#AND SWEET POTATOES! i hate sweet potatoes and i really want to change that about myself

[paidinbrains]

there needs to be conversion camps but for making yourself like foods you don’t like

[cameronspecial]

Could you make a one shot where the reader grew up with a very loving family (especially her dad) and rafe surprises her with gifts, activities and acts of service that she loves. She gets confused and asks him what’s with the stuff. He says that he’s recently been spending lots of time with her parents and always asks them what reader likes to show that he can meet the bar her dad has set. (And maybe slip in something on how he’ll set his bar with their future daughters and their boyfriends 😈🥹). I always look forward to reading ur work and I just wanted to finally ask cuz you write everyone’s requests so well!!

Setting The Standards

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warnings: N/A

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 0.6K

Masterlist

Y/N loves that Rafe likes to spend time with her parents without her. She finds it sweet that he takes time out of his day to get to know the other people she loves and thinks it is good for him to be around a family that actually treats him with love and attention. Every time Rafe visits her parents, she notices he gives her a gift and does one more chore around the house the way she likes it. A part of her feels like he is trying to condition her, but it wouldn’t really make sense because he is the one doing the visiting. 

One day, she decides to ask him about it. Her parents spent the day with Rafe at her and his shared house while she was at work. They had to leave before she got home because they had to get to her brother’s house to babysit her niece. She places her purse on the side table and pads to the living room. She isn’t surprised to find a box wrapped in flower-patterned wrapping paper and a bow. She approaches it with a smile, tearing into it as soon as she is within arms reach of it. Her instinct to wait for Rafe goes out the window. She didn’t expect to find ketchup chips in the box. Her parents must have told him about how she became obsessed with the snack when they vacationed in Canada a few years ago. Her hands eagerly reach for the bag and pull it open, shoving the red potato slices into her mouth. She moans at the sweet taste that reaches her taste buds. Rafe enters the room with a chuckle, “I see you like the snack I got you.” His feet take him behind her and he reaches into the bag to pop a chip into his mouth. She stares up at him with a smile. “I did. Thank you. What were you doing?”

“I was switching out your winter clothes with your summer ones. The weather is getting warmer so it’s time for flower patterns and shorts, Bumblebee.” He kisses her cheek with his arms around her waist. Butterfly erupts in her stomach. She hates changing between her closets. It takes forever and is so tedious.

“Aww, thank you, Baby. It means a lot that you do all this for me.” She rests her hands on his and they sway for a little until she gets the courage to ask what she has been wanting to ask. “So… I have noticed that whenever you are with my parents, I get gifts and your acts of service are more tailored towards me. I was wondering why.” 

They freeze and he caresses her forearms. “One reason why I love spending time with your parents is that I get to learn small stuff about you that you may not see as important to me. It helps me make you happy and that’s my mission in life.” 

She awws and kisses his cheek, “That’s so sweet, Baby. I wish I could do those things for you.” He brings his hand up to her cheek as a reassurance. “You may not know it, but just being here for me is enough, Bumblebee. Plus, how am I supposed to show our daughter how she should be treated if I don’t lead by example? Because both of you are meant to be treated like queens. I’m just setting the standards.” A heat spreads over her cheeks at the mention of their possible future. It solidifies her belief that he will make a great father one day. “You are going to set the standards so high for her that she will recognize that she only deserves to be married to a king,” Y/N adds. “Thank you for everything that you do for me.”

Taglist: @winterrrnight @loves0phelia @thelomlisrafecameron @wickedlovely121 @thepatriarchykeychain @drewsmusee @starkowswife @maybankslover @forstarkey @loving-and-dreaming @magicalyoura @rubixgsworld

[eggluverz]

halloween with the hsr boys

pairing: dan heng; jing yuan; blade x reader

sof's note: guess who is in a halloweeny mood :> meee! and i'm sure a lot of y'all are as well so let's bask in these autumn vibes together LOL special shoutout to the anon who suggested dan heng would watch like 15 vids before he carves a pumpkin fhsjkghdf that is so accurate <3 pls enjoy and happy fall!!

dan heng

not big on the spooky parts of halloween, but he loves getting in the halloween/autumn spirit by watching twitches and halloween town with you

you host a pumpkin carving contest on halloween eve between the two of you and dan heng 100% takes it seriously

days of prep before the big night, hours of youtube videos in his history… he even reads up on the origins of pumpkin carving—just to be fully immersed and prepared

when the time comes, dan heng has his tools lined up in the most efficient order as he readies himself to make his design

he, of course, wanted to carve a tree with maple leaves falling in the night sky

you stare at his template with wide eyes, quickly scrapping your happy face idea to think of something more creative…

noticing this, dan heng chuckles in amusement. “you don’t have to change your design to match mine”

you shake your head. “and risk losing the competition? no way”

“then may the best carver win”

when the two of you are done, you take a photo and send to your friends to vote

it was a close call, but dan heng ends up winning by two votes

“maybe i should’ve joined your pumpkin carving research…” you pout, staring between your finished product and his

“there’s always next year,” dan heng soothes, giving you a hug. “besides, you’re always the winner in my eyes.”

jing yuan

he would make all the pies for you

pumpkin pie, pecan pie, apple pie, sweet potato pie, apple crumble pie…you name it 

he doesn’t even know how to make pie he just googled a bunch of recipes and winged it

you think something tastes off but you try to encourage him anyway 

of course, jing yuan sees right through it

“it‘s not that i don’t like your baking, i really do, but i may have some suggestions for the future…”

“there is no need to sugarcoat your distaste, y/n,” he says with a laugh. “we can redo them together.”

the pies turn out even better the next time

the two of you end up picking up pie making as your fall-time hobby this year and bake pie for all your friends

he tries to make a mimi-safe pie as well

mimi hates it (pumpkin spice is not good on the lion’s tongue) 

but you think the effort is cute :> 

he ends halloween night off by sharing a yummy slice of apple crumble pie with whipped cream on top with you

“so sweet!” you state happily as he feeds you the first bite. 

jing yuan leans forward and smiles. “not as sweet as you” 

blade

goes all in for halloween

is dead instead most of the year, comes to life for the halloween spirit

he likes to decorate the house with you, even making a mini “haunted maze” in the driveway for the trick-or-treaters

accidentally makes a kid cry in it…

really, he just went in the maze to do a quick maintenance check, but he looked so menacing in his costume that a kid saw him and started crying 

blade is too confused about what happened to feel bad 

you give the kid extra candy and apologize to their parents while stifling a laugh at blade’s blank expression

“i didn’t even say ‘boo’,” he murmurs curiously.

you just pat him on the head and give him a kiss on the cheek

after the trick-or-treat shenanigans, you and blade relax and unwind on the comfort of your couch

his definition of unwinding on halloween is watching old horror movies

[or, if you cannot handle horror like me: he watches the barbie movies with you to help you take your mind off the halloween scares and go to sleep :3]

you cuddle him as you doze off while eating leftover halloween candy 

blade carries you to bed and tucks you in for the night bc you deserve a good night’s rest <3

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I asked my mom to stop keto-fying recipes?

this is either gonna be a complete non-issue or get people mad at me, i can tell lmao. unfortunately this has been bugging me for weeks. :D

To be clear, I'm almost 25, but I and my adult/teenage siblings still live with my parents bc the economy is ass. Also, Mom hasn't been doing it to every recipe…yet…but the ones she has changed have been recipes where a carbohydrate is an important part of the main meal.

For instance, replacing the potatos in a beef-carrot-potato stew with a rutabaga.

Mom's been on a modified keto diet for a while now, and while Dad is the only one intentionally doing it with her, the rest of us are aware of her diet and are generally chill about it. For a while, we would have nights where the parents would have Thing A, which was diet-compliant, and the rest of us would have Thing B, which was not. Those of us who are not dieting are all old enough to make things for ourselves, by the way, and that's usually what happens. For most of these "split meals," one parent usually doesn't wind up cooking two meals, one of which they can't even eat.

The stew is usually a "split" meal that gets made by one person who does most of the prep just by virtue of knowing the recipe, then one person who peels and chops the potatoes, and then one who wrangles the peeling and chopping of the rutabaga. The rutabaga then gets combined with a proportionate amount of The Rest, and those of us who aren't dieting are welcome to taste-test it. I've tried it, and the rutabaga's okay, I guess, but quite a bit too sweet and non-safe-food-y for me in the context of the stew, especially when I'm so used to potatoes. Wrangling the rutabaga is a bit more fun than eating it.

…except the most recent time we had the stew, Mom and Dad made an executive decision and just made a full-family pot of rutabaga stew without really seeing if everyone else was on board with it. Two of my siblings seemed fine with it, one is an enigma on a good day so I don't even know how they felt about it, and I hated it. I didn't get the chance to say so, however, between everyone else complimenting the altered stew and the conversation quickly switching to something else.

Unfortunately, our parents have decided that we will be making the stew with rutabagas only going forward.

Not "the family has decided."

The parents have decided. For adults and a teenager. Not for little kids.

Since then, in other conversations where recipes come up, such as conversations about the teenager's recent baking kick, Mom has been mentioning keto versions of whatever's being talked about in the nonspecific way that I'm pretty sure is her hinting/telling us that we should make it. In the context of teen baking, a keto chocolate cake, or keto cookies.

Look, I'm not here to debate the worth of a diet or lack thereof. I have plenty of those opinions and I'm not going to change them or let them distract from the core of the matter: when any of us are making food for the others, why are we letting two people's diets dictate what the rest of us should eat? If we're making something specifically to align with the keto diet, then that's a parent snack/meal. If we're not, it's a "kids" snack/meal. It should be as simple as that. Why make a full-family-sized meal if it's going to be pushing low/no carbs onto people who, historically, have not wanted to or needed to drop carbs? (It's me, I'm people. I know, I'm not really subtle, am I?)

I'm considering, the next time the stew comes up as a dinner plan, asking what a single-sized portion of the potatoes would be and just making it for myself. Given I have the spoons to do so that night, anyway. However, I really don't want to insult Mom's family recipe (which…she's already altered…and I would be reverting to its previous state…) or her cooking skills (which haven't lessened, even if I personally think her ingredient choices are a bit lacking lately).

What are these acronyms?

[lovelyhan]

— meet cute of the century (a teaser) ⟢

the last thing you expected when you volunteered at your city’s local animal shelter is to meet the hottest, clumsiest cat person in the world. now if only he’d just adopt one of them so you’d stop ogling him every time he drops by.

★ FEATURING; wonwoo x reader

★ WORD COUNT; 1.7k words

★ TAGS; meet cute, strangers to lovers, pining, some angst, smut (though this teaser is completely sfw!)

★ TAGS; mentions of accidents but it's not given much detail

★ NOTES; i'm back with my low quality wonwoo bf pics for my teaser headers hehe i am soooo excited to write the rest for this! honestly didn't think the teaser would end up this long but here we are :3c little heads up that some parts of this teaser could change in the full story, but nothing major plot-wise will be taken out. hope you like it!

this is part of the doting on you! series.

There are a handful of things that a college student can do with their free time. Studying, hanging out with friends, and maybe even picking up a hobby of sorts. You, on the other hand, use up all the hours you’re not spending on your undergrad thesis or sleeping the day away at an animal shelter just a few minutes away from your apartment. 

Your friends constantly wonder how you’re still able to maintain a remarkable GPA with a part-time job that’s starting to look full-time, but you just laugh their questions off for the most part—saying that other people have got it worse than you, but can still perform leagues better academically. 

You also tell them that most of your motivation comes from all the unadopted animals from the shelter. You started as a volunteer just to kill time on weekends when you’re free, but even if you knew better than to get attached to all those adorable faces, you eventually found yourself on the part-time employee roster anyways. 

Now you’re rushing to finish your degree so you can get a neat sugar mommy job that’ll let you afford to adopt everyone that’s been stuck in the shelter for nearly a year or more.

Okay, maybe not everyone because you’re no fool with a savior complex. But just enough to give a few furry friends a new home, right?

“Don’t look now,” your coworker, Mari whispers conspiratorially while you’re in the middle of snacking in the break room, “but that cutie you’ve been crushing on just walked inside. He’s checking out the cats out in the playroom as usual.”

Right. Apart from your altruistic dream of adopting as many animals as your financial capabilities can allow, there’s another reason you’re always looking forward to your shifts at the shelter. A reason that you’re a bit too embarrassed to let your friends know about.

You nearly choke on a potato chip when Mari breaks the news and she immediately laughs in your face. Glaring at her, you compose yourself with a long gulp of water before saying, “I do not have a crush on him.”

“Sure,” she plays along. “If you consider making googly eyes at the guy every time he drops by as ‘not having a crush on him’, then I’ll concur.” 

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t, sweetheart. Now get out there and sweet talk him into take one of the kittens home! Pretty sure he wants one if he’s been showing up as much as he did for the last two months.” 

While you would’ve argued that the so-called cutie you’ve been crushing on could just like seeing the cats play around in his free time, you don’t really have much energy to play mental gymnastics with Mari. You’ve had a long day of revisions and other nonsense materials you have to submit for your majors, so you’ll let this one slide.

Your workplace is as bleak as every other shelter you’ve seen a few times in your life. Gray walls, concrete floors, and steel cages stacked on top of each other. It looks more like a prison than anything, really, but it’s the staff and those kind-hearted souls who rehome animals that have long been abandoned that give the entire place some life.

While Mister Cutie That You’ve Been Quote-Unquote Crushing On doesn’t exactly fall into either of those categories, you like to think he still leaves the building just a touch colorful once he walks out of the front door. 

Speaking of color, he’s wearing a loose, dark green shirt that falls just below his elbows. Cutie—as you’ve deigned to call him not because you think he’s cute but because you’re yet to get his name—has one palm flattened across the viewing glass of the playroom. He’s wearing his usual black face mask today, but from the way his eyes glint behind his glasses, you’re just going to assume he’s having a good time just by watching the cats frolic inside.

“You’re here pretty late,” you state nonchalantly before standing a few feet away from him. 

“Is that so strange?” he murmurs with a chuckle, surprisingly not startled with your sudden entrance before glancing your way. “I always show up here at this hour, don’t I?”

God. No matter how many times you hear his voice, you just can’t get over how deep it is. But before any of your thoughts could show on your face, you get talking.

“True. You’ve sparked a debate among the volunteers about your line of work, actually.” Not exactly. You’re not sure if any of the volunteers have even seen this guy, since they mostly work day shifts. “Anyway, are you just here to check ‘em out or am I finally going to hand you the adoption papers?”

His eyes crinkle a bit before he shifts his gaze towards the playroom again. Most of the older cats have already been put back in their respective cages. All that’s left inside are the kittens with way too much energy to spare. The director, A.K.A., your boss, believes that it’s best to tire them out first before settling them into individual enclosures for the night. Keeps the place nice and quiet for the evening shift fellows like yourself.

“Not yet, sadly,” Cutie says with a sigh before pointing at one of the kittens huddled up in a corner. “That one’s new, isn’t it? I don’t think I’ve seen him around before.” 

“Her,” you correct. “Her name’s Hani. She’s a stray that someone from the university I’m attending brought in last week. It was pretty ugly, actually. Poor thing got into an accident and was bleeding everywhere. Good thing our usual vet was paying a visit when they came here.”

“Oh? That’s a relief then. No wonder she’s got a little limp every time she walks around,” he observes with a saddened tone. “But I digress. You mentioned you were attending university?”

…Okay, why’d the topic of interest suddenly shift to you? 

But since it’s a harmless enough question, you reply with, “Yeah. The one that’s just a few blocks away. It’s kinda why the person who found Hani brought her here instead of a vet clinic. The nearest one’s like half an hour away.”

“Good call, good call.” He nods with a look of understanding. “I hope someone comes and adopts her. She deserves all the love she can get. Well, everyone here does of course.” 

You flash him a conniving smile, raising your brows a few times. “You could give that to her.”

Cutie shakes his head with another low-pitched laugh. “As much as I’d love to, my…living conditions won’t be suitable for her at all. Or any of the other animals for the matter.”

“Hm?” You stare at him curiously. “Your landlord doesn’t allow pets or something?”

“Mmm… Not exactly.”

The conversation pretty much ends there. Cutie excuses himself—saying that someone is waiting for him at home. You don’t know why your heart deflates a little at the very real possibility that he has a significant other. Then again, if you’re this whipped when you haven’t even seen his face, you could only imagine how easy it would be for him to settle down with someone who has.

Either way, it’s none of your business. And correction: you’re not whipped. Just…hyper aware of his presence every time he stops by.

Despite the fact that you’re dead-set on filing away this strange fascination you have for the guy, however…

“Wait!”

Cutie turns around to face you with an inquisitive look. “Yes?”

You swallow thickly, deciding to just bite the bullet before your nerves get the best of you. “What’s your name? I can’t keep calling you Cu—I mean, Glasses Guy in my head whenever you pay us a visit.”

He blinks for a few seconds, obviously nonplussed by your forwardness but you don’t think your pride can take it anymore if you had to refer to him as—

“You can call me Woo,” he says warmly and you can almost see the smile that stretches behind that black face mask.

Shit. Did your heart just stutter?

“Mister Woo—”

“Just Woo is fine.”

“Okay, Woo,” you start, kind of liking the way that something that’s obviously a nickname rolls off the tongue, “just let me know if you ever want to take Hani home. We’re open twenty four-seven, as you already know.”

He nods. “Sure thing. Is it okay if I can get your number for that?”

Now you have to fight the urge to scowl at him after he’s been so nice to you all night—and every other night he’s dropped by. 

This guy isn’t flirting with you. He said it himself—someone’s waiting for him at home! Plus, he’s expressed consistent interest in adopting a kitten for himself a handful of times before. Maybe he just connected with Hani on a level that’s above the others. Enough to ask for your number since the possibility of him bringing one of these angels home is becoming more and more real. 

Yeah, that’s definitely the reason!

So you give it to him—hastily scrawled behind an old flier gathering dust in one of the drawers on the front desk. It’s way too big to write just yours and the shelter’s contact details on, but the other calling cards are nowhere in sight. You’ll have to ask Mari if she’s seen them once—

“Thanks. I’ll keep in touch,” Woo tells you while folding the sheet of paper into a sleek black Louis Vuitton wallet.

Wait a minute.

Before you can even seriously ponder about what job he’s got to be able to afford that, Woo is already out of the door—heading into the evening streets without once looking back. 

“Gosh, I swear that guy’s an idol in disguise or something.”

That’s the first thing that Mari tells you when you find her doing a few rounds among the sleeping dogs in the far back. You haven’t even spoken a single word about your most recent exchange. 

“What makes you think that?” 

“He just exudes idol vibes, y’know? Shows up here when the place is deserted. Always acts subtle and inconspicuous. Oh and not to mention how hot he looks even with a face mask on! He could be that one idol your little sister is crazy about.” 

You roll your eyes at her odd ways of deduction. “Mari, I’ve seen enough of Haewon’s Mingyu merch to last a lifetime and Woo definitely does not look like him.”

“Oh?” Your coworker perks up with a mischievous smile. “You finally got his name, huh?”

God. This is going to be a long shift.

want to be included in the taglist? send me an ask!

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Prompt idea: Holiday celebration get horrendously fucked (birthday, Christmas, Halloween, Passover, doesn’t matter really, dealers choice) and one of them has to comfort the other and help them through a meltdown over their favorite day getting fucked up

Happy birthday and hopefully your day isn’t as bad as you would make Ed and Stede’s!

I wasn't able to get this one edited and posted on my birthday, but it's still a precious prompt and I loved writing for it!! Here's the story of The Time That Stede Fucked Up Passover.

--

"The eleventh plague," Stede said glumly as he watched Ed open a kitchen window to air out some of the smoke, "easily misread cooking directions."

"Well, babe," Ed said over his shoulder, "I'm not sure why you thought that the oven needed to be set to 450 for brisket -"

"I misread the package, Ed," Stede snapped, trying to hide the wobble in his voice.

"Aww, no, that came out wrong." Ed, who had been poking at the smoking, thoroughly blackened brisket sitting on the stovetop to salvage for any edible parts, held out a hand for Stede to take.

Stede pretended he didn't see, looking down at his lap.

It was Stede's first Passover with Ed, and he knew it was a big deal. Ed's mama was coming over for the seder, and Stede had been trying so fucking hard to get it all right. Passover was Ed's favorite holiday! He couldn't fuck it up!

So he did all his research. He practiced reading the haggadah, the text read at the seder - even though Ed would be doing most of the reading, he wanted to be able to pronounce the prayers without asking for help and mark spots where he could raise interesting discussion or questions and (hopefully) impress Ed's mom. He'd figured out voices to use for all of Ed's plague-themed finger puppets to add a bit of levity, triple-checked what they needed for the seder plate, and he'd stressed over making sure dinner was perfect.

When the local synagogue had released sign-ups for pre-made brisket packs, of course he'd signed them up. He wasn't the greatest cook, and neither was Ed, so he figured that having the main course squared away would take a load off his mind and allow him to focus on getting the table set and ready while Ed prepared the roasted sweet potatoes, matzo ball soup, and an extra-big helping of charoset.

And now he'd fucked up his one contribution to dinner, and he hadn't even gotten the table ready, and he'd forgotten to put the wine in the fridge to chill, all because he couldn't even read the package -

"Stede, babe, you need to breathe."

Stede jerked his eyes open. He didn't even remember closing them, but now Ed was kneeling in front of him at the table. He put a gentle, calming hand on Stede's thigh, looking up at him with a small smile.

"I'm so, so sorry, Ed," Stede sighed, scrubbing at his eyes before his tears could fall. "I've ruined everything - I'm the worst boyfriend ever."

"Hey, don't talk about my boyfriend that way," Ed pretended to grumble. "You just misread the instructions. Could've happened to anyone, and you've never made brisket before, have you?"

"No," Stede admitted.

"There ya go," Ed said easily. "You do need to wear your reading glasses more often, though. Not even just saying that because I think they're hot."

"Ed," Stede snorted. "Was any of it edible?"

"Stede," Ed said solemnly, "that thing is burnt to a sizzle. It's basically a rock. It's an ex-brisket."

"Great," Stede sighed. "Your mom's going to hate me."

"She's gonna love you," Ed promised. "Wanna know how I know?"

Stede just pursed his lips.

"Because you tried," Ed said. "You tried so fucking hard."

"That doesn't change the fact that our main course is burnt beyond recognition, Ed."

"C'mon, man, get it straight." Ed rubbed a soothing little circle over Stede's kneecap. "If you think my mama is showing up here without more food than any of us can eat, you're in for a surprise."

Well. That made it a bit better.

"I'm just sorry," Stede said, his shoulders hunching inward with his guilt. "I wanted this to be the best Passover you've ever had -"

"It will be," Ed said, immediately. "Because you're here. And I love you."

"I love you, too." Stede cupped Ed's cheek in his hand, his heart swelling at the way Ed tilted his face into the contact. "Promise you're not mad?"

"Not a bit," Ed said.

Stede leaned in to kiss him, but they pulled apart when they heard a car pull into the driveway.

"The eleventh plague," Ed said cheekily, giving Stede a quick kiss on his way up. "Meeting your boyfriend's mom."

Stede shivered.

"C'mon, babe, she'll love you!" One last kiss, and Ed darted out to meet his mama before she had a chance to start trying to carry things in herself.

Stede took a deep breath, made sure no one could see him for just long enough to flip off the stupid brisket on the stove, and then he ran out to join them.

[lxvemaze]

彡why can't i hate you?

pairing' young k x reader

genre' angst

warnings' good relationship gone bad, reminiscing about past relationship, reader is still in love with younghyun, flashbacks written in italics, based off of "i loved you" by day6

wc' 1.6k

a/n' i listened to "i loved you" at least forty times back-to-back yesterday, so i decided to write a fic about my bias based on the lyrics 🙏 is anyone gonna read this? ofc not. am i still gonna post it? yes ofc

You hated him. God, you hated him. If your mother had heard you say that, she would’ve scoffed and told you, “Hate is a strong word.” But you thought it wasn’t strong enough. Scrolling through the Google drive he had sent you on your last anniversary that was filled with all the old pictures and videos he'd taken of the two of you on his stupid vintage film camera, you could only think of all the things about him that you hated. You hated his stupid hair that you used to run your fingers through at night, his pointy nose that you used to kiss in the mornings before you left for work, his calloused hands that used to hold you with such warmth, his pretty lips that once told you that he couldn’t imagine living without you, that he would love you till the day he died. The same lips that told you he didn’t love you anymore.

“I just…can’t do this anymore.”

You stood still in the kitchen of your apartment, your hands frozen as they still held the potato you were peeling as you prepared dinner for yourself and your boyfriend of six years. It was Friday night, which meant that Younghyun had come over for dinner, as he had nearly every Friday for the past six years- barring the times he’s been on tour. When he’d arrived at your apartment, you could tell that something was off. You’d just assumed that he’d had a bad day, or was just tired. You never would have thought that he’d be telling you this. Not after you’d discussed engagement rings just last week.

“What are you trying to say? You’re just breaking up with me? Did I do something? Did I say something?”

He shook his head with his face in his hands as you rambled on, questioning what could’ve possibly made him say these things to you. He looked up at you, both of you looked a wreck, tears in your eyes and noses running.

“It’s not that. You…You didn’t do anything.”

“Then why? What happened? Why now?”He took a deep breath as he took in your disheveled state. The tears from your face had fallen onto your pretty powder blue sweater, and he fought the urge to smile at the thought that even after all the years you’d been together, all the fights you’d had, all the times you’d seen each other at your worst, you still tried to look pretty for him. But as sweet as that thought was, it still couldn’t change how he felt.

“I don’t know. I just…I don’t know how else to say it. But I just…” He took another breath to steady his shaking voice, “I just…Don’t love you anymore.”

You hated how he never gave you a reason. Even after crying and begging, he couldn’t tell you. And maybe you said some things that you shouldn’t have, maybe telling him to leave, that you never wanted to see him again was going too far. And maybe it was a lie.

After he left, you found that he’d blocked your number, your socials, everything. Just like that, he erased you from his life. You resented him for that. After he left, you went numb for a few weeks. It was like your whole world had ended, like everything had lost all its meaning. Your mom came by almost every day to check on you, and of course to tell you that she never really liked Younghyun, that she just wanted you to be happy, and you’d be better off without him anyway. You hated how she talked about him.

After a while, you decided to pick yourself up and go about life as if he never existed. You threw out all the things he’d left at your apartment over the years, including the plant he’d given you as a housewarming gift when you first moved in. You tried to forget him, forget the time you spent with him, the trips you went on, everything. It was hard when your coworkers and friends would ask about him, when your cousin asked if you were bringing him to the upcoming family reunion, when the little old lady that lived in the apartment next to yours knocked on your door to ask if he could carry her new coffee table up to her apartment.

You were doing well at forgetting his existence. It had been almost three months, and your apartment had been scrubbed clean of any trace of him, all his photos had been deleted from your camera roll. But while you were sitting on your computer in your home office, scrolling through your Google drive to try and find an old work project that you needed to reference in a new report, you came across his last anniversary present to you. You couldn’t stop yourself before you clicked on it. Looking through all the old photos and videos of the past six years, you felt nothing but resentment as you saw his smiling face in the thumbnails.

You must have been scrolling for at least half an hour before you stopped at a certain video, the thumbnail bringing up a particularly harsh memory. You hesitantly clicked on the video, and the sound of your own laughter flooded from your speakers.

He’d really outdone himself this time. When he’d asked you a month ago what the number one place to go on your bucket list was, you immediately told him “Vienna”. You’d wanted to go ever since you were a little kid and you’d heard the BIlly Joel song of the same name coming from your dad’s record player. Little did you know that he’d take you there as a surprise for your fourth anniversary.

You giggled in glee as you looked out across the beautiful river that you’d always longed to see. You turned to see Younghyun pointing his camera at you, grinning as he observed your reaction. 

“Are you filming me?”

“How could I not?” He laughed as you playfully swatted at the camera, pulling the neck of your sweater over your face so he couldn’t film it. “You’re just so beautiful, I can’t help it.”

You stilled and smiled as he reached one hand out to grab your own and drag it away from your face, the neck of your sweater falling back into place at your collarbone. He pressed your knuckles to his lips before turning the camera so the both of you were in the frame. You wrapped your arms around each other, his arm that was not holding the camera coming to rest across your shoulders. You reached one hand up to grab his hand that rested on your shoulder, while your other hand went to the back of his neck, your fingers lazily playing with the soft brown hair that you loved so much.

The two of you smiled at the camera for a moment, listening to the river lazily flowing as the sun set behind you and the crisp autumn air blew through your hair. Younghyun turned to look at you, his eyes scanning over your features, smiling lazily as you turned to meet his gaze. 

“What?”

“Nothin’. I just love you.”

You grinned as you bounced on your tippy toes to leave a quick gentle kiss on the tip of his nose. “Really?”

He shifted his arm that rested across your shoulders downwards so it wrapped around your waist, his hand playing with a loose string at the bottom of your sweater. “Yeah…You know, I can’t imagine living without you.”

You blushed and buried your face into his shoulder, his hand tightening around your waist. “Younghyun, you can’t just say things like that.”

He grinned and pressed his lips to the top of your head, “It’s true, though. I’m gonna love you till the day I die.”

You pulled away briefly to look up at his face, which was smiling warmly down at you, his eyes filled with nothing but fondness as they met your own. You narrowed your eyes at him, looking up at the camera and back to him.

“...You’re not about to propose to me are you?”

He let out a laugh before bringing you in closer, pressing another kiss to the top of your head before burying his face into your hair. “No, not yet. It’s coming, though.”

You looked up at him again, the look of love on his face told you that he was telling the truth. “I’ll be waiting.”

You didn’t feel the tears that had been cascading down your cheeks until the video had ended. You hated him. You resented him. You never wanted to see him again. So why were you crying? Was it because you wasted six years of your life? Was it because you felt lied to? Why were you wasting your time crying over a man that didn’t love you? Over a relationship that was never meant to be? Why did it hurt so much?

You hated him. You hated him. You hated him.

But as your tears started falling harder and soft sobs escaped your mouth, you knew the truth. You didn’t hate him. You never hated him. You loved him. You knew deep in your heart, that you really did love him. You loved him so badly, it made you hate him all that much more. No matter how many times you tried to erase him from your memory, or how many times you tried to forget the love that he gave, or the time you spent with him, you knew you never could. Because you loved him. And deep down, you always would.

[rmoonstoner]

***

Poisoned Empanadas

***

Pairing:

Moon Knight (Jake Lockley) x Spider!fem!reader

Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O'Hara) x Spider!fem!reader

***

18+

Warnings:

Violence, strong language, mentions of death, mentions of depression, sexual themes, warnings may change.

***

Summary:

You move out of the old house at your friend's request. It's a very short chapter.

***

Chapter 2 - Empanadas de Santa Rita - Chihuahua City, Mexico

A Mexican pastry served in honor of St. Rita every year on May 22. Typically they are sweet and savory at the same time, containing meats, raisins, pecans, butter, garlic and assorted spices, peas, potatoes, and sherry.

***

A few months had gone by, with absolutely no word from Jake. You weren't surprised one bit, and had already gone through the process of selling most of your things. It was the big stuff, like your living room furniture, the bedroom set, any tools you had, and other such things too big for a studio apartment that you had your eye on. You even got rid of the car for a nice fat stack of cash. It was fitting that you had sold the car to Hawkeye. He was happy, and claimed that he was going to give it to his wife.

Today you were dropping off a huge bag of clothing to a local shelter. Anything that Gwen or America didn't want, ended up here. You made the old lady's day as she went through the nice and gently used items, all of which Jake had bought for you. After the drop off, you made your way back home the easy way, by web slinging home. By the time you got back, you found Peter standing at your front door.

"Hey! Sorry, I was out dropping off some clothes. You didn't mention that you were coming by." You greeted Peter with a wave and gave him a hug.

"It's alright. I was just on my way to the Sanctum, and I wanted to know if you wanted to accompany me?" He asked with grin.

"Really? You sure you want me to come along? You did mention the doctor hates unexpected guests…" You replied. Peter could see your hesitancy and he held both hands up.

"It's totally okay with Doctor Strange. I asked first, and besides, you're friends with his daughter, so…"

"Does he know-"

"Uh…" Peter looked away sheepishly as he rubbed his neck and laughed.

"Peter! Just because he's an Avenger and the king of the wizards, you can't be telling people my secret identity!"

"I am sorry! He saw you on the roof the last few times, and he wanted to know why I hadn't introduced you to him. Then America let it slip she's your friend, and, so… He kind of figured it out. He's a genius, and has that eidetic memory."

"Oh fantastic, a real Sherlock Holmes type, eh?" You retorted, and he laughed.

"Yeah, so I am sorry…"

"It's fine. Like you said, he probably already knew. I'm not mad."

"Oh good! So, do you need to do anything before we go?"

"I just need to put the washing on the next load of donations, then grab some water."

"Cool!"

***

***

Once at the Sanctum, Peter introduced you to Wong. The man seemed grumpy at first, but after hearing who you were, he changed his tune rather quickly. He made you a tea while Peter left to find the doctor, and the two of you chatted about how Peter basically lived here at the Sanctum since his Aunt and Tony Stark had passed away. He asked about what you did for a living, and you shrugged. You didn't have a paying job, and you lived in your ex boyfriend's house, which you were getting ready to move out of.

Wong seemed impressed that you were taking charge and moving on with your life, which told you that Peter had been blabbing his mouth again. You would have normally been upset by this, but Peter had told you all about who Wong was, what he did, and who he worked with. He was like the other king of the wizards, and Peter claimed he was way nicer than Strange. You found that hard to believe, because both of the wizards had a reputation for being formal hard asses.

Peter ended up coming back with Doctor Strange, and the lad was just talking up a storm as the doctor nodded along while sipping from a steaming mug. The way they looked was adorable, like a son telling their dad all about their day after school, but it was Peter talking about his patrols, while the older man listened intently.

"-And then she flashed him with the lights, kicked the guy in the balls, and he fell off of the roof. I've never seen Sandman go down that fast before! She managed to get him, before he could turn into sand!"

"Oh wow, Peter. That's most impressive." The doctor winced a bit, but he was impressed all the same.

"I take it that this her?" He asked as he motioned towards you. You gave a polite smile and waved.

"Yeah, that's her! You should see her and Gwen work as a team! It's so fun! She's the one making all the weird lights at night." Peter said as he made the same hand motions you did for the lights. You laughed and looked over at the older man who was chuckling softly at Peter's energy.

"Ah, I see. Well, in that case, it's lovely to meet you, young lady. My name is Stephen, but you already knew that, didn't you?"

"Uh, yes, sir, er, uh, doctor."

"Stephen is fine. Any friends of Peter's or America's are welcome to use my first name. Unless, of course, I don't like them." He laughed and held his hand out to you. You took it gently, remembering that Peter had told you the man had delicate hands that had once been crushed.

"Okay, Stephen, it is nice to meet you too. I always wanted to see what America's and Peter's adopted dad was like."

"Oh, well, I-" Stephen seemed flustered when you said adopted dad.

"Oh, he's a good dad. Very supportive of my Spider-Man gig." Peter said as he patted Stephen's shoulder. The man beamed at the praise and kept drinking his tea. You didn't understand why he was known for being snobby, stoic, and rude.

"That's good. Peter talks about you all the time. Says you've saved the world a lot, and kept the spooky magic things at bay." You remarked, and Stephen burst out laughing.

"I suppose that's what I do. It's a new way of saying it though. Oh, I have to talk to ask Wong something. Be right back." Stephen smiled and then excused himself to go talk with Wong for a bit.

They did not come right back.

It was three hours before they did, and by then, America had come home, said hi, then left again for her studies at the Kamar-Taj. You had spent the time playing chess, and had won three to two. When Stephen and Wong came walking in, they looked frustrated. It turned out there had been one of those cosmic fluctuations, and Stephen was telling Peter and you to keep an eye out for anything weirder than normal. 

You left soon after, and went back home to grab a nap before patrol later.

***

Three weeks later…

Peter and Gwen had convinced you to move out of the house Jake owned. You didn't make it easy for them either. You felt reluctant to leave that house. It had bad memories, but it also held so many good ones with Jake.

You gave the excuse that you couldn't afford to move. The house and utilities were paid for, and you didn't have a paying job to get something new. Peter shut you up so fast by having Stephen and Wong literally coming out at that exact moment and time to offer you a room next to America's and Peter's. You groaned when that happened, because who the hell says no to the Sorcerer Supreme, which was basically your friend's dad?

That gave you a free place to live, free utilities, and free food. That also offered you access to being transported anywhere in the world if you ever wished it, not that you really wanted to unless the others needed you to. You had lost the will to travel after what happened with your ex, but it was nice that the option was there. Living there would gain you security, because there were at least three sorcerers at the Sanctum at any given time, not including Doctor Strange or Wong who were fully aware of your relationship problems.

They even said they could keep Jake from coming in if you gave them some of his hair. That was easy to do, and you did it, mostly because Peter and Gwen said they'd try to kick his ass if he showed up unannounced. You weren't sure if they meant the wizards, or themselves.

Plus your friends were there…

How could you refuse?

Notes:

***

Series Master List

***

None for now. Again, sorry for the short chapter.

Tags:

@theaussiedragon @autismsupermusicalassassin @readingfan

[lunamadhatter99]

All for The Cameras

Chapter 4

Finnick Odair x fem!reader

I would like to take a moment to thank you all for the support and love for this story. Thank you so so much. I'm not very confident so it means a lot. Thank you all❤️❤️❤️

If you're new and would like to be added to the tag list, tell me🔥

Chapter summary: a little about the making of the Games, the Reaping, and the Parade.

Chapter warnings: talking of lethal threats, Cal is has his own warning, Snow, forced marriage.

Tag list

@guacam011y @justtrying2getby @idontevenknow1359 @alexandra-001 @bambikitten @maggiecc @redh00dsbf @haneybunny @1-800-styles @sisiking99 @merromimo @yourdailymemedelivery @regsg18 @gordorio @bambikitten @gracieeleanorr @shev3nom @honethatty12 @savingprivatecass @erindiggory @martahabla @sterredem @aawdrea @wpdarlingpan @strawberry--fawn @barbarathewanderer @ih8books @a-mysterious-potato @mayonesavegana @celinaiscrying

I don't know why I can't tag some people, I'm sorry 😞

I take a huge gulp of wine as I sit in Plutarch's living room.

He did convince Snow to make me his personal assistant for this Quarter Quell, Plutarch told him it's a perfect way to show my "participation". Although I hate to keep up such a facade, I love that I can use it as an excuse to not stay, nor spend any time with Cal.

"Careful with that," Plutarch comes back into the room with his own glass, "we need you lucid for this."

"Trust me, I built a strong resistance to alcohol... no amount would help endure this shit anyway..." I mutter, looking at my fucking ring.

"You spent too much time with Abernathy, I'm afraid," he comments, he's not judging, no, he's probably just teasing.

"Or not enough," I tease back, he smirks amused by my answer.

He then suddenly turns the TV on, on display my answer to Cal's proposal.

I groan as I see that.

"I gotta say, that was smart," he compliments me, referring to the kiss.

"Could you turn it off? One fucking time was enough, thank you." I tell him.

"Not telling you about the Quartel Quell was smart too," he throws this out like nothing, my head snaps towards him.

"You little... that's why..." I start, but his proud stance stops me, "fine... smart thinking on your part too, okay."

"Thank you very much," he does a little bow before turning serious, "I'm sure now you can know more." He declares.

"Really?" I ask, I really want to know more and help, but at the same time I don't want to risk everyone.

"Yes, miss L/n. But... you have to know this, all this, will require a lot from you. From all of us, actually. So just know... you can still change your mind and no one will hold it against you." He explains, I can feel he is sincere, I know I can trust him.

I take a deep breath, this is a good chance to actually change things here... I won't pass this opportunity.

"Anything." I say and he smiles.

"Alright, our primarily goal is to get Katniss out." He starts and I nod, of course she would be the face of the revolution, "every Victor involved knows that,"

"Did you warn them? The ones involved?" I ask.

"Didn't have the chance... not everyone... I also need you to start thinking that not everyone will see this revolution starts." He says bitterly.

"I..." I don't know what to say, so I try to reason it, "yeah... of course... if not all of them know... the others would just want to survive, as always."

"Reasoning won't help you much this time," he says and he uses the remote to change the scene on the screen.

The reaping ceremony of each district.

"Cashmere and Gloss... God... they're brother and sister.."

"It never stopped the Capitol before. It just adds up to the drama." Plutarch sighs.

"I know," I sigh as the next district's reaping starts, "it may sounds cliché, but Enobaria is actually a sweet person... when you get past the teeth," I try to chuckle to ease my tension. Yeah... I might not see some of them after...

"Please tell me you were smart enough to recruit Beetee," I look at Plutarch who nods confidently.

"Oh..."

"This is where I wanted you," he says softly.

"Finnick... yeah... I... it makes sense..." I say as I see him walking up the stage.

"You need to..."

He doesn't have the time to finish his sentence before I let out a big gasp.

"Mags volunteered..." I whisper, "she... she can't... they can't... not them both... oh c'mon..."

"I'm sorry. When the time comes we will do our best to take everyone to safety, but..." he explains.

"But you can't control what happens in the arena..." I mutter, "not without raising suspects. I know."

I hear him sigh and walking closer to me, offering a comforting hand on my shoulder, I nod and we go on watching the reaping.

Johanna of course... I know she has all the skills to protect herself in there, but she's still my friend and I can't not worry. Especially knowing she has nothing left to lose.

Finally we get to 12 and of course Katniss, being the only living female victor, she's reaped.

Time for the male.

Haymitch's name is said, and for a split moment my heart breaks, but Peeta is quick to volunteer for him. I see Katniss shocked and terrified expression and I know she asked Haymitch to volunteer in his place if the roles were reverse.

"That was rigged... wasn't it?" I ask.

"Exactly, we need Haymitch here and..." he motion for me to go on.

"She needs Peeta there," I say earning a proud nod from him, "she just doesn't know it."

There's a moment of silence, where I take a second to recollect myself and take a sip of wine.

"Now," he claps his hands, "to make your participation more believable... you need to write down 2 ideas for the arena."

"What?" I ask, "I thought the arena was already decided."

"The arena yes... not the threats inside." He says.

"What do you mean?" I'm actually confused right now.

"This year arena is... quite special," he starts explaining, showing the concept on the screen, "it's divided in sections, like this, each section hosts a threat. Like these: acid fog, monkeys, this big wave... And so on."

"Acid fog? Isn't it a little too much?" I ask getting nervous for my friends.

"I told you it's gonna be hard," he gives me a sympathetic smile, "and we need your suggestions to be... authentic. It has to look like you're actually putting an effort."

I sigh, bouncing my leg.

I need to think of something that's horrifying, but safe at the same time.

They're all there... all my friends are there. The only family I've ever known since... I shake my head and drink more wine.

"Okay. Yeah... I get it." I nod, "when do you need it?"

"Tomorrow." He answers, "I have faith you can do it and... you can say you're busy working for me." He winks at me with a reassuring smile.

"That's the only good thing," I let out a humourless laugh and take one last gulp of wine before standing up. "Then I should get going. Thank you, Mr Heavensbee."

I walk towards the exit when Plutarch's voice stops me.

"One more thing," he calls and I turn my head, "even though you'll try and think of the least lethal threat... they might kill someone anyway. Keep that in mind."

I nod and walk out.

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

As I enter my apartment I instantly smell flowers... lots of them.

I look around and I see, probably, more than 10 bouquets of flowers.

"Oh god..." I sigh, defeated. I look at some of them, noticing most are from "admirers" congratulating me for my engagement.

But there are three that catch my eyes more than the others.

One, huge, bouquet is made by all sort of flowers, I don't think I've ever seen such variety of flowers in the first place. I look at the card... I groan, it's from Cal.

"My love, everyday I count the days that separate us from being finally together.

I can't wait for you to be mine.

Properly mine.

Enjoy your job, my sweetness, and happy Hunger Games!

Love,

Cal Kingslay. "

I throw the whole bouquet with the rest, and just look at the other. It's simple and small, my favourite flowers and a few seashells here and there, the thing holding the bouquet it's not paper... it's fish nets... Finnick. I unconsciously smile as I take the card.

"I wanT to congRatUlate you, my SweeT girl!

TheY tOld me the news jUst now! Miss L/n, You shouLd've tOld me, I've neVer beEn so happy!

Congratulations!

Dario."

He signs each letters, making it look like it was ink fallen from the pen... smart.

"I trust you, my love"

He even signed it with an anagram of his name. I let out a laugh at that and move to the last bouquet.

Even smaller then Finnick's, a few green leaves are like a frame for the one, white rose.

I shakily take the card in my hand.

"Congratulations on your engagement, my dear. I look forward to see what you'll come up with for our Games.

I'm sure one day you'll make a fine Gamemaker."

There's no sign, not that he needed to...

"Gamemaker... yeah... sure." I scoff.

I go to the kitchen to get myself some wine. As I'm about to pour a glass, I look at the bottle and just... take it all with me to my room.

I sit on the desk in my room and, as I take some gulps from the bottle, I try to come up with some ideas.

Plutarch mentioned a few potentially lethal threat already, I mean... acid fog, deadly monkeys, that I'm sure will be modified.

What to do, what to do...

Other animals maybe, but a non lethal one... something that creates a hassle, but not death.

Bugs?

I shake my head, no, they would make it poisonous no matter what my suggestion is.

Something else, something else.

Jabberjays. Yes!

I write down my idea and take the bottle to take a big gulp, but the bottle slips from my grasp and falls on the desk spilling the liquid all over the desk and the pavement.

"Shit!"

I manage to safe the paper I was writing on and I immediately go take a towel to wipe the wine off.

As I kneel down cleaning the liquid, I find myself staring at the little drops of wine falling from the desk to the floor.

The dark liquid looks a lot like... blood.

Blood rain.

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

I walk nervously behind Plutarch, he just told me Snow wanted to hear my ideas himself, so now, as I'm walking I clench my fists nervously.

"You couldn't have told me sooner?" I ask him.

"He didn't ask me sooner," Plutarch answers as we finally stand out of Snow's office, "you wrote it?"

"Of course," I slightly scoff at his answer.

"Then take a deep breath and... show time," Plutarch smiles and knock on the door.

"Come in," Snow's voice gives us permission to enter.

"President," Plutarch greets him.

"Good morning, sir," I say, putting up the best 'diligent student' appearance.

"Good morning, Mr Heavensbee," he nods towards Plutarch and then turns to me, "and what a pleasure, miss L/n."

"You said you wanted to hear her ideas for the arena, right?" Plutarch starts.

"Oh, of course!" Snow's suddenly happy, as if he's about to hear a good story, "tell me, my dear girl, what did you think of?"

If it were a different universe this could've seemed a sweet exchange. The old "mentor" interested in his protégé ideas...

"When Plutarch showed me the arena and the already existing threats, I have to admit I was intrigued," I start and I see, from the corner of my eyes Plutarch smiling proudly, "but at the same time, I was a little bored." I say and that earned a surprised 'oh?' from Snow, "I mean... from those you either die or survive... so I thought of something more psychological."

"Oh, now that's interesting, my dear, please go on." Snow is pleased so far.

"I thought of a section of the arena where... uh..." I pretend to stutter for a second, to give him the impression that I'm nervous because I care for his opinion.

"Don't be shy, I'm open to all suggestions,"

"I thought of a blood rain... sir." I say.

I see him pondering the idea, then a smile creeps it's way on his face, it makes me sick.

"I like it," he finally says looking at Plutarch, "she's smart, isn't she?"

"Very smart, sir." Plutarch agrees.

"I'm even more curious to hear the other idea, please don't leave me hanging," Snow's 'sweet' tone almost freezes me to the spot, but I swallow hard and just ignore this feeling.

"Jabberjays." Is all I say.

He looks a little taken aback, and motion for me to elaborate.

"I thought about using Jabberjays that imitate the screams of people the tributes know." I say, pretending to feel unsure of my idea, "maybe create a sort of an invisible wall that prevents them from escaping if they finds the birds."

Snow looks at me, considering me for a moment, then he smiles, that sick smile once again.

"You were right in recruiting her, Mr Heavensbee. Good thinking, miss L/n, very good thinking." He compliments Plutarch and me.

"Thank you, sir." I smile.

"No, thank you," he says, "now, one more thing before I dismiss you."

I nod and stay put, even though I was ready to run, or better walk very fast, out of here.

"This role of assistant Gamemaker won't exonerate you from your duty to assist the mentors," he tells me.

"I wouldn't dream of it, sir, I've always taken my role very seriously," I tell him, faking pride as I speak.

"I know, my dear." He smiles, almost as if he knows I wasn't exactly fond of it, "we were supposed to randomly assign you to one district, like every year, but we thought to just let you stick to 12. Apparently the Capitol's people loved your... friendship with the two victors." He says the word 'friendship' with a not so convinced tone, almost repulsed.

"Of course, sir." I nod my head, eager to just get out of here.

"But," he adds, probably keeping me longer to see when I'll crumble, I look briefly at Plutarch who keeps his confidence stance, "you'll be assisting all of the districts." I look at him confused and he continues, "I mean, you'll be present during the training sessions and will help."

"Oh, yes, sir, of course." I nod again.

"That's all." He claps his hands, satisfied, "the tributes arrive today so... better be there to welcome them home."

'Home'...

"I'm going right now, sir." I promptly tell him, he smiles and motions me to go and to Plutarch to stay.

"Send my regards to Cal Kingslay when you see him," I hear him say as I walk out, not bothering to answer him I just go straight to the tributes living centre.

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

I enter the building and see Haymitch, Effie, Katniss and Peeta arriving.

"Well, well, well, aren't you lot a sight for sore eyes?" I say once I'm close enough to pull Peeta into a hug.

"Oh! We got the Princess this year too, uh? The president is spoiling us," Haymitch jokes ans I roll my eyes as I hug Katniss.

"Rather spoiling me," I greet Effie too, in the perfect 'Capitol style', "lots of opportunities."

"I figured," Haymitch says wrapping his arms around me.

"Now," I say holding my arms open, theatrically, "let's take you to your apartments."

I start walking towards the elevator, heading to the attic, again.

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

Once inside we start to have lunch, the atmosphere is quite tense before Effie breaks the silence.

"All right," she starts, clearing her throat, "before we begin, I've had a thought."

"You don't say?" Haymitch jokes, unimpressed.

"Be nice," I tell him, throwing a balled-up napkin at him.

"Katniss has her gold Mockingjay pin. I have my hair. I'm going to get you three something gold." She declares, as if it were something obvious.

Haymitch looks at both me and Peeta, confused, before asking why.

"A token." Effie explains, "Show them we are a team. And they can't just..." she starts getting emotional and Katniss takes her hands.

"Thank you." She tells her, meaning it.

Effie might be too theatrical sometimes, but she's so much more than that, I'm grateful I got to know this side of her. I take her hand too.

"That's really sweet, Effie." I smile at her, "and... thank you for including me."

I notice both Peeta and Katniss sharing a look as if I said something unbelievable, but I ignore it.

Not the time.

"Now..." Effie composes herself, "everything will be different, because it's a Quarter Quell. The Capitol has spared no expense. A new training centre. New Tribute living quarters. And of course, a very special arena."

I tense at that, I took part in that...

"But this year you'll be facing other Victors." I step in, " all Capitol favourites. Smart, cunning, skilled... angry. And they all know one another. You two are the outsiders."

" I want you guys to forget everything you think you know about the Games. Last year was child's play." Haymitch starts explaining, he's the best to mentor them about a Quarter Quell, "this year, you're dealing with all experienced killers."

"All right," Peeta speaks up, "what does it mean for us?"

"Allies." I tell him, "you'll be needing allies."

"Okay. I think that if..." Peeta's reply is quickly interrupted.

"You're not the problem." I say and, I don't have to say anything more, Haymitch is already pointing at Katniss.

"No." She sternly says.

"A little help, Haymitch?" I ask him.

"Look, you're starting at a disadvantage. Most of these people have been friends for years."

"That just puts us higher on their killing list." She replies, annoyed.

I roll my eyes, she needs to do her part.

"Do it your own way, but I know these people. You go it alone, their first move is gonna be to hunt you down." Haymitch keeps explaining, patiently, "both of you."

"Katniss, come on," Peeta's sweet tone seems to convince her... a tiny bit.

She sighs deeply, which usually mean she's gonna listen, even though she doesn't agree.

"How could any of us even trust each other?" She then asks.

"It's not about trust. It's about staying alive," he states.

Peeta and Katniss look at each other and finally Katniss nod her head.

"Great!" I cheer, "time for some brainstorming, shall we?" And I stand up walking to the living room.

They soon follow and Haymitch turns the TV on, so they can see who the other Victors are, and who might seem like a good ally.

"Cashmere and Gloss. Brother and sister. District one. They one back-to-back Games. Capitol favourites. Lots of sponsors." He shows them the siblings.

"They will be lethal." I add and Haymitch nods, strongly agreeing.

"And the other half of the Career Pack, Brutus and Enobaria."

"What's with her teeth?" Of course, Katniss asks about the teeth.

"She... well... she had them filed into fangs..." I respond, "so she could... rip people's throat out better."

"She's committed. I'll give her that." Peeta comments, I can sense some tension in him... which is very understandable.

"Wiress and Beetee," Haymitch keeps on presenting the tributes, "not fighters, but brilliant."

"Very brilliant," I agree.

"And weird." He adds, earning a glare from me, "real texh-savvy. He won his Games by electrocuting six tributes at once." He changes the scene again, "the Morphlings. Masters of camouflage. Basically, won their Games by hiding until everyone was dead. Self-medicating ever since. Which I applaud. Not a threat."

We arrive at District 4 reaping.

"Finnick Odair, right?" Katniss asks.

Haymitch looks at me, silently telling me to explain this one myself, there's a hint of a smirk on his face that makes me roll my eyes for, what feels like, the millionth time today.

"Yep. The one and only." I starts, "he won his Games at 14. He's the youngest Victor ever... of course modesty is his peculiarity." I joke.

"You're kidding."

"Kinda," I chuckle, "he's very confident. Very. But... he's the Capitol's darling. They all love him here." Unfortunately, I want to add. "He's smart, he's skilled at combat, especially... especially in water."

"What about weaknesses?" Peeta asks, interested.

"Only one..." I sigh, deeply, "Mags. She... she volunteer for Annie. Mags was his mentor, the year that I was assigned to 4, she raised him, basically. He will try to protect her, even though it would expose him."

"A guy like that has to know she's not gonna make it," Katniss shakes her head, unconvinced, Haymitch looks at me knowingly, "I bet when it really comes down to it, he won't protect her."

I really want to hit her right now, but I know it's not her fault, she thinks this because it's what the Capitol wanted everyone else to think. That's what he had to pretend to be.

"Well... she's an amazing woman, Katniss, I... I just hope that... if... w-when she goes, she goes quickly." I stutter out. It took everything in me to say that... I want to hope we will rescue everyone before that happens... I really do.

I space out as Haymitch goes on explaining and introducing the other tributes.

I can feel his eyes on me every now and then, but I stopped pay attention minutes ago now.

Mags is the mother I never had... if there is one person who deserves to see a free Panem, it's her.

---------‐---

I was walking on the train heading to the restaurant car where I found an old lady sitting there, drinking a cup of tea.

"Hi..." I shyly said.

"Oh hello, dear." She greeted me with such a kind smile, I felt so much better and less nervous.

"I'm... I'm Y/n." I started to introduce myself, but her hand gently taking mine stopped me.

"I know, dear. I'm Mags." Another kind smile, "you're here to assist me, right?"

"Yeah." My hands were getting sweaty... I was so nervous.

"Hey, no need to worry about it. We can do it." She reassured me.

"I hope so..." I muttered under my breath.

She sighed and offer a seat to me, I took it and stared at the cups on the table.

"I watched you last year," her voice was soft as she spoke, "you were assigned to... what district?"

"5"

"But you were helping the little one from 11, right?" She asked.

I snapped my head to her, eyes wide open.

"Please, don't worry about it. I never told anyone." She assured me, handing me a warm cup, "I just meant that I saw you're not like the rest of them, my dear. You care."

"My tributes didn't want to listen, they were older than me and thought I was just a spy... which is understandable." I sadly kept my head low. "That boy from 11 was my age and... he was having trouble with some essential survival techniques."

"He got pretty far thanks to those." She tried to make me feel better.

"Not far enough," I bitterly replied.

"I'm sorry." I let her take my hand again, "it's not a consolation, I know, trust me, but... I have a feeling we can do it."

"They won't trust me," I told her, referring to the tributes from 4.

"Not at first... and most likely not the girl... but the boy, he seems to be more open to suggestions." She explained.

"I'm not sure he would accept suggestions from me."

"He's a smart one. Same age as you. Just be yourself and he will trust you." She smiled.

I considered her for a moment before nodding. Hope growing a little more.

The door of the car opening had my head turning immediately.

"My dear Y/n," Mags stood up and walked towards the boy entering, "this is Finnick Odair. Finnick, this is Y/n."

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

"Are you okay?" Haymitch's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Uh? Yeah... yeah, sorry, I zoned out." I apologise.

"I noticed." He sits with me.

"Where are they?" I ask, noticing no one else was in sight.

"Getting ready for the parade." He answers.

"Right... I better get going too. I have to check everyone is ready..." I tiredly sigh as I stand up, but Haymitch softly pulls me back down.

"If you take a few minutes it won't be a tragedy." He tells me, "what's going on in that head of yours?"

"Nothing... I just started to think about Mags." I whisper, afraid someone might hear.

"Plutarch gave you the speech?" He asks and I nod, "I'm really sorry, Y/n."

"It's okay... I mean, it's not, but I think it was inevitable... she would've never let anyone else go, not if she had any say in it." I tell him, "she's strong." I see him starting to speak but I beat him to it, "I know better than to keep my hopes up, trust me, I know."

He just sighs and wrap one reassuring arms around my shoulder.

"I really better get going now, gotta check on those outfits." I stand up.

"You do that, sweetheart." Haymitch smiles at me and I walk to the elevator.

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

I walk out of the elevator heading to where the parade is about to begin and I instantly loom for someone.

I spot immediately Peeta talking to Cinna, who's probably refining last minutes details.

"Hello." I greet once I'm close enough, Cinna turns around giving me a small smile and a hug. "You look good, mr Mellark."

"Only with his help it's possible." Peeta, humble as usual, replies pointing at Cinna.

"I'm not a magician, I can make people look good if they're worthy." Cinna shakes his head, waving off the compliment.

"I couldn't agree more." I sigh, "so, are you lot ready? Where's Katniss?"

"She's should be here soon, her dress is a little more complicated than Peeta's." Cinna answers, "and, since you're here, I was thinking about them not doing anything out there."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I mean, no waving, no smiling, nothing of sort. Act like they're above them. What do you think?" He explains, genuinely interested in my opinion.

"I think it's perfect." I smile and he return it.

"Oh, there she is." Peeta points behind us, I turn seeing Katniss talking to Finnick, who's a lot close. I hope he's not putting up his flirting persona, I don't think Katniss would trust him so easily then.

Peeta excuses himself to join her, just as Finnick walks away... spotting me.

"Snow asked..." Cinna gently nudges my arm and lowers his voice, "or better, ordered me to make her wear a wedding dress for the interview."

"Of course..." I roll my eyes. "You good with that?

"Oh yeah...I got a great idea for it." He says, I look into his eyes seeing determination so I don't ask more questions.

"Better get them ready to go, it's almost time." I tell him.

Cinna walks to Katniss and Peeta and I turn to check if someone else needs a hand with something or needs advice, unlikely, but never say never.

I see Mags petting a horse so I decide to go to her.

As soon as she sees me her smile grows ten times, warming my heart.

"You look very beautiful," I tell her, once we're close enough I hug her, "I'm so sorry." I whisper into her ear.

She pulls away gently, looking at me with that kind smile that always makes me feel better. She caresses my cheek with her hand, reassuringly, nodding her head to tell me that it's alright.

I nod too, taking a deep breath.

"Do you think I look presentable?" A very familiar voice says from behind me.

I look at Mags, rolling my eyes, glad I made her laugh a little.

I turn around, fully admir... noticing his naked chest and the golden fish net tied at his... oh shit.

"My eyes are up here, sweetheart." He smirks and I just turn my head away, shaking it as I try to pull myself together.

"Did your stylists finished the fabric?" I finally say, "I could've ordered some, if they told me."

"Of course," he smiles and walk closer to me, leaning down to whisper into my ear, "just between us... I'm wearing it just for you."

My head snaps to him, our faces mere inches apart. I notice his eyes looking down to my lips, I instantly put some distance walking up to district 3.

"And here I thought you would never come to say hi," Beetee waves.

"Did you lose all hope in me? And here I thought you were the smart one." I tease back.

"It's a pity seeing each other here, under these circumstances." Wiress shakes my hand.

"I know. I wish it were different..." I look down, sad and ashamed too, Beetee softly touches my arm. I look up at him noticing him mouthing something on the line of 'it's gonna be fine' so I smile at him. "Well, don't you two look great?"

I compliment them, just before the announcer warned us of the beginning.

I wave them goodbye for now and head back, watching every district ride out there.

When it's Finnick's turn he turns to me and winks at me, earning a big eye roll. When it's finally District 12 turn as they pass by I nod my head, encouraging them. I see them looking st each other and straighten their back proudly.

I walk towards the end of the parade, where they should get off the chariots and head back to the elevators, and I wait.

I look at them in the distance, taking deep breaths to calm my nerves.

All of a sudden I feel someone watching me from behind.

"You did a pretty good job, my sweetness." His voice makes me wince.

I turn around, showing the usual fake smile I show to everyone in the Capitol, pretending to be happy to see him.

"Cal... hi." I say, holding back from walking away as he nears, "what are you doing here?"

"I missed you. I didn't scare you, didn't I?" He says with a smile, that clearly shows he's proud he did.

"Of course, not. I was just thinking." I tell him sweetly.

"What about?" He ask, curious.

"Well, I have a lot to do these days and when they're back I'll have to make sure everything is organised." I tell him. "And also, taking part in the making of the Games... Plutarch asked me to write down some ideas."

This is probably the only time I'm glad I have this job, if I didn't, Cal would've kept me basically locked up, in his apartment. 'All to himself'... the thought makes me shiver.

"Would you share them with me?" He whispers.

"I can't ruin the fun, can I?" I say back.

"Aahh... you're killing me, babe." He shakes his head chuckling.

If only...

"No special treatment, Cal." I smile, feeling uneasy from the way he's looking at me.

In that moment, thankfully, I hear the parade is ending, which means everybody is about to get back.

"Such a diligent girl." He moves his hand to take mine. I let out a nervous laugh and a 'thanks', and finally, one district at a time, they're back.

I lock eyes with some of the Tributes, who noticing Cal with me, tense and give me sympathetic smile.

Then Finnick's back.

As soon as he sees me, he can't keep up the fake smile and his expression darkens.

"Well... I'm sorry, but I have to go now. I'll see you." I say, starting to turn around, but his hand grabs my arm. Rather harshly, which makes my eyes widen at that.

"We hardly see each other these days... I miss you." He looms over me, a dark look in his eyes.

"Well... uh..." I clear my throat, looking at the tributes still arriving, "I have a job to.. to do."

I see Mags and Finnick, she has a hand on his arm, to stop him from coming here.

"Good thing that when we're married you won't need to work, then." He tells me directly into my ear, "I would be able to have you any day I want."

"Wouldn't that be a dream..?" I choke out, my throat tightens. I still look at Finnick, more to check he doesn't intervenes than anything.

"There you are!" We both look at the source of the sound, Johanna.

I let out a sigh of relief as she walks closer.

"I was looking for you." She says, "they told me to ask you for the schedule."

"Yes... yes! I got it." I tell her.

Johanna pretends to notice Cal just now and extends her hand towards him.

"Oh hey there! You must be the lucky one, uh?" Johanna greets him.

Cal looks at her sceptically before shaking her hand.

"Yes, that's me."

"So nice to finally meet you, she talks about you all the time!" Johanna's (fake) cheery personality and flattery seem to work on Cal, who smiles smugly, "you don't mind if I steal her, do you?"

Before Cal could answer, she pulls me to her linking arms and walks away.

"God, he looks so annoying." She groans.

"He is... he is." I sigh, relieved.

"I thought about stepping in before Finnick over there could rip his eyes out," she teases. "So... how are the lovebirds?"

"They're completely in love." I tell her, she nods smiling knowingly.

I spot them talking with district 11 tributes, I wave at Haymitch, letting him know I'll be up in a second.

"Ugh... he still looking this way," Johanna complains getting in front of me, "is he always like this?"

"Even worse." I roll my eyes.

"Alright," she take the end of her dress in her hands showing it to me, "Plutarch told me."

I understand now what she's doing with her dress, she's pretending to show it to me, so it looks like we're talking about the dress.

"I know," I say touching the fabric, pretending to check it out, "you're sure about doing this?"

"Of course I am," she now turns to 'make me see her back', "never been more sure."

"I'm just sorry," I tell her, motioning for her to turn back around.

"No need too," she smiles, an emotionless smile, "oh he's gone.. finally."

"Thanks for saving me," I tell her.

"Anytime," she says, she turns her head towards the elevator, "well... I'll go introduce myself."

"Be nice." I tell her, she winks at me and walks away to the elevator with Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch.

I go over the last details, seeing the horses are attended to, the chariots are about to be put away, everything seems fine.

I then walk to the elevator myself, I lean against the elevator's wall as soon as I enter.

Before the doors can close, someone rushes in, I look up finding myself face to face with Finnick.

Being in a confined space with a shirtless Finnick is...

"Hi, my love."

Shit.

[flufallo]

Some random, out of context lines from only the best show in the world

"YOU are the brawn?"

"If she'd died last night, I'd have no problem with her being here!" "Well that got dark"

"We've met phychics before, but none as fit as you" "HAH. Did that work on girls back in the 80s?"

"Are you ready to talk to her shoes?"

"And those girls are staring..." "Mabye it's your outfit" *middle finger*

"I don't care how old you are. Go to bed"

"Well, I'm very open minded and also very concerned about bursting open" "honestly I just find her so charming"

"Are you insane?"

"so I'm a... Tree?"

"Cute? Thats offensive"

"It smells like dog shit in there"

"I'll make sure to jot that down in my journal of opinions I DO NOT GIVE A DAMN ABOUT"

"Luckily, love requires no logic"

"MONTY! JESUS! I'm tryna... Threaten some kids"

"Are you ready to talk to her shoes?"

"Fuck off, the kid had a sardine"

"E-yup"

"she's always... Changing outfits"

"Are you being threatening or is this a sexy choking?"

"weeee!"

"In my experience, uptight boys like a bit of rough play" "... Right" (my poor innocent Edwin has no idea what that means)

"Hello, um, cute little friend with the bow tie"

"Teethface, what the fuck?"

"I'm just a really old man who lives in a fish"

"Specificity is key"

*Girls react sword death* "was that good? Were you scared?" "Pff, no. The sword would of punctured the lung, leaving her *gasping noises* unable to scream. Not to mention the sheer amount of blood filling her mouth. Very disappointing girls"

"You guys are like a dead married couple on acid"

"Is that my left or your left?" "We have the same left!"

"No, it is the blue book on the top left corner" *picks up pink book* "does that look blue to you, Charles?"(Colour blind Charles yaas)

"Well, that's harsh. But also charmingly stubborn. Capricorn?"

"Were not living anywhere, because your not living"

"This detective work is much measure than it ever looked on scooby doo"

"Two boys can like like each other, you know. I have a lot of manga about it. It's very sweet, and explicit"

"Again, a handshake would suffice"

"Yes, your highness"

"What is a hand job?"

"Well have to investigate further into this Molly character"

"At least one of you is in school, right?"

"You've been spending a lot of time with that one... Monty... You... A lot of time?" "Hmm? Merely swapping books is all"

"Oh my fucking fuck"

"I thought you were like a meat robber or a meat pervert or something"

"If you need anything, just shout. But don't actually shout. It's a library"

"Are you always a woman, is Charles ever a woman, can you change your eyes and nose like Mr potato head, do you know who mr potato head is?"

"Your such a whore"

"You don't look like a walrus"

"this looks like the places in those fish stick commercials I like"

"Charles, be less British. Edwin, be less Edwin"

"oh no, it's porn. It's all just porn"

"there are 142 cats" "142? That's way off!" (It's four off)

"and when he gets back from hell, I'll be waiting. God, I am such a romantic I hate it!"

"do you and Charles.. um... Have a special friendship?" "We are best friends, if you must know." (Keep him innocent guys)

"have you seen a Victrola anywhere?" "What?"

"oh, I think I'm gonna be sick!" "You are a ghost, Charles. You cannot get sick"

"well, maybe karma's just a bitch"

"I heard they died in some gay suicide pact"

"I have never wanted to get back inside someone more" (out of context this one just sounds so wrong lmao)

"are you saying my ghost friend isn't going to die? Super, thanks."

[ms-m-astrologer]

2024 Cancer Solstice

Thursday, June 20, 20:51 UT

Chart erected for Washington, DC

The Sun, Mercury, and Venus are huddled together in the first decanate of Cancer. They all make sextiles to Mars/Taurus (I’m stretching that for the Sun, though). That is all about feeling comfortable and safe; we can work hard on domestic projects, but it’s really more of a “find we a time for frighted peace to pant” feeling. The little Centaur Pholus opposes that Cancer stellium, upsetting applecarts and blowing up everybody’s tranquility.

The ruler of that Cancer stellium, the Moon, is in Sagittarius - and is the focus of a mutable (new situation) t-square. She’s square both ends of the Juno-Lilith/Virgo opposition to Saturn-Nessus/Pisces. This new situation manages to be both judgemental and commitment-phobic. There’s a lot of pressure for “traditional” values and relationships, a lot of guilt trips going out. Some of us need to consider how “perfectionism” is really a cover-up for not wanting to do something.

One solution is to fill in the empty leg and work on those qualities. Here, that is Gemini. Be a little intellectually detached - light-hearted - don’t insist that there is Only One Right Way to do things - and work on listening and communication skills.

Go ahead and focus on those domestic projects, but don’t shut out the rest of the universe. We need to be aware of what’s going on because that improves our plans. It’s still a Cardinal- and Mutable-sign emphasis; things are changing.

=+=+=+=+=+=

Back when I had a teenaged boy to feed, I always made a vegetarian feast for the Cancer Solstice: Spanish rice salad, lime-thyme potato salad, carrot-mango-pineapple salad, and Starhawk’s summer solstice cupcakes. Most of those recipes are now on the internet. Back then, I worked out of cookbooks and cooking magazines.

The teenaged boy always demolished most of that; once he moved out, though, the then-teenaged girl wasn’t quite as ravenous. (She also isn’t fond of leftovers.) I finally gave up on making the feast. This year, I think I’ll make tuna salad for just me!

I like the green lushness of this time of year (even though, living as I do in a semi-arid climate, I don’t always get it). There’s a lot of wild sweet peas, now - and chicory - which I also enjoy, and watch for.

But, it’s not remotely my favorite season, mostly because I hate hot weather. I probably need to work on that a bit. (Ms M Jr, on the other hand, hates cold weather. We have a good balance!)

[lost-walmartbag]

hiii!! do u have a potential post/finish date for first impressions pt4? ive been rereading the parts like every other day i cant get enough of ur writing omg.

Warning: Swearing

Background: After dinner, Liane suggests you and Eric go out for the night.

Status: Ongoing

Previous part

Next part

'Night out'

Dinner was tense, to say the least. Liane would either not speak or ask only Eric questions. She wouldn't even eat the potato salad you made and looked offended when Eric seemed to love it.

"Honestly babe this is great." He said with a soft smile.

You gave a simple nod feeling the cold glare Liane was shooting your way. Her food was honestly amazing but so filling and kinda greasy. You felt like if you ate more than the small portion you served yourself you'd gain half your body weight overnight.

"Your cooking is so good Ms. Cartman." You said trying your best to salvage the night, and foolishly hoping with that one comment she's immediately love you.

She gave a forced smile and nodded before turning back to Eric. "So honey you look like you lost a lot of weight are you eating alright?"

She was right, of course. Eric had lost a bit of weight since you first met him, it wasn't too much but it was noticeable. You've seen a picture of him as a kid and he was always chubby, but now he gained some muscle, and honestly? He looked amazing.

"Oh. Yeah, I'm eating ok. Y/N never really stops cooking." He said with a chuckle, seemingly not as nervous anymore. "And we go to the gym sometimes so yeah I guess I have."

Liane took in a sharp breath, her nostrils flared and her grip on her glass tightened. "Well isn't that wonderful? Seems like you changed a lot since you left me."

This made Eric gain all that nervous energy back. And you can see why. She said it like it was meant to harm him. Like her words were a knife and she was aiming for his stomach.

"Yeah, I guess so.." He said shifting in his seat.

"You haven't called since you left." Another stab. "Was starting to think you forgot about me."

She put her fork and knife down and gave a small smile. It was insincere, angry. But you weren't sure if Eric saw that. "So I'm glad you came.

"Y-Y/N wanted to meet you so I thought so yeah know...thought it was a good idea." He said looking at Liane but avoiding her eyes.

"Oh. Well, I guess I have you to thank, Y/N." She said darting her cold eyes to you, and you can tell it killed her a bit inside to say that. She turned back to Eric and gave a sickly sweet smile. "You two staying long?"

"Maybe just the night," Eric said, biting his lip.

"That just won't do!" She said with a shocked expression. Don't you want to see your friends again?" Liane said gathering the empty plates on the table. "In fact, why don't you go out tonight? I'm sure the boys would love to see you."

You got a sinking feeling in your stomach at her suggestion. God, if she hated you, how would his friends react?

"I-I don't know...I mean are they even still in town? I'm sure they're busy." Eric said trying to figure out how to say no without the words coming out of his mouth.

"I insist! Most of them are still in town. Stan visits every now and then. Kyle and Kenny work at the school. In fact, I bet they're all at the bar downtown as we speak." Liane said before turning to you and dropping her 'motherly' voice. "Y/N wouldn't mind going. Would you?"

You hated how much this woman scared you. "N-nope! Don't mind at all! L-let's go I'd love to meet everyone." You said, giving an unconvincing laugh.

Eric bounced his leg and nodded. "Okay...yeah let's go."

You and Eric stood up and speed walked out the door. Once you two were in the car you both let out a sigh of relief.

"I told you this was a bad idea." Eric said starting the car.

"Yeah well it would have helped if you told me she was fucking crazy!" You said running your hands down your face. "I feel like I aged twenty years. I started worrying about my morgage in there."

"Why do you think I never wanted you to meet her?"

"I don't know! I thought you were like planning to break up with me soon or something!" You said as he drove.

He slammed down on the break petal and turned to look at you. "Y/N are you kidding?" He said, clearly offended. "Y/N you are the only person in my life that I turn back to. I left everything here because I couldn't fucking stand it."

You felt your cheeks heat up as Eric looked at you with his blue and brown eyes. He cupped your cheeks and pressed his lips into a line. "I can stand you. You are the only person I never get tired of."

"You are the only thing that makes sense." He continues. "My mom says she loves me but doesn't want me to be happy. My friends fucking hate me but still keep me around. Y/N you mean everything you say. When you say you love me I don't even fucking question it. God you're so-"

He cut himself off and let out a small frustrated growl. He grabbed your cheeks and pressed his lips into yours. You melted into his touch and kissed back. One of his hands moved to the back of your head, his fingers tangling in your hair, gently tugging. You gasp softly and he takes the chance to slide his tongue into your mouth.

The kiss quickly heated up. Your hands move down to his arms trying to keep yourself grounded, feeling that if you let go you'd float away. Before you two could get enough there was a honk behind the car, reminding you both that you were parked in the middle of the road. Eric let out a frustrated growl and reluctantly pulled away from your lips.

"Asshole could just move around." He muttered as he continued driving.

You let out a small laugh and leaned your head against the window. You felt less nervous about the rest of the night but you couldn't get rid of that nagging feeling in your stomach. What would his friends be like? Why would Liane make you and Eric leave if she didn't want you around? What was she playing at?

"What are your friends like?" You asked softly.

"I wouldn't really call them friends." He said looking ahead at the semi-empty road. "I liked hanging around Kenny, he was pretty cool. Stan was fine but he was more Kyle's friend than me or Kenny's. And Kyle....Kyle and I didn't really like each other."

You look over at him wondering if you should ask what you're about to. "Why not?"

"It's a long story...not ready to talk about all that yet." He said with a sigh.

"Remember last time you weren't ready to talk about something?" You asked half-teasingly. "Had to have a weird dinner with your mom who clearly hates me."

"I know but I just...It'll take me some time so be patient yeah?" He said parking in front of a small bar.

"Yeah okay." You said with a sigh. "Now let's go meet your....childhood acquaintances?"

Eric grimaced and chuckled. "Maybe calling them friends is better."

A/N: You guys can make me do literally anything you ask. I love seeing you guys enjoy my writing. But part 5 won't come for a bit, gotta give attention to my other stories. And I don't have a set schedule I just post when I post, but yeah if you guys love my writing and ever want an update on the next part just comment so it's a bit easier to give more updates. And if you don't wanna miss a part ask to be added to the taglist and I'll add you. I literally will not reject anyone who asks. a million people can ask and I will tag all of them. But yeah thank you sm for reading. Love ya'll bye bye.

Taglist: @jessiegerl @stephs-inluv @breadandbutter33

[kissorkill16]

POV Of A Bully: A Hello Neighbor Fanfic

By JJ

Summary: Finch's point of view when she first met Nicky and how things grew from there.

P.S., for @genericravenbrooksdude

When I had first met Nicky, I tried selling him a box of cookies. He said he didn't have any money, so I told him to step off.

"Why are you even talking to me if you don't have any money for cookies?", I thought. Seriously, there was a whole stack of cookies right on the table behind me, and he somehow didn't know I was selling them.

But I don't think it was really even about the cookies.

I guess I just didn't really tolerate Nicky because he was such a dork. He was obsessed with aliens, his hair was so messy and stuck up in the weirdest places, and he always brought torn up machines to school just to put them back together.

I always talked about him to my fellow girl scouts, and they laughed at him along with me.

"It's like he's fucking 5!", I used to laugh.

Then when he brought his crazy grandma to school, I thought that was golden. No wonder he was such a weirdo, he came from a family full of them!

Everyone laughed at him about it. How his grandma attacked a raven that flew into the school and didn't even bother to clean up the mess she made. We all thought he was as insane as her. However, there was one person who didn't even giggle at the incident.

That stupid Aaron Peterson.

He threatened to stab me if I didn't leave Nicky alone, and I left him alone, like an idiot. I wanted to know why the hell he even stood up for that little weirdo, he didn't even know him.

But that changed soon enough.

Aaron and Nicky became fast friends really quick. Wherever you saw Aaron, there was Nicky, and wherever you saw Nicky, there was Aaron. Their friendship was annoying, especially since they had roped two other girls into their gang of weirdos.

And one of them was my own freaking cousin!

Lucy had always been a sweet girl, and when I heard she also hung out with Aaron, I was livid. Oh Lucy, if only you knew the things he did and said to me in school.

After she died on the Rotten Core, I couldn't have hated Aaron anymore than I did back then. Then both him and Mya disappeared, and I couldn't have been happier.

Matter fact, the whole school was happy. Now that Aaron was gone, no one had to walk the halls in fear.

But of course, that weirdo, Nutty Nicky was the only one not happy with his disappearance. He thought their father murdered him and Mya, and he always said he was going to prove it.

Whenever he came to school with some sort of proof, we all laughed and made fun of him and told him he was such an obsessive hothead who stalked a lonely widow who lost his family. But Nicky wasn't the kind of person to give up so easily.

That whole thing went on for months.

Every other week, he'd tell us bullshit stories about him breaking into Mr. Peterson's house to find proof that he was a murderer. No one believed him, but he kept on doing it anyway.

I kind of admired his determination, it made him kind of cute in my eyes, but those days were just too much.

Then he disappeared.

No one really thought much of it, everyone thought he ran away like he always did.

But throughout the month he was gone, I kinda missed him a little bit. His voice, his face, everything about him I missed.

I tried explaining it to my girl scout friends, and they all made fun of me and said I was in love with him. Of course, I denied because why the hell would I ever be interested in a weirdo like him?

Then he came back to school, and he was even more of a mess than before.

He wore a dirty potato sack over his head and kept mumbling to himself how he would keep playing and begging someone not to hurt him. Of course, like a total bitch, I made fun of him for it and encouraged everyone else to do the same.

"Have you become a doll?", I laughed. "Did your fake trauma turn you into a doll?"

I called it fake trauma because everyone knew what a liar he was. We all thought he was faking it, but none of us knew it was real.

Then one day, I was walking home from a nice walk around the block, when I passed by his house. He was angry and he was screaming "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE! ALL OF YOU!"

I thought it'd be cool to make fun of him for, and fortunately, I had my camera with me. It was a special camera that my friend gave me for work purposes. But instead of using it for work purposes, I used it to humiliate the school's favorite weirdo.

He didn't come to school for a couple of days, but when he did, we all made sure to make it hell for him. I showed him the picture, and I loved how his face looked so miserable, and I loved how he ran out of the school in embarrassment.

The new girl, Trinity, dragged me to Principal Abanate to report me for it, but I just said I was simply worried about Nicky and I was going to give her the picture so she could check up on him. Thankfully, she believed me.

After that, Halloween was coming up, and I made my own costume of Nicky in an unbuckled straightjacket. When I showed him, I didn't like how he showed as little emotion as possible, he didn't even blink at me.

I forgot about it as soon as I thought about how many laughs I was gonna get with this.

But then I started to notice some weird things happening around Raven Brooks. Like the animals, they were acting more violent than usual. I could've sworn I saw a fox's eyes glow red.

I tried to forget about it.

A week later, Trinity and her Inventor's Club ganged up on me and Maritza totally smashed my camera into bits. She said it was payback for humiliating Nicky like I did, and everyone was in on it.

Even Delroy, and he didn't even like Nicky.

I was completely terrified. Not because of them all teaming up, but because my camera was broken. That thing was for work, and my friend would kill me if he found out it was broken. Maritza told me to apologize or else I'd end up like my camera.

So I did.

I pulled Nicky to the bathroom and apologized to him for not just the picture, but for treating him so badly all the time. He said it'd take him a while to forgive me, but he accepted my apology. But he said I could really make it up to him by helping him and his friends with an investigation on someone named...Crowface.

I told him that the animals in the woods have been acting up, so we went there together.

What was so weird about our whole team up was that he told me we should hold hands so we could stay close together. It's not that I didn't like holding his hand, it's just that it was so weird and a little awkward.

The whole time, I tried to keep my face from turning red.

We made it out of the woods alive (Thank God), and the next day, we told the Inventor's Club.

Nicky wanted to make me a new addition to the team, but everyone else was hesitant. I didn't blame them, considering how badly I treated Nicky in the past, they had every reason not to trust me.

But Nicky decided to give me a chance, and that's when I saw something inside Nicky that I didn't even notice before.

He was a genuinely good kid.

It was kind of hard finding kids like him, everyone in Raven Brooks is really shallow and mean for no reason, but he actually cares. I kind of liked him for it.

Not like in a romantic way...at least I don't think so, just in a way that a friend is supposed to because someone is a good person.

I kept telling myself that I didn't like Nicky romantically, and I was almost starting to believe it. But something always told me that I was in denial.

I decided to try and ignore it, but even though I tried, I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe I liked him.

[possessionisamyth]

Genuinely a shame that resident evil doesn't really go into food that much, but I also completely understand since the "food" you see being eaten 99% of the time is people and rot. However, this will not stop me from food related headcanons, so lets talk about eating traits for the recurring (3 or more separate RE appearances) cast:

Chris Redfield- Never been a picky eater. Before RE5, he pretty much let his metabolism do all the work along with his "stay in shape" workout regimen, so he ate whatever he wanted and most of the time it was junk food, fast food, and meals with a lot of bread and potatoes. When he started working out more, his diet shifted to eating more fats and proteins since they give him a steady flow of energy instead of quick bursts. It doesn't mean he's stopped eating junk food or eating out. His palette simply changed from eating bags of chips and a roll of cookies everyday to maybe a large bag or two of chips and a large pack of cookies that he slowly finishes over the span of a few weeks. Beer and water are interchangeable depending on the meal.

Jill Valentine- She's the pasta person that will use a fork and a spoon underneath to twirl her noodles before eating them. Loves anything covered in a good savory sauce, and she will tear bits of bread off to swipe the rest of her plate clean. She prefers chicken over beef and pork over tofu. Entered a hot wing eating contest once on a dare, and she lost, but she made sure to find out what hot sauce they used so she could keep a bottle in her pantry. She drinks a lot of water, and she likes the taste of it. Not a fan of tea unless it's iced and sweetened heavily. Otherwise not really a fan of sweets when it comes to candy or baked goods unless there's some tartness or sourness to it.

Rebecca Chambers- Her diet leans more into foods she doesn't need utensils to finish like sandwiches, wraps, tacos, and the classic pizza fold with thin crust. She has a sweet tooth, but this is mainly for drinks and hard candies. She loves soda. She doesn't like how gummy candy sticks to her teeth due to the texture. Baked sweets are okay as long as they aren't super sticky to handle, but she'll make an exception for things which have a heavy amount of chocolate. She has a bag of mini-muffins on her desk for breakfast in the mornings. People know not to take any unless they desire her wrath. She knows when Chris has eaten them when she see's a package of snack cakes and an apology post-it note in her drawer.

Barry Burton- Before the gun incident, Barry was the guy who ate primarily meats and very little vegetables unless his stomach was fighting him. After the incident, he opened up his palette more to show he appreciated the hard work put into the meal. Ask him what his favorite food is and his answer changes every time cause it's always what his wife cooked for dinner the night before. He's a dinner guy. He's either too tired in the mornings or too in a rush to go to work, so breakfast is a no-go, but dinners are spent with his family, and post Revelations 2, he cherished them even more. Only drinks water from the tap.

Albert Wesker- Eats expensive looking food because it has the least amount of mess during consumption, and is an ego boost to his god complex wherein everything has to be prepared exactly to his taste. If during his time with S.T.A.R.S they managed to drag him out to eat, he would get a drink and nothing else. He doesn't like limp vegetables no matter how much dressing people cover them in to compensate, and he hates greasy food. His taste towards sweet things are minimal. He enjoys sweeter cheeses like cream cheese or mascarpone, and he tried to like tiramisu, but he didn't like how soft angel fingers are. He will also only eat macarons with a dark chocolate filling sandwiched between. Neutral about water and enjoys teas and wines.

Claire Redfield- Was the pickiest eater as a kid. Hated it when the food on her plate touched, or the juice from one part of her meal touched the other. She had the special disposable plates where each part of her meal was separated so that she'd actually finish the food she was given. She was also disgusted with canned vegetables. As an adult most of those hang-ups are gone. She'll eat almost anything now, and she loves trying new foods from the places she travels to. Flatbreads are her best friend. Pita, naan, chapati, and so on, she can make a meal out of bread and butter alone. She still hates canned vegetables, but she buys fresh or frozen vegetables and incorporates them into her meals where she can. She also hates the taste of water. She'll go for coffee or tea first.

Leon Kennedy- Allegedly is relaxed with all foods except when there's one thing on it he doesn't want to eat. No pickles on his burger. No red onions in his guacamole. No sliced fruit in or on his cake. It's not even that he hates these ingredients or has a texture discrepancy. He just has preferences on where they should be and where they shouldn't. He'll put those same pickles on his club sandwich, or ask for red onions on pizza, and he loves a good fruit pie. He also eats so many of those pre-packaged fruit cups. Neutral about regular water but treats flavored sparkling water like a treat and sometimes hides it in his flask. It's a fun prank to play on Claire.

Ada Wong- Eats more vegetarian style meals, but is not a vegetarian. This isn't done on purpose or for any particular reason. Simply a lot of the meals she favors tend to have an equal amount of vegetables and grains to a lower amount of meat, and some cooks are much more scarce on the meat than others. This resulted in a palate shift where she's fine if there isn't meat on her plate. She's not a big fan of greasy, deep-fried foods, but her guilty pleasure is shrimp toast, and she only has it off the clock when she finds someone who makes it well. Her other guilty pleasure is cinnamon sugar donuts, and she has that more often as a snack to finish off her lunch. Neutral about water and has an iced coffee preference.

Ingrid Hunnigan- She likes rice more than bread and will eat several bowls of rice with whatever the main food is if they go together. Seasoned and spiced long grain rice or plain sticky short grain rice, she'll enjoy them all as long as it's prepared correctly. Loves eating tofu. She'll trade any meat for tofu except for seafood. She's the one ordering surf and turf or the dish with shrimp in it if the option is available. Yet, she cannot eat anything with a face. She doesn't care how pretty the presentation is, there shouldn't be a shrimp or lobster head on her plate when she gets it. She always orders dessert unless she's eating with others, and likes anything cherry flavored. Enjoys drinking water and has to drink water between her energy drink refills.

Thanks for getting to the bottom of this even if you don't agree with any of them! I'll gladly do more of these for any other RE characters if asked, and I'm open to playful debate/convo about the ones listed or not listed.

[celestialcrowley]

Good morning! Good whatever-time-this-post-finds-you!

My phone updated. Thanks, I hate it. Anyway, I had a bio pinned, but I took it down because I wanted my 6,000 years meta to be pinned. I’m currently on the side of procrastination — I should be working on my GO fiction, someone shout at me to write — so here is a little bit more in depth bio about the ghost behind this tumblr.

🥂🪽🐝

Real Name: Sarah.

Nickname(s): There’s a list. Caps, Ghost, Khas, Khasper, Khasper the Spicy Ghost, Pippin, Haands, Crowley, Ginger and Tapeworm.

Nickname Origin(s): Buckle up. Caps is an age old nickname that was given to me because I wear hats all the time. Ghost began with a chat group I used to be in eons ago. The different variants of Khasper were given to me at my very first job, but we collectively agreed to change things up a bit, and Khasper the Spicy Ghost was born. Pippin was given to me when the Lord of the Rings trilogy was first released. Haands was given to me by former coworkers. Their reasoning behind that is I’ve got big hands. Crowley was given to me by my work bestie, and Ginger was given to me by the rest of my coworkers for my only slightly red hair. Or maybe it’s for my fiery personality. Tapeworm is something my uncle calls me presumably because I’m always hungry, but isn’t that the nature of an actual hobbit?

Preferred Name(s): Ghost, Khasper, Crowley, Ginger or Pippin.

Ao3: Beyond_Ineffable.

Social Media(s): I have Facebook and TikTok. My TikTok is actuallyahobbit89 if anyone is curious. I’m hardly on it though. I’ll pop in to post a video and then disappear like a ghost.

State: Born in raised in Floriduha. It’s a state of chaos.

Birthdate: July 25.

Pet(s): I’ve got two dogs. Mycroft is a probably Dutch shepherd Australian cattle dog mix. I’ve never had him DNA tested, but his mother is an Australian cattle dog. Patch is a portly pitbull mix.

Hobbies: Writing, reading, listening to music and true crime podcasts and stand up paddle boarding.

Personality: Here’s the best way I can describe this. I’m a permanently exhausted pigeon who functions on caffeine, anxiety and not enough sleep. I’m shy and socially awkward, but once I’m comfortable with someone and know that I can completely be myself around them, the anxiety disappears.

Favorite Holiday(s): Big spooky fan, me.

Favorite Drink(s): Coffee, Ice sparkling water + caffeine, London fog tea and cranberry juice.

Favorite Food(s): Sushi, tacos, salmon, crepes, lasagna, sweet potatoes and chicken teriyaki.

Favorite Dessert(s): Pumpkin pie.

Favorite Color(s): Turquoise, but any shade of blue, really. It’s pretty.

Favorite Quote(s): “She walks in starlight in another world.” “The world is not in your books and maps. It’s out there.” “Why do we fall, sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.” “A witch ought never to be frightened in the darkest forest because she should be sure that the most terrifying thing in the forest was her.” “I know of witches who whistle at different pitches, calling things that don’t have names.”

Favorite Book(s): The Inheritance Collection and Neverwhere, which I still need to finish reading.

Favorite TV Show(s): Good Omens, Sherlock, Lucifer, The Exorcist and Hannibal.

Favorite Movie(s): Bad Samaritan, The Hobbit trilogy, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Favorite Character(s): Crowley, Aziraphale, Furfur, Hastur, Pippin, Bilbo Baggins, Sherlock, John Watson, Father Marcus and Will Graham.

Favorite Actor(s): David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Martin Freeman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Jason Statham, Keanu Reeves and Mads Mikkelsen. It’s an accent thing and a hair thing.

Favorite Song(s): There’s too many. I’ll just drop this here. Whiplash Radio.

Favorite Music Genre(s): Mostly everything under the sun.

Favorite Podcast(s): Small Town Murder.

Have You Ever Met A Celebrity: Yes. Jimmie Johnson, a NASCAR driver, visited the very first job I had. He brought his daughter. Story time! My former coworkers were being a bit too extra around him — personal space, what personal space? — and he didn’t like it. I had not yet had a chance to speak to him, and I was told not to because he’s rude. I didn’t believe that, so later, I saw Jimmie was standing at the fence with his daughter. I walked over, said hello and asked him if his daughter would like to pet the dog. He said yes, so I moved the dog closer so she could pet him through the fence. She did, he thanked me, and that was our interaction. He was very pleasant.

Have You Ever Been To A Concert: I have not, unfortunately.

Do You Collect Anything: Yes. Coffee cups, gnomes and pocket knives. That’s a weird combination.

Do You Have Any Idols: Yes! Neil Gaiman. He’s a legend and someone I admire, especially when the writer’s block is slaying me.

Is There A Real Life Friend You Can Completely Be Yourself With: Yes! I made a tumblr post about him! We’ve known each other a long time.

What Are Your Interests: All things spooky. Ghosts. Graveyards. Stars. Galaxies. Planets. Everything about the solar system. True crime. History. Metaphysical things.

Where Would You Love To Travel To: Ireland. New Zealand. Scotland.

Is There A Random Fact About Yourself That You’d Like To Share: I like flamingos.

No pressure tags: @phoen1xr0se @ineffabildaddy @peregrintook @sad-chaos-goblin @spot-o-bodysnatchin @apocalypticginger-blog @crowleyscleaninglady @missdeliadilisblog @ritz-writes @ineffablemoist @turquoisedata @azirapalalalala @peachworthy @pretendygood @belladonna413 @jackinistafflower @aziraphalalala @scarecrowcloud @tragic-cosmic-magic @musingsofmaisie

It’s open to everyone, but here is an apology dance in case I missed anyone! 💚

[lilacella]

After they had returned to the castle, things changed. In the beginning, they would still kiss and cuddle like they used to last year but Sirius could feel James slowly pull away. Their kisses became shorter and when he tried to reach for James' hand now, James would suddenly busy it with something else. It stung, but James didn't have to do any of this. It wasn't like they were a couple.

This isn't really smutty but there is definitely some mature content in here, so minors beware! Not a lot though. It's basically like one paragraph, so nobody get too excited xD

Reindeer Games

Previous Next

Chapter 4/5: Summer after 5th - 6th year

"I certainly will not!" Sirius threw down his fork with a loud clank. His mother shot him a sharp look.

"You will," his father said sternly.

"You should be grateful, she is quite pretty," said Regulus, impaling a potato on his plate.

"Then you go get fucking engaged to her!" Sirius hissed furiously at his brother. He could hear his pulse rushing in his ears. They couldn't do this. They couldn't, right? You can't just get engaged against your will, can you?

Katarina Tomova, the daughter of an influential Bulgarian pure blood politician. Of course father would want to tap into his connections and what better way to establish a good relation than to wed each others offspring. But Sirius would not be a pawn in his fathers game. 

His mother glared at him.

"Behave yourself, Sirius. Your brother is too young to get engaged and you are becoming of age soon. As the oldest son it is your duty to uphold the bloodline!"

Sirius threw himself back in his chair, crossed his arms and snorted.

"You can't make me."

"Stop being ridiculous, boy, this is an honor." Orion Blacks voice filled the room with a deep thunder. Calm, but menacing none the less. He fixated Sirius with his eyes. Usually, he would have turned away now but today he didn't.

"I will not marry her," Sirius growled, holding his fathers gaze.

"It is time for you to grow up. We have spent enough time watching your childish behavior, sullying our blood by mingling with traitors and half-bloods. I will not permit this to go any further. Marriage will finally knock some sense into you."

Sirius blood was boiling. Knock some sense into him. These Bastards...

His father continued. "We have arranged a meeting for the upcoming weekend. The engagement will take place in late August - lest you embarrass us." Orion fixated Sirius with a look that left no doubt that he better not be doing that unless he wanted to suffer some grave consequences. But Sirius didn't care about consequences right now. He jumped up from his chair, slamming his hands on the table causing a cacophony off clinking dishes.

"Fuck you! I will not get fucking married so you can get invited to some facist circle jerk group!"

His mothers spell hit him almost immediately. Sirius body slammed back into the chair, his joints locking painfully into the perfect right angles of an upright sitting position.

"Silencio!" She yelled and Sirius last option to protest was taken. Her gleaming eyes met the fury in his, but only briefly, before she turned back to her husband and younger son in an almost sickeningly sweet tone.

"We shall have a quiet dinner from now."

"Thank you, dear," Orion replied, without a trace of fondness in his voice.

Sirius had been sitting in his chair for three hours, twenty three minutes and eight seconds. He had been staring at the hands of the big grandfather clock in the dining room, since his mother had hexed him. It was the only way he could somehow control his tumultuous emotions. He hated it, when she did this. And she knew that. It was one of the few punishments that actually worked, that actually affected him.

Being forced to sit still for hours, unable to leave, unable to scream. And Merlin, did he want to scream. The darkness was creeping into the room as the summer sun set outside, pulling away the last traces of light around him, drenching him in shadows.

Sirius tried to keep calm. Take deep breaths and just watch the clock. Three hours, twenty four minutes and thirteen seconds. That meant only three hours, thirty five minutes and fourty seven seconds until the spell would finally let up. He could do that. He had done it before. But his whole body hurt and it was getting dark and he was going to miss his call with James. Oh fuck, why did he think about that.

Tears welled in his eyes, one spilled and ran down his cheek, dripping onto his robes. His muted breaths were shaky. From his pocket he could hear James voice, muffled, saying his name. He couldn't do this.

Three hours, thirty five minutes and ten seconds later, Sirius could finally free himself. His body was stiff and ached from the prolonged static position. He carefully stretched out his shaky limbs, desperately trying to even out his breath, to stop fucking crying, before the Silencio would let up.

He felt nauseous. And all he wanted to do was to get upstairs, curl up in his bed and call James. But it was past midnight now and he could hardly expect James to be awake now. Maybe he'd try anyways.

He took another deep breath and wiped his face dry before he left the dining room. Of course his mother was waiting outside in an armchair. He knew she would, but it still startled him. The sudden light of the living room blinded his sensitive eyes.

"Ah, there you are. Have we come to our senses now? Or do you need a another treatment."

Sirius could feel a shudder of dread that extinguished the fire of defiance with a sharp fizzle. He bit his tounge and shook his head.

"Good." She got up and cupped his chin with her hand.

Don't touch me.

"Then up to bed with you. I made an appointment at Gamblets & Rigor for tomorrow morning. You will need representable robes for the weekend."

Sirius resisted the urge to rip his face out of her grip. His jaw was clenched so tightly, it hurt.

When she finally let go he stormed up the stairs to his room, almost slamming the door behind him but stopping it at the last second. He just couldn't deal with anymore today. He felt raw and tired and he just wanted to talk to James.

Actually, he didn't want to talk at all. He wanted James to hold him. Make him feel safe and okay like he always did.

Sirius dropped to his knees on the wooden floor and sobbed. He didn't care whether Regulus would hear him through the wall. He couldn't keep it together any longer.

They were really going to marry him to that girl. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let them take him to Bulgaria. He would have to figure something out. But what? He could simply not comply, simply refuse, but he had a really bad feeling about what his father might do if he went down this route. There were certain options to make people do things against their will and Sirius wouldn't put it past his father to use these extreme measures to get his way...

He could barely breathe. It felt like the walls of his room were closing in on him. He needed to get out.

Sirius knees slammed harshly onto the wet pavement. He had fucked up the inertia spell. Great. He looked up to the open window of his room, curtains flattering in the crisp night air. He swallowed his pain and got up. It was a long way to go to the Potters house.

When he finally arrived, he was soaking wet from the rain, his feet and wrists hurt from running as Padfoot for hours and his head was throbbing from the exertion. The dog crawled through the hedges into the backyard and barked. One time. Two times. Finally, a window opened and a familiar face poked out into the dim light of dawn. Sirius could have cried.

He turned back into human form and waved. James eyes widened in surprise and he waved back, before abruptly vanishing again. Sirius frowned, puzzled. Then, James reappeared. On his broom this time, maneuvering himself out the window and flying down towards him. When he landed on the wet grass he pulled Sirius into a tight embrace.

"Padfoot. What are you doing here? Are you okay?"

Sirius couldn't answer. He just buried his face in James pyjama top and sobbed.

"It's okay, you are safe now. It's all going to be okay, Pads," James traced gentle circles on Sirius' back as he held him, curled together on his bed. Sirius had changed into dry spare clothes and James had tucked him in tightly. He was feeling a lot better already but he still couldn't really will himself to speak. Maybe he had forgotten how to. He pressed himself closer to James with a whince. Pathetic, but that was what he felt like anyways right now. James gently stroked his hair and pressed a kiss on his temple. Sirius' heart fluttered and he suddenly couldn't breathe for entirely different reasons.

When James had kissed him the first time, Sirius had immediately become addicted to it. The blissful feeling of James soft lips connecting with his, the touch of his hands on his face. He felt safe and wonderful and like tiny little ants were running through his entire body, spreading from his chest. It was simply delightful. And exactly what he needed right now, to drive away the gnawing feeling of doom that had befallen him.

So he tipped his head upwards and gently pecked James lips. James immediately responded, cupping his face and kissing him deeply, their noses getting squished on each others faces. Sirius gasped inadvertently into the kiss, almost overwhelmed by how good it felt to finally be reunited with James. Being away from him for so long felt like torture.

"I don't want to go back," he finally croaked as they broke apart. James pushed a strand of hair out of Sirius' face, caressing his cheek with his knuckles.

"I mean...If you want, you could just stay here."

Sirius hadn't intended to run away for good. He really hadn't. He'd just needed to see James.

But the Potters were so sweet and so kind and the thought of leaving the comfort of being with James behind, to return to the awful place he used to call home, just to be potentially forced to marry some random pure blood girl in another country...impossible. So Sirius stayed.

The first couple days he was terrified that his parents might show up at the Potters door, demanding him to come with them,  but they didn't. Maybe they had given up on him now. Sirius wasn't sure how he felt about that. He should be relieved. Now he could finally be free. But it also stung.

Since he had left, Sirius' head had felt like it was wrapped in cotton. He felt like he was drowning in a lake of his own emotions, unable to truly pinpoint what they were, unable to swim. James was his lifeboat. He could cling onto him and then everything felt okay for a bit. So, eventhough the Potters had pretty much immediately turned the guest room into his room, he always stayed in James'. He didn't want to be away from him, even if the only thing separating them, were some walls. The two of them slept together every night; bodies tightly pressed together, spooning, hugging, on each others chest.

"Good night, Prongs." Sirius leaned over, kissed James on the lips and snuggled into the covers.

"Hey, wait, one more," said James sleepily and turned Sirius head back towards him. Their lips met once more, longer this time. James let out a content sigh and closed his eyes. Sirius heart was beating in his throat. He lifted his hand and gently traced James' hairline. Looking at James made him feel so full. Full of...something. It was good. Everything was good, as long as he was with James. As long as he could touch him and kiss him and fall asleep in his arms.

James' eyes opened again and he smiled at Sirius.

"I'm glad you're here, Pads. We'll never be apart again."

"You promise?"

"Promise." James pulled him closer.

I love you, Sirius thought, but quickly pushed the thought back into the darkness of his subconscious.

When they woke up Sirius face was still buried in the crook of James' neck, one leg thrown over his hips. It was nice and warm and cozy and Sirius could have stayed like this forever. James however seemed otherwise inclined and began to shift away from him. Sirius made a protesting noise.

"Sorry mate, I just need to get up."

"Hmmmm jus' five more min'n's," murmured Sirius, unwilling to let go yet.

"No, really Pads...I need to get up."

Sirius felt something press against his thigh. Oh.

He slowly lifted his head and smirked at his friend.

"Why? Do you have something you need to take care of?"

James blushed hard and cringed.

"Sorry...I..."

Sirius interrupted him with a kiss. He didn't know why. This was hardly appropriate right now. But we wanted to. James replied eagerly, immediately pushing his tounge in Sirius' mouth. Sirius could feel his blood rushing downwards. He was about to have a similar problem...

Things kind of escalated from this point. Suddenly, hips were grinding against each other while their lips remained interlocked, hands gripping onto each other with horny desperation, first syncing up and then speeding their rythm until they both collapsed into the blissful afterglow of their climax.

Their faces were just centimeters apart, noses still touching, still feeling each others breath. None of them said anything. Because what was there to say. Just two friends, helping each other out. Didn't have to mean anything. Could happen to anyone.

It wouldn't be the last time.

**

"So you ran away for good?" Remus asked while shoving his suitcase into the overhead compartment. Sirius nodded.

"Not going back there unless they drag me."

"I'm sure they will leave you alone. Why would they suddenly turn up now."

"And I won't let them drag you," said James and wrapped an arm around Sirius' shoulder. Sirius gave him a smile and then glanced back anxiously out the window, scanning the people on the station for the faces he feared to see. Remus sat down accross from him.

"Who knows," Sirius murmured darkly and rolled his wand between his fingers.

"You want some candy?" Peter offered him a handful. Sirius shook his head without really looking at the colorful assortment. James reached out and took one.

"When will this bloody train start?"

James squeezed him lightly.

"It will be okay, Pads. I'm here."

Yes. He was. Maybe it would be okay.

After they had returned to the castle, things changed. In the beginning, they would still kiss and cuddle like they used to last year but Sirius could feel James slowly pull away. Their kisses became shorter and when he tried to reach for James' hand now, James would suddenly busy it with something else. It stung, but James didn't have to do any of this. It wasn't like they were a couple.

Then the kisses stopped alltogether and Sirius started feeling weird whenever he initiated any of their usual intimacies. James still slept in his bed sometimes, but if he did, he would lay at the edge of the bed, barely touching him. Sirius felt like he was going through a cold withdrawal. He didn't know what that felt like of course, but he imagined it somewhat like this. It hurt. His head could barely function. He craved James so badly, but didn't dare to reach out, since James so clearly didn't want the same anymore. He had missed James dearly, when they had been apart but being this close and still unable to touch him like he wished he could - that was even worse. The worst part was that he couldn't even talk about it with anyone. Usually, if he felt like shit, he would've told James, but that was out of the question in this matter. James seemed to have enough of being this touchy with him. And Sirius was about to find out why.

"She said yes! She is going out with me! Padfoot, can you believe it?"

Sirius almost choked on his feelings, but still managed to muster a smile.

"Evans?"

"Yes, of course Lily! Who else do I like?"

Yeah. Who else.

"Congratulations, Prongs. Finally." Remus slapped James' shoulder with a smile. Sirius swallowed his raising bile.

"How did you manage to do that? I thought she didn't like you?"

James grinned brightly.

"Well, what can I say. Noone is able to withstand my charms!"

Right. Noone.

"You hexed her?" Peter was perplexed.

"What?!"

"You said 'Noone can resist my charms' so I thought..."

James groaned in annoyance.

"No, Wormtail! Not actual bloody charms! What kind of asshole do you take me for."

Quite one.

"So when will you go out?" Remus asked.

"Next weekend." James swayed giddily. "Oh! Pads, you've got to help me prepare!"

"Don't you think I've helped you sufficiently already?" Sirius couldn't hold the snarky words back. His chest was burning. James froze.

"What do you mean," he asked blankly. From the corner of his eye, Sirius could see Remus and Peter exchange confused glances. Sirius held James gaze for a couple seconds. Defiantly and yet at risk of losing himself in the soft, warm brown. His vision got blurry. He clenched his yaw and blinked the tears away.

"What do I mean?" He faked a genuine laugh. "You've spent the last four years pestering me about your date fantasies with this girl. Trust me mate, we went through everything there is to prepare for."

James relaxed a bit, though Sirius was sure James could tell what he had really meant. He had to know. Did he really not think about this at all? Did it not mean anything? Had they, after all, always just been friends?

James went out with Lily and it went great. Soon, it was her, who he was snogging behind the greenhouses. And Sirius had to listen to his detailed reports, late at night, laying in one of their four-posters. Their once safe little space had become a tourte chamber. Trapped, only inches away from James, having to hear him yap on and on about how pretty Lily was and how she had held his hand and how smart she was and how funny and on and on and on forever until Sirius felt dizzy from trying to keep himself from falling apart.

When James fell asleep next to him during one of these nights, Sirius would curl up against the wall and cry, face buried deep into his pillow, hoping that the feeling would pass as fast as it had started.

He could have said something, of course. He could have confronted James or at least banished him from his bed. He could have distanced himself, slowly pulling away - just like James had - until their friendship was nothing more than a distant memory that could no longer hurt him. Maybe he should have. But how could he?

He still needed James. He still loved James. And some - really confusing - part of him was even happy for him. Because James was happy. And Sirius wanted him to be happy, more than anything else. And if Evans made him so happy, he would listen to him as long as he needed to.

Sirius turned around and glanced at James' sleeping face, only illuminated by the few rays of moonlight passing through the gaps in the curtains. He looked so peaceful. Sirius carefully reached out and brushed his fingers over James' skin. He was barely touching him, but the feeling still tore him apart.

**

James going with Lily had become old news. She was constantly with him now and so Sirius could hardly avoid her if he'd wanted to. Luckily, they got along surprisingly well. And after Sirius had overcome the initial urge to hurl himself out of the window every time the two kissed in front of him, he hung out with the couple more often.

James still wrapped his arm around him sometimes while they talked or grabbed his hand to excitedly pull him towards something. But it meant nothing anymore. Sirius knew that now. Maybe it never had. But he also knew that it didn't matter. He could not leave James, couldn't stop being his friend. If he couldn't have him the way he wanted to, he'd just take what he could get. Even if it hurt. He'd rather spend an eternity suffering by James' side, than spend a minute without him.