#BRO STOP THAT!!! COME BACK!!!! I NEED MORE IDEAS FOR PART THREE!!!!

[bratkook]

.

[jazzsonly]

ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴏꜰꜰ

pairing(s): maddy perez x fem!reader (no pronouns used.)

warning(s): angst? arguing? none technically. old fic meaning old ass writing.

summary: you can't understand why Maddy won't save your failing relationship

part two. (coming soon!)

────────✬────────

you were laid against fezco's couch while you, him, and rue shared a blunt. tv on, with a random movie blaring from it. you don't know, you weren't really paying attention. maddy was clouding your mind as she usually did.

you had your sixth argument alone this week. you were tired—you couldn't understand. everything was fine. you were fine—more than fine, you were happy. so was maddy or at least you thought because all she seemed to do was start an argument lately. the weirdest part: she'd get even more mad when you tried to deescalate the situation and understand her.

"i think jules is cheating on me." rue announced, blowing smoke from her nose.

"oh word?" fezco let out while I was hummed in response.

was that it? was maddy cheating on you? no. you held her too high to think of her doing that.

"she’a been hanging with elliot a lottt." rue dragged her words.

"maybe you should ask her..." you trail off.

“you know, communicate.”

"yea’ that's word. communication is key." you both turn to fezco.

"when have you been in a relationship?" rue asked the question you were both thinking.

"don’t worry about me—I know a little some." you snort, you loved fez. you knew if you needed anything he had you.

"yo, there's this weird ass old guy out back." everyone looked at ashtray who held a shotgun in his hands.

"fuck, man."

fez stood and turned to both of you, "y'all should head out."

you didn't ask any questions, standing up you made your way to the door. rue behind you as well, grumbling about how she was comfortable.

"you need a ride?" you asked the Bennett.

"nah I got a bike."

✬

maddy's house was on the way to yours so you figured why not stop by. you weren't in the mood to argue so you thought maybe you could get her relaxed and watch a movie.

you knocked on the door a totaled or three times before her mom open it,

"y/n?" she seemed oddly surprised to see you.

"hey mrs.perez, is maddy here?"

"yeah, she's in her room." she pointed to the familiar stairs, stepping aside to let you.

you followed the route upstairs, knocking on the bedroom door twice before peaking your head in. maddy on her bed, phone to her ear. her eyes met you face and she rolled her eyes before telling whoever (assumed Cassie) on the phone she'd call them later.

"hey—I was on my way home and wanted to stop by, hope you don't min—

"come here." you followed, closing the door behind you. surprisingly, she pulled you into a hug, after placing a kiss on the corner of your mouth.

"listen, I don't wanna argu—

"were you smoking?" she questioned, sniffing your shirt that had a light scent of weed.

"yeah, just a little." you mutter already having an idea where this was going.

"you've been doing it a lot—and you've been hanging with rue."

"i’m not on that shit, maddy. just some weed and light drinking. just to relax." you huff at her accusation.

"drinking too? what? you gonna end of like my dad AND rue?" here you go.

"maddy—"

"you’re so fucking selfish." here come the insults.

“i do it because of you!" you blurt of out, voice rising.

"me? no you do because you're fucking self and only think about yourself. god—i should've known when i found you were friends with rue and fez."

you perk up, pointing your finger. “they're good people. don’t you fucking look down on them."

you weren't normally defensive but you weren't gonna let her shit talk your people.

"look, maddy, i didn't come here for this shit. so call me when you get your head on right, bro." you stood, trying to exit of the door you came in but maddy’s hand caught your wrist.

"stay."

"i just—

"we can watch a movie." she gave you doe eyes and you contemplated for a second.

if you stay you know you'd probably argue again but there's also a chance you can be civil. but that was a 75 to 35 ratio

"please, baby."

you sigh, sitting back down.

━━━ 👩🏽‍💻

[gh0stsp1d3r]

ℳ𝒶𝓎𝒷𝒶𝓃𝓀𝓈 𝓈𝒾𝓈𝓉ℯ𝓇

Part 3, chapter 1- run bitch, run!

Series masterlist

It doesn’t seem like it but rafe and reader will have their comeback I swear 🙏🏽 this is just more buildup.

Summary: the secret thing with Rafe has been weighing down on you, moving weed turns into a nightmare, and you and your brother are at odds for a while.

“We’re gonna be fine, dude. Quit stressing so much.” You told John B when you pulled up.

You all got outside, you stretching as they began to walk. You followed.

“I don’t… I don’t know about this.”

“Bro, you’re worrying way too much about this, okay? It is just farmers who brought organic seeds from South America that we are gonna unload.”

“Yeah. It’s usually a pretty easy job. I mean, I gotta grinder and a pre roll if it’ll help calm your nerves.” You offered, pulling both out your pocket.

“It won’t, thanks. It’s a drug-smuggling operation.”

“Do you wanna get your dad or not?” JJ asked.

“Yes, I do! Okay? Look, this has to work out, all right? I doubted him, and I blamed him. And all this time, he was just trying to protect me. And now he’s been abducted so I kinda need a bit of -“

“John b, no! Okay, listen, listen, I know.” JJ exclaimed, putting his hands on JBs shoulders, all of you stopping in your tracks. “You know who you’re gonna have to trust right now? Papa J.”

“Papa J?” You snorted, laughing at the name.

“Shut up. I got this, 100%.”

“I mean, 60% would be good, honestly.” John B mumbled, continuing to walk.

“Holy shit, look at that thing.”

“Yeah, dude, it’s like an RV with wings.”

“They’re already unloading.” You pointed out, watching them put it into the U-Haul.

“Yo! We aren’t late, are we?” JJ asked.

“Nope, there was a change of plan though. “ Mike walked towards the three of you.

“Oh, uh, okay.”

“You three, are gonna drive the truck up to Elizabeth city to make the drop. The address is in the truck. There’ll be a dummy car for you to use to come back. The plane’ll still be waitin’.”

“Right, okay, so, um, you just want us to drive the truck?” You asked.

“Correct.”

“Can I like… flash you a titty or something instead? Shit, there a bed anywhere?” You glanced around, trying to laugh it off. But the man’s face was serious.

“Funny.” He remarked, looking down at you. JJ was gonna take the keys before John B pulled him.

“Actually, can I borrow ‘em for one second?”

“Hey, hey, this is not what we talked about. This is way more dangerous.”

“Not to mention they’re looking for John B right now, anyone sees him, we’re all done for.” You spoke quietly.

“It don’t matter what we talked about, in for a penny, in for a pound. You do this, you get your ride.”

“Yeah, it’s just that-“

“If not, you know how this works, right?” He looked at you, leaning down.

You all glanced around, there was no other option.

“Now, highway patrol is changing shifts as we speak. This is the window, take it to the drop house on prospect. Directions are in the truck. Any luck, we’ll have you back before sundown.” Mike chuckled, holding the keys out again.

“C’mon. Take the key.”

“Yeah, c’mon, get in the fuckin’ truck.” You mumbled, taking the keys and getting in the drivers seat.

“How are we gonna fit?” JJ asked, watching you start the truck.

“Sit on each others lap.” You shrugged. “Or someone just crouch down in the middle.”

JJ ended squatting down into the middle, bumping around with every movement. John B sat in the seat.

“You have any idea what’s in the back of this truck?” He asked JJ.

“Yes, John B, I know what’s in the back. And it’s gonna be fine, it’s gonna work out, okay?”

“I’m sick of your bullshit plans, man.”

“Goddamn.”

“No, I’m just saying this might top the time you told me to fake appendicitis in jail.”

“Yeah, and that almost worked.”

“Can you get the map out? I got no fuckin’ clue where I’m goin’ right now.”

John B held in.

“All right, we need to get to 158, okay?”

You ripped the page out, looking at it.

“Cop. Y/n, there’s a cop.” John B said, you and JJ looking at the car.

You put the paper away, heart racing.

“Shit.”

“Okay, play it cool, alright?”

“I’m playing it cool. You play it cool.”

“I’m super cool.” John B defended, leaning against the window.

“I’m as cool as it gets, alright?”

You were indeed not as cool as it gets. You brought your hand up, waving with an akward smile as you passed. “Hi, officer.”

John B grabbed your hand, making you pull onto the side and off the road, all of you shouting over each other.

“Oh my God he’s getting in the car. John B, he’s gettin’ in the fucking car!” You shouted, the sirens wailed and you groaned. “Damn it!”

“Dude, goblin mode, alright? We gotta lose him, okay?” JJ exclaimed.

“Goblin mode? What does that even mean, JJ?!”

“That’s what we gotta do!”

“Shut up and hang the fuck onto something!” You shouted over them, JJ grabbing onto the seats as you sped up, before swerving directly into the forest.

“Get out, get out!” You shouted at the both of them, both of them running.

“I swear to God, JJ if we get through this I’m gonna kill you!” John B told him, running past the trees.

“You probably won’t have to because barracuda Mike will first.”

“How the fuck does she run so fast?!” JJ asked when he lost sight of you, looking around and catching his breath for a moment. He saw you sprinting for your life behind the trees and both started running again.

˚⊹ ʚɞ♡︎ ˚⋅.

“Listen, I been going through it over and over and over again, okay? You said it yourself, right? The only way this thing goes south is my dad. Alright, we gotta nip that shit in the bud. We gotta take him out.”

Barry sat back, watching Rafe pace around.

“And anyway, who���s gonna know? He’s already dead, you can’t kill someone who’s already dead.” He stopped his pacing for a moment, looking at Barry now.

“Hey, if my pop stays here, all right, our deal, us doing business together, using the company to launder the money, all that fifty-fifty shit…”

“Mmm-hmm…”

“All that’s gone.”

Barry leaned in. “So what you’re asking me right now… is something that once it’s done, cannot be undone. There’s no going back. I’m talkin’ bout your family, talking about your pops, talking about your blood. And blood complicates things.”

He took a sip, pausing. “Hypothetically speaking, let’s say I do it. And then, for whatever reason, you decide to change your mind… sell me out.”

Race shook his head. “No. Yeah, this has been a long time coming.” Rafe leaned in closer now. “He’s always had his boot on my neck. Holding me down. That’s all gonna be over soon.”

Rafe stood up, walking away. “I’m not changing my mind.”

Barry took the handful of cash in his hands, this kid was becoming fucked up.

˚⊹ ʚɞ♡︎ ˚⋅.

You stopped on the road, panting heavily and groaning, laying on the ground, JJ and John B coming up from behind.

“My dad.. is somewhere in South America, probably with a knife to his throat, and what are we doing? Moving weight?” John B panted. “In goblin mode?”

“What does that even mean, Jj?!”

“How many times will you complain about me trying to help save your dad?” He shouted.

“Help is the exact opposite of what you’re doing right now!”

“You know what? You’re right. You’re absolutely right. But you know whose fault that is? You and your treasure obsessed father.”

John B shoved JJ, you standing up and watching the exchange. Jj laughed, falling back.

“Oh, okay! That’s where we’re going?”

“Yeah, that’s where we’re going.”

“Yeah, and it looks like we just went there too!” JJ shoved John B.

You shook your head at them, watching them push and shove at each other.

You got inbetween when it became too much, John B going to attack JJ.

“Enough!” You shouted at them at the top of your lungs, pushing them away from each other. The shout scared away nearby birds and might as well have shook the damn trees.

“Fighting each other isn’t gonna help us do shit! Are you guys fucking out of your minds?” You pointed to your temple, looking at the both of them.

“I don’t even wanna hear it from you, y/n!”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!” You shouted at your brother, you shoving him now. You both fought, pushing and shoving him onto the ground.

“Get off me!” He shouted, punching your chest.

“Fuck you, JJ!”

A siren wailed, making both of you pause your movements and look at the sound. John B’s eyes widened, you getting off of JJ, fixing your hair.

“Howdy, boys. And girl.”

“Sup, shoupe?” JJ nodded.

“You guys okay?”

“Yeah, we’re uh, you know, just, um… we’re, we’re good.” John B said, fixing his clothes and watching as Shoupe reached underneath the Twinkie.

“Tracker. Makes it a lot easier to keep an eye on you hoodlums.”

“Hoodlums?” You scoffed, and began to walk up to shoupe, JJ and John B pulling you back with an eye roll.

“All units, evidence team is en route to the abandoned U-haul. Over.”

“Copy that.” Shoupe spoke.

“Sounds like duty calls. So uhm… we we wouldn’t wanna hold you up.” JJ pointed, beginning to walk. “So we’ll get out of your hair.”

“Hold on a minute. We just found a U-haul full of drugs. Out near 158. Y’all wouldn’t happen to be involved in that, would you?” JJ looked at John B.

“You see that? That’s profiling, John B.”

“I know.”

“And I really don’t appreciate it.”

“Just cause we’re pogues doesn’t mean we’re drug dealers. No, no, we’re not that desperate now, shoupe.” You told him.

“I can see the grinder sticking out your pocket.” He pointed.

You looked down, eyes widening and pushing it back down.

“I don’t deal.” You shrugged.

“Nah, you been too busy beating people up and breaking up parties. Huh?” He looked at John B now.

“Okay, there’s an explanation-“ JJ started, but was cut off.

“I hate to break it to you, kid, but I’ve got a warrant.”

“Wh- a- a warrant?” John B asked.

“Toppers pressing charges.”

“Hold up-“

“What?”

“For what? No, he started it!”

“He did start it!”

All of you talked over each other, John B being pulled over to the van.

“Are you serious?”

“Hands up against the van.”

You threw your hands up in defeat. Jesus you just couldn’t win.

“Shoupe- I didn’t even- this time, I didn’t even do anything, okay?”

“Shoupe, do you know what topper did to John B?” You asked.

“No, but I know what your boy here did.” He put John B in handcuffs. “He beat him in front of the whole town.”

“Yeah, which is-“ you tried to defend.

“And kept beating him after he was down, and Topper may be a douche but you know better than that.”

Shoupe dragged John B over to the cop car.

“Shoupe! Come on, he was messing with John B’s girl. You’d do the same.”

“Shoupe, I get it, okay? But I can’t be locked up right now.” John B told him.

“Well, you should’ve thought of that beforehand.”

“Come on man, we’re doing this again? I don’t have time for this”. He spoke, getting in the backseat.

“Come on.”

“JJ, please.”

“He didn’t do shit too.” He stepped to the side, you standing next to him.

“You know!”

“You both stay safe and stay outta trouble.” Shoupe told you both, stepping inside.

“Hey, John B. Listen, we’re gonna fix it. We’re gonna get down to South America and save your dad.” JJ came up, talking to him.

John B nodded.

“Promise, okay?” You told him.

“Back it up, buddy, we got to go.”

“You’ll be fine. I’ll figure it out. We’ll save your dad, okay?” JJ followed the car as it moved. “You hear me John B? We’re gonna get him!”

You and JJ watched as the car moved, you two staring at the road.

“Shit.” You muttered, kicking a rock on the ground and leaning against the Twinkie, your hands over your face.

˚⊹ ʚɞ♡︎ ˚⋅.

You and JJ stood far away from each other back at the Chateau, everyone else talking amongst themselves while you sat in the corner. Your head was hung low, looking at the ground. Your head snapped up at the sound of the door opening.

“Welcome back.”

“Woah.”

“Good to see you, man.”

“You gotta be kidding me.” JJ mumbled, looking up at John B with a smile.

John B walked towards them all, JJ sitting in the tree.

“I have something i wanna share with you guys. I can get us down to the Orinoco.”

“Are you serious?”

“Okay. And how’s that gonna happen?” Cleo asked her.

“My dad’s gonna let us use the plane.”

“Ward?” You and JJ spoke in unison.

“Your dad?”

“Yep. We lay low tonight, then wheels up first thing in the morning.

“Okay.. that’s a lot to process, your dad actually helping us.”

“I talked to him. He’ll do it.”

“So we trusting Ward now?” Cleo asked.

“Trust Sarah.”

JJ rubbed the back of his neck, still skeptical.

“But wait, i also just have one more thing to say. Um… Since we’ve gotten back from the island, I’ve done some things that I regret. A lot.”

Amen to that, sister, you thought, quietly laughing.

“Yeah, uh…” John B cleared his throat. “I feel… i feel like we’ve all done a thing or two that we regret.”

JJ scoffed from the tree, nodding.

“And I don’t… Poguelandia, guys. It’s all I’ve been able to think about. We were all together on that island, and it was a good thing, and I don’t want to ruin a good thing. And I.. I just wanna know, are we still all in? Are we still all together?”

You rubbed the back of your neck, looking up at JJ.

“Because I am.”

“Yeah.” Kiara whispered, hugging her.

They all laughed and hugged, JJ walking over to them.

“Let’s go get Big John, all right? What do you say there, shit bird?” He looked to John B.

“I think this deserves a woogity. How long are you gonna pretend you’re not coming over here? You too, y/n!” Pope glanced over at you, you sighed and stood up, going next to them.

“Come over here.”

You smiled as you all got into a group hug.

“Now we woogity!”

“Oh, we’re really doing this, aren’t we?”

“We’re doing it, man!”

“Mm-hmm.”

They all sat down, chatting with each other. You sat alone, until JJ suddenly sat down on the steps next to you.

“Hey.” You mumbled to him, remembering the fight you both had earlier.

“Hi.” He handed you a beer bottle, you smiling and taking it from his hands.

“Look, I know I’ve been.. weird, lately-“

“You don’t say.” He teased, small smile playing on his lips. You nudged him.

“Anyways, I’m just going through a lot. It’s rough. And honestly? I’m still upset over Rafe. And dad. And everything, really. God, I can’t keep a stable job or a house.”

He sighed, leaning back a bit. “I know what you mean.”

“I’m sorry if I’ve been a little bit of an asshole.”

“I haven’t been a saint either.” He shrugged. “I’m… sorry, too.”

“Wow, my brother apologizing? What universe is this?” You laughed, he rolled his eyes and laughed with you.

“It’s hard as fuck, you know? The place that we grew up in, and even though we might have some terrible memories, it sucks. It’s all… gone, and everything’s, I dunno, different?”

“Yeah. I know. I think I’m gonna work on becoming your legal guardian.”

“Wait, you serious?” He turned to you with furrowed eyebrows.

You sighed. “You’re 16, dad’s missing to the police and you don’t got anyone else are far as I’m concerned.”

“Yeah but you’re just a… terrible parent. Not my first choice.” He tilted his head to the side, joking.

“Oh, shut up. Be lucky I even like you.” You ruffled his hair, making him laugh and attempt to push your hand away

“You know, tell me more about you and Rafe.” He said suddenly, and leaned against the steps.

“Why would you want me to tell you that?”

He shrugged. “I just wanna know what you saw in him. He’s insufferable.”

“He’s not that insufferable if you know him.” You shrugged. “He’s sweet… when he wants to be.”

“Mm, yeah right. I don’t believe it.”

“He can be. He just… has some really bad daddy issues and is a little insane.”

“Oh, so he’s the male version of you?”

Ylu rolled your eyes, lightly shoving him and smiling. “No, what I was getting at was that he’s messed up, but just like anyone else he had his reasons.” You paused.

“So how did you guys even meet?”

“He met me at my job a few years back, we talked for a while, hit it off, and we mostly just hooked up for the most part until he asked me to date him. That was like… last year?”

“Damn. So you guys woulda been dating for almost a year?”

“Like 9 months, yeah. But I really loved him, as messed up as he was. Think a part of me still does.”

“Huh.” He mumbled, looking back out in front of him.

“Yeah. Now what about you and Kie? What’s that all about?” You raised your eyebrows, he groaned and threw his head back.

˚⊹ ʚɞ♡︎ ˚⋅.

Taglist: @cassie0sstuff @rafesgiirl @fals3-g0d @tiaamberxx @callsignwidow @saintnourah

[thehypnone]

Hellooo I have cometh out of hibernation and I am in need of some spicy Raintom or Raindrop or fuck it all 3 of the bugs. I pay in: Rain Cake🎂

ehehe ass

1k words, transmasc dew, vag and anal sex, at once because i love me some classical dp between bros, yk how it goes heh, objectification if you squint, bit of hair and tail pulling

Dewdrop wasn’t as big of a brat as he usually seemed. He wasn’t as aggressive either, it was mostly a facade. He was actually quite sweet and level headed, something he owed to his past as a water ghoul.

That doesn’t mean he can’t be a brat. Far from it.

He is going to be one when he’s too pent up to ignore, but too annoyed by the fact alone, to ask for help. Bratting his way into getting what he wants is his way of asking.

Rain knows that perfectly well, but it doesn’t mean he’s not happy to indulge.

This time it took the water ghoul three days to snap, grab Dewdrop by the tail and drag him away snarling. He was getting exactly what he wanted, yes, but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t act highly offended by Rain’s display. 

“Asshole,” the fire ghoul snapped his teeth but didn’t put up much of an actual physical protest.

“As you wish,” Rain told him calmly, leaving Dewdrop confused. Just outside Rain’s bedroom’s door they came across Phantom, staring at them like a deer caught in the headlights. Suddenly Rain got an idea. “Come. You’ll get a brat taming lesson.”

He threw Dewdrop inside the room and waited for Phantom to walk in, too, before slipping in himself. He looked over at the fire ghoul standing with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows raised.

Rain snarled and everything happened so fast then, that Phantom and Dewdrop himself had barely even registered it. One moment he was standing in the middle of the room and the other he was bent over the bed with his ass bare and tail yanked upwards.

“Phantom,” Rain called out sternly. “Strip and get on the bed, on your back.”

The quintessence ghoul scrambled to obey, scared of getting the same treatment as Dewdrop for misbehaving. Soon enough he was in position with his cock standing straight up, hard since the moment he saw Rain drag Dewdrop through the corridor.

“Good,” Rain praised, and let go of the fire ghoul. “Sit on his cock, Droplet.”

Both Dewdrop’s and Phantom’s stomachs flipped at Rain’s tone, as if both of them were nothing more than toys. 

“Boring,” the fire ghoul scoffed despite it, but crawled over to hover his dripping cunt over Phantom’s dick as he stared up at him frozen with his mouth agape. Dewdrop slipped a hand down to run through his wet folds—toying with his clit just to piss Rain off even more on the way—and parted them before sinking down onto the quintessence ghoul’s cock all the way down.

Dewdrop groaned through clenched teeth while Phantom moaned like a whore, still laying limply. The fire ghoul immediately started rolling his hips through the initial sting of spearing himself on the other’s cock but was quickly stopped by a harsh tug on his hair.

“No, you don't,” Rain snarled right into his ear, making a shiver go down Dewdrop’s spine. “Phantom, color?”

“Uh…” Where Dewdrop was already losing his fight, Phantom was already stupid. “G– green.”

Rain didn’t respond, just pushed the fire ghoul down so he’d lay chest to chest on Phantom. “Don’t you dare move, Dewdrop.”

“Uhuh,” he grunted, entirely focused on the quintessence dick filling him so nicely. He could never brat much more with a cock snug inside him. He floated away slightly, his chin on Phantom’s sternum as his eyes fluttered close. Dewdrop loved getting fucked into oblivion but he was a true whore for cockwarming.

He wasn’t at peace for long, though, startling when his tail was yanked up again and a cold, wet finger circled his asshole, “Oh, uh, Rain– what are you–”

“Your idea, don’t you remember?” The fire ghoul didn’t need to see Rain's face to see his smirk. He was still confused, totally out of it, really, but it’s not like he was going to complain. Still, Rain wanted to make sure, “Color?”

“Greeeeen,” Dewdrop whined and pushed his ass back, earning himself a growl from the water ghoul and a moan from Phantom.

“Do. Not. Move,” Rain spat once more and shoved two slick fingers into Dewdrop’s ass with no more preamble. The fire ghoul moaned, all fucked out, and went completely limp.

“R– Rainy, I– I can–” it was Phantom’s turn to whine. Rain knew exactly what he was trying to say and helped him get there by curling his fingers downwards and pressing them into the quintessence ghoul’s cock through Dewdrop’s inner walls. They both moaned in unison, completely out of their minds.

“That’s what I thought,” Rain chuckled and started to really finger Dewdrop, moving his digits in and out with a filthy squelch and occasionally crooking them to remind Phantom he was right there. Of course, he took way too much than actually needed, reveling in being able to reduce both Dewdrop and Phantom to nothing more but babbling, drooling messes with just his words and fingers.

“Rainyyy,” the fire ghoul cried out again. “Fuck me, come on… please, put it in, fuck my ass.”

“Stop whining,” Rain growled, but pulled his fingers out. As much as he enjoyed torturing his ghouls he was starting to get needy himself, cock rock hard and leaking for what felt like hours now.

The water ghoul finally ripped his pants off and moaned when his dick sprung out of its confinement, cold air hitting the sensitive flesh. He grabbed Dewdrop’s limp legs and hooked them over Phantom’s, pushing them together. The tightness made the two ghouls whimper as Rain straddled them and guided the red tip of his cock to the fire ghoul’s slippery hole.

“You can brat all you want, Droplet, but I know you like it best to be just my obedient little fuck doll,” Rain whispered and with one thrust buried himself to the hilt in Dewdrop’s hot, tight ass. High moans rang out in the room, the tightness nearly unbearable for all three of them. The water ghoul had to take a moment for a few deep breaths, lest he blow his load too fast.

When he managed to compose himself as best as possible, Rain leaned to whisper into Dewdrop’s ear again, “Me and our dear Phantom here are going to use your sweet holes. We’ll stretch you out and fill you up, ruin for everyone else. And you are not going to move an inch, do you understand?”

Dewdrop let out a pained little noise, “Y– yes… please.”

“Careful what you ask for, baby.”

[fangirlofallthefanthings]

heard you have headcanons on ody and dio meeting again after he returns. how does that go? how does penelope feel?

Ooooo!!! Boy, do I have ideas [insert shakey turtle of excitement here]

So, it's a little bit complicated, and I don't want to give too much away since it relates to what I'm currently working on, BUT!

I GOT YOU, FAM!

Basically: after Diomedes gets kicked out of Argos (it's very sad, the poor man), he realizes he has nowhere else to go except literally anywhere but the Eastern Mediterranean. So, he sets off for Hesperia (aka modern Italy) to start a new life there. But in this time of heartbreak, he's missing Odysseus even more (they had a sad goodbye on Crete; it's a long story), and he decides to stop at Ithaca on the way to get some supplies and maybe visit Ody. But when he gets there, he finds that Ody is MIA and Penelope is running things. So he hangs out for a while and gets to know Pen and Telemachus (who is about 11 or 12 by this point), and quickly figures out why Ody would talk about her literally any chance he got. She's beautiful, yes, but she's also just as cunning and wise as Odysseus is... The same qualities Dio fell in love with. And Pen is curious about Dio, too. She's heard many stories and news about her husband's schemes with Dio, and she starts falling for him a bit, too. But Diomedes doesn't want to dishonor the Bro Code by getting with Penelope. Ody loves Penelope! Dio could never hurt Ody like that. So... He leaves. He says goodbye to Pen and Telemachus and heads off to Hesperia. He and Penelope wonder what could have been since they believe they will never see each other again.

BUT THEN ODY RETURNS TO ITHACA!!! YIPPEE!!! Diomedes hears this news, but he has his new city to run, so he doesn't return immediately. After a few years, though, he gets usurped and kicked out again, so he's like, "Welp. I have nowhere else to go," and he goes back to Ithaca. He and Ody reunite and there's hugs all around and it's really sweet. Dio soon finds that OdyPen had another kid, a daughter (I haven't figured out a name for her yet, but she's two when Dio shows up). This part of the story is very loose, but I do know they all put two and two together about all their feelings eventually (Odysseus is very happy about this as you can imagine lmao!) It's little slice of life stuff from there. A little hc I have about the three of them is that Dio teaches OdyPen's daughter how to box because she's a little firecracker and needs to get rid of excess energy somehow, but she can't stay still long enough to weave (plus she's really little and doesn't have the fine motor skills for that yet). Dio and Ody also work together to hone Telemachus's and Diodotus's skills (who Diodotus is... you'll know soon enough lmao). I also hc that Pen frequently tricks OdyDio into wrestling each other so she can watch for her own entertainment. She's just sitting to the side, eating her bowl of table grapes, enjoying the show okasdfhsdugif- I also hc that... Once OdyPen passes on, Diomedes leaves again. The kids don't want him to go, but he can't stay. He wants to honor Ody's wish for Tele to be king. If he stays, people will think he wants to take over. He doesn't want a war among Ody's people so... he leaves. He establishes one last city in Hesperia and feels his life coming to a close. He climbs a nearby cliff by the sea to enjoy the view, looking east. Then Athena shows up, and he accepts immortality. Sorry... Got sort of sad toward the end there, but that's a few things! I have a lot of thoughts, but I'm very scattered rn. If you have more specific questions, feel free to ask! I don't bite, I promise! :D

[marymary-diva17]

He is your son you idiot (7)

Family had always been everything for the couple, that seem to be splitting apart. When they had been young there were many dreams, and plans of what they wanted their future family and lives together to be in the year to come. It seems like that plan in life was started to fall apart due to actions from the past, but will actions of redemption and forgiveness be enough to build back what had been dammed.

Lo’ak “ ……” Lo’ak had left his room to go for some exercise in this morning. So he went to the gym that they had on the ship, that allowed the youth to attend as well. He left a note for his mother and texted her as well, making sure she knew where he was going. Also didn’t wish to wake her up as well, knowing she was doing her best to make this vacation good for him and all the other kids.

Lo’ak “ ……” lo'ak was running on the treadmill thinking none of the wiser, but soon enough someone else had entered the gym and looked towards lo'ak as the boy didn't notice them just yet.

????? " hey bro"

lo'ak " neteyam" lo'ak had stopped his excise and he soon looked at neteyam.

neteyam " good morning I went by your room and moms when mom, told me you will be here so I came here to have a workout with you"

lo'ak " sure you can come"

neteyam " thank you" neteyam soon got onto the other treadmill as he started running, as lo'ak went back to his excise during that time neteyam was able to see lo'ak was going at a higher level then him.

neteyam " how did you get so good at this baby bro"

lo'ak " running during the school year help pay off"

neteyam " wow what else has that school changed about you"

lo'ak " a good amount of myself has changed neteyam, as we haven't seen each other for so long and spoke little to each other as well"

neteyam " yeah that was a horrible time"

lo'ak " ........"

neteyam " hey here comes dad" lo'ak soon stopped himself as he looked to see Jake enter the gym, he soon sighed in and out preparing himself for whatever Jake will have to say to him.

Jake " hey sons good morning"

neteyam " hey dad"

lo'ak " hello"

Jake " your brother had said he was going down here and I thought it, will be. a good idea to come down here as well"

lo'ak " it a free world you are allowed to go anywhere you wish"

Jake " okay"

neteyam " I was just saying dad that lo'ak has been getting better at running, as he running at a high level one here"

Jake " that is amazing son"

lo'ak " yes it seems like the school year had given me enough time, to take part in many exercise"

Jake " great wait those your mom know you are here"

lo'ak " yes mama knows I'm here and even neteyam as well"

neteyam " yes she said lo'ak had left her a note and texts as well"

Jake " that is great to hear" Jake soon got onto the other treadmill, as lo'ak went back to his workout he was going to do his best right now. Even due he wishes to say more towards his father he was going to, hold back right now and he already said enough towards him.

Jake " so when we get home are you still planning to keep up your running workout"

lo'ak " yes I might for some runs in the morning or later on the day"

Jake " that sound great maybe I and your brother can join you some days, to make sure you are okay when you are out there and it can be good bonding time as well"

lo'ak " if you wish sir you don't need to push yourself to do anything"

Jake " I wish to be there for you my son you are my kid"

lo'ak " okay"

neteyam " hey it will be fun as well mama seem to smile when I said I was going to come join you"

lo'ak " that is mama she always happy when we are together and being family"

????? " good morning bro"

lo'ak " spider, aonung, and rotox"

neteyam " yeah I might of told them as well it was going to whole workout group with us like old times"

spider " so we all came down here and saw you three working out, over here"

rotxo " our dads had tagged along as well"

tonowari " hey it sound like fun and if we are going to be on this ship, for some time we better use the time well"

tsu'ety " There is also a great time right now before breakfast starts on the ship"

lo'ak " well you all came stay here and workout it will be good, and we are all on this trip together as well"

spider " man bro how fast are you running"

lo'ak " a good amount" soon everyone else started taking part on the gym work out, as loa'k and moved over to lift some small weights and that when Jake had come by sitting on the bench.

lo'ak " sir is everything okay"

Jake " oh yes eveyrthing is fine I just came over here to workout and speak with you"

lo'ak " I promise you I will not cause you any trouble"

Jake " lo'ak I don't mean it that way my boy"

lo'ak " ........"

Jake " I just wish for this trip to go well for the family so everything, can be good for us all"

lo'ak " sure dad" lo'ak had caught himself calling Jake dad as he looks, up towards Jake who gave him a soft smile and nodded his head.

Jake " thanks son" lo'ak gave Jake a nodded it seems like they might be, able to rebuild the relationship they had once had with each other.

Jake " your mother feels that same way as well but she wishes to speak with you"

lo'ak " okay I will talk with her like how we are talking right now"

Jake " thanks so how is your mama doing"

lo'ak " she doing well sir but you and neytiri are lucky to have her"

Jake " yes we have been told"

lo'ak " then lets hope this trip can be good for us all and maybe we can rebuild, the relationship that have been destroyed by past actions" Jake had nodded his head it seems like he was going to keep, the same message by everyone until he final take actions and those the right thing for everyone. The three families had stood at the gym together and everything seem to be going well, as father was starting to see that his son was just like him and that there is a chance for whole family to be whole again.

[mysteriouslyjovialcolor]

United States 2021

-Austin, my beloved!

-Max back on pole!

-Charles p4 (Fast forward three years where he wins from that position - that was fun)

-“Max has not pointed his car towards Lewis”

-Ohmygod I thought they were going to crash again

-“There goes Ricciardo, here comes Lando Norris- it’s Ferrari and McLaren!”

-Carlos managing to stay ahead among all that- genius

-Yess Danny!! Now he’s ahead

-“Max is hanging on to Hamilton” Let’s hope it stays that way

-“The two Canadians in what is arguably a home race for them” Um..hello??

-MV: “Um he’s sliding a lot and I have a lot more pace, I just want to tell you” Haha

-To CS: “Carlos, you need to give the place back to Lando"

CS: “No, no, I let Ricciardo through. It was not Lando”

Huh what’s that about?

-MV: “Tires are really hot and I don’t think we are particularly quick” Well he switched up fast

-MV: “Force Hamilton not to go long with Checo”

-To SP: “Box, Checo, box”

-Hmm interesting strategy

-Yesss undercut!!! Let’s go!!

-PG: “There’s a problem, problem, at the back” Aii

-“Raikonnen and Alonso separated by half a millimeter there” Have I mentioned how I love when Kimi makes moves?

-FA: “Ai Raikonnen overtook me from the outside. I need the position”

-Oh come on, he did that fair and square

-Alpine to FIA: “So can I just confirm that it’s okay to overtake from the outside?”

FIA: “No it’s not okay”

Alpine: “Cause that’s what Raikkonen’s just done”

-Damn Alpine getting heated (Funny cause Fernando pulled a similar (potentially worse) move on Giovinazzi a few seconds ago)

-“Leclerc, holding off Ricciardo, holding off Sainz, holding off Norris”

-Seriously what is it about that part of the track? This is the third time someone’s gone off and gone ahead

-To AG: “Antonio you have to give the position off to Alonso”

-These two

-To LN: “Lando this is where we need your talent to shine”

-VSC??

-Where did that debris even come from?

-SP: “My drink system is not working”

-Max pitting, Lewis going long, we’ve seen that story before

-To DR: “Okay Sainz had a slightly slow stop, so push, we can pit this lap and cover”

-Ooh McLaren double stack

-The McLaren- Sainz sandwich stays though

-To LH: “Lewis you are racing for the win”

LH: “Leave me to it bro”

-I don’t know how the drivers feel about those statements but it just seems annoying to state the obvious -like duh yes, what else would we be racing for?

-“Ferrari then tactically keeping themselves ahead of Valterri Bottas” I shall make no more comments so as to not jinx anything

-Ohmygod it’s the last few laps, Lewis has pit, he’s on fresher tires, Max is in the lead, and I am 🎶nervousss🎶

-I will never understand the way I get stressed about things that happen years ago

-I’m so tempted to Google the race results to end the suspense

-“Hamilton is on the charge” Surprisingly, no one has said ‘It’s Hammer Time’ yet

-Ocon retiring?? Both Frenchmen out now

-Yukiii, I love you but let Max go!!!!

-CS: “That got a bit dirty. He did on purpose guys” This scrap between Daniel and Carlos is about to go all the way to the end, I can feel it

-Whenn did Lando lose out to Valterri??

-“Perez is 20s away from this pair, who have lifted themselves off this plane” Two of the bests fr

-Aaaaaah six more lapsss

-ahgshshsgdhsh 4 more laps

-“Has Verstappen just kept enough in hand?”

-Stop asking questions, I’m scareeddd

-No! Kimi out of the points! Whyyyyy??

-Their rivalry is so intense. How did anyone survive?

-“They are exactly the two drivers you want leading the team aren’t they?”

-Everyone in the crowds on their feet

-Last lap, I’m going to start crying

-MV: “Can this Haas get out of the way?”

-Mick! Mick! Get out!!!

-Yes yes yesssss! Let’s go!!!!!

-“Great job all around, they got it right, but only just”

-A child in orange just fell into his dad’s arms in relief and that’s me right now

-(Don’t ask me why I’m reacting like I don’t know how this championship ends)

-(I also have no idea what happened behind these two, I lost focus)

-MV: “The last two laps were fun” Boy, you almost killed me

[lost-girl-2021]

Part three of "Amnesia (or is it . . . )

I might/probably will make another part/parts of this, but here's the 'big thing' ig. It's a tad bit long but I couldn't find a great stopping point and figured I'd just give it all at once. A lil angsty ngl, but most things I write are. Side note: if anyone wants to run with this idea and make a full-blown fic, please do! And please tag me, cause I like reading fics more than writing them lol. I'd love to see what other people come up with (also please tag/comment fic recs, I'm desperate bro)

He liked floating in the water, the sun shining on his face. A little ways away, Tuk and some of the younger Metkyina kids were digging up pretty shells. Tomorrow, they had a class where they’d be learning a special, ancient kind of jewelry making. It’d take them a full season to finish their creations. Spider remembered doing something similar when he was younger. It was a lesson in patience above anything else. He made his for Tuk, actually. He’d finished it right as she’d been born, gifted it to her the first time he saw her. A necklace, he recalls. All of the Sully clan had gotten some gift or another from him. All the avatars left on the planet had pieces made by a little, clumsy Spider, too. Their human halves got almost matching, smaller items. He hadn’t fully understood the switch between bodies and hadn’t wanted anyone to feel left out.

He’d almost forgotten all he made for Norm until he saw him again. 

The avatar man stood small, shoulders hunched and eyes big. Sadness radiated in everything, from the twitch of his ears to the low swoosh of his tail. He looked at Spider and felt sad. Crapily made, messy attempts at armbands and bracelets and a crooked necklace hung from his body like he’d never consider taking them off.

They locked eyes and Norm waved and Spider pretended to look confused. “Hey, Tuk, who’s that guy?”

The little girl squealed “Norm!” so loud birds nearby flew away.

He went out after her reluctantly, following her footprints through the sand and towards the Avatar he dreaded more than most.

Of course, wherever Norm went, so did loads of human technology. Case upon case of machinery to run tests Spider didn’t need. He bit his tongue as he fought to stand still, watching the man look him over.

Well, shit.

__

Norm mumbled to himself as the scans loaded, frowning down at the picture of his brain. Spider tried not to look at him, it made his stomach hurt.

“Have you been having headaches lately, kiddo?”

He blinked. Now that Norm mentioned it . . . “Uh, yeah.”

“How often?”

“Like, I dunno, every few days?” He shrugged, not really sure. “They don’t last too long, though.”

“And is it more here,” He ran a finger across the top of his head. “Here,” His forehead, the bridge of his nose. “Or here?” He cupped the back of his head, in the spot where his hair started and his spine ended.

Spider gasped, pulling away. “Ow.”

He didn’t like the look on the scientist's face.

——

Norm dismissed him to finish his day running and swimming and learning with his friends. He’d met their newfound companions, two boys and a girl who looked at Lo’ak like he was everything. Spider pretended not to notice, sticking close to Neteyam as they sat half on a small island. The oldest Sully boy had gravitated toward Spider again and again since they’d both healed enough to leave home. He could remember a time when they had been the closest, when Kiri was too enthralled with Mo’at and her stories and Lo’ak was too itty-bitty to play. The memories were blurry and half-there, but they were happy. He wondered in Neteyam remembered them, too. That wasn’t why he was sticking close, of course. It was Neteyam’s job as the oldest (oldest Sully, Spider was still the oldest kid, despite everyone insisting height aged them or some nonsense like that) to watch out for him. It would look bad for him to lose the ‘amnesiac’ in the water.

Not that his story would last for much longer with Norm hanging around. He was half-sure Jake and Neytiri would come storming out yelling at him any minute now. Spider stretched out and easily pulled on the latches of his mask. Taking in a deep breath, he pulled it off his face, rubbing a hand over the aching lines pressed into his skin. He enjoyed the feel of the breeze on his cheeks, the sunlight warm and everything fresh. Oh, how he wished he could chuck the mask into the water, could breathe without it. Could be one of the People and not one of the invaders.

“Take a breath, Spi.” Neteyam ordered gently, always watching. Begrudgingly, Spider raised the mask to his face and pressed it back into his skin, taking in another deep breath. He removed it once more, only to cup some water with his free hand and scrub the sweat and grime from his face. He washed up often and could hold his breath longer than most humans he knew, but there was only so much he could do to fight to keep his face clean.

Sighing, he secured his mask back on his face, rolling onto his side and peering up at his almost-brother.

“We should work on your hair tonight.” He commented, pulling gently on one of his locs. “It’s grown fast.”

Not that fast. It’d just been a long time since he’d been able to take care of it. Spider hummed, thinking to himself. He wondered how far Neteyam’s generosity would stretch.

Carefully, he spoke. “I don’t remember how.”

The other boy froze for a half-second, before reaching down and running a hand over his head. “That’s alright. I’ll help you.”

The twisting feeling in his stomach came back. Guilt. Neteyam was hurt, barely a week past getting shot.

“It’s okay, I can figure it out.” He assured, ignoring how that hurt even more. He didn’t want to do it himself. He wanted to be little again, when Neytiri and Jake still saw him as a little kid and not anything else. He missed the days when Mo’at, Neytiri, and Jake would each take one of the three of them, twisting and braiding and trimming hair expertly. He remembered being ten and deciding he wanted to look like Toruk Makto, grinning so big when it was done and they matched. Even if he started doing his own hair a little bit earlier than the others, started having to wait until after the two, then three, then four Sully kids before his own got fixed up— well, it didn’t matter. Because, it still got done. Until, eventually, like all things, it just didn’t.

“Spider, I can help.” He grabbed him by the shoulder, stretching his long arm. “Let me help you.”

His whole body hurt, physically ached with pain he couldn’t describe. He was a monster.

“Spi?”

“I forgot that I— I told Norm I’d go back in a few hours.” He raised up, brushing Neteyam off and peering towards the village, close enough by that he could see a woman walking along the edge of the beach. He didn’t hesitate to dive, swimming fast and deep. He couldn’t stand to look at his friends anymore, couldn’t bear the guilt. 

Stumbling onto land, he made his way to the home that was slowly becoming familiar to him. He knew that his mat would be between Neteyam and Lo’ak, Kiri curled up on one side, Jake, Neytiri and baby Tuk on the other. At night, they’d cover him in soft woven blankets and make sure he stayed warm throughout the night. If he had a nightmare or grew cold, he could curl into one of his larger friends (brothers) easily. Like he’d done it a thousand times before. In the morning, Neytiri would hum or sing softly and Jake would run a hand over each of their heads when he thought they were still asleep. He could pretend and pretend for days, weeks, decades and hold onto that warmth (that love) even if he didn’t deserve it.

But, could his soul handle the burden of his lies?

He stumbled into the Sully’s home, expecting all the adults to be hidden away talking about him or some other problem they had to deal with. But, there, right there, was Norm. Who came all this way and risked his safety for Spider.

Norm used to carry him around on his shoulders and throw him in the air and sing silly songs to make him laugh. He called him Spider and made sure he brushed his teeth and helped him with his math homework. Norm helped to raise him and Spider repaid him in lies.

“Why are you crying, buddy?”

He hadn’t realized he was. Opening his mouth to say so, all he managed to get out was a sobbed “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, Spider.”

Norm was not a hugger. He was a carry-er, a lift-er, a help-you-er. Just until he could do it himself, until he got good enough to take care of himself. But, suddenly, Norm was hugging him and embarrassingly enough Spider was pretty much sat in his lap and he really was much too old for this—

It did feel nice, though.

He buried his face in Norm’s chest, relishing in the dark and the quiet of the moment. He wished he could be little again, when it was okay to be scared and be held. He missed being taken care of.

It was hard, being with Quaritch and the others. He treated Spider like some weird mix of soldier, son, and prisoner. They woke up early and worked hard the whole day, barely taking any breaks. When he got hurt, it was patched up and then he was expected to get right back up. It wasn’t like the forest he knew, where they could have days to play and have fun even during the most boring chores and classes. There was no place to rest that was safe, no time outside of his mask when he wasn’t in a cell. His songchord was gone, taken. His skin was burnt. He was in a constant state of fight, fight, fight. Even if Quaritch called him son and laughed at his jokes— even if on quiet, cold nights he told him stories of his mom and didn’t comment when he buried himself under one of the spare jackets, big enough to be a blanket on him. None of that was safe or home or . . . 

It wasn’t this.

“I— I’m a liar.”

The arms around him grew tighter. “ . . . what?”

[heavenbelongstociaran]

me and my wilmon playlist

i like to think of myself as the second coming of christ when it comes to making playlists right, and i have this completely reasonable in length young royals playlist and i feel like i nailed it, in terms of the general vibe of the show AND scene specific themes.

ANYWAY, the reason i'm bringing it up is because i think there are a few songs that are very season specific that are in there.

season 1: visions of gideon by sufjan stevens

I KNOW everyone and their mother would agree that this song is very tragically wilmon.

"I have loved you for the last time

Is it a video? Is it a video?

I have touched you for the last time

Is it a video? Is it a video?"

giving very much episode six, when simon and wille were saying goodbye just before wille left for the palace. even though simon was being reassuring, comforting and encouraging (calling him brave, saying the royal court couldn't force him to do something he didn't want to do), wille (imo) didn't seem to believe him. and i think the way they kissed just made it seem like wille had already made his mind up, even though he said that he wouldn't lie about the video. it felt like he knew he was going to do it, and that it would inevitably be the end of the relationship, hence the lyrics being "i have loved/touched you for the last time."

honourable mentions include:

i'm your man by mitski

on and on by djo

favourite crime by olivia rodrigo

love in the dark by adele

it almost worked by tv girl

hurts me too by faye webster

take me home by pinkpantheress

let light be light by lizzy mcalpine

season 2: crack baby by mitski

gonna start with the honourable mentions first because there are loads:

i loved you by sunday cruise

thursday girl by mitski

why didn't you stop me by mitski

capable of love by pinkpantheress

genuinely, there are so many more but these are the ones that popped into my head as i was scrolling through the playlist.

you know that one saying that's like, "you never know how good you had it until it's gone" or however it goes? that's how season 2 felt.

both simon and wille were trying to recreate what they had or could have had with other people (marcus and felice, respectively) and realised that that would be impossible.

"Crack baby, you don't know what you want But you know that you had it once And you know that you want it back Crack baby, you don't know what you want But you know that you're needing it And you know that you need it bad"

said realisation definitely hurt wille incredibly, considering he said he wished it hadn't happened. it made him realise what life could be like, but he threw that away because he thought he was doing the right thing by denying the video ("protecting" simon). i actually have no idea how to explain this but like, trust me bro.

season 3: too many to name.

heaven by mitski. these fuckers were so in love this season, it was quite sickening (/affection). thinking about season three wilmon makes me want to cry, ignoring their communication issues, and other things that had a negative impact on their relationship.

a part of that by anna kendrick. HERE ME OUT. so, the song is from the movie adaptation of the play "the last five years" and anna's character, kathy, is watching her husband succeed and do all these amazing things in his life and is wondering where she fits into all of it. in season three and maybe the whole series, there's the topic of where the big five fit into the society or positions they're placed in and their positions in each other's lives. wille's struggle w/the monarchy and wanting out, august wanting in (for example).

dark circles by ryan beatty. this has simon written all over it.

casino by ryan beatty.

capable of love by pinkpantheress. goes with what i yapped about regarding season two. whenever they break, or rather when simon breaks up with simon, they seem to feel like this is the be all, end all of everything and that they won't love anyone ever again. in capable of love, pinkpantheress is saying that people pretend that the bond that she has with her love interest doesn't exist, ie people ignoring the fact that simon and wille were together at one point and only acknowledging wille when he got with felice BUT she also says that that doesn't matter, considering everything they went through to get to where they are now. she goes on to say that she'll never be able to love anyone the same way if they were to ever break up and i think that, throughout the series, this has shone through.

ribbons by ryan beatty. https://genius.com/31122186/Ryan-beatty-ribbons/Whos-gonna-hold-you-while-you-sleep-well-its-brave-to-be-nothing-to-no-one-at-all

little faith by ryan beatty!!!!!! (quite frankly, the entire album, Calico.)

general

there are a lot of songs that could encompass the show. capable of love. literally any loyle carner song about struggling with your identity and familial relationships and breaking cycles (polyfilla). sufjan stevens (mystery of love, everything that rises). so on and so forth. but wilmon and the young royals are not one dimensional enough to be described by one or eighteen songs, they're a whole catalogue. that playlist on paper is the most random thing i have ever crafted because fo&o, boygenius and brockhampton have no right to be in the same playlist, but hurt like we did, cool about it and any way want me absolutely deserve to be together; in a cool way, i think that's literally what simon and wille are like: on paper, they don't make sense. the crown prince of sweden, white and privileged and a gay brown boy from a small town who just happens to be an antimonarchist, but if you take that all away, they're two boys trying to find their place in the world, making mistakes.

feel free to give feedback and song recs !!!

playlist links:

apple music: https://music.apple.com/za/playlist/young-royals-but-i-made-the-soundtrack/pl.u-6mo4ZzvSBedVApW

spotify: (i haven't updated it on there in at least six months): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/25Pf9bDFBl6vtXOH9cvJC5?si=0b8a0ff36bb5435e

[pbaz7]

sexual content (whores 😒)

- now why i gotta be all that??

Sure, she had spent the last 24 hours checking her phone, hoping for some last-minute miracle text from Azzi.

- Down bad in the 2nd sentence smhhh

“Damn, P, you good?” Arike nudged her as they jogged back onto the court.

- RIKEEEE

Cowboy hat. Cowboy boots. A very short jean skirt. And Paige’s #5 Dallas Wings jersey.

- nah she gotta drop 50 no bullshit

A slow, smirk tugged at her lips before she sent Paige a quick wink.

- shiiiit might have to be 70 atp

Paige and Arike were playing off of each other perfectly. Their ball movement was seamless, as if they had played together for years and the defense was scrambling to keep up.

- this what i need to see next season! Arike showing she can facilitate at Unrivaled rn give them time to gel and it’s gonna be special

“Stop,” she mumbled, tilting her head slightly. “We’re in public, and there’s cameras everywhere.”

- after she was carrying on like that the whole game?? Courtside??? Girl….

Azzi smiled first—it was small, soft, just for Paige—and Paige couldn’t help but mirror it, her grip tightening slightly on Azzi’s waist.

- Not the hard launch😂😂😂

but she knew that shit was about to be everywhere.

- IRL this would put Tiktok in a frenzy and there would be someone saying omg guyss i hug all my friends like this don’t make it weird 🙃🙄

Paige mumbled against her skin, her voice muffled. “Come on, I miss you Az.”

- young lady maybe go inside the tinted vehicle ????

“I want you to keep it on later,” she said, giving no context.

- oh?👀

Paige laughed. “Bro just give her three more shots, and she’s gonna pull out a bible and make them turn off the music.”

- lmfao no literally

“I have a thing for shooters,” she said, her tone light but suggestive. “Especially ones with eyes like yours.”

- it’s giving cornball. I have second hand embarrassment 😷

“Then keep your eyes on the road, baby.”

- OH?😮‍💨😮‍💨👀👀👀

She hesitated for a second before trailing behind her, saying, “I almost died last time we tried that.”

- ey pbaz im starting to think you a freak cause ….

“Then beg for it.” She bit down a little harsher this time, drawing a sharp inhale from Paige before soothing the spot with her tongue.

- yea this one for the whores fr😮‍💨🫡

“I want you to hold it for me,” she mumbled against Paige’s lips, her fingers sliding into Paige’s hair.

- me personally the dialogue the best part of these scenes ngl. You have them talking cash shittttt😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 serious behavior

Paige barely had time to finish her sentence before Azzi’s lips were on hers again, swallowing every whimper and shaky breath.

- lmfao nah she finna kill her😂😂😂 that vibrator in the strap combo will have you shaking like a leaf (don’t ask me how i know im celibate it’s an educated guess)

“I’m about to fuck her up,” she muttered to herself, rolling her shoulders back in confidence.

- LMAO yo what is with you and leaving us on a cliffhanger😂😂😂 cause you know good and well we need the mirror scene now. Go head and lock in we’ll be waiting on that one🤝🏾🤝🏾👍🏾👍🏾

Yeaa man temp prolly went up 3 degrees in my house just reading this😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

shillit might have to be 70 atp

70 in her first game is crazy 😭

this what i need to see next season! Arike showing she can facilitate at Unrivaled rn give them time to gel and it's gonna be special

i’m lowkey excited to see how it all unfolds. especially with the addition of nylssa whose game i think is super underrated. especially when she’s having fun

IRL this would put Tiktok in a frenzy and there would be someone saying omg guyss i hug all my friends like this don't make it weird

bro!!? like it’s not our fault you got a weird ass friendship because EYE personally barely touch my friends

ey pbaz im starting to think you a freak cause ....

hm

me personally the dialogue the best part of these scenes ngl.

the dialogue be saving me otherwise i have NO idea what to write

Imfao nah she finna kill her 😂😂😂 that vibrator in the strap combo will have you shaking like a leaf (don't ask me how i know im celibate it's an educated guess)

🤨 educated guess you say

[justalittleobsessed]

How Mike and Mikey Came Up with the Perfect Prank

Mike (@justalittleobsessed) has ideas for pranks, okay? Ones that he needs help with. Good thing that Mikey (@spacemimz) seems like a willing participant in the chaos that Mike wants to cause.

AKA

How Mike and Mikey come up with the most sophisticated and mature prank you've ever seen

Part 3 in "The Adventures of Mike and Mikey"

<- Part 2

@tmnt-fandom-family-reunion

“Ok Mikey, I’ll admit that I was wrong.” Mike tells his younger friend, shaking his head in disappointment. “You see, while being a fashion designer gave me much joy, it was in the end a big fat lie. I didn’t think there could be anything better than that at the time. Then. Then.”

Mike grins, stopping his pacing. This. This right here was his calling and he made a bluff by saying anything else was. How could he make such a mistake with what is happening now? How could he be so foolish as to not tell the future and see what was going to happen? Why did he have to get immortality and not something like premonition? It would’ve totally changed his outlook on previous events.

Whatever. My true calling is here now.

He rubs his hands like an evil villain would in a cheesy spy movie, following it with a matching laugh. “There have been rumors, Mikey. Rumors that are proving to be true. Want to know what it is?” Mikey chirps, urging Mike to continue. “Everyone is going to prank the counselors. That’s right. The greatest pranking event of our time is underway and we all know that I am a master pranker.”

Pulling out a notebook from his belt, he fans through the pages, waving it around this way and that. “This is our key to the best pranks ever, my orange friend. And I want your help to do it.” He opens up to a specific page. A great page. A perfect page one might say.

A perfect prank for me and Mikey. Absolutely beautiful. Well-crafted. Amazing.

Shoving the open notebook into Mikey’s hands, Mike points to an idea in the middle of the page. “What a masterful prank, amiright?”

Mikey’s eyes furrow, looking at the three words Mike pointed too. They’re underlined, bolded, and circled. His friend stares some more. Then he snorts, something that Mike hasn’t ever heard him do before, rolling his eyes. He looks at the page one more time, then back at Mike, nodding.

“Right? Perfect.” He grabs the book back, shoving it into his belt once again. “So it’s maybe a little childish – but then again when aren’t we – but it’s a classic. And it always works. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten my bros with that stupid prank. You think they would figure that one out, right? But nope. The key is to invent lies that are just believable enough for them to look. ‘Made ya look’! I say, then I steal their candy.” He pauses. “Ok well the candy one is mostly at Halloween and Christmas, but the point still stands.”

He plops down in front of his friend who’s already lounging on the ground, putting his hand on his chin in a poor imitation of “The Thinker”. It needs to be good, he knows. But not too over the top, right?

Mike knows these counselors are getting beat on, and he already has some more elaborate pranks set up (him and his twin are moving that along quite nicely) and so this will not only be something small, but something that requires a lot less thought.

“The beauty is in the simplicity,” He continues, and Mikey nods along seriously, “Which is why we need to make it funny, but not crazy.”

Mikey chirps, grabbing his attention as he tries to think of the perfect thing to make the counselors see. He reaches for Mike’s notepad and pen, so he hands them over, getting excited at the look on Mikey’s face. “You got something cooking there, dude?”

He flips to the final page not filled with prank ideas (or just the final page of the notebook), and scribbles something out quickly. Then he hands it back over to the older turtle.

“…a crab?” His friends nod enthusiastically, pointing at the crab and then back at himself with excited chirps. “Oooooo you wanna dress up as a crab and prank them?”

That’s an awesome idea. I knew there was a reason why this little dude was so cool. Well. Other than all the other reasons of course.

“You are a genius. We can swing that, totally. I’ll lead them to you, right? Then,” He snickers, and Mikey follows with a chirp that sounds oddly the same, “Then you’re just there, dancing around in a stupid crab costume. That’s perfect. Love it. Now,” He eyes the box of leftover fashion material from his designer days, “Let’s see about making you that crab costume, huh?”

Pranks with all my friends. This is literally a dream come true.

[uwusforjade]

There’s no retribution in Karma.

I have churned out three chapters today bro I’m insane.

Seven hours had dragged, working with both the living and the deceased. Finally your work window came to a close, peeling your body out of the grimey suit. No more condensation filling up your vision every time to you took a breath! A small relief-but you had to take what you could get when you work in a trafficking warehouse day in ‘n’ day out.

You take the path to your car snail’s pace, waving to the few workers you recognise, duffel bag slung over your shoulder. You swing it into the passenger seat with a harsh thud to the black leather, hauling yourself into the driver’s.

Today had been an unbearable one, mishaps whilst unavoidable but not usual had really thrown you off your rhythm. Hutton had made it worse by tenfold, his freak-ish nature really made your skin crawl- as though he’d buy you the second he got the opportunity.

You didn’t even want to consider what he’d want with you, brain flushing itself into a puddle before any thoughts could start flowing.

Maybe you could stop off and get some take-out for a late dinner, it’s probably nine o’clock by now. You pull onto the highway, scanning the blackened skies, clouds lurching in from every direction like slabs of obsidian.

Stopping off at your local pizzeria could do the trick- but you were more in the mood for something a little less greasy and heartburn inducing.

Maybe some Sushi? Nah- that’s way past your apartment and delivery costs an extortionate amount in this economy, paying back your debt already had you practically rubbing two nickels together, forget spending 5 bucks just on delivery!

You decided to stop off for some snacks and ramen instead, preferring the idea of a date night with yourself and your kitties all tangled up in bed together.

You pulled in at the nearest 7-11 for some much needed grub, stepping out and into the dinky store.

It was mind boggling how quickly your life could go from harvesting organs and dealing with the darker fuckers of society to grabbing groceries. If you could look past the whole ordeal of working from criminals as a form of debt collection, it almost felt like coming home from your typical 9-5!

“Ah! Hallo Young’in!” You practically shit yourself, the booming accent in your ear enough to clear your entire stomach contents.

Ohhhh fuck no. Your eyes catch a glimpse of tan skin looming beside you, scanning the various products of candy by your shoulder. You didn’t even have to look to know it was the creepy bastard from earlier.

“Hello.. Strade.. is it?” Man, this dude was warm, his body radiating heat deep into yours even standing mere inches away. You could practically feel his breath on your cheeks, the smell of familiar tobacco wafting you as his eyes melted into yours. Studying, dissecting, all of your features like they were the body parts you harvested and sent to the weirdos who paid for them.

This man was one of those weirdos.

Every single part him seemed to invade your senses, all of which were telling you to high tail it out of there.

“Ah yes, you remember my name! Lovely of you, sweet thing.” He gleamed at you, fingers patting the silk material of your jacket. “So what brings you here, hm?”

Your jacket strains under the pull of his thick fingers, as he fiddles over the embroidered label engraving the lower right pocket.

Your chest rattled out an exhale, nerves swallowing you at just how close he was. “Just passing through, grabbing some things for dinner aha..” He releases your coat, moving away to swipe a bag of chips off the shelf beside your head. You observe him inspecting the label, eyes scrunching as though in need of glasses, placing the chips back down where he found them.

“Ah, Ja, though, this is not exactly the place for a decent meal, no?” He raises a full eyebrow at you. You choke out a cough, rather embarrassed by his observation, “Do you often choose bad meal options to feed yourself?” You swallow thickly, unsure of how to answer without wheezing half of your lungs up.

“Oh- well uhm- no I just- well y’see..” You sheepishly drop your noodle cup into your basket, Strade swiping it right out to read the label. “Tough times then hm?” It ungracefully drops back into the basket.

Great, he’s already established your financial and dietary situation from a simple exchange at 7-11 of all places, what a great blind date this would be…

Was every stranger going to belittle your life choices today or was it just this particular one?

“Ah well, I’ll see you around then youngin’!” You watched the large man disappear into the next isle as quick as he appeared, barely managing to shoot a goodbye his way.

Truly, an unbearable day.

Soon you’d fallen in your apartment door, bags tumbling behind you. Sending a shoe flying as you flicked them off your feet into the depths of your apartment- terrifying the unsuspecting cats awaiting you.

Nothin’ a lil’ treatie from Momma couldn’t fix! The sweet fur balls brushing themselves round and round your calves to greet you hello, “There’s my babies! Momma’s home now, Lumo, Juniper.” Tiny fangs nip at the skin of your calves, bounding alongside your groggy form towards the living area.

Sometimes you wondered if they knew they weren’t starved but simply chose to act that way, like desperate little cave men fighting starvation.

Crumbs littered the floor around the metal bowls stashed in the corner, food plastered all around them. Pfft- Yeaah. They’ll be fine another couple minutes.

[luna-is-lost]

UnderWelcomed

PART SEVEN

3rd Person POV:

“alphys, any luck?“ Sans says as he lays on the concrete floor. “N-Not y-yet, but m-maybe if l-look for c-clues at t-the sight...“ Alphys has been working nonstop in hopes of finding Papyrus. She never found any proof that Papyrus wasn’t dusted, but she’d never tell that to Sans. His mental health is fragile enough without thinking his brother died. With a deep breath she turns back to her computer. Suddenly, an idea hits her. “S-Sans!“ “yeah, al?“ Sans can’t help but sound hopeful. “W-What if P-Papyrus and t-the others a-are in a m-military base.“ “that's what i’ve been sayin’.“ Sans was obviously upset, but Alphys hadn’t finished speaking. “N-No, I t-think there's a b-base near t-the w-water. I-It was c-carved into M-Mt. E-Ebbot in 1773!” She rushes out to find the supply’s they would need for they journey. Undyne walks in coughing out the water she was drinking a few minutes later after hearing the news. “I’m leaving to find it now!” She says with new found hope. “Sans get our ‘army’ together! We leave tomorrow morning!” Sans’ eye sockets expand almost comically, tears of joy prick at them. “paps…”, sans whispers breathlessly, “we’re coming, bro.”

Papyrus POV:

…I don’t talk anymore… not after the incident. It’s fine though, they don’t ask questions either. I feel like I’m forgetting something, or someone important… Who? It’s not like anyone is coming for me anyway, heh… they never were.

They started to do some research on me. My soul… bone… magic… If I do well they’re not as cruel. So I do well. I think… Most of the time they have me do mental tests. I’ve always enjoyed puzzles, though these are more intense. Various times I thought I may lose my mind. They won’t let me though… I’m their’s now. I control of the human canine unit. I’m part of their army. A lieutenant... I guess I achieved my goal. Wait, what was my goal again?... Nyeh-heh I think something's wrong. They’re doing something to me. Or maybe it's that I haven’t seen anyone for the past three days... or more. Time has escaped my grasp in this place. I really wish that person I can’t quite remember was here...

“Papyrus!“ I look up and see the familiar face of Sir... I shutter, but nod as to acknowledge him. I don’t show emotions in front of anyone anymore. They got mad last time... “The army needs you to lead the canines. A group of monsters is getting close to the base. You need to stop them.“ I only nod. Monsters, just like humans left me locked up. Who would’ve thought I’d be stuck in captivity twice by humans. It doesn’t matter, I'm on the human’s side now. Not that I have a choice, I can't remember any monsters anyway. Or at least anyone specifically. Whatever they put in my food makes my mind all blurry and disheveled. “Let’s go.“ Sir says sharply. I stand up, uncertain, and follow him out of solitary confinement... As I always do when needed, which isn’t often. They say I'm not important anyway. He leads me to a room of dogs. Each ferocious animal quakes in fear as soon as he enters. “You leave in thirty, get yourself, the dogs, and your men ready.“ I nod once again... The dogs relax as soon as sir leaves. I conjure a few bones for them and untie the army units of fluff. A few of them come running to me and smother me. I only laugh. Though, almost silently. After the lovable canine unit is prepared I run to my fellow guards. I only order twenty men, but still, counting the dogs we make up one of the most powerful monster including armies. The moment I show up in the room they stand at attention, I motion for them to follow. Straight faced and tall, I direct them to a map I’ve set up for us. After a bit of written explanation, they all understand and agree. Then we head to battle...

Part 8 tomorrow...

[jaybleu25]

Part 4 of: Experiments

---------

After Mario asked the question, Professor E. Gadd said he was more then happy to let the brothers leave. However, there was an important question he had to ask before they even attempted it. "Can you stand, Luigi?" Surprisingly to both the professor and Mario, he could indeed stand. However, it took a few moments for him to do so. Almost a minute to be exact. The process of getting up was challenging; it felt as if there was a heavy weight placed on him keeping him down. However, the moment his feet properly touched the floor, he felt slightly better. It wasn't as painful. The only downside to it was that he felt slightly lightheaded. He still felt exhausted from the machine. Once the brothers got the okay from E. Gadd, Mario helped his brother walk their way through the lab to the exit. Unfortunately, for the green plumber, his sense of balance was way off. It was hard for him to walk in a straight line, but Mario helped him through it. A few times during their walk, Luigi had to take a break since he started to feel dizzy, but Mario stayed by his side no matter what. He was patient. "The exit's not that far," reassured Mario. "We're almost there." Soon enough, after a little while (it took them almost 30 minutes to get to the exit, as opposed to it normally taking 5-10 minutes), the brothers both managed to make it to the exit. However, after opening the door and looking at the outside world, they soon realized another problem: they still needed to walk home. Luigi gave a slight groan upon realizing this fact, but Mario started to try and think of an idea. Eventually, he would get one. Mario kneeled down. "Come on bro," said the older brother. "You sure..?" timidly asked Luigi. "Yeah, it's no biggie, we've done it before," responded Mario with a smile. Luigi would then climb onto Mario's back and would get on his shoulders, and Mario would stand back up. Despite the obvious height difference between the two of them, Mario had no issue with carrying Luigi. It got a little harder to do as they got older, but with the many adventures Mario has gone on, he got stronger, which made something like this a piece of cake. By the time they got outside, the sun was just rising. A few citizens of the kingdom were awake already, but not many. During their walk back home, Mario made sure not to go too fast to make Luigi dizzy again. He went at a comfortable pace. While enjoying the scenery the kingdom had to offer, Luigi had a question pop in his mind. "How's the princess doing?" asked Luigi. His voice has been slowly getting better. "The princess?" said Mario. "I don't know...I haven't seen her in a little while." "Really?" responded the curious brother innocently. "You visit her a lot, I'm surprised." "I haven't really left the lab until now," answered Mario. "Maybe we can go visit." Luigi would be taking that information in. "Wait...what do you mean you didn't leave?" asked Luigi as concern started to slowly rise. "You said I was out for three days right..?" By this point, Mario stopped walking. The brothers were now next to a small pond. "I didn't want to leave you there on your own," confirmed Mario. "I couldn't just leave you there. What if you woke up, and nobody was there?" Luigi looked down at his brother with a sad look on his face. He didn't want to be the reason for Mario stopping his normal activities. Even worse, he hadn't gone out and talked to anyone. Mario could sense something was wrong. "Don't worry about me, alright?" reassured Mario as he looked up at his brother. "Let's just focus on getting you home safe." "Okay..." said Luigi sadly. "But we can go visit her right?" "Yeah, we can do that," Mario responded as he smiled at Luigi. "One thing at a time though, bro. You still need rest." After discussing their future plans and catching up with each other a little, Mario then continued to walk while carrying his little brother.

------

Part 1: https://www.tumblr.com/jaywiriamusu/720501148836134912/experiments-wip-ive-never-really-posted Part 2: https://www.tumblr.com/jaywiriamusu/720574933093236736/part-2-of-experiments Part 3: https://www.tumblr.com/jaywiriamusu/720650757219696640/part-3-of-experiments

[sincerelyjxyy]

Gold Rush - Thirteen

Invisible String - Gold Rush

Chapter Thirteen - Without You, I Am Nowhere

Song Of The Chapter - Seven by Taylor Swift

✧ and the gentleness that comes, not from the absence of violence, but despite the abundance of it. — richard siken, crush ✧

Summary: The pogues have to deal with the consequences of submitting to their vengeful feelings.

Warning: Please note that I am NOT a law professional by any means. Any legal jargon/ideas depicted are the act of a twenty minute Google search. take it all with a grain of salt :)

Word Count: 10.3k

Gold Rush Masterlist

THERE ARE DAYS IN A PERSON'S LIFE THAT DETERMINE A GREAT DEAL OF WHO THEY ARE AND WHO THEY WILL BECOME. Days that are picked out specifically from one's timeline of life and then placed into a box labeled Me. And in those days are moments—little fractions of time that define the ones that follow, until the ending of their story.

Of course, it's not always obvious when those days will occur. It could be anything as simple as a day where you pick up a book that reforms you. It could be as big as the day you decide to entwine the rest of your life with someone else's. But one cannot just go looking for their defining days and moments; they simply come when it's meant to be.

At the beginning of one of her days, Josephine Grey sat at the counter of Heyward's with three of her four best friends—a melancholic wind swirling around her hunched frame.

They'd all agreed to help out with business at the shop for the day—a common occurrence amongst the pogues—as they anxiously awaited word from an MIA John B. The most Josie had received from him was a text asking her to decrypt a paper from the Chapel Hill archives written by Denmark Tanny. Because, somehow, John B had weaseled his way in there.

She'd stayed up until three in the morning figuring it out. The letter served as a distraction from her ever-growing sorrow, but it wasn't enough to keep the tears she'd shed from falling onto the pages.

She'd decided to stay at the Chateau after the fight, too worried about JJ and too ashamed to face her mother after the ending of her relationship. Her excuse was that Kiara had an emotional breakdown and needed her, and it was enough for Petunia. In reality, she and Kie had spent an hour cleaning up both boys after their encounters.

It was then followed by a thirty-minute lecture from the Carrera girl as she yelled at all of them.

After Josie had driven to drop Pope and Kiara back off at their respective homes, she'd made the last-minute decision to return to John B's home. The hole in her chest pulled her in different directions, wanting nothing more than to go home and cry to sad songs but also wanting to make sure JJ didn't bleed out on the couch.

A bit dramatic on her part; she was aware. But he didn't mention it, and neither did she.

Shortly after the sun had risen, they all agreed to lie low and find time to chill at Heyward's. No one brought up the elephant in the room of Josie's somber mood, which she was grateful for. They also didn't point out how harmful it was whenever she opened her phone to scroll through texts and photos shared with her boyfriend.

Ex-boyfriend.

The one problem, according to Josie, was that while they hadn't mentioned her hasty breakup, the boys had not stopped reminiscing on the unfair fight. And she could do nothing but uncomfortably listen as they comforted themselves about their losses.

JJ sat to Josie's left on the counter, as Kie manned the register and Pope helped some customers that came for pickup orders. The aforementioned blond messed with an orange from the display behind them, and Josie watched in soft amusement as he bounced it off his arm.

"Don't let it get in your head, bro. There's four of them and two of us," JJ offered. The nasty cut on his lip served as a reminder of that power imbalance. "That's some typical kook shit right there."

"Hell yeah," Kie added in agreement. Josie only offered a hum as she fiddled with a candy display. Her thoughts traveled back in time to the moment when she'd witnessed her boyfriend holding JJ back for Rafe to take punches as he pleased. How she had to watch Kelce and Topper take turns inflicting pain on Pope.

It was disgusting. Vile. Revolting. It made her physically unwell.

"What was your thought process, with using your head?"

"I don't know, man. I just kind of acted off instinct, alright? I was a cornered animal," Pope reasoned, supporting his outburst. The boy had admitted that the fight had grown bad when Pope headbutted Topper in the face, which explained the welt on his forehead.

Josie had, involuntarily, belly-laughed at the image of Pope knocking the shit out of Topper before they'd arrived on the scene. She was admittedly quite impressed with Pope's gumption.

"Hey, Pope." Pape Heyward's call for his son turned the heads of the group. He approached them, much sterner than when he'd left them minutes prior, and threw his thumb over his shoulder. "Someone here to see you."

Shoupe walked around the corner of the entrance. JJ instantly hopped off the counter to stand in the deputy's direct eyesight of Josie.

"Shit!" Josie's involuntarily loud curse caused her eyes to widen like saucers. She immediately slid down from her spot in a mixture of shock and panic. She ducked down behind the register and Kiara, looking for a space to hide under or something to cover herself with.

"Evening, officer," Pope greeted cautiously, even though it was noon. The shake and tension in his voice were prevalent as he eyed the deputy.

Shoupe sighed knowingly, and Josie froze every single movement her body could've made. "Josephine, I saw you. Get up."

She peeked over the front counter, cautiously finding the unamused stare of her uncle as he approached the group. He was very serious, and it quickly dawned on her that Heyward had said that he was here for Pope—not her.

"I have an arrest warrant for felony destruction of property." Pope turned to gape at them in pure horror, expression identical to Josie's. Her brows shot up on her forehead as she discreetly tapped JJ's wrist. Numbness washed over her, as a buzz rang in her ears and coursed through her veins. "Keep your hands on the counter where I can see 'em."

Heyward was quick to question Shoupe's actions. Kiara raised her hands in the air and nudged Josie to do the same. But the redhead was too busy watching her uncle make his way around the counter and toward Pope. Her gaze flittered between both boys, and she watched JJ mouth something to Pope through clenched teeth.

Deny, deny, deny.

Josie felt like she'd faint right there—like her legs were going to be kicked out from under her and have her tumbling to the ground. An imaginary fog-like hand clasped its palm around her jugular as she stared into Pope's eyes.

She'd vowed that he wouldn't be held culpable for what had happened. She'd promised him that she wouldn't let anything happen to his scholarship. She could've stopped him in the first place—done something to keep her fears from becoming a reality.

She had to do something.

"Uncle Vic," Josie called out, seeking to reason with him. But her voice was lost in the sea of confusion as Heyward and Kie questioned his motives. The perplexity was valid; felony crime wasn't something that Heyward thought Pope would ever do.

"Take a look at the warrant, Heyward," Shoupe smartly replied to the disputes. Josie gaped at her uncle as he pulled Pope's hands behind his back, pulling the handcuffs from his side.

"I'm sorry, you're just gonna arrest him?" Josie echoed Kie's calls of disbelief. The girls shared an incredulous and concerned look as protests flew from everyone.

"Okay, you're just gon' arrest my boy?" Heyward was both stunned and annoyed as Shoupe detained his son.

Josie felt like her whole world was crumbling down in front of her. How could they have found out who'd done it?

"What's the proof?" JJ accused, growing agitated with the deputy's lack of communication and all of the yelling and arguing happening because of the cop.

Kie eyed the cuffs Shoupe tightened. "Be careful!" But with how much shock Pope was in between the commotion, it almost seemed like he wouldn't even be able to tell if the restraints were too tight. She glanced back at the other two desperately, while Shoupe read Pope his Miranda rights.

Josie grabbed at her creased temples, racking her brain for legal implications—certain things that may stop Pope's arrest—but she came up blank. Everything she'd ever learned flew out of any recollection window she'd had. She was choking under the pressure of stress.

"How much did they pay you, man?" JJ again questioned accusingly—the obvious implication of kook bribery not lost on anyone who overheard the boy's query. Josie couldn't help but consider the irony in the statement, given that she was said cop's blood relative.

She grabbed JJ's wrist as they followed everyone out, voices continuing to yell and dispute anything Pope was blamed for. She tugged JJ closer to her and leaned up to speak directly by his ear. "It was me."

His gaze turned down to her, eyes narrowed as his brows creased in confusion. She clenched her jaw, considering her decision for a moment, before motioning her head toward Pope as they walked amongst their indignant loved ones. "I'm gonna take the blame—say it was me. I can't let him go down like this."

Sparing him only one last glance, she released his wrist, and they trailed the group out the door. She stuck closely behind an angered Kiara as she followed alongside Shoupe. Heyward moved to hold back a shouting and obviously confrontational JJ, whose shouts ranged from every name and accusation in the book.

Shoupe led Pope to the back door of the police truck, and Heyward moved to slow down the progression of his son's arrest.

Josie allowed herself one last look at Kie. She thought about the reaction Kiara would have when she spoke up. She thought of the repercussions she'd face from her mother and the community. She wondered if anything was worth the sacrifice she'd be making—to stain her permanent record forever.

But then her gaze moved to Pope and where he stood motionless from shock, and she knew that her decision would be the right one in the long run. Her lifestyle offered her a plethora of opportunities—ones Pope would never have.

So, with a deep breath and a silent affirmation, she stepped forward to state her claim.

"It wasn't him!"

Josie's head whipped to the side. Shock and dread filled her veins once she registered that the voice hadn't been her own, but instead belonged to her blue-eyed best friend. The rest of the pogues' eyes followed, staring at JJ in disbelief.

"It was me," he affirmed.

"JayJ," Josie whispered. She walked toward him and grabbed his arm in a plea to not do this, to let her do it, but he gently shrugged her off of him. He avoided her eyes as he stared at Shoupe, knowing he'd give in to anything she'd ask if he caught her green gaze.

Josie weakly watched as her world crumbled around her even more.

He made short footsteps toward them, leaving Josie to dreadfully reapproach her spot beside Kiara. He pointed at Pope as he spoke. "He tried to talk me out of it. But I was mad because he'd just been beaten up. I was so sick of those assholes from Figure Eight that I lost my shit."

Pope stared at him, bewildered that their blond friend was so willingly taking the bullet for him. And all Josie could do was watch.

She knew it'd seem like she was lying if she tried to cover for it after that. Now that JJ had put the idea in Shoupe's head, there was no doubt in her mind that he would just assume she was merely trying to cover for JJ.

There wasn't a time that Josie could recall when she'd felt more helpless than in that exact moment.

"I can't let you take the blame for somethin' I did. You got too much to lose." He glanced back at Josie—a silent conversation held between them. The storm waging behind his beautiful eyes almost made Josie sink to her knees on the concrete. He wasn't just doing it to stop Pope's life from being ruined; he was also stopping Josie from ruining hers.

Pope's brows furrowed. "JJ, what're you doing?"

"I'm telling the truth." JJ fleetingly offered a bitter smile. "For once in my goddamn life, I'm gonna tell the truth." He turned to make direct eye contact with Shoupe, who huffed doubtfully at the sentiment.

Josie caught sight of the thumb and forefinger JJ subtly moved against one another at his side—a clear indication of when he was lying. Josie could read it like her favorite book; the way his body responded to different emotions and actions was not difficult for Josie to pick apart. And, for once, she hated being right.

"I took his old man's boat too." He nodded toward Heyward, and Josie huffed out a breath as she shook her head.

"What the hell?" Heyward looked like he wanted to smack JJ upside the head, and he probably would've if it weren't for his son interrupting.

Pope, however, was still unwilling to let JJ be punished for something he hadn't done. "JJ, come on-" But one of JJ's most defining traits was his stubbornness, and the younger boy cut him off before he could say anything more.

"Just shut up, Pope! Just shut up." He visibly gulped, replaying his words in his head. He considered the most efficient course of action to get the cuffs off of Pope and onto him. Josie had never seen him so considerate of what his next choice of words would be, waiting with bated breath as he glanced at Shoupe. "He's a good kid." Another pause.

"Y'know where I'm from."

Josie was certain everyone on the island could hear the sound of her heart cracking in her chest.

"Yeah," Shoupe confirmed—a simple agreement of the Maybanks' reputation understood without needing to be verbalized.

JJ nodded, jaw clenched and tongue pressed to his cheek. "This was all me." He sent another glance over his shoulder at Josie, and she could see the hurt and pain in his face as soon as he did so. They were firmly hidden behind the walled exterior that few could pick the lock of, but she effortlessly found them in the dark corridor of his eyes.

There are days in a person's life that determine a great deal of who they are and who they will become. Days that are picked out specifically from one's timeline of life and then placed into a box labeled Me. And in those days are moments—little fractions of time that define the ones that follow, until the ending of their story.

It took everything in her not to cry, tightening her lips and glancing toward the sky. She willed her tears to stay away, squeezing her eyes closed. Whatever God was out there must've had it out for her, surely. She couldn't believe they'd ended up there.

Pope sighed out in distress, wide-eyed, as he stared at the boy who none of them would've ever expected to voluntarily offer himself to the police. The air filled with unspoken arguments, demons of the teens fighting one another as they tried to be each other's martyrs.

"That's the whole truth?" Shoupe directed at Pope, who stared back hesitantly. He had no clue how to answer that question, obviously not wanting JJ to take fault for something he'd done.

"Whole truth, swear to God," JJ answered for him.

Shoupe quickly snapped back at him. "I know what you think, damn it, I'm asking Pope here."

Josie helplessly stepped forward. "Uncle Vic-"

"Oh, you'll get yours, don't worry." He glared over at her, before turning his attention back to Pope. "Now, Pope?"

Pope pleadingly stared over JJ's shoulder at Josie, as if she could get the blond to back down. But JJ peered over his shoulder at the same time, nodding at her to stay back and let him do what he wished. She glared challengingly back at him, but he ignored the harshness of her stare and turned back to Pope.

He subtly nodded, sharing a long, silent conversation, and eventually, Pope nodded. Josie sighed in distress as he relented through a broken voice. "Yeah, that about covers it."

Josie watched her uncle remove the cuffs and stick them on JJ, who allowed himself one more look back at Josie. She dejectedly shook her head at him, but he only gave her a tight-lipped smile before climbing into the back of the truck.

The blue color of the vehicle brought her back to where they'd been only a week-and-some ago—carelessly giggling and joking in the back of a police car. She longed for that; she wished that their current situation could be like that, where Shoupe would let them go with a warning. She wished she could pull JJ from the confines of handcuffs and keep him from stepping into the path that was guided by his father's footsteps.

She just wanted to get him out of that stupid blue vehicle. "JJ, don't say anything! Don't say anything to anyone, okay? I'm gonna figure something out!" But he'd already admitted guilt; he'd said so right then and there. There was nothing more that the court would need.

As Shoupe backed away from Heyward's, Pope slammed his hat on the ground and cried out in anger. "Shit!"

Josie stared, motionless, at the retreating truck. Everything was blurred as she stared out into the nothingness, mind racing a million miles a minute. Her vision tunneled, only giving her the narrow view of where the truck had disappeared to.

She had to figure out something. This was all her fault. It was all her fucking fault. She had to find some way to get him out. He was in there because of her.

She had no clue how long they planned to keep him, and God knows his dad probably wouldn't be bailing him out any time soon.

Her phone, like an anchor to the real world, buzzed in her pocket. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was reminded that her mother expected her home to get ready for Midsummer's. But Josie couldn't focus on a stupid party—she couldn't even focus on her heartbreak—when her best friend had just been arrested for something he didn't do.

Kie laid a hand on her shoulder, and at once, all of her senses rushed to catch up with the rest of her body. It was so overwhelming that Josie had to press a hand to her forehead, groaning as the reality of their situation sunk in. Obviously, the first reaction that overcame Josie was to cry in frustration.

Without another thought, she made her way toward the Jeep, ignoring the calls of her name from her friends. Her hearing faded into a ringing, but she prioritized counting the steps to her car.

The keys she pulled from her pocket shook in her trembling hand, and she struggled to do something as simple as turn the lock of her door. Thrice, she tried to push the key in, before it slammed to the ground in spite of her intense grip.

As she bent down to pick them up, JJ's face hauntingly invaded her senses. His expression tormented her, when he'd interrupted and stopped her from claiming the blame as her own. The moment when he'd reminded Shoupe of who he was—of the disgrace that was laced in the letters of his family name. He'd looked back at her with sad smugness, as if every preconceived notion he'd ever had was proven right.

The look that claimed he could do nothing except forever prove that everything he and everyone else thought of him was true.

She couldn't control the tears and sobs that poured from her soul as she finally unlocked the Jeep, climbing in and turning it on without any moments to spare. As she did so, she audibly pleaded for the image of his face to go away—to leave her alone. Her brain masochistically caressed the bruises his bitter expression had made on her heart.

It wasn't true—none of it. The thoughts that plagued his mind were only the soulless words of a man who didn't know his truth the way she did. She knew him. He was better than any of them.

As she drove the car out of the parking lot, she repeatedly slapped the steering wheel. She kept her watery eyes on the road, but her focus was anywhere but on the cars surrounding her. Her world was blue, and she was drowning in the waves of realism.

She needed a plan.

The teen tried to think back to every conversation she'd ever heard her mother and aunt have concerning their work. She tried to remember every lawful term or explanation, every plea deal. Everything. But her thoughts and words were too jumbled together, fading into one another, and she was too frazzled to even consider thinking logically.

She cried out in frustration, slamming her hands down on the wheel once again. "Fucking think, Josephine!" Her voice cracked, intoxicated by the tears that slipped into the corners of her mouth. She tried to imagine the voice as her mother's. "It's all your fault. God, why didn't you just knock some sense into Pope in the first place, you idiot? Are you so incapable that you can't do something as simple as take responsibility?"

Her hand shook as she sped off the main road and toward her neighborhood.

It was a mess. JJ had taken blame for the first time in his god-forsaken life. With the record he had, Josie couldn't even begin to predict how much time he would face if he were tried as an adult. And it wasn't like he was going to make bail anytime soon. Who would bail him out? His father?

Josie doubted Luke was even sober enough to stand, much less to go down to the station and sign his son out. No. It was up to her.

Her mom's office. Surely, she could find something of relevance in Petunia's office.

She pressed down harder on the pedal, desperate to arrive home and find some sort of answer. She had to calm her verklempt heart as it recalled JJ's face and voice. His words plagued every sense she could encounter. "Y'know where I'm from."

Josie had seen it clear as day. The light behind his eyes had dimmed with the affirmation of his own destructive thoughts—the ones that convinced him that he was destined to only be a Kildare lowlife.

She hated it, repulsed by even the implication. She hated the sight of him succumbing to his self-derogation, not believing any of it for even a second. She couldn't bear to think about what he'd told himself in order to get those words out.

As she finally approached her house, the teen couldn't be bothered to shut the car off or pull into the driveway, opting to pull to the front curb instead. She hopped out of the vehicle and raced through the front gate, sprinting through the circular driveway and up the front steps. She wiped her palms over her cheeks to gain some semblance of gathered.

She pushed the door open without the care to shut it behind her. She hurriedly ran through the doorway to the right of the foyer and into the hall, where she barged into her mother's office.

It was empty, thank God.

"Okay, okay, okay." With her hands out, Josie observed the shelves of books and the paper-covered desk. She hadn't thought very far ahead, or even considered what exactly she needed to look for. She was, essentially, trying to find one particular needle in a stack of almost identical needles.

Josie shook the distracting thoughts from her head, quickly approached the bookshelf, and scanned over the many titles. Just as she felt like her heart was going to fall and shatter to the floor, footsteps sounded down the hall and grew closer to the office.

"Oh, hello, m'ange." Her mother stood in the open entrance of her space, clearly taken aback by her daughter's presence. She observed where Josie had been distraughtly scanning the books.

If she noticed the snot and tears that decorated Josie's face, she didn't mention it.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Waiting for you, actually. I-uh, I have a law-related question—a hypothetical, really."

Petunia glanced at her, intrigued, and moved to gracefully sit down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. Josie took a deep breath, putting on her best façade to appear normal. She desperately hoped it wasn't obvious she'd been having an absolute meltdown, despite the evident heave of her chest. "I'm doing some prep, you know, and I need a fresh perspective."

"Well, I'm all ears."

"Okay, so, hypothetically, say that someone does something illegal or whatever." Josie waved her hand to seem nonchalant. "But then, when the police go to arrest that person, someone else takes the blame for it. What can you, as the non-guilty party's attorney, do to get them out of custody if they don't have someone to sign for them?"

"Alright..." Petunia drawled curiously, obviously entertained by what she assumed was an imaginary situation. She pursed her lips in thought. "How old is this client of mine?"

"Seventeen."

She nodded. "Okay, and do they have a past record?"

"Yes." Josie nodded, going back to the shelves to scan the books for anything that might pop out as useful.

Petunia hummed out in deep thought, seemingly taking the question seriously for Josie's sake. She focused on a spot on the ceiling for a bit, before gazing back at her daughter. "May I ask what the hypothetical crime is?"

"Felony...arson. On a vehicle." Josie tried to avoid giving away too many specific details, opting for something near the same caliber. Her hands shook; the desperation to help JJ built as the day's clock ticked on.

"Okay, well usually after twenty-four hours, an undisciplined juvenile placed under unsecure custody has to be returned to their parent, unless in special circumstances. If they are in secure custody, which is common for property destruction, I'd first make sure that they understood the repercussions of being arrested and convicted. Then, I'd make sure that every expendable possibility of their guilty pleas was poked at. Things like the arrest: Were the police violent? Was my client complicit or coerced? Were they read their Miranda rights properly?"

Josie's eyes snapped back to her mother as she listed the different scenarios, alarm bells sounding in her ears. She could vividly remember Shoupe reading Pope his rights as he cuffed him over Heyward's counter. But there was absolutely no recollection of them being read to JJ.

"And what could happen if they, say, didn't read them their rights?" Josie tried to continue her blasé attitude as she peered over at her mother, who tilted her head and considered her answer.

"Well, the guilty plea at the arrest could be considered inadmissible evidence in court. And if there is no other evidence against them, a case could be made to the judge that the arrest was unlawful..."

Or that the client was lying.

Josie froze as she considered what she could do with a situation in which she proved that there was no credible evidence against JJ. She had motive, insider's knowledge of the crime scene, and no reason to lie—in the eyes of the police—and lose everything she'd worked hard for. And, as much as she hated to admit it, she knew that she would be seen as the more reliable source between the two of them.

It was perfect. Who would they believe to be telling the truth—her or JJ?

"Thanks, Mom." Josie sent her a tight-lipped smile and a wave, before she raced out of the office and back toward the foyer.

"Josephine, where do you think you're going? You have to start getting ready!" Petunia's calls went unacknowledged as Josie ran through the still-open front door and sprinted back down the yard to the Jeep.

With solid purpose, she made the drive back toward town and the Sheriff's Department.

As she drove into town, she ran through the script in her head over and over again. She verbally pumped herself up, reminding herself what she was doing it for. She was doing it for JJ.

She ran through three headlights and two stop signs, before she eventually pulled into a parking spot like a bat-out-of-hell. She didn't even bother to check her parking, jumping out of her car and running up to the door of the building.

She burst through the glass door, waiting no time as she marched past the front desk. "Uncle Vic, it wasn't him! I was me! He was incorrectly detained and therefor cannot be held in contempt for anything he said!" She ignored the angry looks she received from Amelia behind the glass.

"Sheriff Peterkin, do you hear me?" She pushed through the door to the back. "You arrested the wrong person! I'm gonna have lawyers all up your asses for that! Do you know who my mom is?" Of course, she was talking out of her ass as she scanned the station. Shoupe approached her with wide, angry eyes, pushing away other officers in assurance that he would handle her.

He repeatedly tried to interrupt her and push her back through the door as she continued. "My mother is the best goddamn lawyer on the east coast, and you can bet your ass you're gonna wish you'd done it right the first time." She scanned the area once again for that familiar golden form, and it was then that she noticed him in Peterkin's office.

"JJ! JJ! Peterkin, it wasn't him!" Peterkin exited her office as Josie shouted and fought her uncle as he shoved her out the door. She turned to address him. "It was me, okay? Would you listen?" She tried to fight his hold once again. "I was the one who did it! JJ took the fall for me! I'm the one who had a vendetta against Topper Thornton-"

"Joseph-" Her uncle tried to dispel her statements, but she slapped his hands.

"Is he being held? I can pay his bail or something to get him out. Just until his trial, Uncle V-"

"Josephine! He's already been signed for," her uncle snapped, motioning to the counter behind her. And as she turned, the floor fell out from below her feet. Her stomach plummeted into the emotional abyss that lay under her, and her uncle's retreat back into the offices went unnoticed.

He wore a dirty, blue button-up that was open over an equally dirt-covered, gray tank. He stood hunched over the counter as he wiped a hand over his sweaty, nasty, gruesome face. His voice was gruff and hard as stone, and the stare he shot Josie pierced directly into her like bullets hitting the glass of her eyes.

Luke Maybank.

Even just the conception of his name in her head made her want to jump at him and claw his chillingly blue eyes out. His eyes carried deep bags under them, violet enough that it gave her good reason to believe that either he was high or just coming down from one. She didn't think one was worth more than the other. He was a piece of shit either way.

Her whole body burned with unfiltered, white-hot, blistering hatred. Hatred stormed her soul and clouded her rational thoughts.

The man before her had been the object of most of her nightmares, starting at age nine. He'd menacingly haunted her sleep since the day she'd gone to JJ's house to ask him if he'd wanted to play treasure-hunters. It was one of the worst days of her life, when she'd found her boy submitting to the animalistic punishments of his father in broad daylight.

Back when they'd first become friends, JJ had always told Josie that she was banned from ever going near his house. She was only allowed to go as far as Frog Creek, so named by the duo, and not a step further. She'd then have to wait there for him to meet her and play.

But that day, only a few months after his mom had left, she'd sat at their meeting spot on the biggest rock for over an hour, before deciding to go get him herself.

She'd only seen it for a moment, and the image still often tormented her dreams—she didn't like to think about it much. She'd ran away from his house crying, and instead of going back to their rock, she went home. That night, she'd hand the first in a long list of dreams that involved Luke Maybank beating her sunshine to death.

She'd woken up sobbing so much that she'd gotten sick all over her Captain Hook bed sheets.

It wasn't until two days later that she'd see her boy again, face swollen and bruised as he recovered from his dad's evil beatings. And, at first, Josie never mentioned it. They just went back to using sticks as swords and rocks as cannonballs.

Until it happened a second time. Then a third. Then a fourth. And little Josie started to realize that pain had become JJ's new normal.

So, one cold night, she'd taken his hand and snuck him up to her bedroom, where she'd made a tent out of every blanket she could find.

And as they played treasure hunters in the safety of her room, she'd told him that surely his dad must've been mad because he didn't have treasure—the same reason all pirates were ever angry. She'd then admitted that she knew what his dad had been doing, and he'd stomped out of her house right then and there, teary eyes hidden in the dark of night.

He came back to her days later, of course, while she'd sat on the rock by the creek, and cried to her about how scared he was of his dad.

Josie had asked him to come live with her, so that they could move far far away from his dad and find treasure for the rest of their lives. And he'd liked the idea so much that JJ made her promise that they would actually do it when they got older.

For the years that followed after that, Josie saw it more and more. She started to become the one who cleaned the wounds JJ sported after a bad argument. She was the one he came to when he needed comfort. She was the one he, albeit rarely, confessed his demons to.

But in all of that confiding, Luke Maybank has grown into her worst fear. The bane of her existence. The source of every brick and stone that weighed down the other half of her—the one who fed her dreams sunshine and praise.

So yes, seeing him in the Sheriff's Station at one in the afternoon made Josie consider murder to be the easiest possibility known to man. She wanted to shout at him—to hurl insults at him until her throat croaked with raw, unabashed loathing. She wanted to sentence him to the same hell he so often bestowed upon his own blood.

That was until the door to the back opened behind her, and the sun peeked its head out from behind her rage-filled storm clouds.

She turned to watch her favorite boy, her favorite person, walk through the threshold that separated them. His slouch was noticeable as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and slowly made his way forward.

And without even looking back at Luke Maybank, Josie threw herself at JJ.

She wrapped her arms around his waist, flattening her palms on his back to remind herself that he was there, with her, and okay. She buried her head in his chest, closely listening to the sound of his anxiously racing heartbeat. She inhaled the salty smell of his presence, ocean water and old spice mixing together to create a uniquely JJ smell.

She melted at the feeling of his arms wrapping around her in reciprocity. He pulled her from his chest just enough to let his own head fall into her neck.

"You're such a fucking dumbass. So, so, so fucking stupid." Her words were broken and gargled, obviously upset. Josie shook her head as the tears fell again, landing on the golden tresses that adorned his head. But neither one of them found it in themselves to care.

JJ moved to rest his head, tugging her closer to completely envelope his arms around her. He placed a long kiss to the crown of her head, and Josie squeezed him tighter against her in response. He cradled the back of her head, soothingly stroking the strands of her hair as she fell forward to sink into his chest and touch. Her heavenly place on earth.

"I can't believe they're letting you go." She sniffled and shook her head, voice slightly muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

He huffed out something akin to a laugh, chest slightly puffing. "Technically, they're not. I still got court."

"Yeah, I'm working on that," she mumbled, reminding herself of all the responsibility she was going to bear for JJ going to court. She wouldn't stop until he wasn't facing punishment.

She couldn't even complete her thoughts before he spoke into her hair. "Stop blaming yourself. I chose to do it."

"I had it." She pulled them apart enough to glare up at him through her lashes, but not nearly enough to think about letting him go. "I did."

JJ shook his head as a gentle smile grazed his beautiful face, and he reached up to softly swipe at some of the tear streaks decorating her cheeks. She smiled up at him, but it dropped as she closed her eyes, momentarily embarrassed by how much she'd cried over him.

"Carried it for you." He shrugged, reaffirming his sentiment from the night prior.

Josie frowned and opened her eyes to despairingly stare back at him. She didn't want him self-sabotaging in the name of her own emotional tolls. Her mouth opened to dispute him, when a voice from behind her interrupted their moment.

"Boy." The word was gruff and slurred, and it took everything in Josie not to swing around and throw her fist in his face.

When she did move to look at the man, Luke strictly gave a brief wave to command JJ to stand near him. Said boy went to walk around Josie, and she moved to grasp his hand tightly in hers to wordlessly follow him.

Not like he'd ever have to ask her to.

As soon as they stopped again, she nestled herself into his right side. Like two puzzle pieces that fit together at every angle, she immediately found the correct position to offer him comfort. He let an arm lay loosely around her back, turning his head to press a grateful peck to her temple.

"You're his guardian?" Officer Amelia asked Luke, who sighed as he glared back at JJ. Josie returned the rough stare, eyes narrowed as she refused to remove him from her line of vision. She always wanted him to know how much she loathed him.

"Sorry to say, I'm his father," he snipped.

Josie bristled as JJ uncomfortably shuffled, but he ran a comforting hand up and down her back in spite of all the tempestuous emotions rushing around the room. She reciprocated the gesture by squeezing his side, following his movements of up and down.

"Well, hearing will be in two weeks. If you fail to show up, you will forfeit your bail. The restitution will be based on the average of three outside estimates of the damaged article-"

"Restitution?" Luke questioned. Josie sighed and let her forehead fall onto JJ's shoulder. There was no doubt that would be a lot of money. Money that JJ had no way of getting.

"Pay for what he broke. It's part of the plea."

Luke turned to burn a sharp glare into JJ, and Josie tensed as she watched JJ avoid his father's daunting stare. Once the older man looked away, she turned JJ's face toward her and gently smiled at him—a slight reassurance that everything would be fine.

"And...sign right here, please." Luke vigorously signed the paper, before turning to face the two teens.

"Let's go. Go, now!" Luke barked as he pointed at the door, and JJ quickly went to step away from Josie.

She stubbornly shook her head, pulling him back to her as Luke made his way toward the door. "No, no, no. No wait, come with me. You can leave with me, and we'll go to the beach, or the Chateau, or something. We can-we can camp out in the Jeep or whatever—do whatever you want. Please, hey-" Her shaky hands pulled his face down to her, frightful tears again falling down her face. She ignored the glare she received from the man at the door.

JJ's glassy blue eyes gazed down at her, overwrought with intricate emotions. Recognition swam in their mesmerizing colors as the boy behind them solemnly accepted what came next. But where that small, blue-eyed boy accepted defeat, an equally small, green-eyed girl wailed and tugged that boy back across the creek.

She wanted to beg. She wanted to drop to her knees right there and sob out every plea she could muster for him to stay. The pain she felt knowing he'd eventually leave was so tortuous that Josie was afraid she wouldn't survive it. She needed him to stay—to be intertwined with her for the rest of their existences.

"Just come with me. I mean, we can go play pirates for fuck's sake. Just, please, please...don't go home." Her voice broke as she stared up at him, and her heart equally broke at the sight of water forming in his waterline. She just wanted to take it away.

They both knew what would happen when he walked out of that door.

"Boy!"

JJ tensed at the call, and Josie moved her quivering hands to cradle his jaw, desperate to keep his focus solely on her.

That time, she did beg. "C'mon, Sunny. Please, let me save you this time."

He grasped her wrists with both hands, sighing as he closed his eyes and savored the ethereal feeling of their shared touch. It was warm, comforting, and soft—the feeling of his skin under her palms. She was sure no one else could tell where his form ended and hers began, for sometimes even she couldn't.

In moments like these, she wished that they could just share the same skin so she could be closer to him. So she could protect him.

"Jo..." He sighed. "Y'know makin' him wait 's only gonna make it worse." He pressed another kiss to her hairline, long and watery, as a tear fell onto her cheeks and mixed with her own salty sadness. Her hands slid down from his face to grip his shirt, willing herself not to wail out on the spot.

The anguish would consume her, she was certain—eat her alive to spit her back and out, then do it all over again. For a moment, she selfishly wished that she was someone different—someone who didn't have to watch the person they cherished most walk into a fate so scored. How was she supposed to survive that?

"Boy, don't make me tell you again."

"Come find me after?" Josie sniffled out, clutching him like a lifeline as she waited for his answer with bated breath. Even though it was the same every time.

"Always do." He leaned back to pull apart from her, and her heart fell to the ground and shattered as it tried to follow.

She looked up to meet his guys, eyes like a building storm ready to erupt in violet rain. She longed to drown in the rain—drown in the color of his eyes—because maybe then she could shield him from everything wrong in the world. She could cushion every blow and every word that was thrown at him, guarding his heart as if it were a queen's greatest jewel. She'd hold it with tender and affectionate care, worshiping his soul with a disciple's reverence.

Her eyes wandered to his father, whose jaw was clenched as he observed the pair. She vowed to never let JJ give in to whatever shit Luke filled his head with. No matter how hard she had to fight with him—how much hell she had to give JJ to contradict his thoughts—she would not let him fall down the same path his father had.

JJ pulled away from her, their hands losing touch. "Hey," Josie called as he departed from her. His gaze wandered over his shoulder, and she smiled through her evident sadness. "Love you, dumbass."

Despite the fact that Josie's voice was full of water and misery, JJ gave her a small smile and winked. Just like that, she watched him exit the station with his dad hot on his heels.

Once he was out of her sight, she fell onto the bench against the wall. She rested her head in her palms, elbows propped on her knees, and finally let herself silently wail for what was to come for her boy. She cried for the pain he'd bear, both physically and emotionally. She cried for the part of him that just wanted love and understanding from his father. She cried because he was the best person she'd ever known.

Oh, how she hated Luke Maybank.

☼

Josie stared at herself in the mirror, absentmindedly running her flat iron over her hair. Her brain ran wild, masochistically plagued by thoughts that visualized what torture JJ was succumbing to at that very moment. They sent her into a spiral as she failed to correctly deal with the reality of the situation.

It was a constant cycle of making herself feel horrendous.

Down deep in the bottom of her gut, somewhere mixed in with her humanity, there was something that yearned for him. Like it knew that he was in trouble and that she needed to be there—a tether tugging at her heart and guiding her toward him.

How much sadness did she have in her? When did it become so much that she physically could no longer give anything else to her emotions? She was subject to two different heartbreaks in the span of less than twenty-four hours. She lost the person she was in love with, and she sent her closest loved one to a terrible danger.

The teen glanced over at the dress hanging from the bathroom door, scrunching her nose up at the idea of attending Midsummer's that evening. The newly-borne burden of JJ's restitution sat heavy on her shoulders and made her certain that she never wanted to dance again.

All to no one's fault but her own.

Not to mention, she hadn't seen herself in the dress since the catastrophe that was the Tannyhill dress try-on. Josie cringed at the image of her mother's disapproving scowl when she would see Josie in her outfit. She could only pray that, somehow, she was able to magically shrink her excess arm skin.

Realistically, probably not.

Her mind slipped into deep consideration of what that conversation would be like, when a sudden knock on her window made her jump in her skin. She placed the iron down on the counter and turned to peek into her bedroom, investigating what had bumped into her window. She rolled her eyes once she became aware of the culprit.

There, standing atop the roof of her back patio, was John Booker Routledge. He frantically waved at her, pointing at the latch of the window for her to open it.

Her brows furrowed at his bizarre arrival, but she rushed into her room fully, closing the bathroom door behind her. Puzzled, she trekked across the window and unlatched the window to pull it up. She quickly pressed a finger to her lips, and he raised his hands in surrendering obedience.

He climbed through, over her desk, and she held his elbow to help him in and make sure he didn't cause chaos by falling. "Nice hair." He chuckled as he gestured to the head of untouched hair that was sectioned and clipped to the top of her head. She rolled her eyes, digging her nails into the arm she gripped to help him.

Once he was stable, she raced over to her bedroom door to click the lock. She pressed her ear against it to listen for any noises that would warrant concern, before she walked back to John B and laid a rather harsh punch to his shoulder. "In hushed tones, what the hell are you doing climbing up my roof?"

He hissed out in pain and reached up to rub where she'd struck him as he shrugged incredulously. "JJ said to climb up the tree and knock on the window if I ever needed to."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed lowly as she carefully shut the window. She did her best to ignore the pang in her chest when he mentioned JJ. She was still fragile toward the implication of what he was going through. "I told him that was for emergencies only."

"Which this is," John B quickly added, assertively motioning toward her. He dropped his backpack down on her bed and dug out the paper she'd only seen via picture.

His movements were halted as he grew distracted by the twinkling string lights and old photos of their group scattered throughout her room. "Y'know, I don't think I've ever been in your room." He smirked, eyes flitting around at all of the antiques that littered her space.

Miniature replicas of old pirate ships offered a clear insight into Josie's love of treasure and adventure. Books of every kind detailing history, poetry, and plays lined the many flat surfaces of her room—some titles easily recognizable and others a relic of obscurity. Weird replications of ancient pottery and trinkets gave the room a lively color that bled into the soul of the room.

It was very Josie.

His eyes lingered on the framed picture of Josie and Max, kissing, which still sat on her bedside table, but he refrained from commenting, which Josie was appreciative of. "JJ was right. It is like someone cut your brain open."

"JJ hasn't been in here since we were thirteen." Josie's throat closed at the thought of JJ and John B discussing her bedroom when she wasn't there, and she had to swallow the croak that tickled her mouth. An unfamiliar feeling settled in her gut—the same one she'd had at the Wreck with JJ.

But she shook it off before she could dwell on it much further. "Anyway, is this about the Denmark Tanny letter?" She moved over to her own bag on the floor by her bed, digging out the paper she'd stuffed in it that morning.

"That depends on if you did it." He smirked once again as Josie laid paper on the desk, and she glanced over her shoulder to beckon him to her. He settled in next to her and placed down his copy of the letter, so they could look at them side by side.

"Okay, I did most of what I could by memory, so there's still some letters missing. And Google only has about seventy thousand different answers when you search for the Gullah Alphabet. So, this is the best I could do. She sighed and glanced over at John B, who encouragingly nodded at her to read it.

"It's dated 1844, obviously." Josie pointed at the date in the top right corner. "To my beloved son, Robert. I am—this word could be waiting, or welcoming, or maybe awaiting. I am awaiting the hour of my public—murder or meeting, not sure—with great composure of—mind? I think. Mind and cheerfulness, knowing I am soon—something—for glory."

"He was lynched," John B noted, tilting his head. Josie's brows raised at him, impressed with his ability to gather that much from her mess of an interpretation.

"Well, I mean, it unfortunately makes sense. With all the stuff he tried to accomplish back then?" Josie pushed a breath between pursed lips and shook the image out of her head, letting her gaze continue down the page.

"Do not nurse—greed or grief, probably grief—to vengeance, but instead trust in God with all your—I wasn't sure if this was head or heart, but the bible verse says heart, so that's what I went with—with all your heart, for he doeth all things well. Until we meet again in heaven, your—loyal or loving—father, Denmark Tanny."

He quirked his brow at her, confused. "Wait, that's it?"

She smirked back up at him. "Well, there is a postscript down here..." She drawled in pretend disinterest and nodded toward the small writing at the bottom of the page.

He raised his brows, hopefully, and copied her tone. "Well, I don't suppose you translated that too?"

She bumped his shoulder with her own. "Who do you think I am? Of course I did."

"I knew we kept you around for a reason," John B joked. Josie scoffed faux-offendedly as she slapped him on the shoulder, but he quickly cut the fight short by hurriedly waving toward the paper.

"It's a planter's log. Matters—I couldn't figure out this word—to the property and the estate. Tobacco, cotton, corn, tomato. But finally, to Robert..." Josie looked toward her fiend, who feverishly nodded. "Harvest—I think—the wheat by the water in parcel nine forthwith."

She turned to John B, brows furrowed once again as she watched him lean backward and move away from the desk. "Can you please tell me what's going on?"

"Denmark Tanny was on the Royal Merchant," John B thoughtfully informed.

Josie gaped at him in response, befuddled. The history clogs turned in her brain, scratching this new information down to stick into a file somewhere in her head. "Are you kidding? I thought there were no survivors." She thought back to the information she'd read about Tanny, eyes widening as her fast-paced brain put the pieces together. "Denmark Tanny bought the planation with gold..."

"Yes, exactly. But why, on the day he dies, would he write a letter to his son telling him to harvest the wheat?"

Josie shrugged, still digging and organizing every thought that came to mind. Did the contents of the letter mean that the gold was still out there? Did Tanny use all of it to buy Tannyhill?

Her eyes did another once-over of the paper. "There's this little weird symbol on the bottom, looks like wheat. Kind of ironic given the last words." Josie lifted the paper toward the light streaming from the window and tilted it to see what she could make of it.

John B approached, looking up at the paper over her shoulder. "You're a fucking genius, RJ!"

"Shush." Josie dropped the paper and slapped a hand over his mouth, ignoring the celebratory squeeze he gave her shoulder. She became momentarily paralyzed when she heard the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs, before she began shoving John B up on the desk.

"Get out. Get out. Get out." The doorknob jiggled as she rushed to open the window. He stumbled as Josie pushed at him, cursing and arguing through hushed whispers. She pushed his face when he tried to turn to her, shutting the glass barrier as soon as his second foot was out. She shooed him with quick waving motions.

Her door flew open, and she leaned down to pretend to be occupied at the desk.

Her mother waltzed through the door, her brows and forehead creased in suspicion, as she scanned Josie's room. The golden key in her that had allotted her access glimmered in the afternoon sun.

Josie smiled at Petunia, casually fiddling with the papers on her desk to cover the translation sheet and the letter. "Hey, Mom. What's up?"

"I thought I heard shouting." Her sharp, green stare swept around the room again, scrutinizing anything that could be a bit out of place.

Josie huffed an awkward laugh, not daring to move her gaze toward the window. She could only hope that John B had found his way down without much trouble. "Oh yeah, sorry. I was having a little meltdown with the straightening iron." She motioned to her half-done hair, and Petunia rolled her eyes and annoyedly exhaled through her nose.

Still, she nodded in acceptance and sighed, looking down at her watch. "Speaking of, you need to be finished soon. We're leaving in a couple of hours, and Max is going to be here before that-"

"Max?" Josie questioned, spine straight as she fully faced her mother. The pit of her stomach swallowed her whole, falling into the abyss of heartbreak at the mere sound of his name. Sorrowed-blue emotions rushed back into her veins—the image of him choking JJ vivid in her memory. The tickle in the back of her throat threatened to become a cry, remembering that she was no longer with him.

It dawned on her that she hadn't told anyone outside of the pogues about her breakup.

"Yes, sweetheart, Max—your boyfriend." Petunia spoke to Josie as if she were a toddler who was learning to structure her sentences. "I spoke to him this morning about-"

"This morning?" Josie asked again, confusion stressed in the question. Why the hell would Max assume that they'd still be going together after she'd broken up with him? She hadn't explicitly stated her plan to attend Midsummer's unaccompanied, but she just assumed that it was implied. Had she not been clear about her intentions by ending the relationship?

"Josephine, will you stop interrupting me? God, it's like a dog that just will not stop yapping." Petunia shut her eyes and placed her middle finger and thumb to her temples, as if Josie's voice gave her a violent headache. Josie subconsciously picked at her nails in response and watched her mother with hesitance.

"Anyway, you need to speed it up. So, move it." Petunia waved toward the bathroom, before leaving Josie's room without another word.

Josie opened the bathroom door, startled when she was met with Naomi staring at herself in the mirror over her sink. She was in the middle of applying a generous amount of eyeliner, leaning in so close that she practically kissed the mirror. Her dark auburn hair was done up, pulled into a curly ponytail with specifically placed tendrils pulled out around her face.

Josie had never seen her little sister so dolled up, even if she was still in her regular clothes.

"You look pretty," Josie complimented. She made her way back to her own mirror and unclipped her hair, letting the last section fall over her shoulders. She began to run the still-hot flat iron through it, shooting a smile at her sister.

Naomi stared back blankly. "You know, if you're gonna sneak boys into your room, you could at least try not to get caught."

Josie turned to her sister in shock, stuttering as she stumbled to find a defense.

But her sister beat her to it. "Just don't get pregnant. 'Cause if you get pregnant, you get kicked out. And that means that I have to deal with her." Naomi narrowed her eyes at Josie, before she walked through her adjoined door and shut it behind her.

Josie stared at the door for a moment, briefly stunned by her sister, and turned back to finish her hair. She pulled a bit of the top section of her hair up, pinning it to fall at the back of her head. But, when she pulled out a few front strands to frame her face, her face scrunched in abhorrence. She tilted her head to take note of it from different angles, still disliking the way it looked.

She huffed and accepted that her hair probably wouldn't get any better the more she messed with it. As she finished scrutinizing it, another knock sounded from her window, and she groaned in frustration.

What more could John B possibly need from her?

She moved through the threshold of the bathroom, ready to scold her brunette friend, and glanced at the window. But sitting on the other side of the glass was not her treasure-hunting, recluse best friend.

It was her impulsive, recklessly loyal one.

⋄ ⋟⋆ june 24, 2020

I wish there was a way to physically transfer hurt from the undeserving heart pain clutches in its palm. today, I watched as a boy walked away to his doom, the green glass walls of my soul let my inner being see the reality of life. the little girl that cradled my soul deep to her chest like a stuffed animal cried in pain, banging on the glass and begging for the lost boy to come back- to hold her hand as she guided him through his darkness. she sobbed as the words he'd carved into the sides of her brain shined bright with gold lettering, like a bitter reminder of the differences he so often held against himself. but the girl didn't care- I didn't care. I don't care. I never have. because, my dearest loyalty, without you, I am nowhere.

- josephine grey ⋄ ⋟⋆

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Reunited: Part 2

[Hokkaido District, Night-time]

Alright. So here’s how it’s gonna go down.

Rantaro and I will do a quick scan of the surrounding area just to make sure there are no Zetsubou goons lurking about. In the meantime, the three of you head towards the bar and see if you can find Maki.

Some of the soldiers from the Tower will join you. If anything bad happens, you can rely on them to protect you.

Look after yourselves, ok?

Ok, but...just one more thing.

Rantaro. This is where she is, right? You’re ABSOLUTELY sure?

...

No, Kaito, I’m not. And that’s exactly why I guided us to this specific WRONG location. So we could show up and be dreadfully disappointed.

You don’t have to be so freaking sarcastic!

Then stop being so freaking stupid! You’re the one who decided to leap in without a plan, so don’t go doubting my directions now.

Why you-!

Hey! No fighting! We rescue Maki and go, ok?

Right. Come on Rantaro.

Alright, I’m right behind you.

Gonta found payphone here outside this bar. Gonta think maybe Maki call us from that?

Could be...Hey...Tenko. You go search the supermarkets. Gonta and I will check these bars and nightclubs.

No need.

Huh?

I see her.

Wha-!?

*Tenko points towards a country bar.

...

It is her! But...wait...she with someone...Isn’t that-?

How are you...holding up...?

Hngh...!

No, don’t try...to speak...I’m ok, really...I’ll...get some treatment...later...

That’s...That’s SEIKO! I haven’t seen her since like...a YEAR ago!?

Gonta sure she was locked up in Zetsubou base too! What she doing here!?

She looks injured. What the hell happened...!? Do you think they escaped?

Gonta not know...But Gonta sure now this Maki is real!

How come? 

Gonta not thing Tsumugi can cosplay two people...U-Unless she clone herself.

Ah yeah, fair point. Ah...Huh?

*Tenko looks back towards the tired looking girls.

Hey~ Wassup ladies?

*Three skeevy looking men walk over to Maki and Seiko. Maki stands up and glares at them.

What do you want...?

Nothin’ much. How you two doin’ tonight?

Fine...Thank you. Wo-Would you mind giving us some space...? We’re a little...tired...

Hmgh...

Not much of a talker, the one behind ya? We’ll break you out of that shell.

No thanks. We’re taken...I have a boyf-friend...

Oh yeah? Given how you lookin’, seems like he did you wrong, girl~

Tch...Don’t...ngh...

Coomooon, let us keep you company~

Pfft! Typical degenerate males! I’ll pound those groomers into submission!

Stop Tenko. Let Gonta talk to them. You and Kaito get...

Kaito!?

Huh!? Oh no...

*Tenko and Gonta suddenly notice Kaito isn’t standing next to them anymore.

Come on darling. We’re just being friendly~

I said...get back...Ngh...Do you wanna die...?

*WHAAAMM!*

GUHAGH!

The fuck!?

*Kaito rushes up to the bar and punches the delinquent who reaches out to touch Maki in the face, knocking him into the fence.

Get the FUCK away from her! You touch her again, I’ll bust your faces up so hard, you’ll be eating your dinner with a STRAW!

Shit! S-Sorry bro!

*The other two delinquents grab the third and bolt off.

...!?

You...you really...came...

Maki!

*Maki takes a step forward, then collapses into him.

Sorry...I would’ve handled those guys...but...

Yeah, any other day of the week, you’d have them for breakfast...

Maki! Seiko!

...!

*Tenko and Gonta rush up towards them.

Maki! Seiko! You ok!?

...

*Seiko nods.

You alright? You lost your voice or something...?

No...I...*cough*

Woah, hey, if talking is hurting you, stay quiet. Don’t worry, we’re here to rescue you.

You guys...you really are stupid...

*Everyone looks at Maki.

That not very nice thing to say to us! We came to rescue you.

But you must have known...ugh...that this COULD have been a trap...! I called to let you...know I was safe, but...I didn’t expect you would show up personally...!

*She glares at Kaito.

I bet this was your idea...I thought you would’ve learned...to be less reckless when...I left...but you haven’t changed...you’re as reckless as ever...

Heh...Pot calling the kettle black right there.

Huh?

Maki. You’re important to us. To ALL of us.

You’ve been gone for ages, and as soon as we show up to rescue you, you act all tsundere and cuss us out. You haven’t changed at all.

...

I am...grateful...that you were here for me...Don’t feel like I’m not...

But...it’s Seiko you need to take care of...she’s sick...a-and...and-!

!!!?

!?

!?

!?

...

*Maki is silenced, as Kaito pulls her close and kisses her passionately on the lips. Maki tries to push away, but is so devoid of strength, she fails to.

Um...K-Kaito! We are still here you know!?

*Kaito breaks away, staring into Maki’s eyes.

...

...Tenko’s right...you haven’t changed...

There’s no doubt about it...You’re the one true Maki Roll that I fell in love with...

Even though you can barely stand, you’re still staying upright, trying to protect Seiko...Wouldn’t be able to call you my sidekick if I didn’t...

...

But it’s ok Maki-Roll. I don’t know what pain you’ve been through these past few months, but it’s over now...

Because no matter what, even if Zetsubou throws an entire army at me, I’m gonna protect you! I won’t let them take you again!

So you...c-can rest...because I’ll...k-keep you safe...Because I’ll...I’ll...

I’ll be here...I-I’ll be here...forever...!

...

...

...

...*sniff* K-Kaito...!

*Tears fall from Kaito’s eyes. Maki suddenly buries her head into his arms and sobs...