disbelief threatens to escape his lips.

“Why did you break up with her? She’s in love with you, Jaehyun! You’re supposed to propose to her—”

Tell her that you’re in love with her. Because you are. I was a stupid fool for not believing that my feelings for her were true and real. Don’t be like me.

“Because I’m in love with you.”

“Huh?”

“I’m in love with you.” He lets out a nervous laugh as he repeats it for you.

When you tell her that you’re in love with her, it’ll be the most simplest thing to do. When it comes out of your mouth, it will sound right. It will sound like you’re meant to tell her that you’re in love with her, because you are.

“You’re in love with me?”

His future self is right. He’s completely surprised at how perfect and easy it felt to tell you his feelings for you. It was like he was destined to tell you. Loving you sure is easy.

“I’m in love with you, stupid.”

You blink up at him. “Jaehyun, you’re not making any sense right now. It was just weeks ago when you asked me if I should ask Yeona to marry you. It was just weeks ago when you told me that you missed her a lot. It was just weeks ago when you thought my confession was a joke—”

I want you to tell her that you’ve been in love with her since the night of Christmas Eve.

“On Christmas Eve, I picked you up. Yeona and I were going through a rough time in our relationship and I was starting to question if we were meant to be together. I asked and begged for a sign.”

“A sign?”

“The first snowfall. You and I were together on the night of Christmas Eve, where we both witnessed the first snowfall. You asked me if I knew what it meant,” he explains. “I thought ‘Is this the sign I’ve been looking for?’ and then I joked around asking if you were in love with me, not expecting you to say yes. And you did. I couldn’t believe it.”

“Jaehyun—”

“And that summer where you didn’t come up to the cottage. I felt lonely even though I was with Yeona. Things just didn’t feel the same.” He lets out a shaky laugh. “Everything started to remind me of you. I just knew Yeona was annoyed about it. I kept talking about how this and that reminded me of you. It was all starting to make sense.”

“But you still had thoughts about asking her to marry you.” You say and he shakes his head.

If she tries to test you by saying that you were contemplating on proposing to Yeona, I want you to say this— “I asked you for your opinion on it because I couldn’t trust my own decision. I wanted to see if you would say no. A part of me was begging you to say no.” He tells you the truth. He really was hoping you to say no. “But you told me that you love me and that your confession wasn’t a joke. That’s when I knew.”

“So,” you mumble. “You’re in love with me?”

“I confessed my feelings for you three times already.”

“But I want to hear it again—”

“The train is arriving in two minutes. The train is arriving in two minutes.” The speaker announces. The two of you look at each other.”

“I’m in love with you, Y/N.” He confesses again. He can say it as many times as he wants, and it will still feel true and it will still be sincere. “But do you really have to leave me here?”

“I’m in love with you too, Jaehyun.” No matter how many times you’ve already told him that, it always feels like it’s his first time hearing it. He can hear it over and over again and he will still feel like the only man in the entire universe. “And yes, I have to go, Jaehyun. I can’t keep taking the train everyday to work.”

“Can I move in with you, then?”

“Not until you give me a kiss first—”

“How about I marry you instead?”

If you both end up together, which I know you will,

I will finally get the closure that I needed.

—Future

He looks up from his phone to stare up at a building. He looks back down at his phone to make sure that he’s at the right address. As he confirms the address, he shoves his phone back into his pocket.

“Y/N?”

He spots a familiar figure exiting the building of the company that you work at. The figure is walking away and down the sidewalk. He finds himself following the familiar person, trying to catch up to them. Once he finally does, he taps on their shoulder. They turn around and it’s not you.

“Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else.” He apologizes.

“Oh!” The woman exclaims. “You’re Jeong Jaehyun, right?”

He furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “You know who I am?”

She nods her head. “You’re Y/N’s best friend, right?”

That’s odd. How does she know who he is— “Yes. Do you know her?”

She smiles. “I’m sure you’ve known of me. We were roommates in college. Do you happen to remember that infamous cookie recipe—”

“Holy shit.” That’s all he utters out. “Those cookies are fucking delicious but—how—you guys work together?”

“I see her on the daily and we’re kind of tired of seeing each other. Honestly, we both thought we’d never see each other again after university. But here we are,” she chuckles, extending her hand out. “I’m Sunghwa, by the way.”

He shakes her hand. “Nice meeting you.”

She tilts her head. “Are you looking for her?”

He slowly nods his head. “Well, actually, we left on really bad terms—”

“I know. I kind of hate you for that.” She cuts him off while shrugging her shoulders. “But what can we do, right? Unless you have the power to change the past, there’s not much we can do. But I do believe in fixing things for the future.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Save that for Y/N.” She smiles. “Y/N took two days off from work. She’s probably in her apartment getting some rest. The company had just finished its merge with another company and ever since then, she hasn’t gotten any rest.”

“Do you know where she lives?” He asks.

“I do. I’ll give you her address,” she replies. “But promise me one thing.”

“I’ll do anything—”

“Don’t tell her that I gave you her address. She’ll kill me.”

“You’re already wilting? I just got you yesterday!”

You stare at the vase of roses sitting on your dining table. There are a couple of petals that have fallen off and a few of them have wilted. You frown, taking a few of them, along with the petals, to dry them and add them to your letters.

Sitting on one end of your dining table is your last letter to your past self. You glance at it. Your phone buzzes in your pocket, diverting your thoughts from the letter. “Hello?”

“How are you, honey?” You hear your mother’s soothing voice on the other line. “Have you run out of groceries? Is your fridge full? I hope it is. If anything, your father and I can drop by the grocery store before visiting you on Friday—”

“You don’t need to, mother.” You chuckle. “I just came home from the grocery store. Hey, do you know how to stop flowers from wilting so fast?”

You can hear her frown. “Have the roses wilted already?”

“Yeah, and I just got them yesterday.” You sigh. “It’s okay. I’ll just make another stop by the flower shop to get a new bouquet.”

“Have you been eating your meals?”

You smile. “Yes, mother. In fact, I’m going to be meeting someone tonight.”

“Is it a boy?”

You snort. “No.”

“Do I know them?”

“I’m meeting Yeona tonight.” You say softly. “We’re going to have dinner at a restaurant that opened up down the road. I’m not sure how it’ll go but—”

“Are you sure you want to go? You don’t have to meet her if you don’t want to.” She cuts you off.

You purse your lips into a tight line. “I asked her if we could meet. I’m surprised she said yes, to be honest.”

“You know, when your father and I heard the news about their divorce, we weren’t sure how to react.” Your mother begins. “But Jaehyun’s parents didn’t seem to mind. In fact, when we paid them a visit, they seemed more… relieved?”

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion. “Relieved?”

“It was like a weight was lifted off their shoulders.” Your mother explains. “Ever since they got married, there was never a peaceful day between the two.”

You frown. “Ah, I see.”

She notices your sudden quietness. “Are you perhaps… still in love with Jaehyun?”

You let out a lighthearted chuckle. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.”

“You know, you should try to get in touch with Jaehyun, sweetheart. You’re his only best friend. I’m sure whatever tension you have between the two of you would go away the moment you see each other.”

You sigh. “It’s easy to say but hard to do, mother.”

“I know, I understand.” She says softly. “Have you sent out your letters?”

You laugh, looking at your last letter sitting on your dining table.

“I’m actually sending out my last one on my way out.”

—Present

He runs his fingers through your hair as you’re sleeping peacefully next to him. You had a rough day at work and the moment you came home, you knocked out on the bed. Jaehyun took this opportunity to finish reading the letter he received from his future self.

I’m sure you’re wondering what happened between Y/N and I. Now, sit tight because this will be a long one.

On July 31st, I asked Y/N to go to the beach. I asked her because I knew that Yeona would be going to the beach that day. I figured it was a great opportunity to try and make Yeona jealous, and maybe get to know her more. And we did.

But something felt off.

I remember Y/N asking me if we could go to the town fair instead. The town fair was only open for a week. But I was persistent on going to the beach instead. I wish we went to the town fair instead.

Ever since I lost contact with Y/N and ever since she moved out of town, she stopped going up to the cottage for the summer. Those summers have been lonely. Whenever I go up to the cottage for the summer, the town fair would immediately remind me of her and how much I regret not taking her to the fair instead.

Jaehyun’s phone buzzes in his pocket. He looks at his phone to check the new text notification, only to take notice of his phone’s lock screen. It’s a picture he took of you when the both of you rode the Ferris Wheel.

“Y/N—”

“Yeah?” He takes a quick candid photo of you.

“Did you just take a picture of me?”

“Yes, I did. I think it’ll be a good picture to use for your Tinder or something. I’ll send it to you.”

“Why, you little—”

“Sent it!”

He looks up from his phone to see you looking down at yours. You’re busy muttering underneath your breath over how he took the worst angle of your face. A smile threatens to form across his lips. He sets it as his lock screen.

On August 14th, Yeona and her parents came over for dinner. I was so in love with Yeona that I decided to tell her the truth. I told her that Y/N and I weren’t dating and it was all just an act. At the time, I was so happy to see the look of relief of Yeona’s face. That night, she confessed to me. She told me that she was in love with me and that she’s glad that Y/N and I weren’t dating.

But believe me when I say this, her confession didn’t feel special. I remember feeling shocked. I remember wondering, is this how I’m supposed to feel when someone reciprocates your feelings? I remember asking myself, shouldn’t I feel happy right now?

But my thoughts were interrupted when Yeona pulled me in for a kiss. I was surprised. I was caught off guard. Y/N suddenly walked out on the porch and saw us kissing.

That night, I officially asked Yeona out. But on that same night, I remember walking past Y/N’s room to hear her crying.

I felt horrible. I felt bad.

On Christmas Eve, Y/N’s arrival time was delayed by an hour. I remember being so excited to see her after months of talking to each other through a laptop screen. I remember being so excited that the moment her father announced that Y/N would be arriving late, I insisted on picking her up instead.

I’m glad I did.

Around that time, Yeona and I were going through a tough time in our relationship. It seemed like she was falling out of love with me. She was posting more photos of her and her guy friend on her account. Our video calls were becoming less frequent. Our good morning and good night texts were becoming less frequent. I really thought that this was it, this was the end of it all.

I was slowly catching feelings for Y/N. I think her absence really got to me. When Yeona and I passed on our usual video calls, I’d call Y/N instead and we’d talk for hours on end. She would even have a midterm the following day but still made the effort to talk to me. I was finding myself texting my usual good morning and good night texts to Y/N instead of Yeona. But now that I think about it, I think I’ve always been in love with Y/N.

I was just too stupid to realize it.

I asked and begged for a sign. I was too blinded by love and I wanted a sign to tell me that being with Yeona was right. That fighting for our relationship was the right thing to do. That trying to mend our already broken relationship was the right thing to do.

When I picked Y/N up at the train station, it was the first snowfall of the season. We made a couple of jokes about the first snowfall that somehow led to me asking her if she was in love with me. She said she wasn’t in love with me. She continued to joke around.

I wondered, is this the sign I was looking for? I remember thinking, if this was the sign, then it’s pretty disappointing.

Because a part of me was hoping Y/N would say that she was in love with me.

—Future

“You came?”

Yeona came earlier than you. She’s sitting at the booth, greeting you as you take the seat right across from her. This feels awkward, you think to yourself as you take off your coat. Right on time, a waitress comes by your table to give you two glasses of wine.

“I hope I’m not late.” You say with a lighthearted chuckle.

She smiles. “I’m just a bit too early.”

“How are you?” You ask.

She takes a sip of her wine. “I’ve been doing better. How have you been?”

You smile. “Likewise.”

As the both of you are picking dishes to eat from the menu, you can feel her look at you every now and then. You’re not sure why she’s staring at you, but you pay no attention to it. As the waitress collects the menus and your orders, she leaves the two of you to talk.

“When you called me to ask if we could meet, I was quite surprised.” She chuckles. “I figured that I’d be the last person you’d want to see.”

You bite your lip. “To be honest with you, I’m surprised you came. I was sort of expecting you to bail out on me.”

The both of you share a chuckle. She looks out the window. It’s snowing. “Have you seen Jaehyun?”

You shake your head. “I haven’t gotten in touch with him for years. Ever since your wedding, actually.”

She tears her gaze away from the window, specifically from the snowflakes that fall from the sky. She looks at you, surprised. “Why not?”

You shrug your shoulders. “I guess I was just too busy with work. I mean, I still am, but—”

“You should, Y/N.” She places her hand on top of yours.

You stare at her hand that’s on top of yours. There’s no longer a wedding ring on her fourth finger. It kind of throws you off. “I don’t think he’ll want to see me. I bet you didn’t even want to see me either—”

“When Jaehyun and I got divorced, I felt like I was finally setting him free.” She confesses. “I felt like something or someone was holding him back. I knew it was always you, Y/N.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Yeona. Jaehyun’s not in love with me—”

“First snowfall means first love. It means that the person you’re with on the first snowfall of the season will be the love of your life.” She cuts you off. You look at her with slightly widened eyes. “That’s what Jaehyun told me. He also told me that the first snowfall always reminds him of you.”

“Yeona, I’m not sure what to say.” You say with a breathy laugh.

“You didn’t attend our wedding.” She mumbles. “Jaehyun was looking for you the entire night. Even when reception was over, he was still looking for you. Let me remind you that I was the one he got married to. It felt weird, it felt heartbreaking, because although his bride was standing right beside him, he was still looking and waiting for someone else.”

“I didn’t attend your wedding because—”

“Because you’re in love with him.” She finishes it for you. “Y/N, I’m not stupid. I can see it with my own two eyes. You’re in love with him and he’s in love with you.”

“Shouldn’t you be mad at me?” You ask.

She shakes her head. “I wish I could be mad at you, but I’m not. Our divorce was mutual. We filed a divorce because I knew Jaehyun was in love with you, and he still is. But we also filed a divorce because I was slowly falling out of love with him and falling in love with someone else.”

“But I feel like this was all because of me—”

She smiles. “Don’t feel bad. If there’s someone who should feel bad, it should be me. I’ve been selfishly holding Jaehyun back for so long, for three years, from someone he should be with.”

You wipe away tears that have managed to stream down your cheeks. “I—”

“Can I ask you one favour?”

The waitress arrives with your dishes and places them onto the table. As the waitress leaves the two of you again, she reaches out to hold your hands.

You nod. “Sure.”

“Please get in touch with Jaehyun. I’m sure he’s looking for you.”

—Present

Jaehyun calls it a night, placing the letter back into its envelope before putting it back in a drawer. He turns off the night light and settles in bed, wrapping his arm around your waist. You snuggle closer to his chest, continuing to let out soft snores. Jaehyun smiles, using his other free hand to tuck a few stray strands of hair away from your face.

“Good night, Y/N.”

On August 8th, Y/N and I had a conversation at the bonfire. I wanted to test the waters again for the second time. I was so confused. My mind was in love with Yeona but my heart belonged to Y/N. I asked her if I should propose to Yeona.

She looked at me and asked me if I love her. I said that I love her. But she asked me if I love her with all my heart. It took me a while to answer, but eventually, I said that I love her with all of my heart.

Y/N simply smiled at me with a smile that didn’t look real.

She said, if I love Yeona with all of my heart, then what was I waiting for?

I remember my heart answering her question with,

I’m waiting for you to stop me.

—Future

“Thanks for the ride, Yeona.”

She smiles. “No worries. Text me when you get home safely!”

And off Yeona goes. You watch her car get smaller and smaller as it grows farther. You let out a happy sigh, stepping inside of your apartment complex. You make a quick stop at the mailbox, placing your last letter to your past self into the slit. As you hop onto the elevator, you find yourself thinking back to your conversation with Yeona.

Just as you step out of your elevator, you stop in your tracks.

“Please get in touch with Jaehyun. I’m sure he’s looking for you.”

Sitting right in front of the door to your apartment is Jaehyun. He’s looking down at his phone. The closer you get to him, the more you realize that he’s playing a game on his phone. A smile threatens to spread across your lips.

“Excuse me, sir, but I think you’ve got the wrong apartment.”

Jaehyun recognizes the voice and his head shoots up. At first, he doesn’t recognize your face. You had definitely matured. You look like a grown woman. Your hair is long. He looks up at you in awe until he realizes how stupid he looks. He’s immediately getting up onto his two feet, but you stop him when you take a seat next to him on the carpet floor.

“Y/N,” he breathes out. “Hi.”

You smile. “Hi.”

“I—Long time no see.” He stutters, scratching the back of his neck.

“How did you get my address?”

“Well, I got it from—”

“You got it from Sunghwa, didn’t you?” You cut him off with squinted eyes. He gulps nervously, nodding his head. You sigh. “God, I’m going to kill her for this.”

The both of you look at each other before bursting out into laughter.

He bites his lip. “How—How have you been?”

You fold your arms. “I think I should be asking you that, Mr. Just Got Divorced.”

He chuckles. “I’ve been doing better. Actually, I think I’ll do even better now that I’ve seen you.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really.” He sighs. He feels hesitant to ask you a question he’s been dying to ask you. He decides to take a leap of faith. “Have you been seeing someone lately?”

You shake your head. “No. Why? Should I be seeing someone—”

“No.” He cuts you off. You glance at him with a look of suspicion. He feels nervous again. “Well—that’s not what I meant! What I meant was—”

“What are you doing here?” You ask him with a soft voice. You’re looking at him seriously. “Why did you want to see me, Jaehyun?”

“Because there are many things I want to tell you.” He mumbles.

“And what are those things you want to tell me?”

He swears he feels his heart is on fire. He avoids your gaze. “I’m in love with you.”

It feels nice to hear him say it. It’s like time has slowed down and it’s just the two of you in the universe. When you don’t reply, he courageously looks at you to get some sort of answer from your eyes.

You smile. “I know.”

“You know?”

You hum in reply. “I know that you’re in love with me.”

“But are you in love with me?” He whispers. “I mean, it’s fine if you’re not. I just figured that it would be best for me to let you know that I’m in love with you. All I want is closure and a piece of mind knowing that you know that I’m in love with you.”

“You’re rambling agan, Jaehyun.” You chuckle. You look away from him. “What if I’m in love with you?”

“Are you?”

You let out a sigh. “God, I’m so in love with you, Jaehyun. I’m still in love with you.”

“Huh?”

“I’m in love with you.” You repeat yourself.

“You’re in love with me?”

“I’m in love with you, stupid.”

He doesn’t say anything that it makes you start to worry. You look at him, only to find him looking at you. You really want to kiss him. But you’ll probably have to save that for later.

“So,” he mumbles. “You’re in love with me?”

“I told you like three times already in the span of two minutes, Jaehyun.”

“But I want to hear it again—”

“I’m in love with you, Jaehyun.” You repeat it one last time for him. “But do we really have to be sitting on the floor like this in front of my apartment? When we could literally be chilling inside?”

“I’m in love with you too.” He whispers. “And no, we can definitely go inside. If you’re okay with me being in your apartment, of course.”

“Or, you can move in with me. Do you want to move in with me?”

“Not until you give me a kiss first—”

“How about you ask me to marry you instead?”

“Would you say yes, though?”

You laugh.

“Yes.”

“Babe, I’m going to make a quick stop downstairs! I just need to mail something.”

Jaehyun sees you give him two thumbs up. He’s hopping into the elevator to lead him down to the lower floor. He steps out of the apartment and reaches the mailbox. He seals the envelope before placing his letter to his past self through the slit.

He dusts his hands off. “I hope you get there safely.”

—Present

“Babe, have you seen an envelope?”

You step out of the washroom to find Jaehyun rummaging through the drawers. “An envelope? No, why?”

“I swear I placed it in this drawer last night, but now it’s gone.” He frowns, checking all the drawers one last time before sighing with defeat.

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion. It’s probably his letters, you think to yourself. “I think I might know where it went.”

“Really?” He asks.

You nod. “Yeah, I’ll look for it. You should go take a shower before you run late for work.”

As he steps out of the bedroom to take a shower, you open your closet to pull out a box where you’ve put all of your letters in. You can hear the shower turn on as you close the closet door shut. You take a seat on the bed, opening the box—

“What the fuck?” You blurt out.

You’re pulling out the letters, one by one, but as you take them out, they all start to disappear into thin air. One by one, they start crumbling up into thin dust, disappearing in your fingertips.

And what was once a box filled with letters from your future self is now, empty.

And just like the letters that have disappeared as if they’ve never happened, the future has been successfully rewritten.

author’s note. thank you for reading! i hope you enjoyed this short sequel to seven letters lmao. kjsdhfjkshdf

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hotcheetohatredwastaken · 11 months ago

Note

Oooh is it a typewriter that does the DING! every time you go to a new line? Because I love that, but I could never use it myself, too distracting.

———————————————————————

Okay so the easy answer for how I write is pen and paper, but I have a long answer for you because why not.

My first/second drafts (take the word “draft” loosely btw) are nearly always on paper. Usually I write out my idea for a scene first in pen (mostly in [brackets] like you said you do, with specific lines of dialogue I want to hit), tab it (orange or yellow usually, depending on how much work is to be done [I have a whole system 💀]) and there’s my first draft. For my second draft I write it out longhand (again in pen) getting in as much of the final detail as I can. Usually I have the first draft in one notebook and write out the second in another—sometimes, if I’m feeling really inspired, I write it out without having to do that first rough sketch of a first draft. These always end up being a lot cleaner (somehow), so it’s what I aim for if I can. I tag these pink once they’re done.

[I have 5?? Notebooks for BDOR, another 2 for my Nano this year (neither full (sigh)), and another for random few for random ideas (that has also been slowly consumed by Linked Universe XD). Gimme a minute and I’ll send a picture lol]

3rd draft! Digitize! There are some apps I’ve seen that claim to be able to take a picture of your handwritten stuff and digitize, but I have not found one for my awful mix of cursive and print, so I just type it all again. I specifically use the app Danger Notes for this so I don’t try to edit and get hung up. Once the whole thing is down, only then do I go back through the document. Here is where I (briefly) look for spelling errors, tense errors, typos, etc. If there are any brackets left at this point (such as you use them, @needfantasticstories ), I flesh them out here, and if there are any big changes I want to make, I do so here as well. This step has helped with my typing speed tremendously over the years XD.

4th draft! I cut each chapter into 200-300 word bits (usually following specific character interactions, descriptions, general vibes) and put them into their own separate pages documents (I have 250 some at my last count for BDOR). I put this nifty little thing \/\/\/

———————————————————————

which I have saved on my phone and computer as /line underneath those words and completely rewrite. I copy and paste what I have exactly as I want it to be, edit what I don’t, until everything is under the line. This edit focuses more on style.

5th draft! Once all those little pieces are rewritten how I want them to be, I take them all into one pages document! Then I reread and make sure that every bit I isolated actually makes sense in context, again look for typos, etc. Basically finalize the chapter as a whole.

6th draft! Paste it into my final document (splitting between arc 1 and arc 2) (im on pages rn but I may switch to google docs, it’s so much more convenient) and then reread again and go analyze with my idiotically complicated detail/subplot tracker document. Skip, you’ve already seen this monstrosity, but if anyone else wants to see it too let me know XD, it does contain slight spoilers. Whatever things I find that I want to add or edit from that document I change, and then whoop de doo we’re done!

Idk, it’s what I like to do. I realize it’s a bit backwards (going little details to large instead of vise versa on editing leaves me open to dumb typos or having to trash work I’ve put a lot of effort into after I realize it doesn’t fit) but it works for me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Through what medium do you primarily write? (Pencil, computer, voice to type, old timer typewriter, what?)

I do have a typewriter, but I have no idea how it works. Got it cheap at a yard sale.

I use Google Docs. I turn the page black and write in white text, put individual ideas in brackets, add mood pictures, and go. I’m comfortable with the formatting options, and it’s faster than Word for me. Plus, if I lose my hands or something I can always dictate into it.

How about you?

#BDOR #blooddropsonroses #cheetoanswers #congrats if you made it this far #I am a bit longwinded aren’t I

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coldshrugs · 3 years ago

Text

vacation, had to get away

featuring: rook and rebecca greene + baby alma word count: 2k note: a @wayhavensummer entry for the 7/11 prompt vacation. warnings for suspense/dark tones and imagery/the feeling of being watched. this isn't what i usually write, but it was a lot of fun!

--- ☀ --- ☀ --- ☀ --- ☀ --- ☀ ---

When Rebecca tells Rook she doesn't want to go on this vacation, she doesn't tell him why. The car is mostly packed. The beachfront hotel has been booked for months. They bought the baby a swimsuit, for god's sake.

No, she doesn't tell him why. It isn't tangible enough to be convincing.

"Let's call it off. There are so many things I could get done at work this week."

"Becks, I say this with love: you're a workaholic. We're going to the beach for the week." He punctuates it with a kiss. Rebecca doesn't miss the unmarked beige envelope Rook slips into one of the last minute bags; she's not the only one with work in mind.

The following morning, they pile into the car with a few more duffles and that horribly itchy feeling on the back of Rebecca's neck.

She asks Rook to wait while she double (triple) checks the front door is locked. Of course it is.

The itch lingers as they pull out of the driveway. It sticks with her all the way to the edge of town.

"Tell me something I don't know about you," she beams once they're on the highway, once she can breathe.

Bare feet on the dashboard and sunglasses covering her eyes. The sun hasn't even peaked, but it's scorching already. They roll the windows down, and her hair, free from the usual oppressive bun, whips around her face. She feels like Becks for once. Not Rebecca.

"You know everything about me, B."

"C'mon, there's gotta be something." Her mind spins to the envelope in his bag. "One single thing."

"Okay," Rook begins. Full lips part into a hypnotic smile as he chews on the story. "I had a friend in college, Zack, that taught this contemporary dance class a couple weekends each month. It was a few extra bucks in his pocket and he got a couple dates out of it; a pretty sweet gig, right? One weekend he overdid it the night before his class. He shows up at my dorm, looking like death and practically begging me—" his voice rises�� "'Otis, please man. I can't lose this job, can you just go down to the rec center and sub for me?'"

"You?" Rebecca recoils, silent laughter shaking her shoulders. "You can't dance to save your life."

"I know this. You know this. Zack should've known this, but apparently he didn't."

"What did you do?"

"I went down to the rec center, put on some Grandmaster Flash, and did the worst interpretive dance you can imagine."

Rebecca shoves the sunglasses into her hair, helplessly wiping at the tears running down her cheeks.

"Zack still owes me," Rook sighs. "Wonder what he's up to now."

Rebecca forgets, for a moment, the nagging in her gut that tells her this is a terrible idea. This is what they need; a week away from Wayhaven, from the Agency, from whatever is... watching.

A week to be normal.

Yeah, this is good.

They stop for gas about halfway to the coast. Rook fills the tank, while Rebecca throws Alma on her hip and heads into the store.

She and the baby jabber back and forth about snacks, and she holds up packages of fruit gummies and crackers for Alma to choose with tiny hands. It's then that her stomach lurches. The unwelcome fingers of dread, cold and sick, squirm against her scalp. She drops both packages, almost drops Alma too. The doorbell chimes, and her grip tightens around her daughter as she turns toward the entrance.

It's only Rook.

And a man in the corner.

She didn't notice him before. He wears a dark suit, and his face is like a knife, and he rushes toward Rook. His sharp features are unsettling even in his haste. He knocks against Rook's shoulder with a rough thud. Rook, transfixed by the sudden touch, watches the man leave. As soon as he's out of the store, the knot of Rebecca's anxiety untangles.

"Rook?" She calls across the store. He doesn't budge. She picks up the small mess she made and calls for him again. "Rook."

Only when she touches his arm does he snap out of the trance with a heaving gasp. And then... he's back to normal.

"What are we munching?"

"What the hell was that, Rook? Do you know that guy?" Her voice is a harsh whisper as she tries to keep Alma from hearing her fear.

His gaze pans slowly, vacantly, from the door to Rebecca. "What guy?"

Like a thick, dry pill, apprehension sits heavy in her throat. She swallows it, along with her growing list of questions. She pays for their snacks and leads Rook outside. Every muscle in her body is tense, prepared for a fight until they're in the car again.

--- ☀ --- ☀ --- ☀ --- ☀ --- ☀ ---

The week rips past them like a tornado through a small town. Their hotel room (a ground floor double-bed setup complete with the usual washed out pastel textiles and white wicker furniture) looks the part. Alma's scattered collection of shells too beautiful to part with, tacky airbrushed t-shirts draped over the chairs, and a healthy sprinkling of sand being ground into the carpet are evidence of that.

They spend the days exploring the aquarium, strolling the worn and salty boardwalk for unusual shops, dipping into local eateries for fresh seafood. Every other moment is spent on the beach; building sandcastles or running into waves with the baby between them and swinging her up at the last second. Salt spray in her bouncing mass of curls and her squealing laugh stolen by the wind.

Between the clutter and sightseeing, even under the blazing coastal sun, there's always something dark shifting just at the edge of Rebecca's vision. Faint shadows twisting out of view at the last second. The wound-wet itch of unease prickling her skin.

Someone is watching—of that, she's certain.

And then there's the envelope.

Rook's made an excuse or two to be alone. Just running out to grab more sunscreen, or picking up takeout because Alma's too fussy for a restaurant tonight. Innocuous things, but each time he goes, the envelope seems to follow.

Rebecca is sure it holds an answer, or at least a lead.

On the last night of their vacation, he leaves again. But this time, it's a trip for ice-cream with Alma in tow.

Rebecca watches them through the blinds, and once she's sure they're not turning back, she goes for his luggage.

It's not well-hidden. It's nestled under his dirty clothes, sealed with twisted thread that takes a few seconds to unwind. God, he's so unorganized, and for once she's thankful for it.

Carefully, she empties the contents onto the bed: hastily folded, handwritten notes; a few polaroids; and Agency documents? The documents are completely uncensored, not one black bar, not a single covered word. That tells Rebecca everything she needs to know—whatever Rook's doing, it's beyond either of their clearance levels. This is dangerous.

Shit.

That knowledge only nudges her curiosity over the edge. She skims over the pages, drinking in the information as quickly as possible. ...modern supernaturals seek reparations... inhumane treatment... would lose valuable specimens... Agency officials refuse to negotiate.

His notes list locations all over the east coast, some underlined, including the beach they're visiting. The photos show imprisoned supernaturals, each noxious gas cloud above them and their faces distorted in silent, exhausted screams. She recognizes some of them, though she's never been allowed to view them outside a transport situation.

But what's he doing with this? How on earth did he get all this?

A pounding knock shakes the door. Rebecca, torn away from this unplanned investigation, loses hold of the papers in her hands. They flutter to the floor.

"Shit, shit, shit." She scrambles to collect the documents and put them in order.

The knock booms through the room again, more impatiently this time.

Rebecca stalks to the door, dipping into her handbag for the Agency-standard volt gun as she goes. No one's there when she presses her eye to the peephole, but a third thunderous knock sends her stumbling backward with a choked scream.

"Agent Rebecca Greene." The voice is icy, hollow, and this isn't a question. They know her. "I would like to speak with you. Now."

The words are more instruction than threat. Rebecca expects any inaction on her part to change that, so she scampers to the door and twists it open.

It's him.

The man from the gas station. She knew it would be, but knowing and seeing—feeling, because every cell in her body tells her that being so close to this man... this creature... is unsafe—are very different things.

His skin (pale, and tight, and plastic-smooth) lacks definition, as if he's bloodless, and his blue irises are just a little too small, mouth a little too wide. He doesn't look real, and she's grateful the shadow of his hat obscures some of his face.

It doesn't hide the jagged line of his pointed teeth when he speaks though.

"That's better. May I come in?"

Against her instinct, she steps aside to let him pass. Careful not to touch her, he strolls across the room as if he's been here before. She wonders if he has, while they've been out.

His eyes fall to the half-opened envelope.

"What do you want?" Rebecca backs up until her legs bump against the bed.

He sucks in a breath and looks toward the ceiling. "I want to know why your husband is meddling . I want to know why he is watching a Watcher, badly. And—" he points to the documents Rook seems to keep with him at all times— "I have been waiting for this."

Without saying another word, he picks them up and starts reading.

Rebecca's presence is inconsequential. She waits in silence, the volt gun half raised. She tries to keep an eye out for sudden movements from the Watcher (and what the hell is a Watcher? Her mind swings through random bits of mythology and something between angel-but-not and urban legend seems to stick), but it's tough to look at him.

Finally, he exhales and, in a whisper Rebecca is sure isn't meant for her, says, "Friend and not foe, then." Louder, to her this time, "You read this. You witnessed."

"Y-yes," she croaks.

"And what did you make of it? What do you think?" His voice is cold, even, judging.

She doesn't know how to answer. A couple minutes is hardly enough time to sort out the ethics of this situation, much less her own standing. She's done no research, but she's never had reason to doubt the Agency. The only truth she knows right now is this man feels like death walking.

"I don't know what to think. I need to speak to my husband. If he's in trouble, I can help. The Agency can help—"

"If you so readily walk the line between advocate and adversary after witnessing an injustice, then you have made a decision, Rebecca. We cannot use you."

He pulls a pen from his pocket and gives it a sharp click (the movement and sound almost make her pull the trigger of her volt gun, almost) and scribbles something on the back of Rook's notes. Then, he neatly returns the contents to the envelope and tucks everything back into the luggage.

He turns to Rebecca, and his mouth, his smile is wide enough that the corners of her own throb. Phantom cracks that make her wince. Impossibly sharp. "I mean you no harm, and you will not remember."

In a blurred rush, he squeezes her shoulder. Her knees buckle as the door slams.

--- ☀ --- ☀ --- ☀ --- ☀ --- ☀ ---

"Becks? Hey. Hey, Rebecca, are you okay?"

It's Rook. An echo of him, anyway.

His voice is caught between the song she's humming and another unnamed voice that floods her mind like ice water. She doesn't want to touch that, so she focuses on the song.

And on Rook's warmth.

Dappled morning light across his rich brown skin. Rook softly snoring, softly singing, softly whispering the ways he loves her. She could stretch those small undeserved moments into infinity, the ones in which Rook smooths the roughest of her edges, turns her in his hands and makes her soft too.

He is the quiet thrill of crawling into already warm blankets, the taste of strawberry pie, the sun and the wind on her skin on a long car ride.

He is endless joy, and he is hers.

Right?

Then the warmth is a real pressure against her cheek.

Her eyes are already open but she sees him, both of them, for what feels like the first time. Rook, chaotically charming even through a cloud of worry. Alma, plump and curious, their brightest star.

"How was the ice-cream? Did you guys bring one back for me?" She leans up for a kiss.

Rook meets her lips, brows knitting in confusion. "You okay? You were really zoned-out for a second—and why is the volt gun out?"

She shakes her head. Not a thing in the world could be wrong. They're on their first family vacation. It's been a wonderful trip.

She doesn't understand why he looks so concerned.

"I'm not sure," Rebecca smiles, "but this vacation was exactly what we needed."

#azia writes #wayhavensummer #twc #rebecca/rook #this REALLY ran away from me and i'm sorry like i feel like it's not fitting for the event AT ALL but #it's so much fun to think about rook and rebecca and the events that led to rook's demise #and i have so many urban legends just sitting around in my brain SO I HAD TO THROW THE OBSERVERS IN #anyway pls enjoy my spooky scary summer story

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solariswrites · 2 years ago

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All The Things You Say

Wei Wuxian sighed as he pressed his head against his locker door. He was exhausted and silently wishing that he’d signed up for the archery team instead of the swim team. But he’d wanted to be close to Jiang Cheng. It took a lot to keep up with him but he was glad that he’d done it. Because now he was able to have an excuse to go over to the younger man’s house.

“Look alive Wei Wuxian.” Wen Chao’s sarcastic voice came from behind him before the locker beside Wei Wuxian was hit with a wet towel. “Don’t need you ruining our chances at the meet.”

“I won’t, asshole.” Wei Wuxian tossed over his shoulder with a huff. The other part that he hated was that Wen Chao was on the swim team as well. Wen Chao had an obvious crush on Jiang Cheng that irritated him more than Jiang Cheng being friends with Lan Wangji. He sighed again pushing those thoughts away. Jiang Cheng had already told him that Lan Wangji was just a friend and that he was aromantic.

“Whatever.” Wen Chao sauntered nakedly off to his own locker.

“The things I do…” Wei Wuxian started to complain softly when he yanked the locker door open to find a sticky note stuck to the door of the locker.

You did great today. Keep up the good work. The note read along with an adorable little bird that had a bubble that said fighting.

Wei Wuxian snorted and smiled. His spirits rose at the sweetness of the note. He wondered who could have put in here.

“Why haven’t you showered yet?” Jiang Cheng’s voice caught him off guard and he slammed the door shut.

“I was just about too.” Wei Wuxian smiled sheepishly.

“Well come on. I want to get something to eat in the canteen before we head to study group. You know how long winded A-Sang can get. If you’re quick enough, I’ll even buy.”

“Oh hell yes, give me five minutes money bags.” Wei Wuxian teased making Jiang Cheng laugh as he watched Wei Wuxian run off to the showers with his towel.

“Hey, if you’re already done just nap. We can head back to my house once we are done Xian-ge.” Jiang Cheng said, softly as he watched Wei Wuxian start to fade. All of his homework had been finished except the paper. And to be honest he was just too sleepy to do it. So Wei Wuxian was trying not to fall asleep. Jiang Cheng was there helping Nie Huaisang and Lan Wangji grasp the concept of their engineering course. It went straight over Wei Wuxian’s head and made him glad that he was an english major.

“Don’t be so respectful to that desk gremlin. If you’re sleepy just head back to your dorm and Jiang Cheng can call you on his way back to his house.” Nie Huaisang argued.

“He’s fine and don’t worry about being such a stickler. Especially when you fell asleep in our class today.” Jiang Cheng chided softly. He offered Wei Wuxian a soft smile and reached over to gently smooth Wei Wuxian’s fringe.

“Can we get back to the lesson?” Lan Wangji asked as he flipped the page of his note book where he was taking notes.

“Ugh, Wangji you’re killing me.” Nie Huaisang breathed out as Jiang Cheng softly laughed. His sapphire eyes looked over to see that Wei Wuxian had listened to him by slumping over his hoodie and napping.

It was the sudden drop of a book that let him know that Jiang Cheng wasn’t guiding the study session anymore. His calming voice was gone and replaced by silence. “Jiang Cheng…” His eyes fluttered open and went to stretch his arm. He came in contact with a bottle of juice with an elegant handwritten note from Lan Wangji that Jiang Cheng and them had been asked by a teacher to help deliver some books and would be back. He hummed taking the note off the juice knowing that it was most likely from Jiang Cheng. Since he was the only one that knew he really liked the watermelon sodas.

Wei Wuxian sat up and moved his hoodie around so that he could find his phone. On the back of his phone was another sticky note. This time it was soft blue and in the shape of a bird. You’re so smart, just don’t forget to take care of yourself. Get some rest, beautiful. That one had him flushing. This was the second time he’d gotten a sweet note like this. He wished that he could place the writing. It looked familiar but he just couldn’t.

“This is such bullshit.” Wei Wuxian cursed as he kicked the leaf and groaned loudly. He knew that he shouldn’t have gotten into an argument with Lan Wangji because it never ended well. Jiang Cheng always takes that stick in the mud’s side. He rubbed his face and tried not to cry.

It just sucked. He likes Jiang Cheng so much and it was moments like this that he questioned if he should hold onto his feelings.

He looked down as he felt his pocket vibrate and pulled out his phone to see it was Jiang Cheng. He was still too upset to talk and he hit the ignore button so that he could just focus on getting to the archery field. There he could let off some steam and try to salvage the rest of his day.

“You’re so c-cool, Wei Wuxian.” Wen Ning beamed from where he was watching the older man. Wei Wuxian chuckled at the flattery. He enjoyed hanging out with Wen Ning. He liked a lot of the same things.

“Nah, just well practiced.” Wei Wuxian dismissed the flattery. “You’ll get there too.”

“T-thanks. I hope so.” Wen Ning smiled warmly. “I’ve gotta go meet my jiejie.”

“See you Wen Ning.” Wei Wuxian waved the other off before refocusing on target to spend the rest of his arrows.

“See you!” Wen Ning called over his shoulder.

Another hour later, he made his way back to the locker room. He felt a bit better and was ready to speak with Jiang Cheng. However when he opened his locker there on the top shelf was a bottle of water, a bag of blue takis, and a sticky note with an adorable frowning face.

You’re a good listener. A great skill to have and I wish I had it.

“Really?” Wei Wuxian snorted but he felt his cheeks heat up. He wondered who would think this about him. Though it was true he did listen and tried to be a good friend. He tucked the note into his messenger bag before taking out his messenger bag and the snacks. The note gave him more courage to return Jiang Cheng’s calls.

Today sucked. Just not for him but for Jiang Cheng. He got second place at the meet and to top it off his father never showed up. His mother had died when they were young. Wei Wuxian hated that Jiang Fengmian did this. It always left Jiang Cheng in a state of depression. The beautiful man deserved to be treated kindly and with all the love. For all the notes he’d been getting he was 100% sure that Jiang Cheng deserved them.

“I am going to get some coffee before we head to the bus.” Jiang Cheng announced somberly as he broke from their friend group to go to the stand that was selling drinks. Wei Wuxian was going to follow but Lan Wangji took his place. At least on the bus, Jiang Cheng was seated beside him and he could comfort him there.

Which he did when they finally got to their seats. He was glad that the buses seat arms lifted. Wei Wuxian lifted the arm and tugged his friend close. Jiang Cheng moved easily to where he was resting his head on the other’s shoulder. Wei Wuxian grabbed his left airpod, sharing it with Jiang Cheng. The soft music of rain and gentle merfolk chanting lulled them both into a comfortable silence.

“I know you won’t want to talk about it right now but when you do. I am right here for you always.” Wei Wuxian said softly as Jiang Cheng nodded. The two of them staying like that for most of the ride home. The only change up was that Jiang Cheng had snagged Nie Huaisang’s pillow then used Wei Wuxian’s lap as a place to rest his head. Which of course made Wei Wuxian very happy. He carded his fingers through Jiang Cheng’s bangs as the man tried to rest.

“No.” Jiang Cheng groaned when Wei Wuxian sadly had to wake him.

“Just make the walk to my car and we can stay at my place.” Wei Wuxian chuckled at how the younger man didn’t want to get up. He rather enjoyed having him turned and cuddled into him. “I’ll even let you steal all the covers.”

“And leave on the lights.” Jiang Cheng murmured into Wei Wuxian’s stomach after some consideration.

“Yes, I will leave my bat fairy lights on.” Wei Wuxian huffed playfully.

“Then deal.” Jiang Cheng moved with a bit more energy than Wei Wuxian thought he’d be capable of. But he didn’t mind it in the least.

Jiang Cheng was speaking to Nie Huaisang while Wei Wuxian stuffed their bags in the back of his car. That’s when a note slipped from his bag. He hadn’t noticed it before but he did like the adorable mini envelope that had a sea turtle on it. Wei Wuxian glanced at Jiang Cheng then down at the note before opening it.

You did your best today. I’m proud.

Wei Wuxian looked at the note again. He felt the shy butterflies in his chest but then he noticed something that was off about the note this time. He just couldn’t quite place it.

“Everything ok?” Jiang Cheng askled, coming to stand near the trunk.

“Yeah, I just…I’ve been getting these notes.” Wei Wuxian shared, passing the note to Jiang Cheng held his hand up though.

“Someone meant that for your eyes only.” Jiang Cheng flushed and Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but find that adorable. “You might want to keep it that way.”

“If you say so. I wish they’d just speak with me.” Wei Wuxian retucked the letter into his bag.

“Maybe they are building up the courage.” Jiang Cheng reasoned.

‘Maybe they are or not. I just wonder who it could be. This is like the fourth one.” Wei Wuxian hummed as the two of them got into his car.

“You’ll know when you know.” Jiang Cheng replied before reaching to turn the music on as Wei Wuxian pulled out of the parking lot.

“I know I know I won’t forget your garlic butter sauce.” Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes as he went to grab Jiang Cheng’s keys from the bowl by the door. He stopped smiling as he noticed that it was the one that Wei Wuxian had made him when he’d taken his ceramics course last year.

“You said that the last time and left it. Do not leave it or you can forget coming back for movie night?” Jiang Cheng twisted and leaned over the back of the couch. His hair was down today and he was in comfortable clothes. An oversized sweater and too soft cotton pants. All of which Wei Wuxian would love at some point to peel off the man.

Ugh…Damn Jiang Cheng for looking impossibly soft. Wei Wuxian thought as he peered at him. “I will send you picture evidence.”

“Great. I expect it.” Jiang Cheng winked then twisted back around on the couch which of course Wei Wuxian was so not picturing him lounging with his sweater slightly pushed up.

“Great, we are on the same page. See you when I get back.” Wei Wuxian shook his head and headed out to get their pizza.

When he came back, Jiang Cheng had their movie ready and was peering through his sketchbook while nursing one of the wine coolers that Nie Huaisang had left. He was at a little loss for words so he just sat the pizza down first. Just out of habit he went a head and crabbed the bowls

“This is your passion.” Jiang Cheng said in greeting. “Don’t listen to your professor. He doesn’t see this side of your work.” He flipped a page noticing how Wei Wuxian’s art turned a bit dark and more alive. “

“You’re…” Wei Wuxian paused as the memory of the note he found in his car this morning. There had been a rice roll, coffee aka the goblin juice as Jiang Cheng referred to, and the note that said.

You’re perfect as you are. Don’t let them get you down.

It was at this moment that he felt he was catching onto something. His mind replayed all the notes and how warm they sounded. They also sounded like they knew him. To be honest they sounded like…

Wei Wuxian peered over his shoulder at Jiang Cheng who was stretching out on the couch now before standing up.

“I’m what?” Jiang Cheng’s question reminded him that they were talking. He rounded the couch to find Wei Wuxian standing in front of their plates looking a little confused.

“You’re right and I won’t let them get me down.” Wei Wuxian shook his head. There was no way that Jiang Cheng was the one who was leaving him letters. Jiang Cheng would say that he liked him to his face. Because if he was just doing this as a friend he would just say it then too. So this was all confusing.

“Good.” Jiang Cheng moved to stand behind Wei Wuxian. He stood flush to Wei Wuxian’s back with his chin hooked over the other’s shoulder. “Oh good, the picture wasn’t a fake saved on your phone from google.” He teased. “Come on, let's eat.” He grabbed his plate and moved it from around Wei Wuxian so that he could escape back into the living room.

Wei Wuxian shivered at the touch and out a shaky breath before peering back at Jiang Cheng. The man was getting comfortable on the coach once more.

“You coming?” Jiang Cheng called for him.

“Y-yes, I am coming, Jiang Cheng.” Wei Wuxian blinked a few times as he tried to will his fast beating heart to slow down so that he could make it through the rest of the evening.

+1.

“Can I stay the night?” Wei Wuxian asked as Jiang Cheng lifted a kernel to his lips. They were watching this one indy movie called Deep House. A must see B movie that Mo Xuanyu had recommended to him.

“Yes you weirdo. Why do you even ask anymore? Maybe next year we can save enough so that we can move in together.” Jiang Cheng off handedly teased and it made Wei Wuxian’s heart skip a beat. Oh how he wanted to live with the younger man and it wasn’t as roommates. It was moments like right now where they were cuddling on the couch, eating popcorn, and enjoying being in on a gloomy rainy day.

“Well shit.” Jiang Cheng’s cursing brought him out of his thoughts. Jiang Cheng was moving his fingers around the bowl and not finding anymore kernels.

“It’s empty, ChengCheng.” Wei Wuxian informed him as Jiang Cheng pouted from where he had his head in Wei Wuxian’s lap above a pillow while being sprawled out on the rest of the couch.

“Well then pause the movie and I will make us some more. After this we can order mexican.” Jiang Cheng wagged his eyebrows as he sat up. Their gazes catching and for a brief moment, Wei Wuxian forgot about the rest of the world. To him Jiang Cheng was the most beautiful man on the planet and he couldn’t help but feel grateful he at least got to be his best friend. Even though he deeply wanted more.

“Cheesy jalapeno powder on top?” Jiang Cheng grinned all mischievous.

“Yes. Now go before I change my mind.” Wei Wuxian teased, grabbing the remote to stop the movie. They hadn’t gotten to the real fun part anyways.

“Like you’d change your mind about hanging out with me eating your favorite popcorn.” Jiang Cheng shook his head then abruptly got off the couch with ease.

Wei Wuxian let out of a deep breath as silently as he could before getting up to go to grab his contact drops from his book bag. He shuffled through it and scrunched his nose. “Hey ChengCheng, I forgot my contact drops. Is my spare bottle still here?”

“That one went bad. I got you a new one in my bathroom.” Jiang Cheng responded from the kitchen.

“Thanks.” Wei Wuxian responded as he made his way to Jiang Cheng’s room. He liked the coziness of the space and was just looking around to see all the different momentos when came to a stop at the man’s desk. He blinked a few times. There in the organized acrylic drawers of Jiang Cheng’s stationary stash he spotted what looked like the turtle envelope.

Wei Wuxian peered at the door then went to open the drawer without hesitation. That’s when he found that yes, there was the turtle but there were also other animals: a racoon, finch, cat, dog, and a rabbit. So it’d been part of a stationary set? Wei Wuxian thought as closed the drawer. His own curiosity having gotten the best of him. He looked in the other drawers but he couldn’t find the sticky paper. Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

“Did you find it, Wei Wuxian?” Jiang Cheng called from the hallway startling Wei Wuxian into not snooping further.

“Yes, one second!” Wei Wuxian huffed before heading into the bathroom to use what he came in the room for. He grabbed the drops, putting them in, and headed back out. His mind a mess of the stationary, the possibility he’d been wrong about Jiang Cheng just telling him how he felt out loud, and not wanting to ruin the night by just outright asking him.

However, he did find his opportunity when he woke up early for once after a late movie night with Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng wasn’t on the other side of the bed and he could hear rustling from out in the kitchen through the open bedroom door. Wei Wuxian sat up and turned on the nightstand light. When he did that’s when he spotted the acrylic drawer from earlier was open.

Wei Wuxian slipped from the bed and made his way as quietly as possible. He wanted to catch the man in the act, so that they could properly talk. To his utter glee he managed to make it to the kitchen where he spotted Jiang Cheng leaning against the counter with his back to him. It was obvious he was writing.

“You’re beautiful inside and out.” Wei Wuxian read out loud as he plastered himself to Jiang Cheng’s back as he read the note over his shoulder. “I think you’re talking about yourself, ChengCheng.” A small smirk forming on his lips as he felt the shiver and heard the gasp. Before Jiang Cheng could hide the letter with his hands, Wei Wuxian caught them. “So it had been you all the time.”

“I…yes.” Jiang Cheng flushed, heart racing and he was sure the older man could feel it in his chest. “...what took you so long.”

“You disguised the writing but couldn’t hide the warmth. Silly ChengCheng how was I supposed to know right away?” Wei Wuxian answered, feeling more confident about asking the younger man about the notes. “But why the notes?”

“I tried to tell you at A-Sang’s party but you didn’t believe me.” Jiang Cheng answered, feeling a bit more vulnerable tan what he’d originally thought he’d be. His mind drifting to where Wei Wuxian had smiled and told him he liked him too. They were best friends why wouldn’t they like each other?

“I…wait. You were being serious?” Wei Wuxian gasped this time and turned Jiang Cheng around. When Jiang Cheng wouldn’t look at him, he gently cupped the man’s chin and tilted his head to have the other meet his gaze. “Jiang Cheng?” Though the man denied him, looking past his shoulder.

“Yes. I was serious. I just wanted you to know what I feel and if I was wrong about you liking me too then at least I could stop writing the notes.” Jiang Cheng confessed. He swallowed hard and felt so exposed but also grateful that Wei Wuxian wasn’t laughing at him.

Wei Wuxian thought his heart was going to pound right out of his chest. He was so happy. “Jiang Cheng, please look at me.”

It took a moment for Jiang Cheng to do it but when he did Wei Wuxian gave him the brightest smile he could. “I like you.” He tightened his grip on Jiang Cheng’s jaw as Jiang Cheng tried to turn his head away. “I like you so much that I’ve been trying to not ruin our friendship by kissing you senseless everyday and begging you to be my boyfriend.”

Jiang Cheng’s eyes widened, “You do like me?”

“Yes. I like you, no I love you. Jiang Cheng I love you and I want you to be my boyfriend. Will you be my boyfriend?”

Jiang Cheng was silent for a moment, just in awe of what was happening. “I…yes.” He swallowed hard and finally smiled just as brightly. His hands came up to cup Wei Wuxian’s face. “Yes, I will be your boyfriend and yes you can kiss me senseless. It’s all I kept thinking about during the mo-”

Not one to waste the opportunity to kiss his now boyfriend. Wei Wuxian leaned in capturing the tail end of Jiang Cheng’s sentence in a kiss. It was a little more teeth than he wanted but he was kissing the man of his dreams. It didn’t matter, it wasn't a movie perfect first kiss. Jiang Cheng was kissing him back and that’s all that did matter.

#ChengXian #Jiang Cheng #Wei Wuxian #College AU #Getting Together #Notes of affirmation #Fluff #Domestic #Kissing #Chengxian Happy ending fest 2022 #5 + 1 format fic

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keepcalmandcarryfire · 4 years ago

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From Eroica With Love incorrect quotes 😁😁

(just Dorian, James and Klaus because tbh I get everyone else mixed up way too much to do this with them)

Adding a read more bar right off the bat bc this is gonna be looooong.

James, texting: Answer your phone Dorian, texting back: Wait a minute, I can’t find my phone James: Understood James, 5 minutes later: You’re a terrible person. You know you’re killing me. You’re killing me, Dorian.

Dorian: *texting* Hey can you pick me up I’m drunk. Dorian: Oh you don't have to anymore. I'm home now. James: Yes, I'm aware of that after dropping you off at home.

Klaus: I’ve never been in a snowball fight before. I don’t know the rules. Dorian: What? Klaus: Is there a point system, or is it to the death?

Dorian: I'm gonna need a human skull but you can't ask why. James: Only if you also don't ask why. James: *pulls four pristine human skulls out of his bag* Dorian: ... Dorian, grabbing a skull: This one will do.

James: You fuckers don’t know about my knife stick. It’s a knife taped to a stick and it’s the ultimate weapon. Dorian: Spear. James: BLOCKED.

James: How much did you spend on this date? Dorian: $1400. But all of it's on credit cards, so it's like $5 a month for the next 2,000 years.

Dorian: I was born for politics. I have great hair and I love lying.

Dorian: I have one foot in the grave but in a kind of fun flirty way, the way one might slip on a fishnet stocking.

Klaus: Dorian, we tried things your way. Dorian: No, we didn't. Klaus: I did it in my head and it didn't work.

Klaus: The next time I open up to someone, it'll be my autopsy.

James: You use emoji’s like a straight person. Dorian: That’s literally the worst thing anyone has ever said about me.

Police Officer: You have the right to remain silent. James: I choose to waive that right! James: *screaming*

Dorian: Bottling up negative emotions is bad for your health, so you shouldn't do it. Klaus: I know, that's why I bottle up all my emotions, both positive and negative, so it cancels out. Dorian: Th-that's not how that works-

James: Do you know a turtles only weakness? Dorian: No... well, their slowness. James: Their weakness is they can't roll over when they are on their backs. James: Now I have a plan. James: If I duct tape two turtles together, they'll be unstoppable.

Dorian: I sort of did something and I need some advice, but I don't want a lot of judgment and criticism. James: And you came to me?

James: How do tall people people possibly sleep at night when the blanket can't possibly cover you? Dorian: James, it's four o'clock in the morning. James: So, you can't sleep, huh? Is it because of the blanket?

Dorian: Ah, Hello again. We really need to stop meeting like this. Klaus: Maybe we would, if you would sTOP BREAKING INTO MY FUCKING HOUSE!!!

Dorian, hungover: Please tell me I'm imagining that I claimed I was king of the ducks. James: I would, but then I would be lying to the King of All Ducks.

James: I can't imagine what Dorian is planning. But I can tell you two things. We won't like it and it won't be legal.

Dorian: Are you mad? Klaus: No. Dorian: So sharpening your knives at 3 in the morning is just a hobby?

Dorian: The time to act is now. Dorian: Wink, wink. James: Don't say "wink wink". Just wink. Dorian: Oh, sorry. Dorian: Wink.

James: Look, I’m glad everyone’s on the same page. James: But it’s the last page in a book titled “we’re all going to die”. Dorian: That’s not even clever.

Dorian: Do you want to play 20 Questions? James: Sure! James: What’s your favorite color? Dorian, laser fucking focused: Triangle. Do you like men?

Klaus: Dorian... Dorian: Oh no, 'Dorian' in B flat. Dorian: You're disappointed.

Dorian: When I was young, I left a trail of broken hearts like a rockstar. I'm not proud of it. James: You're kind of proud of it. You work it into a lot of conversations.

James: I found a note in one of my old word .docs that said Note to self: Get revenge on Dorian. James: Except I couldn't remember what I was supposed to get revenge for. James: But I trusted my own judgment, so I went with it. Dorian: Hmm... I don't know what you were supposed to get revenge for, either. James: I can only assume you got what was coming to you. Not 100 percent sure, though. Dorian: Well, whatever I did, I guess I deserved it. James: Let that possibly be a lesson to you.

Dorian: Relationships should be 50/50. James cooks us dinner while I sit on the kitchen counter looking pretty.

Dorian: I think I just figured something out. I got to go. Klaus: Aren't you forgetting something? Dorian: Uuh...*hesitantly kisses Klaus's forehead before running out.* Klaus: No, pay your bill! Damn, who raised you?

James: You read my diary? Dorian: At first I did not know it was your diary. I thought it was a very sad handwritten book.

James, looking at a selfie of Dorian’s: I hate this photo. Dorian: I’m cute as fuck in that photo! I’m smiling kindly. James: You’re not smiling kindly; you look like you’re up to something. Dorian: Up to kindness.

Klaus: I’m genuinely surprised you haven’t gotten arrested, let alone gotten a felony yet. Dorian: Nat 20 Charisma. Klaus: That is NOT how that works-

Dorian: We have fun, don’t we, James? James: I have never been more stressed out in my entire life.

Dorian: James! Have you no dignity? James: Of course not! How long have we known each other?

Klaus, to the Alphabets: And remember, if I get harsh with you it is only because you’re doing it all wrong.

Dorian: If I see a bug, I simply leave the room elegantly and require someone else do something about it. Dorian: If no one fulfills my wish, I simply never go back in there.

Dorian: Let’s watch Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Klaus: Okay. Dorian: And make out during the scary parts. Klaus: Th- Klaus: The scary parts. Klaus: Of Sharkboy and Lavagirl.

James: I want to kiss you. Dorian, not paying attention: What? James: I said if you die, I wont miss you.

James: Did you like the food I made? Dorian: No, not really. James: But I put my heart and soul into it! Dorian: No wonder it tastes so cold and dead.

Dorian: I made tea. Klaus: I don't want tea. Dorian: I didn't make you tea. This is my tea. Klaus: Then why did you tell me? Dorian: It's a conversation starter. Klaus: It's a horrible conversation starter. Dorian: Oh, is it? We're conversing. Checkmate.

Dorian: Question. When they shot Bambi's mother, did you find that a sad moment...at all? James: I'm sure she's mounted on a nice wall in a fine home somewhere.

Klaus: What doesn't kill me better start running, because now I'm fucking pissed.

Dorian: To everyone who has treated me poorly; I am sexier than you.

James: I'm a nice person, but I'm about to start throwing rocks at people.

Klaus: All of your existences are confusing. The Alphabets: How so? Klaus: Your presence is annoying, but the thought of anything bad happening to any of you upsets me.

Klaus: I could kill you if I wanted. Dorian: Yeah? So could any other human being. So could a dog. So could a dedicated duck. You aren't special.

#incorrect quotes #from eroica with love

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96harmony96 · 4 years ago

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Chapter 5

I had a vicious hangover on Saturday morning and figured it was no less than I deserved. As much as I’d resented Lauren’s insistence on negotiating sex with as much passion as she would a merger, in the end I’d negotiated in kind. Because I wanted her enough to take a calculated risk and break my own rules.

I took comfort in knowing she was breaking some of her own, too.

After a long, hot shower, I made my way into the living room and found Cary on the couch with his netbook, looking fresh and alert. Smelling coffee in the kitchen, I headed there and filled the biggest mug I could find.

“Morning, sunshine,” Cary called out.

With my much-needed dose of caffeine wrapped between both palms, I joined him on the couch.

He pointed at a box on the end table. “That came for you while you were in the shower.”

I set my mug on the coffee table and picked up the box. It was wrapped with brown paper and twine, and had my name handwritten diagonally across the top with a decorative calligraphic flourish. Inside was an amber glass bottle with Hangover Cure painted on it in a white old-fashioned font and a note tied with raffia to the bottle’s neck that said, “Drink me.” Lauren’s business card was nestled in the cushioning tissue paper.

As I studied the gift, I found it very apt. Since meeting Lauren I’d felt like I’d fallen down the rabbit hole into a fascinating and seductive world where few of the known rules applied. I was in uncharted territory that was both exciting and scary.

I glanced at Cary, who eyed the bottle dubiously.

“Cheers.” I pried the cork out and drank the contents without thinking twice about it. It tasted like sickly sweet cough syrup. My stomach quivered in distaste for a moment, and then heated. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and shoved the cork back into the empty bottle.

“What was that?” Cary asked.

“From the burn, it’s hair of the dog.”

His nose wrinkled. “Effective but unpleasant.”

And it was working. I already felt a little steadier.

Cary picked up the box and dug out Lauren’s card. He flipped it over; then held it out to me. On the back Lauren had written, “Call me” in bold slashing penmanship and jotted down a number.

I took the card, curling my hand around it. Her gift was proof that she was thinking about me. Her tenacity and focus was seductive. And flattering.

There was no denying I was in trouble where Lauren was concerned. I craved the way I felt when she touched me, and I loved the way she responded when I touched her back. When I tried to think of what I wouldn’t agree to do to have her hands on me again, I couldn’t come up with much.

When Cary tried to hand me the phone, I shook my head. “Not yet. I need a clear head when dealing with her and I’m still fuzzy.”

“You two seemed cozy last night. She’s definitely into you.”

“I’m definitely into her.” Curling into the corner of the couch, I pressed my cheek into the cushion and hugged my legs to my chest. “We’re going to hang out, get to know each other, have casual-but-physically-intense sex, and be otherwise completely independent. No strings, no expectations, no responsibilities.”

Cary hit a button on his netbook and the printer on the other side of the room started spitting out pages. Then he snapped the computer closed, set it on the coffee table, and gave me all his attention. “Maybe it’ll turn into something serious.”

“Maybe not,” I scoffed.

“Cynic.”

“I’m not looking for happily-ever-after, Cary, especially not with a mega-mogul like Jauregui. I’ve seen what it’s like for my mom being connected to powerful men. It’s a full-time job with a part-time companion. Money keeps Mom happy, but it wouldn’t be enough for me.”

My dad had loved my mom. He’d asked her to marry him and share his life. She’d turned him down because he didn’t have the hefty portfolio and sizeable bank account she required in a husband. Love wasn’t a requisite for marriage in Sinuhe Stanton’s opinion and since her sultry-eyed, breathy-voiced beauty was irresistible to most men, she’d never had to settle for less than whatever she wanted. Unfortunately she hadn’t wanted my dad for the long haul.

Glancing at the clock, I saw it was ten thirty. “I guess I should get ready.”

“I love spa day with your mom.” Cary smiled and it chased the lingering shadows on my mood away. “I feel like a god when we’re done.”

“Me, too. Of the goddess persuasion.”

We were so eager to be off that we went downstairs to meet the car rather than wait for the front desk to call up.

The doorman smiled as we stepped outside—me in heeled sandals and a maxi dress, and Cary in hip-hugging jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt.

“Good morning, Miss Cabello. Mr. Taylor. Will you need a cab today?”

“No thanks, Paul. We’re expecting a car.” Cary grinned. “It’s spa day at Perrini’s!”

“Ah, Perrini’s Day Spa.” Paul gave a sage nod. “I bought my wife a gift certificate for our anniversary. She enjoyed it so much I plan to make it a tradition.”

“You did good, Paul,” I said. “Pampering a woman never goes out of style.”

A black town car pulled up with Clancy at the wheel. Paul opened the rear door for us and we climbed in, squealing when we found a box of Knipschildt’s Chocopologie on the seat. Waving at Paul, we settled back and dug in, taking tiny nibbles of the truffles that were worth savoring slowly.

Clancy drove us straight to Perrini’s, where the relaxation began from the moment one walked in the door. Crossing the entrance threshold was like taking a vacation on the far side of the world. Every arched doorway was framed by lushly vibrant striped silks, while jeweled pillows decorated elegant chaises and oversized armchairs.

Birds chirped from suspended gilded cages and potted plants filled every corner with lush fronds. Small decorative fountains added the sounds of running water, while stringed instrumental music was piped into the room via cleverly hidden speakers. The air was redolent with a mix of exotic spices and fragrances, making me feel like I’d stepped into Arabian Nights.

It was this-close to being too much, but it didn’t cross the line. Instead, Perrini’s was exotic and luxurious, an indulgent treat for those who could afford it. Like my mother, who’d just finished a milk-and-honey bath when we arrived.

I studied the menu of treatments available, deciding to skip my usual “warrior woman” in favor of the “passionate pampering.” I’d been waxed the week before, but the rest of the treatment—“designed to make you sexually irresistible”—sounded like exactly what I needed.

I’d finally managed to get my mind back into the safe zone of work when Cary spoke up from the pedicure chair beside mine.

“Mrs. Stanton, have you met Lauren Jauregui?”

I gaped at him. He knew damn well my mom went nuts over any news about my romantic—and not-so-romantic, as the case may be—relationships.

My mother, who sat in the chair on the other side of me, leaned forward with her usual girlish excitement over a rich, handsome man. “Of course. She’s one of the wealthiest women in the world. Number twenty-five or so on Forbes’s list, if I’m remembering correctly. A very driven young woman, obviously, and a generous benefactor to many of the children’s charities I champion. Extremely eligible, of course, but I don’t believe she's straight , Cary. She’s got a reputation as a ladies’ pleaser.”

“My loss.” Cary grinned and ignored my violent headshaking. “But it’d be a hopeless crush anyway, since she’s digging on Camila.”

“Camila! I can’t believe you didn’t say anything. How could you not tell me something like that?”

I looked at my mom, whose scrubbed face appeared young, unlined, and very much like mine. I was very clearly my mother’s daughter, right down to my surname. The one concession she’d made to my father had been to name me after his mother.

“There’s nothing to tell,” I insisted. “We’re just…friends.”

“We can do better than that,” Sinuhe said, with a look of calculation that struck fear in my heart. “I don’t know how it escaped me that you work in the same building she does. I’m certain she was smitten the moment she saw you. Although she’s known to prefer blondes…Hmm…Anyway. sHe’s also known for her excellent taste. Clearly the latter won out with you.”

“It’s not like that. Please don’t start meddling. You’ll embarrass me.”

“Nonsense. If anyone knows what to do with men, it’s me.”

I cringed, my shoulders creeping up to my ears. By the time my massage appointment came around, I was in desperate need of one. I stretched out on the table and closed my eyes, preparing to take a catnap to get through the long night ahead.

I loved dressing up and looking pretty as much as the next girl, but charity functions were a lot of work. Making small talk was exhausting, smiling nonstop was a pain, and conversations about businesses and people I didn’t know were boring. If it wasn’t for Cary benefitting from the exposure, I’d put up a bigger fight about going.

I sighed. Who was I fooling? I’d end up going anyway. My mom and Stanton supported abused children’s charities because they were significant to me. Going to the occasional stuffy event was a small price to pay for the return.

Taking a deep breath, I consciously relaxed. I made a mental note to call my dad when I got home and thought about how to send a thank-you note to Lauren for the hangover cure. I supposed I could e-mail her using the contact info on her business card, but that lacked class. Besides, I didn’t know who read her inbox.

I’d just call her when I got home. Why not? She’d asked—no, told—me to; she’d written the demand on her business card. And I’d get to hear her luscious voice again.

The door opened and the masseuse came in. “Hello, Camila. You ready?”

Not quite. But I was getting there.

___

After many lovely hours at the spa, my mom and Cary dropped me off at the apartment; then they headed out to hunt for new cuff links for Stanton. I used the time alone to call Lauren. Even with the much-needed privacy, I punched most of her phone number into the keypad a half-dozen times before I finally put the call through.

She answered on the first ring. “Camila.”

W that she’d known who was calling, my mind scrambled for a moment. How did she have my name and number in her contact list? “Uh…hi, Lauren.”

“I’m a block away. Let the front desk know I’m coming.”

“What?” I felt like I’d missed part of the conversation. “Coming where?”

“To your place. I’m rounding the corner now. Call the desk, Camila.”

she hung up and I stared at the phone, trying to absorb the fact that Lauren was moments away from being with me again. Somewhat dazed, I went to the intercom and talked to the front desk, letting them know I was expecting her and while I was talking, she walked into the lobby. A few moments after that, she was at my door.

It was then that I remembered I was dressed in only a thigh-length silk robe, and my face and hair were styled for the dinner. What kind of impression would she get from my appearance?

I tightened the belt of my robe before I let her in. It wasn’t like I’d invited her over for a seduction or anything.

Lauren stood in the hallway for a long moment, her gaze raking me from my head down to my French manicured toes. I was equally stunned by her appearance. The way she looked in worn jeans and a T-shirt made me want to undress her with my teeth.

“Worth the trip to find you like this, Camila.” sHe stepped inside and locked the door behind her. “How are you feeling?”

“Good. Thanks to you. Thank you.” My stomach quivered because she was here, with me, which made me feel almost…giddy. “That can’t be why you came over.”

“I’m here because it took you too long to call me.”

“I didn’t realize I had a deadline.”

“I have to ask you something time-sensitive, but more than that, I wanted to know if you were feeling all right after last night.” Her eyes were dark as they swept over me, her breathtaking face framed by that luxurious curtain of inky hair. “God. You look beautiful, Camila. I can’t remember ever wanting anything this much.”

With just those few simple words I became hot and needy. Way too vulnerable. “What’s so urgent?”

“Go with me to the advocacy center dinner tonight.”

I pulled back, surprised and excited by the request. “You’re going?”

“So are you. I checked, knowing your mother would be there. Let’s go together.”

My hand went to my throat, my mind torn between the weirdness of how much she knew about me and concern over what she was asking me to do. “That’s not what I meant when I said we should spend time together.”

“Why not?” The simple question was laced with challenge. “What’s the problem with going together to an event we’d already planned on attending separately?”

“It’s not very discreet. It’s a high-profile event.”

“So?” Lauren stepped closer and fingered a curl of my hair.

There was a dangerous purr to her voice that sent a shiver through me. I could feel the warmth of her big, hard body and smell the richly musky scent of her skin. I was falling under her spell, deeper with every minute that passed.

“People will make assumptions, my mother in particular. She’s already scenting your bachelor blood in the water.”

Lowering her head, Lauren pressed her lips into the crook of my neck. “I don’t care what people think. We know what we’re doing. And I’ll deal with your mother.”

“If you think you can,” I said breathlessly, “you don’t know her very well.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven.” Her tongue traced the wildly throbbing vein in my throat and I melted into her, my body going lax as she pulled me close.

Still, I managed to say, “I haven’t said yes.”

“But you won’t say no.” sHe caught my earlobe between her teeth. “I won’t let you.”

I opened my mouth to protest and she sealed her lips over mine, shutting me up with a lush wet kiss. Her tongue did that slow, savoring licking that made me long to feel her doing the same between my legs. My hands went to her hair, sliding through it, tugging. When she wrapped her arms around me, I arched, curving into her hands.

Just as she had in her office, she had me on my back on the couch before I realized she was moving me, her mouth swallowing my surprised gasp. The robe gave way to her dexterous fingers; then she was cupping my breasts, kneading them with soft, rhythmic squeezes.

“Lauren—”

“Shh.” sHe sucked on my lower lip, her fingers rolling and tugging my tender nipples. “It was driving me crazy knowing you were naked beneath your robe.”

“You came over without—Oh! Oh, God…”

Her mouth surrounded the tip of my breast, the wash of heat bringing a mist of perspiration to my skin.

My gaze darted frantically to the clock on the cable box. “Lauren, no.”

Her head lifted and she looked at me with stormy green eyes. “It’s insane, I know. I don’t—I can’t explain it, Camila, but I have to make you come. I’ve been thinking about it constantly for days now.”

One of her hands pushed between my legs. They fell open shamelessly, my body so aroused I was flushed and almost feverish. Her other hand continued to plump my breasts, making them heavy and unbearably sensitive.

“You’re wet for me,” she murmured, her gaze sliding down my body to where she was parting me with her fingers. “You’re beautiful here, too. Plush and pink. So soft. You didn’t wax today, did you?”

I shook my head.

“Thank God. I don’t think I would’ve made it ten minutes without touching you, let alone ten hours.” She slid one finger carefully into me.

My eyes closed against the unbearable vulnerability of being spread out naked and fingered by a woman whose familiarity with the rules of Brazilian waxing betrayed an intimate knowledge of women. A woman who was still fully clothed and kneeling on the floor beside me.

“You’re so snug.” Lauren pulled out and thrust gently back into me. My back bowed as I clenched eagerly around her. “And so greedy. How long has it been since the last time you were fucked?”

I swallowed hard. “I’ve been busy. My thesis, job-hunting, moving…”

“A while, then.” sHe pulled out and pushed back into me with two fingers. I couldn’t hold back a moan of delight. The woman had talented hands, confident and skilled, and she took what he wanted with them.

“Are you on birth control, Camila?”

“Yes.” My hands gripped the edges of the cushions. “Of course.”

“I’ll prove I’m clean and you’ll do the same, then you’re going to let me come in you.”

“Jesus, Lauren.” I was panting for her, my hips circling shamelessly onto her thrusting fingers. I felt like I’d spontaneously combust if she didn’t get me off.

I’d never been so turned on in my life. I was near mindless with the need for an orgasm. If Cary walked in right then and found me writhing in our living room while Lauren finger-fucked me, I didn’t think I’d care.

Lauren was breathing hard, too. Her face was flushed with lust. For me. When I’d done nothing more than respond helplessly to her.

Her hand at my breast moved to my cheek and brushed over it. “You’re blushing. I’ve scandalized you.”

“Yes.”

Her smile was both wicked and delighted, and it made my chest tight. “I want to feel my cum in you when I fuck you with my fingers. I want you to feel my cum in you, so you think about how I looked and the sounds I made when I pumped it into you. And while you’re thinking about that, you’re going to look forward to me doing it again and again.”

My sex rippled around her stroking fingers, the rawness of her words pushing me to the brink of orgasm.

“I’m going to tell you all the ways I want you to please me, Camila, and you’re going to do it all…take it all, and we’re going to have explosive, primal, no-holds-barred sex. You know that, don’t you? You can feel how it’ll be between us.”

“Yes,” I breathed, clutching my breasts to ease the deep ache of my hardened nipples. “Please, Lauren.”

“Shh…I’ve got you.” The pad of her thumb rubbed my clitoris in gentle circles. “Look into my eyes when you come for me.”

Everything tightened in my core, the tension building as she massaged my clit and pushed her fingers in and out in a steady, unhurried rhythm.

“Give it up to me, Camila,” she ordered. “Now.”

I climaxed with a thready cry, my grip white-knuckled on the sides of the cushions as my hips pumped onto her hand, my mind far beyond shame or shyness. My gaze was locked to her, unable to look away, riveted by the fierce masculine triumph that flared in her eyes. In that moment she owned me. I’d do anything she wanted. And she knew it.

Searing pleasure pulsed through me. Through the roaring of blood in my ears, I thought I heard her speak hoarsely, but I lost the words when she hooked one of my legs over the back of the couch and covered my cleft with her mouth.

“No—” I pushed at her head with my hands. “I can’t.”

I was too swollen, too sensitive. But when her tongue touched my clit, fluttering over it, the hunger built again. More intense than the first time. she rimmed my trembling slit, teasing me, taunting me with the promise of another orgasm when I knew I couldn’t have one again so quickly.

Then her tongue speared into me and I bit my lip to bite back a scream. I came a second time, my body quaking violently, tender muscles tightening desperately around her decadent licking. Her growl vibrated through me. I didn’t have the strength to push her away when she returned to my clit and sucked softly…tirelessly…until I climaxed again, gasping her name.

I was boneless as she straightened my leg and still breathless when she pressed kisses up my belly to my breasts. she licked each of my nipples, and then hauled me up with her arms banded around my back. I hung lax and pliable in her grip while she took my mouth with suppressed violence, bruising my lips and betraying how close to the edge she was.

she closed my robe; then stood, staring down at me.

“Lauren…?”

“Seven o’clock, Camila.” sHe reached down and touched my ankle, her fingertips caressing the diamond anklet I’d put on in preparation for the evening. “And keep this on. I want to fuck you while you’re wearing nothing else.”

#camren shipper #camren fanfiction #camren #lauren jauregui #lauren jauregay #camila cabello #camila and lauren #lauren and camila #fanfic #gip #camren gip #Laurengip #g!p #fifth harmony #Jauregui fire

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otherworldly-realms · 4 years ago

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HPHM Christmas Headcanons Pt. 1/2

Making hot cocoa bombs with Penny in the Potions Classroom on Christmas Eve.

“Penny, I don’t have to ask but I’m going to anyway. Why are we in Potions instead of the Kitchens?”

Penny waves you away, eyes twinkling with unrestrained Christmas joy. “It’s about the ambience, the atmosphere! Don’t you feel the Christmas Magic?”

You chuckle lightly, eyeing the murky potion bottles stacked on the shelves around you and the Lionfish Spines and whatnots tucked in the dark corner. “Oh yes. I feel it so much here… It’s absolutely bursting with Christmas energy, isn’t it?”

The both of you had made enough for all your friends, flavours and hidden toppings ranging from peppermint to candied chilies. You packed a Dungbomb for Tulip and Tonks each alongside the real cocoa bombs. You figured you’d get a good laugh early in the morning.

“Don’t you think this is a little too much?” You point at your little note that says, “To Rowan. For always knowing what to say, especially when you don’t have to say anything at all. Merry Christmas, from MC and Penny.” You look over at Penny expertly packaging them into small tins.

“Oh come on now, we agreed to be sweet and sappy this year-” You cut her off, “I did not agree to that.” She pats your cheek lightly, perhaps as a way to calm you down, “A small handwritten note is both of those things.” Penny winks at you as she says this before tying a neat bow around the tin. It’s perfect. “There, this one is for Merula. What did you write for her?”

You grin slyly before flourishing your note dramatically, “To Merula, the Most Powerful Witch at Hogwarts. May you live on your dream as it will not be your reality anytime soon or ever. Merry Christmas, from MC and Penny.”

“MC! Get rid of that!” Penny slaps your arm lightly and you roll your eyes. “I jest, Penny. I won’t actually say that. If I did, it would be to her face.”

She frowns, crossing her arms around her chest and you huff, lighting the note on fire. “I jest, again.”

Staying up late with Rowan reading Muggle Christmas stories by the fire in the common room.

“A Kidnapped Santa Claus... sounds delightful.” Rowan’s voice is heavy with sleep, they’re barely, just barely awake, having spent the earlier evening with you alone, engaged in a friendly yet very competitive snowball battle. You were victorious of course, showing Rowan mercy in the name of, as Rowan had put it, being on the nice list. You couldn’t care less if it was the nice list or not, but the poor thing looked like Mrs. Norris during a bath.

Rowan rubs their eyes forcefully when they catch themselves dozing off, readjusting their glasses now and again. You don’t say anything as they continue to read to you, hitting all the right notes and accents, Rowan’s delivery is nothing short of amazing.

“In spite of the second rebuff, the Daemon of Hatred thought he would try to influence Santa Claus. So the next day he entered the busy workshop and said: "Good morning, Santa! I have bad news for you."

"Then run away, like a good fellow," answered Santa Claus. "Bad news is something that should be kept secret and never told."

"You cannot escape this, however," declared the Daemon; "for in the world are a good many who do not believe in Santa Claus, and these you are bound to hate bitterly, since they have so wronged you."

“Even Nicholas had it hard…” You whisper and Rowan hums before continuing, the sounds of the crackling fire, the soft purr of your pet cuddled in your lap and the flip of the next page has you sinking deeper into the blankets. It faintly reminds you of a lost memory, one you keep locked away.

It reminds you of late snowy night-ins with Jacob in the winter, huddled by the fire and wrapped in heavy blankets. Jacob makes sure to never let your mug stay cold or empty, always refilling it to the brim of any hot beverage. Chili cocoa with peppermint was your favourite, and Jacob delivered. You both read a story together to each other every night, it didn’t matter what it was, from how the skies were formed to what spirits listened to your dreams at night or even a simple Muggle story. What mattered to the both of you, was that you made time for each other and Jacob made sure that he was the last person on your mind when you drift off to sleep, because that’s what older brothers do, right? They protect you if they could, if they can... but nightmares back then were nothing compared to the ones you have now.

“MC?” You blink twice before humming in response and Rowan nudges you in the shoulder. “What is it? Too sleepy?” Rowan nods guiltily and you smile softly at them, before nodding. “Well yes, that and we ran out of tea a pretty long time ago.”

“Oh.” You stare at the insides of your tea cup and the dried leaves at the bottom, sighing wistfully. “Well, let’s go back to bed then. I’ll race you.”

Ugly Sweater Competition with Bill and Charlie.

Tucked in a secluded corner of the library by the window, the three of you watch as the snow gently floats and falls, Hogwarts had never looked more magical, you thought. Bill is the first to break the comfortable silence, he takes note of his sweater, well, your sweater now.

“You never wear that.” He says it nonchalantly but Charlie frowns at his brother and you follow suit. “What are you going on about, of course I do.” Bill shrugs but you can tell it bothers him, so you do whatever a normal person would do: you tease him.

“Oh William, I just can’t possibly keep it in me anymore. This sweater is absolutely horrendous. I can’t be seen wearing this atrocity.” Bill gasps at this and Charlie laughs quietly, eyeing for Madam Pince around the corner and you continue at a whisper. “But alas, it was a gift. I tend to cherish things of a sentimental value, for I have a heart still, no matter how cold.”

Bill rolls his eyes good-naturedly at you and you shrug, falling dramatically onto his shoulder, clutching at your chest. “Why William, won't you gift me another? Or perhaps, Charles my seemingly partner-in-crime that does not involve dragons, won’t you?” You swing your legs up to rest on Charlie’s lap and he grins.

“Dragon sweaters? Or normal sweaters, like a boring person?” Charlie pulls out a piece of parchment and immediately begins to start doodling. “Are those ugly sweater ideas? Will you knit one for me?” You ask and Charlie pats your leg in return, “Only if they’re dragons.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t want anything else on my soon-to-be favourite sweater.” Bill sighs at the sight of both of you and you poke his ribs, “Are you going to get into this dragon action or not? We can even make it into a competition.” Bill pulls at a loose thread on your sweater, “You make everything a competition, MC.” You swat his hand away, confident in making sure the sweater lasts for a lifetime. “That is completely untrue, but ugly sweaters are a different kind of competition. No one really loses and we have fun. More sweaters the better.” Charlie hums in affirmation, voicing out his opinion without saying much. You find him biting his tongue in concentration, and you sneak a glance at his parchment. He’s talented, alright.

You whisper to Bill, motioning him to lean down and he raises his eyebrows slightly but follows through. “I actually knitted him a dragon sweater already. Don’t tell him that though. I just wanted to see if my design could stand a chance against whatever he’s got going on over there.”

“You know he’ll love anything you give him. Ugly sweater or not.” Bill smiles warmly as Charlie hums out a tune you don’t recognize. You let a few a moments pass by, watching the snow fall again, moving your legs against Charlie just slightly so it doesn’t fall asleep nor does it bother him. Bill’s breathing beside you is even, relaxed, welcoming and the warmth radiating from him rivals that of a hearth.

“Bill?” He hums, motioning you to continue, “You know I wear this all the time, right? So much so that I’m afraid I’ll wear it out too soon.” Bill turns slightly to face you, a soft smile playing at the corner of his lips.

You shrug, like it’s no big deal. “It gets chilly in the dorms. They’re my pyjamas but you’ll see more of them now it’s winter again.”

“And here I thought it was because you hated being seen in them.” He laughs, a little nervously at first but eases when you pat his hand.

“It definitely won’t win the ugly sweater competition, that's for sure.”

#harry potter hogwarts mystery #hogwarts mystery #harry potter #hphm #hogwarts mystery headcanons #harry potter headcanons #penny haywood #rowan khanna #bill weasley #charlie weasley #hphm jacob #hphm mc #christmas headcanons #headcanons #merry christmas #christmas 2020

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dreamescapeswriting · 4 years ago

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BTS Reaction | Studying Together [Request]

A/N: I made this a college AU I hope this is okay for you love!

Seokjin:

"Alexa play my Lofi playlist," Jin heard you call out as he walked into your dorm room, he was carrying drinks in one hand and a bag in the other. He was late for your study session together and he felt awful so he stopped by to get food and drinks to make it up to you.

"You're late," You called out once you heard the floorboards creaking to let you know he was there, he sighed holding up the food and drinks as a peace sign and you smiled at him,

"You're lucky I'm so forgiving." You joked getting up from the table to take the coffee he was holding out for you, you sipped on it despite his warning about it being hot.

"I organised everything," You said as you pointed at the table in your kitchen, it was covered in pieces of paper, folders and flashcards all ready for you both to read from and quiz each other on. He should have been used to this after dating you for the last two years of your college lives but it was still surprising to him to see you have so many notes on one subject.

"It's one history exam-" He stopped talking once he saw the glare he was getting from you, he slipped out of his jacket and went to hang it up. You'd been in the same class together which was how you met and started dating for so long and you were going to pass this class if it was the last thing you ever did.

"I'm going to start on the tudor times and then move on from there, pick whatever you want." He stared at you as you lifted up a giant folder and began flicking through it until you got to the section that you needed. It was going to be a long day and night but as long as you were there to study with him he didn't mind at all.

Yoongi:

You thought that the final exam you and Yoongi would be something practical but instead, you were both taking a written exam while submitting a project together.

"This is stupid, why did it have to be a written exam." He groaned next to you, you were sitting in the library together huddled over a couple of textbooks wondering what could possibly be covered on a written exam instead of something you could physically create and show your talent.

"I know Yoongi, but once it's done it's done and it only counts as 20% to the final." You tried to reassure him but he was far too nervous about all of this for it to be blown off so simple as it not being too much credit.

"Look, I'll help you study and then when you pass you can buy me dinner to thank me." He chuckled as you laid your hand on his thigh as a sign of support. You believed he could pass this if he just put his mind to it. He was sure he couldn't do this but he was willing to give it a try if you were going to be this supportive of him, he'd always expressed his disgust for exams like this which was why he liked the music course so much. It was more projects than handwritten work - except for lyrics.

"I won't let you fail." You teased him kissing his cheek as you got up from the table, you were going to be there for a while so you were going to go on the hunt for food and drink to keep you both stable until you could convince Yoongi to go and get a decent meal with you.

Hoseok:

"Hobi I can't." You were sweating and panting against the cold mirror, your dance exam was coming up in less than four days and you still hadn't nailed the dance move you were struggling the most with. It was a lift - much like the one in the infamous movie everyone loved so much. Hoseok had to lift you into the air by your waist before bringing you back down into his arms.

"We can't replace the move," He told you as he restarted the song for what felt like the thousand times that day, you weren't going to be able to pass this final exam without it and you both knew that.

"Can I just have two minutes?" He watched as you slid down the mirror and sat on the floor, you felt defeated. You'd spent weeks trying to do the move, going around to different places to practice it. You could do the lift in the water, a kids ball pit and even in a field of grass but doing it somewhere like here, somewhere you could get hurt was bugging you out.

"Do you trust me?" He questioned wiping sweat from his head on the back of his hand, you knew he was getting frustrated with you since you were just as equally frustrated with yourself.

"With my life but-"

"Is it the nerves?" You nodded, the thought about doing it in front of everyone was the part throwing you off - that and the thought of smashing your face against the hard dance floor.

"So imagine they're not there when we do it and trust me enough to know I won't let you fall." He breathed wanting you to trust him as you did in your relationship.

"From the top." You whispered getting up from the floor and getting ready to nail the dance.

Namjoon:

Namjoon was giving you a hard stare as you stuttered over your words for the seventh time since you started talking, you groaned laying your head down on the desk in front of you.

"You can't look at me like that, it makes me anxious." You snapped at him, you were both getting annoyed with the upcoming exam. While Namjoon had his speech planned and ready you were still struggling to get through talking it through with him nevermind getting it up in front of a class full of students and presenting it.

"Why are speaking exams a thing? They're stupid." You grumbled looking at the flashcards, around the edges were small words of encouragement from Namjoon but they weren't helping you.

"I might fail it on purpose-"

"No, come on. How many times have I told you that you can do this?" You sighed as he came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist trying to comfort you in any way that he could but it wasn't helping you.

"Maybe I'm just not meant to pass this speaking exam." He sighed at how you were trying to discourage yourself from it but he wasn't going to let you give up so easily.

"You can normally do this in front of me, why is it hard tonight?" You sighed looking over at his friends who were all sitting on the other sofa, he'd brought them along to try and help you more.

"So just pretend they're not here, look at me and no one else. We'll do the same in the exam." He promised you kissing you on the cheek and returning to where he had been sitting before, he wasn't going to let you give up on yourself so easily.

Jimin

It was Jimin's idea to have a study date at the library but it looked like he'd decided to stand you up, you began sliding your textbook back into your bag when the door burst open and he walked into the room carrying textbooks, notebooks and what looked like coffee on top of everything he was carrying.

"Where have you been?" You giggled taking the coffees from him and placing them onto the desk beside you, he held up some new psychology textbooks and smiled.

"I waited outside all night for these, they're going to help us on the exam and then the stationary shop next door was having a sale on highlights and I know these are your favourite." He said sliding a packet of highlighters in front of you, you had a superstition that if you used these highlighters whenever you were studying you were sure to pass. He knew that since you freaked out the last time one ran out on you and you called him at 3 in the morning crying about no shops being open, so drove to your dorm room to make sure you went to sleep instead of cramming for a practice exam.

"Jimin you didn't have-"

"Yes I did, I also got your study drink and some new post-it notes for us because I know how much you love post-it notes." He kissed your lips softly and sat you down in front of him so he could show you properly everything he bought.

Taehyung:

Taehyung was quizzing you on the colour wheel while you sat on the sofa trying to quiz him on all the famous painters that were bound to be on the final Art History exam. You'd both met on your first day of the art class became best friends until it eventually led to years of you dating and now it was the final year. You were still together and as strong as ever as you tried to cram for final exams together and keep each other from going insane.

"Next chapter is your favourite." You laughed flicking over to the next page of the art history textbook and smiling as you saw all of your favourite paintings. He came over and dropped onto the floor beside you, reciting his plan to take you to Amsterdam and visit the Van Gough museum that was there. It had been his plan to take you to every art museum in the world but Amsterdam was the realistic goal for now. You were both planning on going as a way of celebrating for when you passed the final exams together.

"I think we've got it down." He mumbled flicking over the page, you had everything down. You both had a huge passion for the course and knew everything there was to know about it, the final exam was going to be simple but the final project was painting a huge portrait of yourself in any art style you had learnt over the last few years. Now all that was left was making sure you had the style down before you went into the exam.

Jungkook:

You stared at your boyfriend who was sitting carelessly in your dorm bedroom, you were trying to study from a book while he sat throwing a ball to the wall and back into his hand.

"You could at least act like you're studying to make me feel better." You grumbled taking a highlighter from your pencil case and highlighting yet another fact your brain seemed to be neglecting to take in.

"It's not my fault I soak up everything we learn like a sponge." You glared at him from your bed and went back to the criminology book you were trying to remember but nothing seemed to be staying inside of your head.

"You need to take a break." He whispered watching as you stressed about not being able to get anything to stay in your head.

"I can't. Not all of us can get away without studying Jungkook." You snapped, you didn't want to snap at him but you were stressed out about everything and the smallest thing seemed to make you snap lately.

"I'm serious," He closed the book and put it on your desk, he got onto the bed behind you and began rubbing your shoulders.

"Staring at the same page and expecting different results each time isn't going to work. You need to just take a minute, okay?" You nodded closing your eyes as he continued rubbing your shoulders to try and help you unwind. He chuckled as you let out a small moan about how nice it felt.

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