#Here are Three Simple Things You Can Do When Everything Starts to Slide to One Side

[thatsbelievable]

[lazyturtlehottub]

There's no rapid knocking at the door, no angry shouts through the letter box, just one simple ding-dong of his doorbell that doesn't warn him about what's coming. Tommy peels himself off the sofa and kicks the blanket away from his feet before he makes his way down the hall, skin grubby from day three of no shower. Scratching at his neck, he peers through the peephole, finds no one, and opens the door to—

"Happy birthday, you asshole."

Evan shoves a plastic-boxed cake into his arms and shoves past him, all shoulders and grief-tinged rage. Tommy blinks at the empty space in front of him and then down at the cake with it's melting frosting and badly piped Happy Birthday that's threatening to slide off the top. The bottom of the box is warm, the cake presumably out of the oven in the last hour or two, and he shuts the door behind Evan.

"What are you doing here?" His voice is a telling rasp, and he turns only to find that Evan's not there and he's speaking to the air.

Moving back into his house he finds his ex-boyfriend standing in the living room, taking in the scene of Tommy's post-break up depression with an unimpressed look on his face.

"Evan—" he starts only to fall silent when a sharp look is thrown at him, pain etched into the lines of Evan's face.

"I thought it was Buck now," is the snark he gets back.

The snark that lands in the bruised parts of him and blooms fresh pain.

"I—right, yeah." Awkwardly he sets the cake down and shifts his weight. "What're you doing here?"

"It's your birthday so I baked you a cake because you're an idiot who broke my heart and I hate you but I love you more than I hate you and I wanted to tell you that," Evan says in an angry rush. "And I'm so mad at you, so fucking mad, Tommy. This last week—I've hated it. I miss you. It's like you gave me everything I ever wanted and then you just took it away from me and I fucking hate you for doing that."

Tommy swallows, throat dry. "If it helps, I hate myself too."

"No that doesn't help," Evan snaps, eyes tracking over him. "Jesus, have you even showered since last week?"

"Yes," he says, a little annoyance slipping into his tone. "I'm not a child."

Evan snorts and bends down to grab the blanket, shaking it out before folding it in rough sweeps of his hands until it's folded neat and tidy on the couch. It looks like there's more he wants to say and he's not sure what to say first and Tommy should tell him to leave, to keep this break as clean as possible but walking away from Evan was the hardest thing he's ever done, he's not sure he can stomach Evan walking away from him.

And then, without any warning, the anger drains from Evan, just slides right out of him until he's soft and sad and so wide eyed that Tommy can't bear looking at him.

(He can't bear to look away either.)

"Why didn't you tell me it wasn't serious?" Evan asks, voice wobbling and fingers curling in the sleeves of his hoodie that Tommy recognizes as his own. "Why did you let me—? I don't understand what went wrong."

"Evan," he rasps. "Buck."

"Don't," Evan interrupts, angrily swiping at his eyes. "Don't call me Buck. Don't ever call me that again, please. I can't—not from you."

"I'm sorry," Tommy says, uselessly. "I'm so sorry. I just wanted...you scare the shit out of me. You could—Jesus, Evan, the way you could break me without even realizing it...I'm terrified."

"So you thought you'd break me first?" Evan demands, anger wet and burning. "Because you did. Congratulations. I'm fucking miserable because of you. Because you were too afraid to actually have a conversation with me about what you wanted and needed and you just let me rush forward thinking we were both on the same page. And all this time you had one foot out the door."

Tommy shakes his head. "No, that's not it."

"Then what is it?"

"I'm not someone's forever!" The words snap out of him, cracking like a whip, and Evan blinks, startled. "I'm the guy that gets you there, alright? I'm the guy that shows you how it should be and then someone else, someone better, gets to be your forever."

Evan's mouth opens and then shuts, a frown pinching between his eyes that are focused on Tommy. "I didn't...how could there be someone better than you?"

"Evan," he sighs. "Please, don't."

"No, tell me, I want to know." Evan's stepping into his personal space, grabbing his hands and pulling him the rest of the way. And he burns at Evan's touch, at his warmth, at realizing that what he thought was the last time they touched wasn't it. "Who's going to love me like you do? Because you love me. I know you do. You haven't said it but I think I get why now but I know it. So tell me, who's going to love me as good as you do?"

"Evan, please."

His plea falls on deaf ears because Evan's right there, pale-skinned and smudges beneath his eyes from restless sleep, and Tommy wants to keep him there forever.

"I can't do it again," he whispers. "I can't let you go again."

"Then don't," Evan tells him. "I don't want you to. I don't want to explore my sexuality or whatever bullshit you think I need to do to be queer enough for a life with you. I just want you. Can't we just, I don't know, figure out the rest of it together?"

"Evan—"

He's weakening and he knows it. Worse, Evan knows it.

"We'll slow down, we'll go so slowly this time," Evan tells him, pressing his case and his body closer so that the warmth of his breath washes over Tommy's stale mouth. "We'll talk, properly. Maybe—maybe we could see a couple's therapist? Because I want you to be my last. I don't want anyone else. Please don't make me look for someone. Please."

"Evan." His body trembles. "I'm scared."

"I know," Evan says, soft like he's gentling a spooked horse. "But you can be scared with me, right? That's what it's about, yeah? Sharing the good things and the bad. I want both of them with you. I want everything with you. Will you please just—?"

Tommy kisses him and Evan immediately relaxes against him, the world righting itself around them, and he knows, right then, that Evan is his last, no matter what.

[briseroyawritingsblog]

𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖

𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕 𝒙 𝒇𝒆𝒎!𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒕!𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

• +18 minors do not interact. fluff, growth, feelings, pains, living in 2051, domestic things, marriage thinking, kissing etc.

𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 / 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕

dividers by @anitalenia & @cafekitsune 🤍

“Somebody help!!” Logan rushed through the sliding double doors holding you in his arms, tears in his eyes. “Help, nurse I need help!” He called as she rushed over to him checking you over. “We.. we were at home.. and she started to cough up blood, not blood! Fuck.. I don’t know what the fuck it is just help her” he placed you down on the bed. The nurse opened your eye lids to check your eyes. When she saw your sclera black pupils she gasped. “She’s not human Sir, how can I help her we do not have specialist here on robotics!” She called her team quickly cutting down your maid dress and apron. She removed your shoes and your socks. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!!” He growled following the doctors to the room. “Sir you cannot be here! Please! Wait outside we will check her over I located the pulse.” She held two fingers on your neck.

“Seems like her heartbeat is normal. What were you doing exactly?” Logan shot the doctor a glare.

“We were at home. And she was cutting some vegetables for dinner and then suddenly she touched her stomach and cough up blood. Check her over! Fuck!!” He growled—

That night when you grew a human heart in your chest, everything changed. You felt things which humans were supposed to— your brain was not as fast as you once knew. Three months had passed since that night. Logan watched you as you slid into the tunnel for a scan.

“How old is she?” The doctor approached him standing next to him while the machine started to take pictures of your body.

“She was made few months ago.” Logan answered feeling his heart squeeze in his chest. God his hands trembled—

“That can’t be. She must be older” Logan shook his head signalling a no.

“She’s not. She was made few months ago—”

Logan paced in the waiting room anxiously, the nurse approached him several times but he kept looking in the window watching the nurses take care of you do so many necessary things like tests. The doctor then walked out the x ray room holding several photos in his hand.

“How is this possible?” The doctor slammed a photo on the table in front of Logan. It was an x ray of a brain.

“What the fuck is this?” Logan asked him touching the photo.

“That’s your girlfriend’s brain. I see that she’s been using hundred perfect of her brain, and the brain is not as human as it looks. It’s made of a different substance. Now look at this. She has a human heart, but not lungs. How is that possible? How is that even possible she is alive with adamantium skull, limbs, spine and human bones in her legs! How?”

Logan pushed the photos away from him taking a deep breath trying to calm his breathing.

“Who is she?” The doctor asked him sitting in front of him.

“I was there, when she grew the human heart. It lighted the whole room.. I could see the wires under her skin she was transparent for a moment before it disappeared.” Logan rubbed his cheek anxiously so worried about you.

“Now I can see she’s growing every single organ in her body, because some parts of them are already inside of her but trust me she’s in a lot of pain. Growing bones or simple things like humans usually do— this one is twice as painful”

Logan gazed at the doctor furrowing his eyebrows. “Will she..please don’t tell me that I will lose her. I can’t..” Logan shook his head giving the doctor a hopeful look.

“No I think we have something extraordinary here, she will live.”

When Logan heard him say ‘extraordinary’ he groaned pushing his claws out grabbing him by the collar slamming him against the wall beside the window.

“Listen to me, bub. If anything happens to my girl—I will come for you and rip you apart. I will be here all day everyday watching your fuckin step— I will be watchin you taking care of my girlfriend. You will handle this with extra confidentiality. No media. And she’s not a fucking experiment do you fucking hear me?” He snarled. The doctor nodded rapidly listening to every word.

“Yes, but it’s going to cost you” he freed himself out of Logan’s grip.

“I don’t fucking care.” He snarled pressing his claws right to the doctors throat.

“Calm down please I shall do everything in my strength to help your girlfriend. I promise you” logan let go of the doctor and walked out the room. Halting his steps in front of your room— you lied there so peacefully almost as if you were sleeping again. The nurses were there with you running some more tests before your eyes fluttered open. Logan immediately opened the door walking over to you kneeling beside the bed touching your hand.

“Lo..” you whispered wincing in pain.

“Sir she needs to rest. If she won’t— we have to sedate her” Logan groaned.

“Don’t you fucking dare.” You cupped his cheek tracing it with your little fingers tears rolling out of your sclera tearducks soaking the pillow under your head.

“Shhh, don’t speak princess I’m here..” he whispered kissing your palm.

“I feel so much pain..” you breathed out.

“I know but it’s all right okay baby? The doctors will help you because I can’t lose you”

“I want to be in your arms..” you sobbed feeling something cold rolling out of your eyes.

“You’re crying..” he then noticed wiping away your tears with his thumb.

“Don’t leave me..” you let out a broken sob touching his hands pulling him closer so he adjusted to slide his arms underneath you to hug you close to his chest.

“Hurts everywhere..” he kissed your mouth tenderly hearing those words come out of your lips.

“I know princess you need to stay here and I’m going to watch over you.” Confirming holding you in his arms you sobbed out softly kissing his lips again and again until he responded kissing you more. Your tongues touched and you moaned pulling him closer to you.

“I love you”

“I love you with my everything” you responded touching your own forehead with his own.

It was like part of you was missing when Logan left the room. Your test results were coming back positive and negative at the same time because of the growth of your human organs. Logan would rest next to you at night sitting in an armchair a book spread lying on his chest. You wanted him so close to you, you only held his hand. The growing was painful, yes it was.. especially your legs. The bones alone was the worst— you didn’t count days, or weeks or how long you stayed on that hospital bed.

“Your lungs..” Logan smiled softly giving you the x ray results.

“They are beautiful..” you looked up at him with awe in your eyes.

“And your heart.. look at that.. it beats just like mine” he whispered pulling a chair close to your bed. Turning your head to look at the heart monitor.

“Few more days.. and I’m able to take you home.” Kissing your cheek you turned your face to kiss his lips instead and he immediately cupped your cheek eagerly covering your mouth in kisses. “I’m missing you everyday” he breathed. “Me too— so much” it was time for your blood work to be done by your favourite nurses. They were giving you extra, and then taking some of your blood for more testing. It turned out you had a certain mutation which they weren’t familiar with.

“Your husband is a keeper” one of the nurses smiled.

“If only I had a husband like that” the other nurse giggled.

“He’s my boyfriend..” you blushed. “And I hope one day he will become my husband”

“He’s here everyday and spends nights here watching over you my dear. He’s definitely going to be your husband.” One of the nurses confirmed. You giggled at their little talk fantasies spreading in your brain as you let them do their work.

“Oh my my.. it’s positive. You’re a lucky woman” another nurse entered the room showing you a positive result of something you didn’t quite understand.

“Looks like you will welcome womanhood every month” she touched your lower belly.

“I can? Is that possible?”

“Of course it is. You have everything what a woman is supposed to have to create children” she smiled at you.

“Children?” You asked her parting your lips looking at the rest of the nurses who stopped doing their job approaching you.

“Yes, children.. well first, you know— you and your husband will make love and then if you’re lucky enough to catch most of his seed. You will carry a baby” one of the nurses explained making your heart race.

“You have done it, before all this haven’t you?”

“Yes.. we did but it was always protected I wasn’t human.” You breathed replaying all of the moments of you and logan made love.

“Oh ladies he’s definitely a keeper.” They giggled making your face twist in curiousness but you couldn’t hide your elation. You wanted to be a human so much and now.. it was happening. You were real for him.

Overnight you lost your love mode. You welcomed your new vision although your eyes did not change. Your vision was so colourful it stunned your heart. Finally you were able to see Logan like a normal human being. He walked inside your room bringing you flowers, biting your lower lip you asked motioning with your arms up to cuddle. “Hi Princess” he kissed your cheek before dragging his mouth over to yours, licking into your mouth kissing you passionately. You mewled, feeling so many emotions at the same time. “They said I’m already fit to go home” you clung to him he held you in return burying his face against your neck. “I know I just spoke to your doctor.. your test results were all positive.” You smiled cupping his cheeks kissing him. “Take me home please” your fingers running through his hair and he nodded nuzzling his nose to yours. “I will take you home princess. I will carry you in my arms if you want to.” You giggled and he smirked. “I can see all of the colours and my vision is not pink anymore.. I’m human” you whispered looking over his face leaning in to kiss him. “And I love you so much” you breathed removing the heart monitoring device off your finger climbing to his lap. Logan hummed kissing you feverishly sticking his tongue in your mouth and you couldn’t feel safer. “And I love you” he breathed planting kisses on your collarbone and your chest. “I can’t wait to have you to myself when we come home” he smiled and you blushed thinking of the nurse talk.

“She’s good to go. She will get nurse visits twice a week.” The doctor handed Logan your health records and said his goodbyes. You wore new clothes, a pair of black sweats, fluffy socks, a matching hoodie, and a backpack and black sneakers. Linking your hand with his you walked to the elevator. Taking out your glasses putting them over your eyes in case people would judge you because of your sclera pupils. “You don’t have to wear them princess.. you’re different. People are used to it now” you nodded snuggling to his side his arm wrapping around you holding you.

When you walked inside your home, you sighed with a relief. Taking a deep breath. “Finally home..” letting go of his hand approaching the kitchen. It was a mess everywhere— you didn’t blame him. You were gone for months. Removing your back pack you placed it on the couch and rolled your sleeves up.

“You don’t have to clean this.. you just came home.” He caressed your sides. You kissed his shoulder “Sit down.. I’ll get you some beer Just relax..” you smiled. Logan nuzzled his nose to yours “Okay sweetheart.” Picking up the laundry off the floor you walked to the bedroom— the bed was made, but no signs of him sleeping there. “You haven’t slept in the bed?” You asked carrying the laundry basket in your hands and Logan shook his head. “No, I couldn’t so I slept here..” he admitted sleeping on the couch. Putting a load of washing on, you joined him on the couch giving him a beer when you heard the strangest noise coming from your belly. “What is happening to me.. in hospital they fed me something, it was liquid it didn’t taste nice.. I can’t stop thinking about food.” You touched your belly and Logan chuckled. “That’s because you’re hungry for food. Not the awful hospital shit” you nodded “it was quite awful that’s true” he nodded pulling out his phone. “How about some pizza?” Suggesting with a smile you nodded immediately “yes please any kind.” He ordered some pizza and you touched his hand. “I can imagine it costed everything.. you know for keeping me in the hospital. I’m so sorry” you breathed eyebrows furrowing in worry. “Money can’t buy my happiness princess, but you can. You’re my happiness. I want to provide for you even though we will have to downgrade to a normal one bedroom apartment soon.” He whispered softly. “I lost my job.. well I sold the company. Your treatment was fucking awful and I was this close to kill everyone” he sighed. “It’s okay, I will find a job. We will figure it out..” you kissed his knuckles “I am so sorry..” he shook his head “No princess.. I am so sorry. I will make it all right.”

Walking inside your new home felt like taking a deep breath of fresh air. It was new.. it had a large kitchen, one large bedroom, opened living room with the joined kitchen, a balcony, one space closet, and a large bathroom. Logan carried the boxes inside your new home with the necessary new things and you watched with awe. Your heart was blazed on fire with love for him. He took care of you— he promised you the best and he did the best. He managed to buy a new car as well.

“All done..” he sighed with a relief putting your new couch together meanwhile you wiped down all the surfaces, cleaned the bedroom and put away your both clothes in the closet. Your bed was supposed to arrive in few days so a mattress was doing just fine. Pulling new sheets on the mattress, changing the pillows and the covers you suggested to cook dinner. Putting your hair in a messy bun Logan caught a glimpse of you being so normal. Just like an ordinary human being. Switching on the lamp you turned to look at him with a smile on your face.

“Come here..” he whispered.

Walking over to him you captured his mouth in a soft kiss.

“You’ve done so much for me already. Caring for me, I can’t thank you enough” his words caused your heart to swell with joy. Yes, you felt lots of happiness with him.

“You did everything for us too. You did so much Lo.. give yourself some credit.” You smiled cupping his cheeks

“I love you”

-

[gothicflowers]

Can you write Ghost only use reader for her body and she shows that but in love too deep with him. She always begs him to take their relationship seriously but Ghost always replies like "I know you love me, that's why I use you, lovie." That's so cruel but I love that, maybe I need a therapy right now!!!

(MDNI) +18

Ghost x F!Reader

“Just sex” he grumbled as he towers over you.

“Fine” you say with a smirk. Arrogantly thinking you could make him fall for you.

Unfortunately after every roll in the sheets it ended the same way. You offer him food, stay to watch a movie, rub his tired shoulders, but he always leaves right after.

Time after time you tell yourself he’s just putting up a front, and deep down he’s a soft gentle man like you think he is. Wrong again. He’s just a tall, arrogant, selfish jerk who only cares about his job.

Which lead to this conversation between you two in his room.

“You know what, I don’t get it” you fumble with your belt as you frustratedly put it back on. Ghost texted you asking if you wanted to stop by but right before you two were about to lay on the bed you asked him if he felt anything for you. Anything at all. To which he promptly said “talk about it later” which was his way of saying drop it. But of course you persisted as asked if he wanted to get dinner later. And it slowly spiraled into a half clothed argument.

“What” he asks with a slight annoyance in his tone “let me guess… you really did fall for me”.

“Yeah. And for some fucking awful reason I agree to this shitty sex deal thinking it would change things but fuck… you’re just shitty”you slip on your shoes and sigh “You know most people have the common courtesy to at least ask if they need some water or help clean them up”.

His props himself up by his elbows and sighs “we agreed, It’s just sex”.

“Oh fuck off. You knew what you were doing. And even if it’s just sex have some basic human decency. And you’re the one who approached me mother fucker don’t forget that, you desperate horn dog” you sneer at him.

Ghost laughs “Oh don’t call me the horn dog when you were practically chasing me around wanting some”.

“Fuck you, then why on earth did you decide to sleep with me if you knew I’d get attached” your hands rest on your hips as you await his answer.

“Simple, the other two women here have some arrangement with Gaz and Soap. I’m not particularly fond of sharing. And they’re really not my type, and you’re the prettier one of the three”.

You could feel your blood start to boil. A this time you had been trying to convince yourself he was everything you wanted… and he was just using you.

“So all that time I thought you just wanted to get to know me you were just trying to get into my pants” your expression turned ice cold.

“Was rather easy darling” he smirks.

“You’re telling me” you laughed trying to compose yourself “that I thought I was falling for you and put up with some mid grade dick because I was the prettiest”.

Ghost was slightly taken aback when you said mid grade dick. “The fuck does that mean” he asks.

You slowly reach for his door handle “Oh come on ghost… did you really think I was actually cumming from two ish minutes of missionary sex with no forplay”.

His sits up with confusion plaster on his face “you’re lying” he scoffs.

“I mean like you said it’s just sex. You never said you’d make me cum, and this little arrangement where one of us leaves works out pretty well so I can have some quality time with my vibrator” your open the door and walk out grinning. But once you reached your room every ounce of emotion released itself.

You gave yourself one night. One night to mourn the idea of what you wanted with him. One night to be upset over his attitude and behavior. One night to cry and let your heart break.

Ghost sits speechless on the bed. There was no way you would lie about faking an orgasm… right? He picked you because you’re pretty and gullible, but now he feels like the fool.

Ghost slides back into his boxers and slowly paces his room. “She’s a little lying minx” he grumbles to himself. But as much as he tries to reassure himself his mind goes back to every encounter.

He realizes he never did ask you if it was good for you. Did you actually cum? Granted he had to use lube a few times but that’s normal, right? Well maybe he did just kinda rush into the sex, never giving you any proper warm up. Was he actually giving mid grade dick? Impossible. But then again he cant remember you saying once that you did come, nor did he ever remember you cumming. He’d surely remember the expression on your face if he ever did see you cum, Was the one and only Simon Ghost Riley really dishing out mediocre dick?

It’s been about a month since that night. Yours and Ghosts work relationship remains unchanged. Professional. But of course now that Soap and Gaz noticed a change in Ghosts behavior towards hookups, they have been dying to ask you what happened.

“Because you’re the prettiest” Gaz repeated your words.

“That’s so fucked up that he’d prey on you like that” Soap said with a disgusted expression.

You simply shrug “I know, but I think I might have given him a taste of his own medicine”.

“How” Soap asks taking note of your smirk.

You lean back in your seat trying to gather the right words “Well you see… he’s not exactly gifted in the skills department”.

“Oh please do elaborate” Gaz scoots in closer. He’s oh so deeply invested now.

“He’s as vanilla as a cake, can’t find the clit even with assistance, and let’s be honest… a minute and a half isn’t getting most women anywhere when you just shove it in” you look between the two men and a greeted by the look of horror.

Soap was the first to speak “A minute and a half”.

“When you say just shove it in you mean he wouldn’t ya know…” Gaz tries to say politely unlike Soap who is now mumbling in Gaelic.

“As in quite literally just dropping pants and hitting it in missionary. No warm up”. You can’t help but speak bluntly.

“Fuck that sounds bloody awful” Soap chimes back in.

“It was, but I thought I actually liked him and it was just something I figured I could deal with. thank goodness that’s over though”. You laugh at your own words because it’s the truth. A horrible honest truth.

Granted the actual damage Ghost caused to your confidence and self esteem is greater than you’re willing to admit. Knowing you were used just for your body and beauty was the most gut wrenching experience.

But at least Ghost looks miserable. The man hasn’t tried to hook up with anyone that you’ve noticed. His cocky arrogant attitude has been turned down. Life finally gave him some of the most humbling lesson.

1. Don’t manipulate people for your benefit when they truly care about you.

2. Don’t be a selfish lover.

3. There are videos on how to actually find the clit,

[bonny-kookoo]

Hello! I’m sure you’re busy with a million other things, but I absolutely love the IT XJK story that unintentionally happened. I love all your other works as well.

Could we get a short of IT oc getting asked by a superior at the company to talk to her about something and JK sees and misunderstands thinking she’s getting in trouble because of him?

Sending over love and good vibes always

First part: here Second part: here

You and Jungkook try hard to keep things professional at work, no matter the circumstances. No one seems to guess that just last night, you'd almost slept over at his place because it had gotten so late that you almost fell asleep on his couch after watching a movie together- only his hand shaking you awake and a cup of coffee able to somehow bring you back home.

Even though he asked multiple times for you to stay.

You're currently busy trying to identify a problem with the recording software on one of the pc's used to monitor the cameras filming, when someone Jungkook recognizes as a pretty high ranking manager taps your shoulder, and gains your attention. He can't hear what he's saying, but he also spots other staff behind the man looking rather serious- as you're led away by them, into a different room, away from everyone else.

His blood runs cold. Nothing happened between the two of you yet- but have they already found out? How so?

Maybe they monitored your phone, have found images he'd sent to you. Nothing too scandalous- simple mirror selfies he'd taken after working out, mostly dressed even, no big deal in his eyes. But now in hindsight, it could pretty much serve as damning evidence for something going on between the two of you, even if in reality you're just walking babysteps towards one another.

Fuck.

Or maybe they read your chats? He's been pretty heavy with the flirting lately, has been reaching out to you whenever he can, almost constantly checking in with you. He wants to have you around after all, all the time, but he also understands that down the line you've got a job to do, and can't just jump around to the tune of his demands whenever he wants you to. Have they read the rather suggestive messages he'd been sending you? He can think of a few.

God, he really fucked up.

"Are you okay?" Jimin asks from the side. "You're really pale." He worries, garnering the attention of Seokjin and Namjoon close by, who also now notice the rather spooked expression on the maknae's face.

"Y-yeah.." Jungkook mumbles a bit uneasy, standing up. He can't let you be fired- he's promised you he'd fix things if he screwed it up, and he plans on keeping his word. He doesn't know how they would even monitor yours or his phone, but it doesn't matter- he has to at least try and protect you somehow. "I'll be right back." He tells his bandmates, before he gets up to walk towards the room you've disappeared into with the others. He can glance inside between the halfway opened blinds, can see you sit down on a chair, while the other three men are standing, two with crossed arms while one talks to you. You look confused if anything, not scared, just bewildered, occasionally giving answers.

He can't have you fight this alone.

Two men leave the room, are surprised to see Jungkook on the other side of the door, and bow politely to the idol. "Jungkook-ssi?" The manager asks from inside, your eyes on him as well as you watch Jungkook enter the room, closing the door behind him. "Is everything alright?" He asks, and Jungkook nods.

"Yeah- just.." He starts, unsure. Especially when he looks at you and finds a look of sudden realization. "It's not her fault. I promise, I'm not just saying that to protect her or anything." He starts, and your eyes widen, the manager leaning his head to the side a little in question.

"What do you mean?" He asks, and at that, Jungkook becomes a bit uneasy.

"Is.. wait, what's.." He starts, and you just sigh, putting your face into your hand to hide yourself as you slide lower into your chair. Jungkook himself swallows hard, realizing that he might've misunderstood the situation, suddenly feeling like a cornered animal.

The manager looks between you and Jungkook for a moment, before his eyes sharpen. "Is there something I should know?" He asks, and you both stay silent at that, not daring to make eye contact. "I honestly though you were more professional than this." The manager sighs towards you, and you clearly want to just disappear.

"No, fuck, it's-" Jungkook tries to rescue this desperately. "-Aish.." He curses to himself, crossing his own arms. "It's my fault. I reached out to her first. I take full responsibility for whatever might happen." He says.

"It doesn't matter who reached out to who first." The manager declines. "What matters is that apparently, something inappropriate has been going on between the two of you, am I correct?" He demands to know.

"Nothing happened-" You start, but you're cut off.

"I'd be very careful with your actions and words right now, considering the situation you're in." The manager scolds you.

"She's right, nothing happened-"

"Yet!" The manager cuts him off, too. "Jungkook-ssi, imagine the scandal! World-renowned Idol has an affair with a staff member! Just imagine the chaos!" The man rants, running his hands over his face. "I don't care what you've been up to. I'll be setting up an NDA right now, and you better not leave this room until it is signed!" He barks at you, and you want to just cry.

You knew this was a bad idea.

"Consider your contract terminated. I'm sure we can find someone else to do your job who won't try and fuck-" He begins, but Jungkook is the one to talk suddenly, voice awfully serious.

"She didn't do any of that.!" He explains, arms crossed. "I reached out to her, she wanted to stay professional, I convinced her anyways because I genuinely feel a good connection to her." He says. "I don't care if you fire her, or have her sign an NDA- but I will neither let you talk like this about her, nor will I cut contact with her and before you ask, I know that that's what you'll be demanding of me." He says, and you look at him with concern, silently observing the two men staring at each other like wolves ready to fight.

"Does the rest of your bandmembers know how you're acting?" The manager demands to know. "I don't care if she's good entertainment, you're first and foremost an Idol, a brand, and if this spills out to the public, you'll taint the entire band and label with it!" He argues, but Jungkook shakes his head.

"Have her sign the NDA. Then she'll have no reason to talk." He explains calmly. "Or are you more worried that someone else might talk? That you might be tempted by the money this could make you if you were to sell that info?" He asks, and it clearly makes the man in front of him nervous. "I want you to sign one as well. Secured under the same amount of money as hers." He says, blocking the door.

"I won't be doing that." The manager declines. "I already signed one when I started to work here."

"So did she, I have to imagine." Jungkook responds.

"You're really protecting her? She will want money eventually." The manager says. "And your little adventure into the adult world isn't worth everyone's good reputation." He sneers.

"We have been seeing each other for months." Jungkook says. "And yet no one noticed. Curious. If I didn't say anything, you would've never known." Jungkook says.

"That's not the point-" The manager argues, but Jungkook won't have it.

"It is exactly the point." He argues against him. "Seokjin's relationship of what, five years now? Yoongi dating the hair stylist that joined two years ago. None of it has ever come out, has it?" He threatens. "Why is it suddenly so scandalous when it's me, I wonder?"

"That doesn't matter!" The manager scoffs.

"It does!" Jungkook says, angrily now. "It does to me! I'm not a child, and I believe it's time to make that clear!" He says, pulling out his phone.

"What are you doing?" The manager asks, and you're equally as confused.

"Calling a lawyer." Jungkook says, lowly so, like a threat, holding out his hand towards you, helping you out of your chair to pull you close to him as he opens the door, and turns around once to make one last comment to the man pale and frozen in place.

"I won't let you take this from me."

[candiedcoffeedrops]

Cloud Gazing

Ring Schwarz x Reader (no pronouns used)

Notes: I just wanted to write something sweet and fluffy to take a break from trying to write three other things all at once and this came out. Not a lot to say here, just fluff!

WC: 674 CW: None, but it is written from Ring's perspective. Also, tooth-rotting fluff, but that's it that's all I can think of.

Oh yeah, still no beta. We die like mne.

“Ring! That one looks like a crocodile in a sun hat! See look, that part there is the snout, right? See how it’s open like it’s smiling? Then-”

I sit on the grass beside you, the sun's warmth soaking into my skin as the clouds drift lazily overhead. Your voice, light and full of laughter, fills the air as you excitedly point out shapes in the sky. My gaze follows your outstretched finger, tracing the contours of a particularly fluffy cloud that might indeed resemble a crocodile in a sunhat—if I squint. But my attention inevitably drifts back down to Earth—to you.

I try to focus on the clouds, really I do, but my gaze keeps sliding back to you. Something about the way your eyes light up when you spot a new shape, the way you smile as if you’re discovering a treasure in the expansive blue above, draws me in completely. My chest tightens with a mix of comfort and a kind of yearning welling up within me as I become acutely aware of your proximity. My eyes dart downward, noticing your other hand is splayed on the soft grass, fingers pointed towards me, and my own twitch with the suppressed urge to reach out and touch them. Surely, that wouldn’t be too forward, right? After all, we’re–

Your attention turned to me and I immediately refocused on the cloud, hoping you didn’t notice me staring. But the warmth spreading across my cheeks betrays me, and I silently curse my traitorous face.

Your giggle bubbles up beside me, and I feel the flush intensify. I turn my head, my lips thinning as I try to hide it.

“Caught you looking,” you tease, another laugh escaping your lips. “What’s so fascinating? Do I have something on my face?”

“I–wasn’t…I mean, I was, but–”

Before I can finish, you shift closer with a soft hum, and warmth envelops my hand. I glance down to find our fingers intertwined, your gentle squeeze a soothing balm to my nerves. It’s a simple, sweet gesture, but one that never fails to ground me. “It’s okay. I look at you like that sometimes, too. So, I don’t mind.” Your voice is warm, and your smile is bright. I breathe a small sigh of relief, the tension ebbing away as my own lips curve into a smile.

A silence passes over us, though not uncomfortable and I’m grateful for the chance to collect myself. You return to cloud watching but I remain focused on you. Every once in a while I’ll see your eyes shift to me and a subtle pink graces your cheeks as you point out new shapes in the sky. You bring so much light to everything, even small things like this and it makes me so immensely grateful I found you. You put the sky above to shame.

Your voice becomes a soothing rhythm, lulling me into a sense of calm. I hadn’t realized how tired I was, but now, with the sun warming my skin and you beside me, the tension I’ve been holding onto starts to slip away. My eyes grow heavy, and despite my best efforts to stay awake, and spend time with you, I feel the need to rest.

“Hey,” I begin, drawing your attention to me again with a curious tilt of your head. “May I…lean on you?” I ask, and I know it comes out as more of a nervous murmur than an actual question, but still, you smile softly at me and nod, offering your shoulder. The warmth of your body against mine is comforting, grounding me even as sleep pulls me under. I nuzzle closer, the scent of your hair filling my senses. A soft sigh escapes me as the tension begins to melt away.

The last bit of consciousness I have allows me to hear you hum softly, your fingers threading gently through my hair. “Sleep well, Ring.” You say and I can’t help but smile as I let myself fully relax into a sweet sleep.

Cloud dividers by @drinkthesky

Banner done by me.

@drachonia

[beanghostprincess]

*holds you by shoulders*

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT 1082 I WAS SURE IT WAS SHIPPY THING AND NOW I NEED TO KNOW

*starts sobbing while slowly falling to my knees*

…….please

I SAW THIS YESTERDAY NIGHT WHEN I WAS ABOUT TO FALL ASLEEP AND I JUST WOKE UP EARLY TO REPLY BECAUSE I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR AGES FOR THIS QUESTION I AM GOING TO KISS YOU ANON-

I do love and adore the shippy part of 1082 because I am a very intense Shuggy shipper and I had been waiting to read their break-up for sooo long. But it's not exactly what made the chapter life-changing for me, tbh.

Buggy's speech is... Is incredibly beautiful and encouraging. It explains so much about his character, the dynamic he has with Cross Guild, and why he's so resentful toward Shanks. Throughout the manga, we've seen him in serious moments, yes, but usually, Buggy is pretty much used for comedy relief more than anything. This is one of the first times we've seen Buggy realize the position he has now and say "Fuck it. Already on the verge of dead for these two, might as well do something with this shitty situation because for once, I have the opportunity to be brave and be more than what people think of me". There's literally nothing stopping him right now, and he prefers to risk his life enraging Crocodile and Mihawk than letting this opportunity of showing who he truly is slide.

And tbh, we haven't seen them ever since (I am starving please-) but I am really hopeful his speech somehow makes Crocodile and Mihawk have a little tiny itty bitty of respect for him at least. Because out of the three? Buggy is the one who deserves the title of pirate more.

Mihawk and Crocodile don't have dreams or ambitions and see pirating as a business. Even when Crocodile did have ambitions (remember when the silly rubber guy destroyed all of his dreams that was a funny arc haha) his whole personality has always been more of a mafioso than anything. Mihawk is a simple man and is bored with life being at the top of the top, he clearly wants something interesting to happen but doesn't see any use in looking for it himself. They care about their commodities and wealth. But out of the three, Buggy is the one who had to give up on his dream and now he has the opportunity to fulfill it.

"How can you call yourselves pirates with schemes like that?! You're doing it all backwards!! [...] Way back when... What did you guys want to be?! [...] I wanna be king of the pirates!! Wealth? Power? Why stop there when we can have it all?!"

This is something a real pirate would say. He talks like Roger here, I am going to curl up and cry don't look at me-

What I like about One Piece is the constant use of themes like dreams and freedom etc, etc... That's something we all know. But you wouldn't expect it coming from Buggy, of all people. And I think I'm pretty fond of him being brave and finally acting upon what he truly wants to do. What makes it great is that you have this comedy relief character standing up for his dream in front of clearly two other antagonists that have control over him in, well, strength and everything. But Buggy has something they don't and it's so, so much ambition and a dream that could be considered childish but it's the representation of freedom and doing things because you want to follow your heart. This is kind of why I always say Luffy would be more fond of Buggy if he knew the whole story and would probably support him a lot--

What I like the most about this chapter is both Buggy's character development through a speech + flashback and Mihawk and Crocodile being completely stunned by it because they weren't expecting this to happen from Buggy of all people. I know I sound like a broken record but I really, really, want them to respect Buggy a little bit more after this. Also, Buggy doesn't do this only to announce he's going to follow his dream now that he's on equal footing with Shanks. He does it because the other two mention needing overwhelming power over the rest. Buggy isn't stupid and knows how manipulating people works. The thing that makes pirates work harder isn't money, it's a dream. And there's nothing a pirate desires more than the One Piece, so that's kind of why he announces it publicly. First, to establish power, and second, so that way Mihawk and Crocodile don't get rid of him because seriously, Buggy is a better boss than these two because their followers appreciate him and don't feel forced to follow him.

Not to mention that the whole thing also shows more of Buggy's relationship with Roger and how left out he felt because people thought highly of Shanks instead of him. But Buggy, even if he was jealous, was willing to follow Shanks despite his feelings because he accepted being less worthy of respect than him. Shanks shone brightly and Buggy decided that, even if he wanted to be seen like that too, he'd give up on his dream and support Shanks instead because at least they'd do this together, just the way they did everything back at the time.

But then Shanks hesitates, and I think that's Buggy's last straw because he sees giving up going for the One Piece as something disrespectful to their captain (dad) and thinks it's unfair that Shanks is so respected by everyone even though the one wanting to follow their captain's steps right away is him. It's honestly frustrating. And then you understand better why Buggy is angry at Shanks-- Yeah, he made him eat the devil fruit and lost the map because of him (not really but whatever), but the way I see it that's just a metaphor for the real reason why Buggy is so resentful. Shanks' existence, even if it was not on purpose, made Buggy feel so powerless he gave up on his dream. And eating a devil fruit means the sea hates you and you can't have any independence in the pirate world, and losing the map is kind of like losing the only thing that guides you. He left Buggy with nothing and let him carry the burden of a lost dream.

This is funny because Shanks did absolutely nothing wrong and everything is a product of jealousy and miscommunication, but I understand why Buggy blames Shanks and this chapter makes it clearer and explains it perfectly.

Basically, it's such an amazing chapter for Buggy's character and it's definitely my favorite for him specifically. Although the flashback does wonders for my Shuggy heart.

Also, adding more points for the revolutionary plot in the end and Sabo showing up because I adore him <3

[morganski-19]

Things I Won't Say When I'm Sober Part 4

part one, part three, part 5

In the morning Steve wakes up like he fell asleep. Eddie still lying on his chest, wrapped up in Steve’s arms, deep asleep. Steve doesn’t quite know what to do. If he had to choose, he’d stay here until Eddie woke up. Assure him that he doesn’t judge him for what happened last night and that this was okay with him. That in fact, he wouldn’t care if every one of his mornings started like this. Watching Eddie wake up, feeling the deep inhales and heartbeats as he was wrapped up in Steve’s arms. The quiet moments in a relationship that make Steve’s heart flutter. 

He can’t choose that though, because he knows what’s actually going to happen. Eddie will wake up and immediately jump out of Steve’s arms, apologizing for what happened last night even through Steve’s reassurance. Then Steve would slip out that he liked it, that he wished it would happen more often. Eddie would look at him in disgust and kick Steve out of his bed. Kick him out of the trailer and never want to see him again. Steve would lose Eddie because he was stupid enough to catch feelings for his friend. 

Even though those feelings were probably the easiest thing Steve had ever caught. It was so simple and easy to fall for Eddie. And it would be so simple for Eddie to dismiss Steve and cut him out of his life because he felt this way. 

Steve has to get out of the bed. Not just to evade the inevitable, but also because the discomfort in his bladder can’t really be ignored. Slowly, he unwraps his arms around Eddie and lifts him slightly, moving him off of Steve and back on his side of the bed. He’s really lucky that Eddie sleeps like the dead, otherwise, this would have been a lot more awkward. 

He closes the door softly behind him, looking at Eddie again before he leaves. Robin is still asleep on the couch, curled up with the blanket that Eddie lent her. He remembers the promise that he made her last night. Knowing that she’ll ask pretty much as soon as she wakes up. That he’ll finally have to tell her what he’s been too afraid to even speak. She’ll be supportive, of course, but she might encourage it. Give him hope that Eddie might actually like him back even though he knows that’s not the case. 

Even if Eddie liked guys too, who’s to say that he would choose Steve out of all people? Steve wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t.

When he walks out of the bathroom, Robin sits up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “Steve,” she mumbles. 

“Sorry, did I wake you?” he whispers across the room. She shakes her head. He walks over and sits on the ground, his back leaning against the couch. “How’d you sleep.”

“Fine, I guess.” She rubs the goosebumps away on her arms. “How was sleeping with Eddie?’

Steve shrugs, unsure if he should tell her about what happened last night. “You know him, he’s the deepest sleeper I know. So it was fine.”

“So,” she drags out. “Anything you want to tell me?”

“I thought you were going to take longer to ask,” he sighs. 

Robin slides off of the couch and sits next to him. “We don’t have to talk about it now if you don’t want to. You did promise me though.”

“I know. Just … scared of him overhearing.”

“I mean you said it yourself, he’s asleep. Is it really that bad if he does?”

Steve nods, staring down at his fingers. “It could ruin everything, Rob. I-I’m just so scared that this-”

Robin grabs his hand. “Steve, look at me.” He does, the worry in his eyes meeting the soft comfort of hers. “You know you can tell me anything right?”

He nods, remembering the simple space of trust that they formed that day in the mall on the bathroom floor. Robin bore a part of her soul that she never told anyone else, the fear in her eyes that this small fact about herself would make him hate her. When in reality it only made him love her more. Because with the small amount of time they knew each other, she decided that he was safe enough to place her trust in. And now the roles are reversed, but that didn’t make it any easier to say. 

“I know. It’s just-,” he looks down at their joined hands. “Do you remember when you told me you liked girls? You were so scared to even say the words out loud that you almost didn’t say them at all.”

“Yeah, that was the first time I ever admitted it to someone else. But what does that have to do with this?”

He looks back up at her, hoping the small reference is enough for her to read his mind. “Robin.”

She squints her eyes before they widen with realization. “Oh.”

Steve nods, swallowing hard. “Yeah, oh.”

Robin bites her lip, looking at him with a small sense of sadness. “And the reason he can’t know is-”

“Yeah, 'cause I don’t know how he’ll react if he figures out I like him.” There is it, the words that have taken so long for him to accept out in the open. Free-floating in the warm comfort that is Robin’s presence. 

It isn’t long before Robin is hugging him, gripping him tightly and not letting go. Steve buries his face in her neck, letting the stress of the situation finally take over. Letting go of everything he’s tried so hard to keep in. 

“It’s going to be ok,” Robin assures, rubbing a hand up and down his back as the tears start to fall. She lets him cry on her for some time, not caring that the tears stain her shirt. Slowly, the tears start to stop and relief spreads through his body.

“Is this what you go through all of the time?” he asks quietly.

Robin scoffs. “Yeah. Sucks right.”

Steve lets out a wet laugh, sitting up and wiping away his remaining tears. “It really does.”

“Your situation is better than mine though. I think you have a good shot of him liking you back.”

“I don’t think so, Rob. How are you even sure that he likes guys?”

She shrugs. “I just have a feeling.”

“Like my feeling that Vicky liked you back.”

“Yes, except my feeling is correct,” she says with a roll of her eyes. 

“Did you,” he clears his throat. “Did you have that feeling about me?”

She gives him a smug look. “I might have guessed it.”

“Really?”

“Have you seen the way you’ve looked at Eddie recently? And the whole thing with his hair yesterday. The fuck was that?”

He laughs. “Ok, fair.”

Robin's face softens again. “What are you going to do?”

“I have no idea,” he looks forward again. “Just wait for it to go away I guess.”

“You really think that can happen?” she leans her head on his shoulder. 

Steve sighs. “Not really. Not soon at least. I haven’t felt like this for anyone in a while.”

“And you’re sure he doesn’t like you back?”

He presses his lips together and takes a second to think. “No, I’m sure.”

“Why are you sitting on the floor when there’s a couch right behind you?” Eddie asks, standing by the kitchen

“Uh,” Steve starts, trying not to panic. “How long have you been standing there?”

Eddie crosses his arms and squints his eyes. “I asked you first.”

Robin stretches next to him. “Cause the floor is comfortable and I got tired of sitting on your couch. Your turn.”

“I just walked out of my room and you two were just staring at my wall, so not more than thirty seconds I guess. You guys want some breakfast?” he walks behind the counter.

“Ugh I would, but I should really get home before my parents freak out.” Robin stands, using Steve’s shoulder as a balance. 

He follows, thankful for the easy out. “What should I do with these?” he gestures down to the clothes Eddie lent them.

“I don’t know, just bring them back the next time you come over. We can call them Stevie’s high pajamas. Nice bedhead by the way.”

Steve’s hand jumps to his head, immediately trying to smooth out his hair. “Is it bad?”

“Nah, it’s cute. Eddie turns away, pouring cereal into his bowl. 

“Well uh, bye. See you around I guess,” Steve jumbles out, feeling his face flush. 

He all but pushes Robin out the door as she yells goodbye. When they get to his car, he grips the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turn white. 

“You’re hopeless,” is all Robin says before he starts driving.

another part coming soon!! (it may be the last but depends on the length. it is wrapping up soon though.)

Tag list (lmk if you want to be added or removed): tag list: @imfinereallyy @estrellami-1 @paintsplatteredandimperfect @overhillunderhill @renaissan-vvitch @ashwagandalf @sirsnacksalot @lorelei724 @emly03 @super-cosmic-library @rozzieroos @dolphincliffs @henderdads @abyssal808 @evergreenprose @demolvr @steddiehyperfixation @stedumpsterfire @ent-is-indecisive @steddierthings @makeadealwithdean @kas-eddie-munson @extra-transitional @lunaticmarunatic @steveharringtonmilf @cardboardqueen @imhereforthelolzdontyellatme @panicatthediaz @ellietheasexylibrarian @hallucinatedjosten @awkwardgravity1 @imhereforthelolzdontyellatme @its-a-me-a-morgan @messrs-weasley @dreamlandforever @stevesbipanic @inmoonywetrust @sani-86 @aellafreya @lorelei724 @punkprettyboyprincess

[lordperceval-16]

Come Light Me Up

Max Verstappen x Sophie Russell (OC)

Sophie Russell is taking a break from her life in the US and travelling the world with her brother on the F1 circuit. Things get a bit more complicated when she reconnects with one Max Verstappen.

~Bahrain ~

"Oh sorry Sophie, I didn't think anyone would be up here."

Sophie turned around and smiled when she saw Max standing in the doorway, the light behind him shining out into the darkness.

"It's alright," she replied, "wouldn't mind a bit of company to be honest."

He came to stand beside her and rested his arms on the railing, looking out over the city below. They stood in silence for awhile, Sophie analysing the brooding look on his face.

"Sorry your race went shit today," she murmured, and he couldn't help but laugh at her bluntness.

"Gee thanks. I'm surprised you're not off celebrating your brothers' podium," he commented, his brows furrowing.

"Yeah I was but..." Sophie sighed, her head down, "guess I still haven't quite adjusted to the timezone."

"Why do I get the feeling that's not the whole truth?" He pushed, his gaze settling on her with curiosity.

"Aren't you observant," she snorted, glancing sideways at him before her shoulders slumped slightly on defeat, "but yeah, you're right, it's not the timezone really."

"Care to share?" He queried, nudging her elbow with his.

"Sure you actually care to listen to my ridiculously boring melodrama?" She quipped back, eliciting a laugh from him.

"Try me," he grinned, "maybe I'm in the mood for melodrama."

"You definitely have better options for your night than listening to me," she insisted.

"Look you don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable with it," he assured her, "but something's clearly up and if you need a friendly ear then I'm here."

"Well I..." she started, looking down again, "I love George and Carmen, in fact she's like a sister to me, but since I've come home I just...I dunno. Of course I'm so happy they have each other but...sometimes seeing them makes me feel...."

"Lonely?" He guessed, and she nodded her agreement.

"Yeah," she murmured, "I was with someone for three years before it all went tits up, and now I feel...a little lonely yeah."

"That's pretty shit," he replied plainly, "but I get it. It can be hard being the single one at the party.

"Wow," she snickered, "such insightful points you make."

"It's a gift," he laughed, "but seriously, if you ever need any more very insightful points then I'd be happy to listen to more of your melodrama sometime."

"Cheers," she chuckled, pushing herself away from the railing, "Careful though or I might just take you up on it sometime."

"I'll be waiting by the phone," he teased.

"Oh I'm sure you'll be glued to the screen" she quipped back, "I better get some sleep, we fly out fairly early in the morning."

"Wouldn't want that jet lag to make you late for your flight," he grinned.

"Ah yes, the jet lag," she deadpanned, rolling her eyes, "I'll see you around Max."

"Hey Sophie?" He called after her, "its nice to see you at race weekends again. Reminds me of the old days."

"Aha yeah," Sophie laughed, "those were the days. If only everything could be as simple now as it was then."

"It'll get better," he assured her quietly.

"Here's hoping anyway," she sighed before waving goodnight to him and leaving the rooftop. 

~Imola~

"We have got to stop meeting up like this."

Max looked up and huffed out a laugh when he saw Sophie sliding down the wall to sit beside him.

"What brings you here?" He asks, leaning his cheek against the cool wall and giving her his full attention.

"Well," she sighed dramatically, mirroring his position,"George and his mechanics are buzzing around the garage and it all got a bit too frantic for me so I stepped out to get a breather. I didn't want to get in the way or distract him before quali."

"That's fair," he chuckled, "things can get a bit chaotic in the garages."

"I have to wonder what you're doing here, hiding by yourself," she stated, "shouldn't you be holed up with Horner in a corner of the garage scheming up how you can pip Charles to pole?"

"Oh hawhaw," he deadpanned, sticking his tongue out at her, "you Mercedes fangirls love to paint us as the villains don't you."

"A fangirl?" She balked, bringing her hand to her chest, "never been so insulted in my life."

"I'll add it to my growing shelf of awards," he teased, grinning wider when she rolled her eyes.

"You're so full of shit," she scoffed, but she couldn't hide her amused grin.

"See I know you don't mean that," he smirked, nudging her with his elbow before pulling himself up from the ground, "I better head back to the garage, make sure our evil scheme is ready to go. I'll see you around Sophie."

"Hey Max," she called as she stood herself, a genuine smile on her face, "probably shouldn't be saying this to the enemy but...good luck, I hope your quali goes...moderately well."

"Gee thanks," he snickered, "I'll know who to thank if I get pole."

As Sophie walked through the paddock later that evening she was stopped by a hand on her elbow.

"Thanks for the good luck wishes," he murmured in her ear, "we'll have to make it a regular thing."

"Oh you are such an insufferable twat," she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"You don't mean that," he teased as he backed away from her, a cheeky grin lighting up his face. Sophie shook her head as she left him, but she couldn't ignore the excited little flutter in her stomach at the prospect of their meetings being a regular thing.

~Barcelona~

"Suppose congratulations are in order today," Sophie called from her spot leaning against the Mercedes motor home.

Max turned and grinned when he saw her there, sauntering over to her and leaning against the wall beside her.

"Wow thanks Sophie," he sniggered, "next time try it with feeling."

"Best I can do I'm afraid," she sighed dramatically, "as a Mercedes fangirl its my duty to be disdainful when you beat us, especially when you beat George."

"Aw I know you don't mean that Sophie," he pouted, "but it's OK, you obviously can't admit that you're actually a proud member of the orange army."

"Clearly the heat on track has gotten to your head," she snorted, shaking her head at him fondly.

"Don't worry," he whispered, leaning in to her ear, his breath tickling her neck, "it'll be our little secret."

Sophie felt butterflies erupt in her stomach at his whispered words. If she turned her head even slightly then her nose would brush against his. She couldn't deny her attraction to him, couldn't deny just how tempted she was to turn her head and see what he would do.

"Hey Soph you ready to...oh, hi Max."

Sophie's head whipped around as George walked out of the motor home, his eyes flickering between the two of them suspiciously.

"Hi George," Max said cheerily, stepping away from Sophie and hoping it wasn't too obvious, "I need to head to the motor home and shower so I'll see you both around."

Sophie waved goodbye and watched him go, her neck prickling with the weight of her brother's gaze on her.

"You and Max looked mighty friendly," he commented as he stepped up beside her, "when did that become a thing?"

"It's not a thing," she insisted, crossing her arms as she finally turned to face him, "we're just friends."

"Is it me you're trying to convince or yourself?" George teased lightly,  raising an eyebrow at her.

"Oh shut the hell up," Sophie scoffed, "now c'mon let's get out of here and get dinner, I'm absolutely starving."

~Miami ~

Wanna play Mario kart?

Sophie huffed out an incredulous laugh when the Instagram DM from Max popped up on her screen.

Sure, what's your room?

She twiddled her thumbs as she waited for a reply, which thankfully didn't take too long to come through.

714 :)

Sophie swung her legs over the side of the bed and stretched her arms above her head, groaning in satisfsction when she felt the pop. She quickly slid on her shoes and grabbed her phone and purse before bolting out the door and heading for the elevator. As she waited for the lift to go up she checked her appearance in the mirrored wall, quickly taking down her messy bun and making it a little bit neater. She rapped on the door of 714 twice, starling back a little at how quickly it opened.

"You came," he breathed, almost as though he was surprised.

"Well while I did have some good offers," she mused as she stepped in and placed her things on the table, "I thought Mario Kart would be considerably more fun than any of those."

"Wow, I'm so flattered," he deadpanned, though he couldn't surpress his grin for too long, "now I'm dying to know which character you'll pick. My bets on Yoshi for sure."

"Well I hate to disappoint you," she replied as she picked up the remote and jumped onto the couch, "but it's Waluigi or bust."

"A woman of taste," he said, bowing dramatically before joining her on the couch, "this should be interesting."

"Oh sweetie," she sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder, "you may be the formula one world champion, but I'm going to absolutely destroy you at this."

"Oh is that right?" He quipped, raising an eyebrow in challenge, "well we'll see about that. Best of three?"

"You're on," she grinned.

"You cheated!" She exclaimed after their third grand prix came to an end, "you pushed me off the track at the last turn and put me in reach of the flowers, that's absolutely cheating."

"You're just mad cause you didn't think of it," he smirked, leaning back on the couch and shrugging his shoulders, "but it's alright, not everyone can be a world champion."

"Oh you are so full of it," she huffed, dumping her control on the table and hugging the couch cushion to her chest, a pout on her face.

"Aw don't be a sore loser Sophie," he teased, batting his eyelashes at her, "its just a game." Before she could think too much about it she swung the cushion in her hand and hit him square in the face with it.

"Really?" He asked incredulously, "did that make you feel better?"

"Yes actually," she smirked, before swinging the cushion again. This time he was ready for her though, and grabbed the cushion from her hands before it could make contact.

"Don't start another competition you can't win," he warned, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"What makes you think I won't win?" She challenged. Max made her no answer, and when she realised what was about to happen it was too late and the cushion had already slammed into her face.

"Oh its so on," she stated, grabbing the other cushion as she jumped from the couch and dodged his next blow. They raced around his suite for what felt like hours, trading blows and laughing like maniacs.

"Alright that's it," he threatened after a particularly harsh blow. Sophie huffed out a squeal as he tackled her around the waist and her back bounced onto the soft bed. She gasped for breath through her laughter, her heart pounding in her chest from the exertion. When she opened her eyes she found herself nose to nose with Max, who was staring back at her intently. His gaze flickered almost imperceptibly to her lips and her heart raced impossibly faster.

The spell was broken by the blaring of his ringtone. He groaned as he stood up and plucked his phone from the nightstand, answering it with gruff 'yes?'.

Sophie stood from the bed and straightened herself out, clearing her throat and ignoring the fluttering in her chest. When she looked up again he was hanging up the phone and watching her warily, as though she were a cornered animal.

"I had a lot of fun," she said quietly after an awkward beat, "certainly beat sitting on my own watching hallmark movies."

"Yeah me too," he agreed, his face softening, "probably the most fun I've had in awhile."

"Well I won't lie I probably would have had more fun if you hadn't cheated," she commented breezily, and suddenly the weird tension between them was no more. "Next time its all out war."

"I'm shaking just thinking about it," he teased. Sophie rolled her eyes and stepped closer to him, a small smile on her face.

"I better get to bed," she sighed, "rematch soon yeah?"

"Absolutely," he nodded, his heart thudding when she wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. He closed his eyes and rested his cheek on her shoulder, his heart thudding so loudly in his chest he was sure she'd feel it.

"Night Max," she murmured as she stepped back and headed for the door.

"Night Sophie," he called after her, a content smile on his face.

~Monaco~

"Hey Sophie, want another drink?"

"Sure," she grinned, "I'll come with you."

Max led the way around the dancefloor to the crowded bar at the other side of the room. He had no problem muscling his way to the front of the crowd, but Sophie struggled to get through. She smiled gratefully when Max took her hand in his and pulled her to the front with him. He didn't let go once she'd settled beside him, and her heart fluttered at the feel of his hand in hers.

"Oh I love this song," she grinned as she finished your drink and a remix of 'Into You' blared drom the speakers.

"Come on then," Max suggested, downing his drink before grabbing her hand and dragging her to the dancefloor. He rested his hands on her waist and swayed their bodies in sync with the music. As the baseline began to rise her eyes met his and her heart felt like it was trying to escape from her chest. His face was so close to hers that their noses were almost touching, and when the lights flashed she could see the glint of want in his eyes and knew it was a look she wouldn't forget.

As the chorus dropped she threw all caution to the wind and pressed her lips against his desperately. He pulled her flush against his chest, his hands on her back holding her there. She felt like her body had been electrified, every inch that was pressed against Max feeling like it was on fire.

"Why don't we go somewhere more private," he murmured against her lips, and she couldn't surpress a shiver. She nodded in response, and he wasted no time in grabbing her hand and leading her through the club and out the front door.

"Where are we going?" She asked as he led her down the street. He stopped and turned to look at her, a vulnerable look taking over his face.

"Oh well I was thinking we could go to mine since it's so close," he started, rubbing the back of his neck, "but if I've misunderstood this then we can absolutely just...."

"No," she giggled, shaking her head and pressing another kiss to his cheek, "you haven't misunderstood anything. I was just asking."

"Oh," he laughed, "well then yeah, my place is nearby so we can go there."

"Lead the way," she grinned, "I'll text George and let him know I've left and that I'm OK."

"He's not going to murder me is he?" Max joked as they continued down the street.

"He's probably too drunk to even notice I've left," Sophie snorted. As they walked their hands brushed against each other, and Sophie couldn't fight her smile as he took her hand in his and swung them back and forth.

"So," he said awkwardly as they entered his house, "do you want a drink or..."

Sophie cut him off with a firm kiss, backing him up against the wall and pressing her body flush against his. "I didn't come home with your for drinks Max," she stated, pressing breathy kisses along his jaw, "so why don't you show me where your bedroom is and we can tour the kitchen in the morning."

"Who am I to argue with that?" He laughed before kissing her with renewed enthusiasm. He wrapped his arms around her waist and began to steer her down the hallway to his room, his lips never leaving hers.

[depressedhouseplant]

Cops & Robbers Read Along: Chapter 7

You can read the chapter here

I’d say not a lot happens in this chapter, but I guess that depends on your definition of action in a story. This chapter is a bunch of little things until we get to the next chapter which is basically 3000 words worth of smut. I was also very unhappy with my main pairing by this point. If you’re a writer, you know that your characters don’t always agree with you. They needed to get it on again, goddammit.

Younghoon knew Juyeon was sitting outside the room. He’d heard him arguing with Eric earlier. Younghoon was surprised the youngest hadn’t caved when Juyeon started all but interrogating him about Younghoon. He hadn’t talked to Eric per se, but Eric had taken it upon himself to make sure Younghoon was eating and Bori was getting walked. Otherwise, Younghoon refused to open the door. He was in horrific pain because he’d gone three days without pain medication. Eric offered to bring some, but Younghoon didn’t have the stomach to inject himself. The rib pain was the worst. He got winded even walking from the bed to the bathroom.

I feel like this is both an accurate representation of Eric as a person - quietly helpful to those he cares about. It’s also an accurate representation of what happens with a rib injury when you go too long with no pain management. I was a complete monster without it. And did get winded walking to the bathroom a few times.

“Then I would very much like to kiss you,” Juyeon smiled so his eyes crinkled. Younghoon didn’t reply, instead slotting their mouths together. He felt Juyeon’s hands slide up into his hair. He didn’t realize how touch starved he was until he felt Juyeon’s bare skin against his own. 

“I missed this,” he breathed. 

“Me too,” Juyeon agreed, moving his lips down Younghoon’s neck. 

“Mark me up,” Younghoon knotted his fingers in Juyeon’s hair. 

“Of course, darling,” he replied, nipping and sucking

The beginnings of me like “OMG would you two just fuck again already???” My characters never listen to me, I swear. I could comment on my writing of smut, but that’s coming (pun intended) in the next chapter.

“It’s always been black and white. There’s good guys and bad guys. There’s cops and robbers. The rules are simple,” he didn’t look up.

“Sometimes good guys do bad things and bad guys do good things. In case you didn’t notice, we don’t exactly follow rules,” Hyunjae put his hand on Changmin’s shoulder. Before Changmin replied, Sunwoo’s laptop dinged.

Where the title came from and also the author’s commentary on how she can’t write a consistent character to save her life.

“Well we aren’t going to start with the bamboo shoots under the fingernails until we know he was involved. Which means you have to identify him,” Hyunjae said. One of them was still alive. At least, that’s what the other three thought. Younghoon didn’t want to come face to face with his potential kidnapper. He knew it was necessary. He had to do it for Chanhee even if he didn’t do it for himself.

“I assume Juyeon doesn’t know,” Younghoon said.

“We collectively decided to let him sleep. You happened to get up first,” the other man replied. Younghoon looked back at Bori walking around the yard.

“I’ll do it,” he agreed.

MoRe FoReShAdOwInG (albeit accidental)

“Of course not. I need you to make sure that there’s nothing anyone can question on the paperwork. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir,” he replied.

“Very good. Take Jongho with you. Let me know when everything is complete,” 

“Yes, sir,” Yunho nodded even though he couldn’t see him. The voice on the other end didn’t reply. He simply ended the call.

“Fuck,” Yunho swore under his breath. He never should’ve agreed to this.

More trying not to say Hongjoong’s name without saying Hongjoong’s name. But I did it! And I surprised you! (Right?)

[gleefullypolin]

Dating Lady Whistledown by GleefullyPolin

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57046732/chapters/145081255

Summary: Eloise always thought that her idiot brother was merely a distraction for their shared friend Penelope, always in her ear and never allowing her a moment to venture out on her own. But when Penelope begins online dating and finally meets a man who starts to slowly win her heart, was fate truly at play all along?

Chapter 2: Lonely Traveler

“You can be lonely even when you’re loved by many people since you’re still not anybody’s one and only.” Anne Frank

Colin stared at the sea from his balcony as it hit the shore, crashing into the rocks below as the sun was rising. He took in a breath, inhaling the air as he let his eyes fall closed, his feet tapped the table beneath his toes. He let his eyes slide open and gazed down at the laptop perched against his knees, the curser flashing brightly against the white background of the empty page.

He often wondered how writers block could find someone in a place so beautiful and full of wonders when it should be able to form nouns, verbs, and adjectives into even the most uneducated of minds. Yet here he sat, Colin Bridgerton, twice published author, unable to form even a simple sentence.

He wanted to call Pen. She would be able to talk him through whatever was plaguing his mind, she was always able to lift the fog that troubled him when his mind clouded him like this. He looked at his phone, realizing that calling her would mean rousing her from a sound sleep. He knew it wouldn’t matter; he had called her like this before. Her timid small voice on the other end of the line always eased his mind as she woke from slumber, he wasn’t sure if that was his favorite Pen sound, but it was easily one of his top five to be sure.

He wasn’t exactly sure when he started ranking Pen sounds, it was probably not appropriate to have a ranking of favorite sounds your best friend made, yet he noticed that he started collecting them sometime in the last three years.

It had started after he had come home from Paris before setting back off for the South of France on another assignment, he had joined one of Eloise and Pen’s movie nights.  They were five hours into a Harry Potter marathon when Eloise gave up and retired to her room, leaving the two of them to continue on their own. Two hours later, Pen was snoring quietly next to him, snuggled into the crook of his arm, her hand nestled under her cheek as she rested on his chest.

His arm was fast asleep, and he was doing everything he could to shake it back awake when she stirred beside him, the smallest sound escaping from her lips. It sounded like a bird he had heard in a rainforest in Brazil during one of his tours. And it was in that moment that he started his list of favorite Pen sounds which he kept etched on his heart.

He picked up the phone and opened his contacts, Pen’s number showing at the top of the list with the red hearts bookending her name. His finger hovered over it until he groaned, clicking instead onto the message he had received last night from his sister.

Helloise: Pen and I are busy tonight. I’m calling dibs!

“Get it together, Bridgerton.” He moaned. He really needed to stop being so co-dependent on his best friend.

Colin should be happy about his life. He traveled to some of the most amazing places in the world, he was able to see things that people would beg to view with their own eyes just once in their lifetime. And then he got to write about them and share that information with the world. Colin knew he was lucky. He was living his dream.

And yet he was plagued with something that was making him physically ill. Something that had him sitting on a balcony with a million-dollar view, a blank page that should be filled with words about a gorgeous city, and yet the only thing he could think about was the one thing he could do nothing about.

Colin Bridgerton was lonely.

It was ridiculous really. It sounded stupid, actually it sounded selfish and spoiled. Rich kid with everything he had ever wanted, crying about loneliness. He knew all he had to do was get out of his room and head to any club in town and he could bring any local he wanted back to his room. It would take nothing for him to attract one of the very gorgeous women he saw on the streets daily. He knew he was an attractive man; he had been blessed with the Bridgerton genes.

Yet, he was tired of meaningless sex that amounted to nothing more than pleasure and beauty. He wanted more. He wanted to know someone’s mind, he wanted to know their wants and dreams. He wanted to know what made a woman tick, what made them smile. Most of all he wanted to know that he was that person’s everything, not just their one-night thing.

He tossed his phone onto the table and laughed loudly. “You’re being a fucking pussy, Bridgerton.” He swore. His brothers would have a field day with him right now. Colin knew he wasn’t like his older brothers. He was always more sensitive than Anthony and he didn’t have Benedict’s free spirit.

Maybe it was the scotch coursing through his veins, or maybe it was the influence of the ethereal orange sunset tonight, but Colin decided he was done bringing gorgeous nameless women back to his room in random cities, it wasn’t going to bring him intimacy. It wasn’t going to bring him warmth and it sure as hell wasn’t going to cure his emotional loneliness.

He focused back on his laptop and closed the blank document that was continuing to taunt him. He opened up his browser and tapped his fingers against his keyboard.

“Ok internet, how do you cure loneliness?” He punched his question into the google search, shaking his head in disbelief that he was even doing this exercise. The entire thing was idiotic.

He was overwhelmed with all the results, most of them referring him to some sort of mental help or therapy. The fact he was even searching this up sure felt like he needed therapy, but maybe he was searching for the wrong thing. He deleted his search and tried again.

“Ok, let’s try, lonely people looking to...” well shit, what was he looking to do? He didn’t want to hook up with someone. He could do that right where he was in the city without the need of an internet search. Besides, he could download Tinder for that honestly. He didn’t want some girl falling over him because of his Bridgerton name either, or his looks. He just wanted to connect with someone emotionally, something that could rely on his anonymity.

He deleted his search again. “Lonely people looking to chat. Maybe?” he inquired to himself with a chuckle as he clicked enter. Another overwhelming search result popped up onto the screen. He bit his lip as he thought about what he wanted. “Loney writers looking to chat.” He smiled at himself and clicked enter. The smile grew bigger as he saw the first result that popped up. Finally, something that made sense.

LonelyTraveler has entered the chat

He looked at the server set up in front of him and quickly found the list of channels to find the one where he could make his introduction. He settled into his chair and thought about what he wanted to say. Did he want to be honest? He didn’t exactly want to say he was Colin Bridgerton; he was purposely wanting to avoid advertising his family name and wealth. Perhaps being vague would be more advisable for the time being.

LonelyTraveler: Hello everyone, I’m LT, a male in my mid 20’s, currently traveling the world working on a novel, though I’m sure that doesn’t make me very special around here so I guess that shouldn’t have been the first thing I brought up. I suppose I’m here because it’s hard to connect to people when you don’t stay in one place for a long time so I figured I’d try this out but now that I’m typing all of this out it sounds really stupid so, I might delete later, who knows. So yeah, hi!

Colin read his intro four times before simply giving up and hitting enter, deciding this was the stupidest decision he had ever made in his life. He was never going to tell another soul about this for as long as he lived.

He scanned through the introduction channel to see if there was anyone interesting that stood out to him.

SexOnThePage: Simone, 25, I’ll cut right to it; I’m looking for someone who wants to get busy with a sexy sentence all night long.

Way too honest, Colin skipped on, that felt way too pointed and forward for what he was looking for.

TimidRomantic: I’m Chrissy, 23, Looking for a bad romance? Let’s write one together, I’m usually quiet and shy but I’m looking for someone to take me out of my shell. Maybe I just need a good spanking or a...

Shit, that did not feel timid or romantic at all. Colin quickly skimmed over some of the other entries in the channel, but he was starting to feel like maybe this was a really bad fucking idea. And then he stopped.

LadyWhistledown: Dearest Gentle Reader, or I guess Discord reader? I’m LW, female, in my 20’s, and honestly, I’m only here because my friend won’t get off my back about me putting myself out there and meeting people. So here I am! I hope you are glad to meet me! I fancy myself a writer, but I have yet to actually finish anything, but I’m working on it. Just looking to chat or connect or whatever it is you do on this thing, honestly, I have no idea what people do here? Some of you guys are kind of scary and intimidating honestly! So yeah, maybe say hi, I guess!

Colin found himself comforted knowing that there was someone else on this site that seemed to be just as uncomfortable as he was. He clicked into her intro and decided to reply to her.

LonelyTraveler: Happy to know I’m not the only one here who is feeling perhaps a little terrified of what I’m doing here and maybe a little intimidated? I guess we are both Discord Virgins? Or maybe even Extra Virgin? However, let me be the first to tell you I am glad to meet you and to maybe not feel so alone here.

He shut his laptop and pushed his chair away from the table. This was a stupid idea. He should have just called Pen. She would have known what to say to him, would have at least given him a reason to smile instead of leaving him to lie in his bed staring at the ceiling with a frown on his face, an ache sitting in his chest that clearly wasn’t going away. His phone lit up on his nightstand and he pulled it against his chest before finally opening it to read his notification.

<3 Pen <3: Good morning! Just got up and wanted to make sure you don’t forget to send me that chapter before this weekend. You seemed tired yesterday, you sure you’re ok? Anyway, call me later! Ignore what El said, you know you’re my favorite person to talk to! <3

Colin smiled at his phone, all it took was a text from Pen and he already felt better. So much for not being co-dependent.

[nikolai-alexi]

“Animal”

Tags: modern uni au, secret musician James, late night radio host Regulus, James keeps sneaking into a recording booth when he thinks Regulus is gone for the night, regulus thinks he’s lost the plot until he investigates

Regulus is pretty sure he’s going crazy. Well — no, he’s already pretty sure he’s gone crazy, but now he thinks he might be haunted.

He typically gets off work around three in the morning these days; he’s been running the university’s nighttime radio station for the last few months and he really does enjoy it. It’s a perfect gig for an insomniac business student who hates his major and wishes he could change to musical theory but has no choice in the matter.

However, the last two weeks have been testing his patience. Every single morning when he’s closing up the studio, the light in one of the back recording rooms is on. Which wouldn’t be an issue, if he didn’t know for fact that he turned it off. So when he sees it back on again, he growls under his breath and works his way back through the shelves of records and CDs and radio equipment to deal with it once and for all.

His key slides into the lock and he twists the knob, only to open the door and see someone inside. Someone who is not only very much alive and not a ghost, but someone who is also unfortunately very, very familiar to him.

Lo and fucking behold, James Potter is standing with his back to Regulus in the doorway, clunky headphones over his ears, soundboard in front of him on the table, mic by his mouth, and a bring red electric guitar slung over his shoulders.

He has no idea how the hell James managed to get in here, and he knows he should kick him out, but his curiosity is boiling in his veins. He absolutely has to hear this. His brain refuses to accept that James bleeding Potter has any other talents than being an annoying prick that steals people’s brothers.

Regulus can hear James humming a melody he doesn’t know under his breath as he sets up, occasionally picking at his guitar strings, but not plugging it into the amp yet. He checks his watch for some unknown reason, then whatever he sees seems to spur him into actually plugging everything in. Regulus ducks out of the door and goes into the soundbooth where he might be able to hide a bit better. He flips the sound share switch and raises the volume inside the booth so he can hear what James is doing.

Finally, James hits the recording button and starts.

He starts with the melody from earlier. B F# E G#m and F# chords are looped with the soundboard. Then a soft beat gets laid down behind it. There’s a beat up notebook laying open beside the soundboard that James peers at while the simple loop plays in his headphones and inside the booth. He has to admit, he’s already somewhat impressed. He wouldn’t have expected James to get even this far around a sound board. The melody is quite catchy so far as well.

He watches as James steps to the mic and waits for the loop to start again. He’s wholly unprepared for the slightly raspy, sweet voice that comes out of his mouth.

“It’s an empty shell I’m livin’ in,

The doors are always closed,”

The riff he does on the word “closed” makes Regulus smile a bit, it’s not overly showy, it doesn’t quite feel like a “James Potter” type of thing. He’s strumming the same chords softly over the looped ones, but using them as singles. Regulus likes the effect they make. It almost sounds retro-ish, tinny in a way.

“And I spend my weeks,

Losin’ my head, restin’ my bones,

And they say that nothin’s given,

So I guess I’ll get nothin’ at all,”

The lyrics make no sense to him coming from James Potter. He should be talking about how great his life is, or how he “rescued” his best friend from his shit one, or something of the sort. Regulus doesn’t understand where these lyrics are coming from.

“And I’ll accept defeat,

Cause you can’t swing,

When the fight’s lost,”

A matching riff on “spend” and “accept” and Regulus likes the choice he makes there. The beat he laid down earlier comes in, and the music is deceptively upbeat for the lyrics so far.

“You know,

Can’t see the grass getting greener, cause

out here ain’t nothin’ but blue, and your eyes

Blood red, the high helps a little, but

Everyone you meet’s just passin’ through,

White lies take all of the colour from you,

Most nights you don’t sleep at all,

And you black out blind and hide,

Is there any wonder no one ever really tries to call?”

Regulus hates to admit it, but he’s a bit awestruck with the way James’ lyrics flow. The use of colour analogies in reference to, what Regulus assumes, emotional states and reactions. The lyrics and backing music are so diametrically opposed, it almost makes no sense, but it feels like the song is almost speaking separately from James singing it. Like it’s almost mocking the happy person singing it with its helplessness.

“And you say,

Ooo, sometimes I feel like an animal,

Ooo, I climb so high,

Just to feel the fall,

And let it go,

So,

Look me in the eyes,

Am I someone else?

Ooo, sometimes I feel like an animal, an animal, an animal,”

And that strikes a visceral pang deep in Regulus’s chest. How often has he felt the same way? Licking his wounds from behind the bars of his gilded cage, feeling like he has no more bodily autonomy than that of a pet. He wonders why James knows that same feeling.

The beat phases out with a push of a button on the soundboard. James is back to strumming single chords like he did in the beginning, and the second verse rolls off James’ tongue.

“And I always have a vision,

But I always let it go,

And then I feel too weak,

And it’s too much,

And it’s too close,”

The beat comes back again, but this time James adds some snare into it. He’s bobbing along with the beat with his entire upper body, bending over his guitar. The loop petal gets pressed and he’s back on his guitar as the pre-chorus rolls in again.

“Can’t see the grass getting greener, cause,

Out here ain’t nothin’ but blue, and your eyes,

Blood red, the high helps a little,

But everyone you meet’s just passin’ through,

White lies take all of the colour from you,

Most nights you don’t sleep at all,

And you black out blind and hide,

Is there any wonder no one really tries to call?

And you say,”

Regulus finds himself nodding along with it, humming the melody under his breath as he goes into the chorus. James is somehow dancing around the booth, still strumming, still singing, and managing not to trip over the cords on the ground. Regulus can’t help but grin at the silliness of it all.

“Ooo, sometimes I feel like an animal,

I climb so high,

Just to feel the fall,

And let it go,

So look me in the eye,

Am I someone else?

Ooo, sometimes I feel like an animal, an animal, an animal,”

This time when he goes into the pre-chorus, the beat and melody stays, but he brings the volume down on it, and slows it down to the same tempo and cadence of the first and second verses. Regulus can feel that this one means more to the song, like the first two allowed the listener to get caught up in the upbeat vibes, but now they had to come back to Earth and hear what he was saying.

“Can’t see the grass getting greener, cause,

Out here ain’t nothin’ but blue, and your eyes,

Blood red, the high helps a little,

But everyone you meet’s just passin’ through,”

There’s a up stress on “meet” in this one, and it pulls at the raspiness in James’ voice. Makes it sound raw and exposed, despite being in the studio. Regulus refuses to acknowledge the gooseflesh rising on his arms at it.

James cuts the beat entirely, holding his guitar and getting closer to the mic guard. He strums slowly and quietly, letting his voice hold the remnants of the melody. It’s soft and slow and quiet.

“You say,

Ooo sometimes I feel like an animal,

Ooo I climb so high,

Just to feel the fall,

And let it go,”

James builds the beat back up with a slow slide of a leveller, then let’s it cascade back in.

“So, look me in the eyes,

Am I someone else?

Ooo sometimes I feel like an animal,

An animal, an animal,”

James plays the recording back, listening intently to it, before nodding and beginning to pack his stuff up. Regulus makes like a bandit and rushing out, barely remembering to lock the door to the building behind him. He wants to stick around to see where the hell James is managing to get in from, but he doesn’t want to get caught snooping around business that is decidedly not his own.

As he’s walking back to his dorm, he realises he’s humming James’ song under his breath. The lyrics leave his lips in little puffs of white air in the cold night. He knows that song is going to be stuck in his head for at least a week. He wishes he could play it on the station on his next shift. He’d probably indulge himself and play it a few times.

He thinks nothing of the scene he’d witnessed the night before during his classes, spares no thought of being caught in his observation, convinced he’d been quiet and quick enough to avoid detection. But when he sits down at his station, ready to start his 11pm broadcast, a redbull, blueberry muffin — his go to snack for work from the student centre — and a flashdrive with a note sits on his desktop. The handwriting is sloppy, but undeniably familiar from the letters Regulus had seen sent to his house over the years before Sirius left.

Regulus, it reads.

Seemed like you enjoyed this one last night. You can play it if you want, Track 4 is the one, just don’t mention it’s me who made it, if you don’t mind. There’s a couple others on there if you’re curious. Come out of the booth next time.

- JFP

P.S. text Sirius back, would you? He’s driving us all mad with all his whinging about you hating him again.

Regulus can’t help but laugh at the post script. He wasn’t aware that his brother’s friends were even aware of his existence, let alone his reemergence into Sirius’ life now that his parents aren’t aware of his every moment and breath. Nevertheless, he shoots a quick text off to his drama queen of a brother before he sets up to air.

As the “LIVE” light flicks on, his radio persona slips over him like a second skin, “Good evening, everyone,” he says quietly into the mic, “Welcome to Hogwarts University’s late night radio channel. My name is Leo and I’ll be your host for the night. Whether you’re headed to bed, up late studying, or trying to avoid the inevitable doom of exams coming up by starring into the void, we’ll have something for you.”

He can pretty much see Evan and Barty rolling their eyes at him from their dorm room, both of them some of his daily listeners along with the rest of their friend group, but he thinks he’s clever. At least he finds himself funny.

“I’ve got a bit of a treat for you all tonight. A new indie artist on the block to get us started, this is “Animal” by The Deerest Marauder. You’ll have to let me know if you like it as much as I do. As always, leave your feedback, song requests, and late night brain rot on the Instagram at HULateNight_Leo,”

It had taken him a bit to come up with a clever artist name for James. JFP was too obvious, Prongs was a dead giveaway seeing as Sirius wouldn’t know what an inside voice was if it hit him in the face and the entire campus knows James’ nickname. Regulus remembers Sirius calling their little band of chaos “the marauders” back in year ten. So from there, he’d come up with his own stupid pun. Again, at least he thinks he’s funny.

Flashdrive inserted into his laptop, Regulus clicks on Track 4, realising belatedly that he’d accidentally named James’ song for him, and presses play.

If he plays “Animal” and the other four tracks on the flashdrive several times throughout the night, and leaves the light on to the back recording booth before he leaves that night, it’s no one’s business but his own.

[whispersafterdusk]

Heart of Stone - ch 15

"I might make a tiny one to join the quartz and heart on my shelf."

"Really?"

Dawn grinned at him from over a shoulder; she'd been walking in slow circles around the natural rock stack, studying it from every angle. Unsuur had sat down in the sand a few feet away, letting his attention wander between her and the stack as it wanted to. It was great having two things he really liked both in his line of sight at the same time.

"A bit of clay, some paint, some texturing... Might take a few tries to get it perfect but, yeah, really."

He smiled; she came over to sit next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder. She liked being in contact with him as much as he did with her whether that was holding her hand or having an arm around her (and it was both fun and comforting to rest his chin on top of her head - he could do that whether she was sitting or standing in front of him. It was easier when her hair was down but she still laughed every time he did it).

"Can't wait to see it, then." ((Continued below cut. Very mildly spicy part warning))

She hummed happily before lifting her head and looking out across the landscape. "I'll definitely show you once it's done - not sure when that will be since I'll be starting work on Catori's sandrunning stuff sooner or later."

"Sandrunning?"

"Have you ever gone sledding?"

Unsuur shook his head. "Sandrock barely gets a dusting of snow in the winter and it's always gone the next day. I've seen sledges that haul things across sand but those were pulled by animals or people, not really ridden. Something the size of a sledge sounds kind of dangerous to let slide down a hill too."

"Well, Catori wants to build sleds - NOT big ones! - and have people go sledding down the dunes along marked courses. She mentioned something about races and times and prizes too."

"How would that work?

"A race, or sliding down a dune?"

"Both, I guess. I've never thought of sand as slick. I've definitely rolled down dunes before but not usually on purpose. At least it'd be a soft landing if someone falls off."

Dawn laughed and trailed her fingers through the sand in front of them. "Something flat and polished enough should zip down a hill pretty well. Weight might be an issue but I'm not the one building the sleds so I don't know what Catori has planned for those. I'll be building everything else - the sign-up kiosk, the banners, the boundary markers... She's planned out several courses for people to try their hand at so after I get it made I then have to go install everything. That part will probably take longer than actually building them."

Unsuur turned to sweep his gaze across the surrounding area; that was a lot of desert out there to build in. "That sounds like a lot to do."

"It is. It'll mostly be a lot to move but it's all simple to assemble once I get it out here. I'm still waiting on the final blueprints since the whole idea isn't completely finalized with City Hall yet."

"I'll help. And if I'm not around to help you can borrow Boulder to help you carry things." At his name the horse lifted his head from a patch of scrub grass, flicking his ears toward them. "-not right now buddy, sorry to interrupt your graze."

Boulder huffed and went back to nibbling on the grass. Dawn smiled over at the horse. "I'll keep that in mind but I am seriously debating getting a horse for myself. Elsie said Cooper would be willing to sell me one if I got a proper stable built. --oh! That reminds me! Did I mention that Heidi's got me officially penciled in to start on expanding my house?"

He shook his head. "You hadn't, but I was assuming now that the bridge was done that that wouldn't be too far behind. Same plans as the ones you showed me before?"

"Yep! She thinks they can get it done in three or four days since they don't need to worry about any sort of plumbing. Once they're done I'll add on a stable myself -- it won't need to be very big, just enough to hold two horses."

Unsuur looked back to her. "Two horses?"

"My horse and Boulder, just in case you have him with you when you're visiting," she answered, gently nudging him with her shoulder. "He should have a spot to rest and unwind too."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it, and he can have more than just Truth as a friend then."

"And I can sneak him treats," she added, with a sly grin.

Unsuur smiled and leaned back so he could slide his arm around her, then he brought his other arm over so he could seize her around the waist; she squeaked in surprise as he lifted her over his thigh and settled her in front of him between his legs. "Not if I keep you right where I can see you."

That got him a light swat on the arm but she leaned back against him contentedly.

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

"And he bought everything? That's impressive."

"Just as expected! Soon Amirah and I will have what we need -- she can fully embrace her craft and I'll have access to BOTH my hobbies again."

"What glass stuff do you plan on making first?" he asked as he sat down on his stool at the jewelry bench, reaching out to slide Dawn's out for her.

"I haven't decided yet. Normally I'd discretely scout out what's selling but it's just Arvio here, and...my personal feelings about him aside, I know his profit margins have to be razor thin with Sandrock's economy being what it is. My main source of income is basically guaranteed since builders are always needed." She came over and sat down while twisting her hair up into a messy bun.

"So competing with him wouldn't be fair," he concluded, and she nodded as she turned the little light on over the bench.

"Right. That won't stop me from making things but whatever I make will be because I felt like it, not based on any market research." With the light on she pulled out a notebook from the cabinet by the bench and flipped it open to a page with an elaborately wire-wrapped and polished amber pendant drawn out - front, sides, and the back - in dark pencil lines. "For tonight though, this--" They both flinched slightly as the little tin timer went off - it seemed much louder than usual considering how quiet the evening was otherwise. Laughing, Dawn stood back up. "Hold that thought, I need to put in the next batch of fiber."

"Still making rope?" he asked, a little amazed at the sheer amount he knew she'd already made and here she was still making more.

"Yep," she sighed, picking up the top bundle of plant fiber off a small pile and loading it into one of her machines. "Believe it or not we're using a fair amount of fencing too -- we pulled a lot of scrap wood out of Gecko Station for it but there's a limit to how much wood we can use on this project. If it doesn't take off then that's...basically a lot of wasted lumber."

"I don't think it'll be wasted," Unsuur said. "If even one person enjoys themselves then it was a good use."

Dawn came back and flopped down on her stool. "True, I guess. Anyway, like I was about to say, this is tonight's plan -- I probably won't get it done in one sitting but what do you think?"

Unsuur looked the sketch over - it seemed like it'd be about the size of the top joint of his thumb when finished. "I like it, it reminds me of a bird's nest. Where'd you find the amber?"

"In among some lapis lazuli near Gecko Station -- it was wedged in and I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't, by pure coincidence, quarried that particular outcrop. I'm not sure if someone dropped it or purposely hid it there but I guess it's mine now."

"I'd just call it a lucky find then and not wonder about it too much."

She grinned over at him and moved the notebook to a clipboard hanging from a hook attached to the wall in front of them. "Very lucky. Would you like any of the lapis lazuli? I only meant to take a small amount but it cracked and broke apart more than I was expecting."

"Sure. It'll look great next to my painite."

"Wha- you have painite?"

"Yes. It's not very big though."

"That's still really rare!"

"Do you want to see it sometime?"

"Yes!"

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

"It's all about focus and balance." ...both of which were hard to concentrate on since Dawn was sitting across from him watching as he delicately settled a fifth rock on top of a new stack. "Along with a steady hand and quiet mind."

"I'd like to think I have both...usually, depending on how my day is going," Dawn laughed softly. "Some days you don't need 'steady' or 'quiet,' you need 'sledgehammer.'"

Unsuur very slowly backed his hands away from the rock and held his breath for a moment; it stayed balanced - not even a wobble - and he exhaled silently through his nose. "Luckily you don't need a sledgehammer, or a pickhammer, or even a regular hammer to make a rock stack. Just your own hands and imagination. And rocks, but that goes without saying."

Dawn laughed again. "And good company?"

"...yeah, the company is definitely making this way better than usual," he answered after a moment. "Do you want to try?"

"I..." she started, drawing the vowel out as she pulled her pocket watch out of the top pocket of her overalls. "-dang it. I would love to but I have to meet Mi-an over at the old outpost in twenty minutes."

Wow. They'd come out here two hours early for a walk and some rock stacking...had it already been that long? "That's ok. We can come back to this another day. Will you two need any extra hands?"

"We're just doing final measurements and putting out some color-coded temporary posts to mark where the courses are definitely going. Need to make sure our numbers are right and there's no unexpected obstacles that've been unearthed since we were last out here," Dawn replied, standing up and brushing her knees off. "Tomorrow is when we'll be hauling everything out for the final set up. You can help then if you'd like."

"Count me and Boulder in."

"Does Boulder know how to pull a wagon?"

"...I'm not actually sure. I bought him from the ranch a few years ago so I'm not sure what Elsie or Cooper might have taught him aside from getting him used to a saddle and rider. He can carry things and people on his back though."

"We'll figure it out. I'll see you tomorrow." She stepped over and, once he was back on his feet, hugged him tightly, then tilted her head up toward him.

Unsuur bent slightly and kissed her, then before she could pull away kissed her a second time for good measure, absolutely adoring how it felt to feel her giggling against his lips. Little surprises like that never failed to make her laugh. "Bright and early?"

"Unfortunately," she said, tone flat, but then she smiled and headed off across the dunes.

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

"I...am done...building...in the middle...of a desert," Dawn wheezed as she threw herself down in the sand, flat on her back with her arms and legs spread.

Unsuur understood the sentiment well; they - meaning her, Mi-an, Unsuur, Elsie, and, surprisingly, Catori as well - had all met up at sunrise, packed all the sandrunning pieces into a wagon that Belle was pulling (Boulder toted all the water along with a satchel of snacks to keep them going) and headed out into the Eufala to install everything. Unsuur and Elsie had been mostly muscle, Catori had been 'supervising' and Mi-an and Dawn made sure everything fit together and was secured, and though he felt like he'd not done much actual work (...to be honest, he didn't really consider what Catori did to be 'work' either compared to everything everyone else was doing) his hands, arms, and feet were aching, he was hot and grimy, and a little hungry as well.

Mi-an dropped down on Dawn's left, fanning herself with the folded remains of a blueprint. "No kidding! Whew! After all this...wanna dunk my head...in a bucket of water," she panted.

Unsuur moved over to sit next to Dawn on her other side. "Don't let Burgess catch you."

"I was joking! ...mostly," Mi-an said with an exhausted smile, moving to lay down in the sand as well. "I wouldn't waste water like that - no dunking unless it's in my bathtub!"

Catori ambled up to them, writing rapidly on a clipboard in her hands. "Oooh, I can't wait to let Matilda know we're ready for business! Opening day is going to be big! BIG big! I'm advertising in every city, town, and village in the Free Cities! If it's got people, I'm sending it flyers!"

...that sounded like a lot of people. Could Sandrock even host however many 'a lot of people' ended up being? Hopefully Matilda had a plan of some kind. "When did you plan to open?"

"Soon," Catori chuckled. "I'm aiming for one week, maybe sooner if the flyers get made and mailed out quicker."

Unsuur glanced down to Dawn, noticing how sand was beginning to cake itself to her arms thanks to the sweat. "So a week before you get to see people enjoying what you've built. -- and you too, Mi-an. Those sleds look fun."

"Heeeeeeey!"

They all looked up at Elsie's yell - she was about twenty feet away with Belle and the wagon, waving at them, and didn't seem to be in danger or anything, just needing their attention; Unsuur relaxed a little, leaning back on his hands behind him and stretching his sore legs out.

"If y'all want a ride back then c'mon!"

"Guess that's our cue. Let's get home," Catori said, tucking the clipboard under an arm.

Mi-an sat up with a groan then stood and offered Dawn a hand up. "Coming?"

Dawn shook her head. "I'll walk. I need...to rest a bit before I try moving."

Mi-an giggled some and looked to Unsuur; he shook his head. "I'll stay with her. We can ride back on Boulder."

Dawn offered up an exhausted wave as the other two headed off; Unsuur got up and headed over to Boulder to retrieve a canteen of water and bring it back over to her, sitting down again with a quiet grunt he couldn't quite suppress. "Thirsty?"

She shook her head; Unsuur took a few large gulps and braced the open canteen between his knees, leaning back on his hands again. They were sitting in direct sunlight but there was a decently strong breeze blowing up from the canyon and over the dunes so the heat wasn't outright terrible but he was looking forward to heading home and sitting in front of a fan for awhile. Along with the aches from all the physical work he had a heat headache forming behind his eyes and starting to pound in his temples.

"I don't really like how worried she was."

"...huh?" Unsuur said, turning to look down at Dawn. "How who was worried?"

"Catori. She might have been acting excited but I think when she thought no one was looking at her she didn't seem all that confident."

"She's been trying to find a big success for awhile now. Sandrunning seems pretty fun though -- if you aren't afraid of crashing into those big rock formations. I'm surprised she didn't try to avoid those more. No matter how politely you ask, a rock isn't going to get up and move out of your way."

Dawn laughed quietly and rolled over to lay on her stomach, letting a handful of sand trickle through her fingers. "I'M just hoping no ruins or scrap or anything dangerous like that gets uncovered by a storm or something between now and opening day."

"Oh, yeah. That would be bad. We can check for that sort of thing before the big day though."

"Mmhmm," she hummed, nodding. "Do you need to head back soon?"

"Not really. I told Justice I wanted to help set things up and he agreed, mostly because he wanted me here to protect you all from any monsters or bandits. I might need to write up an official report stating everything went ok and we weren't attacked but he gave me the entire day to help."

"I have some time to kill before heading home -- they're putting the roof on the addition today and I don't want to be in their way."

"Are they almost done?"

"Just about. There's the roof and the flooring inside to finish up."

Unsuur reached over to rub a hand across her shoulders, which switched to brushing sand off her back. "Considering they kept pushing their start date back I bet you'll be glad to have them out of your space."

She groaned. "You have no idea. If I'd known sooner that they were having supply issues I would have gone out and gathered all the materials myself so I wouldn't be trying to do all THAT-" she gestured toward the sandrunning kiosk and courses beyond "-with people underfoot all day." After a pause she planted her hands on the ground and shoved up, pushing herself to her knees. "I think I've recovered enough to head back. Want to get a drink at the saloon?"

...he sort of did, but that headache... "...I want to, but I think I got a little too hot today and need some time to cool off first. I've got a headache starting but some rest and maybe a few painkillers ought to keep it from getting worse."

Dawn blinked at him then took him by the arm. "Let's definitely get you home then. I can get Boulder settled in the stable for you."

"Thanks but that's all right - I can manage that before I rest."

It was a short walk over to Boulder; Dawn did finish off the water in the canteen and Unsuur helped her fully brush off before hopping up behind her in the saddle. After a quiet ride back to town Dawn helped him get Boulder unsaddled and rubbed down; as they were working Amirah spotted them and hurried over and had a quick conversation with Dawn - too quiet for Unsuur to overhear so he didn't have to feel weird about eavesdropping - before heading off, then he frowned as he realized whatever they'd discussed had left Dawn frowning too.

"What's wrong?"

She let out a loud huff then put on what he could only describe as a brave face. "Nothing, it's... It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

He usually hung Boulder's saddle from a large wooden peg in the wall and missed it twice since he was looking over at her and not at what he was doing (or trying to do). "-are you sure?"

"Not yet," she answered quietly. "...I'll tell you about it later if-- if it turns out to be nothing, I'll tell you."

"...that sounds like if it DOES turn out to be something then you won't."

The smile she gave him was strained. "I won't keep it from you but it might take me awhile to calm down enough to talk about it. -- anyway, you should head home before your headache gets any worse. I'm sorry that helping me made you sick."

He came out of stable and pulled her into a hug. "It wasn't just because I was helping you -- every so often I get overheated and don't feel good for awhile. Rest always helps so you don't need to worry about me."

She momentarily knotted her fingers into the loose fabric of his jacket at the small of his back, crushing herself in against him, then inhaled deeply and stepped back. "Have a good nap. I'll drop by later to check in on you."

"Ok. We can go get that drink then."

Her parting smile was a bit more genuine but he still felt a twinge of concern as she walked away; what had Amirah said to her? Hopefully it wasn't bad news about their arrangement with the Mysterious Man...Dawn had been so excited at the prospect of blowing glass again. The thought of her being disappointed made him a little sad but there wasn't anything to gain by theorizing on whatever news Amirah had shared - she'd share when she was ready.

He ended up sleeping longer than he'd meant to but he felt much better afterward - no headache, normal body temperature, still hungry but that was to be expected since he'd technically napped through his lunch and while he'd eaten breakfast all he'd had since then was a few pieces of jerky. There were still some aches and pains, and a few new blisters on his hands from all the work, but overall he felt good -- time to go get that drink with Dawn, if it wasn't too late. It was at least nice out now that the sun had set and the walk over to the workshop was a short but pleasant one, but the pleasantness was dashed when a red-eyed Dawn opened the door and immediately stepped back to half hide herself behind it.

"H-hey. Um, feeling better?"

"I'm fine. What's wrong?"

There was a loud sniffle; she didn't look sad, more...angry, and was trying and failing to hide it. "It's-"

"-clearly not nothing. I can tell that much. Is Amirah backing out of your deal?"

She let out a sharp exhale and pulled the door open fully, gesturing for him to come inside and sniffling again. "No, it's not her - she actually warned me that-- stupid Arvio-"

Unsuur frowned; anything to do with Arvio was proving to be bad news. He wanted to ask - really badly - what he'd done, but considering their earlier conversation it was probably better to let her decide when she wanted to talk about it, whether that was right now or later.

The smell of fresh varnish and tar washed over him as he stepped through the doorway and she closed the door behind him. Off to his left was the new addition to the house; there was a curtain hung across the doorway that covered the top half of the opening and revealed bare floor studs beyond it. There was also a broom and dust pan leaning against the wall beside it with a small pile of sawdust pushed up against the baseboard -- the construction work crew hadn't been in the yard so he assumed they had finished for the day and would complete the flooring tomorrow (and, hopefully, wouldn't have left until the roof was done).

"Sorry but I don't really feel like getting a drink now," Dawn went on after a moment. "I'm just...ugh, I'm so -- I shouldn't have believed him!" She punctuated that with a little stomp of her foot, before plodding over to drop onto her couch. "He's no different from any other ass that just wants a pretty girl on their arm..."

"Wait, so did he... He knows you and I are a couple, doesn't he? I thought the entire town knew at this point." Unsuur went and sat next to her, fighting against the annoyance rising in him -- surely, surely, Arvio hadn't tried to ask Dawn to be his girlfriend knowing that she was Unsuur's?

"Oh he knows. That's why he was trying to- and why Amirah warned-" she cut herself off and grabbed one of the throw pillows from beside her and pressed it against her face, growling loudly into it before continuing. "He had some grand plan of inviting me to a fancy party under the pretense that there'd be a small group. In reality, I would be the only one there so he could convince me to give him a chance."

Her voice was muffled thanks to the pillow but Unsuur could hear her clearly enough that the annoyance bloomed into anger; not only had Arvio lied to him, to try and hinder his shot with Dawn, but now he'd lied to her too and was openly trying to steal her away? The man had always struck him as young and lacking life experience (not that Unsuur was much older or more experienced) but...he wouldn't have thought the shopkeeper capable of such actions.

"I...don't know what to say or do about that," he said (once he was certain he had his tone under control). "Lying and trying to steal someone's girlfriend isn't technically illegal so all I can do is be mad at him."

Her hands visibly clenched the pillow harder and a breath later there was another frustrated growl, or maybe it was a quiet scream - it was hard to tell. "Little rat." Slowly she slumped over onto her side, her legs gently bumping into his as she shifted. "Uggh...and I can't even choose to just avoid him! He owns the only general store in town!"

"Yeah." Again, no idea what to say, especially now that he was angry too; a cramp in his thumb drew his attention to his hands - they were clenched in his lap and he hadn't noticed he'd done that. He flattened his palms against his thighs and closed his eyes, slowly inhaling and picturing a few of his favorite rock stacks, mentally going through their creation step by step and feeling his anger gradually fading away to a deep disappointment.

When he was certain he was calm he stood long enough to put one knee up on the couch to support himself so he could lean over Dawn and gently pry her fingers off the pillow and move it away. There were twin damp spots on the side that had been pressed to her face and her eyes and cheeks were wet. With the pad of his thumb he swiped away a few tears and smiled down at her, getting a weak one in return, and he bent to gently kiss her.

When he went to straighten she grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, keeping their faces close; vaguely he was aware of her shifting under him, turning and bringing her legs up on the couch and scooting a bit so she was laying on her back under him, then she was pressing in with hungry kisses - way more passionately than they'd ever kissed before. It kind of knocked every conscious thought out of him, leaving him acting on instinct alone and his instincts seemed to know exactly what was needed for the situation; he slid his knee back so he wasn't so hunched over and switched to using a hand to hold himself upright as they kissed. One of her hands left his collar and moved, coming to rest firmly on his shoulder and drawing him down further a couple more inches so he shifted to brace himself with an elbow instead, to allow himself to be pulled down but not leave his full weight on her smaller frame.

When they finally came apart Unsuur sucked in much needed air; their noses were just grazing one another, her breath hot in his face, and he could feel as well as hear the little whisper:

"Stay?"

Stay? Stay. Here. Tonight. That thought managed to make it through and it was exciting, and scary, but mostly exciting (which was embarrassingly obvious by now - his pants felt three sizes too small at the moment). Wordlessly he brought his other knee up on the couch so he was straddling her thighs and slid his free hand under her at the small of her back, and nodded.

They didn't spend much more time on the couch; the walk to the bed was more of a stumble full of roaming fingers and tossed clothing. Neither of them had actually planned for this happening tonight so they had to stop just short of full intimacy but builders had very talented hands and Unsuur was very good at following directions. After tonight he would need to start carrying around protection--

...which he would need to buy from... Oh, damn it.

Well, whatever. Let Arvio really see just how out of reach Dawn was to him, and maybe he'd stop pursuing her and making her upset.

(Or maybe Fang would have condoms - that seemed like the less petty option).

Though Dawn's bed wasn't any bigger than his they still fit comfortably together, like they'd been made for one another; he did wake up once and was confused about where he was for a moment, then remembered and smiled and buried his face into Dawn's hair and fell back asleep. The next morning they woke still curled up together - it didn't seem like either of them had moved - and had a slightly embarrassing scavenger hunt to find where they'd tossed all their clothing.

He ducked into her bathroom long enough to wash his face and run his fingers through his hair - it would at least look passable until he could get home to comb it properly come lunch time. Dawn was over near the stove with the kettle on a burner when he came back out and she offered him a shy smile as she grabbed the tin of coffee grounds out of a nearby cabinet.

"Want breakfast before you go? Coffee?"

Unsuur glanced at the clock on the wall near the bookshelf -- 9:15. "Actually, I should get going before Justice comes looking for me."

"Early start today?"

He silently pointed at the clock; she looked over and he saw her eyes widen. "Ahh! I didn't set my alarm last night -- forget Justice, it's Yan who'll come banging on the door!" She hurriedly put the coffee grounds away and emptied the kettle back into the pitcher of water in the fridge, then began frantically pulling her hair up while jogging for the door. Chuckling quietly to himself - he was in a really great mood that not even the prospect of Yan could ruin - he followed her out and kissed her at the gate before she went rushing off toward the Commerce building.

Unsuur jogged that way as well but continued on to the Civil Corps building where he found Justice inside at his desk filling out a form.

"Sorry for being late, sheriff -- anything different today?"

"There you are, I was starting to wo-" Justice looked up as he started talking, took in Unsuur's appearance, then snorted and shook his head. "-never mind, not worried now and I don't need details. And, nah, just...get to your usual patrol. Try not to be too distracted today either, all right? We're expecting an uptick in tourists with that sandrunning thing planned and I'm hoping we don't have any trouble with them."

"Yes sir."

He turned to head back out the door then paused as a thought occurred to him - one that he felt bad for not having thought of it last night. "Hey, Justice. Exactly where does behavior cross over into harassment and how are we allowed to handle it?"

Justice stopped writing mid-word and looked up, looking equal parts confused and suspicious. "Uh, well, it's -- why? Who's harassing who?" He paused, then frowned. "Is someone harassing Dawn?"

"I'm not sure if it fully counts as harassment yet. Which is why I'm asking where the line is."

"Well, the definition of harassment is any behavior that threatens, intimidates, or demeans, or just plain isn't invited, welcome, or causes alarm without a legitimate reason. --not that there's many reasons to legitimately harass someone in the first place. What's going on?"

Unsuur hesitated - he didn't want to come across as 'the jealous boyfriend' so he needed to word this plainly and directly. "In that case it is, and it's...Arvio. He's bothering Dawn, the forced romance type of bothering, even though he knows we're a couple."

Shaking his head Justice stood, tossing his pen onto the desk. "Not again... I'll go have a friendly chat with him-"

"-wait, again?" Unsuur interrupted. "He's done this before?"

"Yeah, to a few girls that have since left Sandrock. Pretty sure one of them left because of him but also her shop wasn't doing so hot at the time either...last I heard she's got a successful little boutique out in Walnut Groo-- uh..." he stopped and took a breath. "So, uh, anyway, you head on out to patrol and I'll take care of it."

"Thanks, sheriff. I'll see you later."

With Justice following behind Unsuur went back out into the heat, walking together until they reached the stairs where Unsuur broke off to go up toward the temple and the sheriff continued on toward Arvio's.

So Arvio had done this sort of thing before, huh... It must have happened before Unsuur had arrived in Sandrock, or something. He couldn't think of anyone who had left in recent years that had ever mentioned being bothered by the shopkeeper. And, it was a good thing Justice was handling it; he hadn't wanted to seem like a jealous boyfriend in front of the sheriff but...he also didn't want to come across as a vengeful or possessive one either, and Arvio would probably listen if it was Justice giving the talking to instead of him. It was still going to make things very awkward between them all but if the guy couldn't learn when to stop then he sort of had it coming.

...oh, yeah, he needed to stop by Fang's today. He should really remember that.

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

"And then tuck that end - no, the silver end - into that last loop you made."

Dawn was sitting behind him and casually draped over his shoulders, occasionally taking his hands in hers to show him how to thread or loop wire, and her voice was low and gentle and right at his ear as the wire heart knot - a smaller one, so she could wear it around her neck - steadily took shape in his hands. He'd chosen primarily copper with some silver threaded through, with a waxed leather cord; this was his third night working on it and Dawn assured him he'd get it done tonight (maybe...he was starting to get sidetracked) and that any lopsidedness he kept insisting was there was all in his head -- she was the builder, and this was a tinier version of what she'd made for him, so...he was going to trust her on that.

He stuck the silver wire through the last loop he'd made, grasped it with the padded pliers to pull it tight, then gently slipped it through to the backside of the heart. "All right... Now what?"

She pressed a kiss to his temple. "Now you're done. Twist the end with that extra copper tail and then pull it up toward the top where you're going to curl it into a loop, and then you'll attach one of the spare jump rings I brought and that's that."

His hands still felt hopelessly clumsy with the wire (it looked more fragile than it actually was) but with the needle nose pliers he managed an even twist and a narrowed loop at the top. Dawn took the heart and pliers from him, tightened the loop just a bit to keep the pointy ends secured, then stuck the ring in place and threaded it onto the cord; she shifted around to sit on the bed next to him and held it up around her neck.

"How's it look?"

"Better than I thought it would. You're a good teacher."

Laughing she clicked the clasp into place and craned her neck to look down at it. "Now this I can and will wear without worrying about damaging or losing it somewhere."

He had a sudden, and very vivid, mental image of her wearing the knot and nothing else, and felt himself flush from his hairline to his shoulders - if that was even possible. Without a mirror he couldn't tell for sure but knew he'd gotten real hot rather quickly.

"Uh, um, yep. It looks nice on your shelf. The stone heart, I mean. Because it's sitting on your shelf still, safe and sound," he said, standing up and taking his jacket off. "Sorry, it's hot in here. Want me to turn on a fan?"

Dawn giggled and leaned back on her elbows, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "I'M fine."

He tossed his jacket over a chair at his table and came back to sit next to her. "Whew, better... Tomorrow's the final check for the sandrunning courses, right?"

She nodded. "So far as I know - Catori wants to head out there around 10."

"Ok. Justice said he wanted to tag along for this one so I'll let him know in the morning."

"All right. And, so we don't accidentally oversleep again, I should probably get going."

Sad, but true. Unsuur helped her pack up the wire and the few tools she'd brought over, made sure there weren't any tiny slivers of wire left in the bed or on the floor, then walked her to the door and kissed her goodnight. He stood out on his front stoop until he saw her walk into her own house then went back inside and sat down on his bed, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply, directing his words over toward the wall to his left. "-no offense Wilson but whenever she spends the night here I'll have to cover your eyes, or I can put you in the wardrobe if you'd be more comfortable in there. ...yeah, I'll think on it some more, you live here too but we also don't need an audience for, um. That."

After some time to cool down he finished doing the dishes and got into bed, letting his mind wander (but not TOO far - he didn't need to cool off again) and morning seemed to come too quickly. He made and ate breakfast and was in the bathroom when his entire house shook with a massive blast accompanied by the sound of a shattering window and a lot of water rushing...somewhere.

He hurried out of his bathroom and looked around; one of his front windows was broken and there were smoking, twisted metal pieces sitting on the floor just beneath the sill, with an acrid smell starting to fill the room as shouts and screams came from outside.

Barreling through his front door he came out to a scene of chaos: the water tower was a smoking and busted wreck, the water inside it had flooded this end of main street, and Justice and Pen were shouting back and forth at each other as they-

-chased Logan. Logan was here in town!

Or, he WOULD be in town for another twenty seconds, maybe. Astride his goat he was already galloping away, with Pen chasing him on foot and Justice trying and failing to saddle Truth, settling for just reins and riding bareback as he took up the chase too. Unsuur knew he wouldn't have time to even get Boulder out of the stable so he took off on foot as well, sprinting down the street -- he didn't think for an instant that he could catch up to Logan but maybe he could keep him in sight long enough that they could finally track him to his hideout.

The tracks had just come into view when the warning whistle for the train blared -- Unsuur couldn't be certain whether the train driver either didn't see Logan coming or actually intended to hit him with the train but as Logan neared the tracks the train was beginning to pull away from the station; ahead of him he heard Justice yelling for Logan to stop, for Truth to go faster - just yelling in general - as he pulled ahead of Pen who still stayed close behind him, and they all got to watch as Logan raced across the tracks and the train separated them.

Unsuur's heart dropped right through the soles of his boots when, as the train got out of the way, he saw Logan had slowed and was approaching Dawn, who was standing rigidly at the corner of her yard - still IN her yard, thankfully, so there was a fence between them even if it wouldn't do much to stop Logan from--

From...

He didn't want to think about it; instead he pushed himself into the hardest sprint he could manage. Even though it was just a handful of seconds it felt like forever, and he was immensely relieved when Logan finally turned his goat away and thundered off down the tracks away from Dawn (and them, but at this precise, specific moment in time, Dawn was all he cared about).

Justice and Pen kept going, chasing and hollering at Logan; Unsuur skidded to a halt and partially plowed into the fence, knocking the top slat loose on accident.

"Are...you...all right?" he panted. It felt like he was inhaling fire with every breath.

"Y-yes, I-- what happened?! That was Logan, and--"

"I'll be back," he interrupted, turning to rush off after the others.

Dawn was ok. He could safely leave her here in town and do his best to finally bring Logan in. Keeping Logan in view was now not possible for him or Pen, slow as they were on foot, so hopefully Justice could keep up and keep eyes on him but all Unsuur could do for now was run.

[cross-armageddon]

guess who

back with the pjo x prsk

i only managed to figure out An and Haruka + beginnings of Tsukasa and Ena, so uhhh

STALLING TIME, NO VBS TODAY

Prima Vista (1/2)

I was thinking which ones I should start with to be fair. I have powers for all of Prima, but I didn't knoe whether to split them for camps, or do mixed pairs or whether to start with Hayato/Kaii or Ranmaru/Ikuo, but I decided for Hayato and Kaii in the end, since you've seen them before in the pjo au posts

Hayato

He was the last one to be admitted to the camp, out of everyone (including the normal characters), but he's known there was "something wrong" with him already. Only after learning about demigods, he realized all those things he's seen over the years are simply because of his godparent, which was obvious to him that it was Apollo. He has no control over his powers and that gives him trouble most of the time.

His side power is that art thing - what's that mean is basically that he can pick up any art form and have it easy. Of course he won't be perfect in anything, unless he practices, but he will have an easier time learning. If you had read the Prima stories earlier, you know that Hayato knows how to play multiple instruments, violin being his most beloved.

His main power is connected to his dreams and that is the ability to see into the future in dreams. Now, it's actually kind of natural for demigods to sometimes have visions inside dreams, but the issue with Hayato is that he sees them every night and they show how the next day will play out. It won't show anything directly, instead it will look like a scene from an anime or a game (personally imagining it like Genshin gameplay and cutscenes). Nothing is fully clear in those dreams - he can't see how he looks like, because a mirror never appears. The people inside the dream only share some features with the real people in his life. The actions are very vivid and at times blurry or simply too fast. It's never clear, so Hayato has to decipher what could possibly happen, but since fate is unpredictable, his judgments end up being partially or completely wrong.

He avoids everything to do with the future-seeing powers - tries not to get claimed by Apollo, wants to escape the fate that he sees and at times he tries going days without sleeping (which actually ends up being worse, because then he sees prophetic hallucinations instead of dreams. He will still not sleep.)

(i swear he is so fun to draw, his hair is so fucking satisfying to draw, so simple yet fun)

Oh yeah. He has never told anyone he knows his godparent. Toya is blissfully unaware that suddenly his new classmate is also his half-brother.

Hayato also hid himself away from the camp when he saw a claim sign in his dream, fearing it would be him. It was Kaii's Neptunus claim and Kaii was pretty bummed out that Hayato was nowhere to be seen at that time. Once Hayato heard though, he was very relieved (that it wasn't him) and tried to make it up to him.

Speaking of Kaii

I don't know which Poseidon/Neptunus quirks I vould give him to not make him too OP. As one of the big three, he probably should have something more, but on the other hand - manipulating the water tension is already OP in itself. It all actually comes down to how he uses it and how creative he gets to be with the ideas. At first he finds this unnecessary, since he wasn't able to control it freely, but once he actually started training, he started thinking differently. Here are a few ideas I have for how he could be using his powers:

The most useful one is definitely the ones relating to mobility. He definitely had a LOT of troubles trying to walk on water, because it was as slippery as ice, due to the surface not having traction. In the end he came up with the idea to slide/skate on it like ice and yep, that sure fixed it.

The "walking on rain" idea came from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, specifically Steel Ball Run. The Stand Catch The Rainbow had the stand user standing on raindrops. I am pretty confident that with some natural water bending and Kaii's tension manipulation, he could freely run on raindrops, but it would most likely be difficult and require TONS of training.

If we're talking about other inspirations for the powers, I like to think that water not breaking tension on him is so funny... He's like a duck if he wants to stay dry... 🦆

As for the not letting enemies outside of the depths, it was inspired by that one twitter comment being like "What if the water just doesn't let you out one day"

I mean, fuck, what IF it doesn't let you out

It would definitely be brutal coming from Kaii, since he can just not let the water break tension around him like if he was in a bubble, but... Well, he is capable of drowning something in self defense. He's pretty desensitized to most physical things and if it's against a monster, he would do it no questions asked. If it was against another (enemy) demigod and he'd let them stay down there for a bit too long... Yeah, he'd have to process this with himself. You can expect him using the water trap very sparringly, last resort even.

If you have any MORE ideas for how he can use these powers... You can share ofc 👀

(bringing this gem back)

Also, one more relating to Ichika and Kaii - in the Prima canon I did make them cousins. Kaii's mom is one of Ichika's parents older sister. I have no clue which one, so... If someone claims a godparent for her, they would still work out as cousins.

I guess even if they ended up not being related in the end, their relationship would still stay as cousins, just... different blood.

As an additional fun fact, in my Prima add-in, Ichika and Kaii entered the camp together. Both of them found it a bit crazy that the other cousin also had the same issues with dyslexia and the "demigod specific" type of neurodivergency and it was incredibly awkward. They have each other's backs tho.

As a bonus: The Big Three of each camp

Getting sneak peaks for others early woa woa woa

although the Nene/Saki designs might change according to their powers when I do in fact figure them out

you cant tell me Tsukasa wouldnt wear the wreath all the time btw, he got it fair and square and he WILL wear it ‼️‼️

[thatoneguy031]

Okay, some things happened this morning that I'd rather not get into, but everything's alright now, so let's ffffriggin' go!

First things first:

A guide to my favorite Tetris openers, by Guy

Okay, so a thing about Tetris that people will have to understand first.

The Super Rotation System: It's basically the new way that Tetris functions, regarding how piece rotation works.

In all honesty, I have no real way to explain it other than the fact that it's the only reason why T-spins exist. There's a site I know that goes further into it, but these are some of the core concepts:

This is how pieces rotate in modern Tetris(Basically Worlds and after). It probably looks complicated, but here's the basic gist of it:

If there's a wall next to the piece you're rotating, it'll push itself away from the wall on the next rotation, causing a "kick". You'll see it if you rotate the T piece clockwise next to the rightmost wall and then rotate it counterclockwise. By the way, peep how the T piece in particular rotates. It's essential, I assure you.

(The O piece is the exception, since it's basically stationary in its rotations.)

Here's another few paragraphs from the site that explains how that stuff works.

With that sorta settled, I can show you guys how T-spins work... Kind of. It's not hard, really, but it's something that I don't understand perfectly yet.

Okay, so T-spins are really easy to do, at least the simple ones. If you're fast enough, you can even do one in the '89 Tetris for NES and all that(You can only do T-spin Doubles, and they don't give you a point bonus).

First, there's the Mini T-spin. It sounds hard, but you only really need one piece to do it if you have a wall.

You see that hole that the S piece makes? Try to get the T piece to slide into it while it's facing left, and rotate it clockwise once. Simple, right? Fill the space in on the left of the S piece, and it would be a Mini T-spin Single.

(These techniques are universal, and can be flipped on either side of the board. Just make sure to use the opposite pieces for it, for this and the other strategies to come.)

It doesn't do damage unless you have the Back-to-Back bonus, but it's great for setting up Back-to-Backs, since it's technically still a T-spin. On occasion, it can even fix a simple misdrop.

Just make sure the wall is two blocks high, or the T piece'll just rotate itself in place. The wall is there to set up the kick the T piece makes, forcing it to slide into the slot. And... Don't rotate too early. It's painful to witness.

Next, the T-spin Double, the one everyone's used to.

There's a million and five ways to set this one up, but this is the most consistent way if you're just starting a match or just got a PC:

This one's a little different in execution, but the same concept applies. Make sure that the T piece is facing right when it's in the hole, and rotate it clockwise once. Just like that, bam, you understand like 50% of competitive modern Tetris. If you want to make it a Double, make sure that two lines on the left are filled.

Now, here's where things get a little complicated.

The T-spin Triple. It's also not too hard, but you have to practice how to spot them in a wild match, and you'll need to learn heavy risk-and-reward stuff, 'cause it can really mess up your board if you were already stacking for a Tetris or something.

Again, you can do it virtually anywhere, but this is a start-of-game setup if you just want big damage.

I screwed up a little, but the I piece can be one space away from the T and J contraption. It doesn't have to be an I piece. It could be a L piece, for instance. It could be an O with an upside-down J on it.

But, whatever you do, make sure that there's an overhang on the wall right of the T and J pieces, like this:

What pieces you use for the right side of the board aren't specific, but just make sure that the bottom three lines are filled completely.

With those concepts sorta settled, and the wiki on your side, let's talk about my setups.

Fun fact, you've actually seen two of them already: The T-spin Triple, and what's called the TKI(I think).

There's also this one that's called the STSD, or the Super T-spin Double. It's called that, because of the way it's formatted. It's made with the intent to get to consecutive T-spin Doubles, the second one being stronger thanks to the Back-to-Back bonus.

First, do the same rotation that you'd do for the T-spin Triple. It gets the same wall kick I mentioned earlier, so it'd still count. Don't worry about what happens after, it's supposed to only clear two lines this time.

By the time you're done with that, the board should look something like this:

From there, do the same thing you'd do for a normal T-spin Double; Spin the T until the flat part is facing upward. Once again, how you fill in the board on the right doesn't matter.

The STSD can also be extended for more T-spin potential, but I'm gonna pretend that I know how to do that.

Okay, now here's time for my go-to strategy:

The PC, or Perfect Clear.

A bit of a disclaimer first: It's not very consistent, having only around a 70% success rate. But, the payoff is so worth it: If you get it to work, you'll send a whopping 10 lines of damage to your opponent, or half the friggin' board.

To understand how this works, you need a bit of a grasp on the 7-bag randomizer that modern games use.

Piece generation isn't totally random. Instead, the game guarantees that you'll get one of every piece every seven pieces. Basically, if you've gotten an I piece, you'll get another one within the next six pieces, guaranteed.

Anyways, the PC requires an understanding of the 7-bag to work properly. I'm gonna show you how to use the Center PC setup.

First the J, L, O and I pieces have to be set up so that they make a square. Also make sure that the square is on a far edge of the board.

Next, place the T piece on the opposite wall of the square you've made, making sure that the flat side is on the wall.

Assuming that the T is on the right side of the board, place the S piece flat on top of the T, and slide the Z piece under the T.

By the end, it should look like this:

Now, here's the fun part!

You can technically fill the middle section however you want, too many to list off. It's like a puzzle in that sense: There's multiple ways to get a Perfect Clear, but it's all dependent on what pieces you get. Again, it's not a guaranteed strategy, but I'm confident that you guys can turn a failed PC into a T-spin of some kind. I believe in y'all!

And, with that, those are the main openers that I use when I'm playing Tetris with someone else. I'll probably make a part 2, covering more complicated things like the DT Cannon and Imperial Cross. And...

...

Maybe I'll teach you the forbidden Jutsu that is the 4-wide. But, you have to promise to keep it a secret, alright?

[kim-poce]

12. Witches Are Meant To Burn: Visit

On Patreon (two weeks earlier release)

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I don’t believe in fate, even if sometimes I find myself believing in luck. Life wasn’t written by some overpowered concept from start to end, it’s just that some people are luckier than others, on a small or great scale. For example, I was lucky to be born in my family, both the Aliene and the Patry sides, on the other hand, luck is never on my side in mundane everyday things. It’s hard not to slide into superstition and curse at luck when I tend to burn with the witches whenever something is decided by fate.

“Are you leaving, Professor Ernestine?” Roman Igor asked politely, making a pile out of the failed scribbled papers to be burnt later. Officially we were on a short break but the common tent of our group was a mess and we got the short stick (I always get the short stick). “I can finish it on my own, if you wish.”

I looked at him, he made me feel something odd. I would say that the fact that nothing about him lingered in my mind was, ironically, lingering in my mind.

Igor was born in Ziri, a beautiful eastern country that has been in my to-visit list for a couple years now. As any other Zirin, his family name comes before his given one. And he only has one family name, different to the two or three from Gea. His skin was pale, covered in moles and dark freckles, and his curly red hair was often a mess, but he still seems to be trying to fight it into behaving. His large eyes were always looking from one place to another, without ever fixing on anything for over a minute, just like his hands which tapped and scribbled non-stop, often driving Sandra mad with the repetitive noise.

“I’ll leave after finishing it here,” I said. We just had to make the tent more walkable, it wasn’t that much work. “And you shouldn’t offer to do everything by yourself; the others might push their work on you.”

“They are older and more experienced here,” he shrugged, “I’m just trying to be polite.”

“You do you. Just don’t be so polite to Tina, she will completely use you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said with a smile.

We carried the mess from the middle of the tent to the corner of the tent, burnt the failed copies, and had something to eat before parting ways; he to his tent and I to mine. The break was meant to rest, but it wasn’t long enough to make leaving Podium worth it, so we were just doing nothing inside our three per three individual tents.

I checked my small map. I know where the spot where the temperature changes is, but I can’t go straight there without any sort of preparation, I can be reckless but I am not uselessly reckless. I made a map, of course, but it doesn’t really help me much. The line is a few kilometers from the Library, which means far away from anything else, no villages, no towns, no houses or random buildings (of course, given that I don’t know the whole perimeter of the ‘hot area’, there must be something close to some part of the border but not in the spot I know). The only thing there is the old dirt road, sand and rocks.

Should I go anyway? I thought, running my finger on the cover of my notebook; I wrote ‘witches’ there, and the warm feeling on my fingers is comfortable. It’s not like it’s that dangerous.

The plan was simple: I would take a copy of one of Podium’s book pages, put it outside the hot area, and walk away from there; same thing I did in the meeting building in Jitarin. IF I was lucky there would be a fire. It’s stupid, but I’ll be alone so there won’t be a problem. There was no carriage ready to take me to a random spot in the middle of the road to wait for a piece of paper to burn, but I, of course, had my horse brought to Portia already; you never know when you’ll need to move around, right?

Now, I could go past that spot; I could go into a safer area to do my experiment, but this would mean places with people and if I’m right I would be putting one of their buildings on fire and if I am wrong I’m burning myself as a lunatic.

Should I go… or should I- What am I even thinking about? I shook my head. It was too reckless, and the chances of me being right were too low. I almost let myself be swapped but such crazy thoughts, that’s unlike me. I would need to think deeper about it, if there is another fire related to Podium in the future I’ll do this experiment. For now I should do my actual work for once.

I ignored the unknown alphabets, I had no time or resources to deal with them yet. I focused on a small poetry book on a language grand-aunt to Geati. It was good to pay attention to the details, the huge amount of work in Podium made everyone rush through everything, but I particularly rather very much to focus fully on the smallest details.

Slowly, I began a translation draft. There were words that could mean too many things and words that didn’t mean anything to me, but that was just part of the fun. I did not think about the hot area and my theory, after years hunting the witches it’s easy to ignore such hard-to-confirm ideas, I had work after all.

Death's door.

That’s probably the title of the first poem. It could also mean “Long-term Sickness” or “Still Stone,” but Death’s door works best in the context.

To return to the first cave.

To make mountains into dust.

I smiled. Summing up it was “To die and to break free from fate” Two lines in and we already have sin. Is every work in Podium related to breaking fate? That would make sense. What draw my attention was another detail; the archaic euphemism for death ‘to return to the first cave’ was a good tip. Whoever wrote this probably was from the societies that kept the dead in the central area, that’s good, this gives me spots on the map, with enough spots I can make a picture.

To breathe the chains.

To drown on the stone river.

That’s- well, maybe it’s just mistranslating, or I don’t have the context. The first two lines are expressions, old, archaic, not used anymore at all, but still expressions. Maybe these two would follow the same line? I hope I’m right; twenty-three verses would mean twenty-three saying to study.

“You don’t look like you are resting, Professor Ernestine,” a voice called from the entrance of my tent.

“Oh? Maliane, come in,” I said, closing my notebook and gesturing to the floor in front of me, “Please, sit.”

Maliane raised her index and middle fingers of her left hand, kissing their tip before touching them on the ground. “Thank you,” she said before sitting down.

I was wondering who had taught it to Sandra.

“Sorry for the sudden visit. Are you feeling better?” Maliane asked, out of courtesy I supposed.

“As good as ever.”

“You seem busy,” she glanced at the pile of papers at my side, “Maybe I should take my leave?”

“No need to worry, but I am curious about your visit,” I said, eyeing her.

“I’ll take the risk to sound rude, but can you explain how you pick your apprentices?” She asked with a firm but calm voice.

I tilted my head. “Is this about me bringing more people into Podium?”

“No,” she answered, not correcting me.

“Maliane, I hope you understand that I need more context for your question.”

“Professor, do you ever take in a student that has not graduated?” she asked, again not giving me explanations.

I sighed. “Some of them are still graduating.”

“Have you ever taken in someone who is not graduating at all?” she asked again, more hushed this time.

“My first one, Tina, she majored in a couple of things later but she wasn’t graduating when I took her in,” I explained. “Now it’s your turn to give an answer.”

“Allow me to ask just one more thing first,” she asked as she looked into my eyes.

I didn't like the sudden interrogation, principally when I’m not close to her, but going along with it was faster than making a fuss, so I just nodded and said, “Okay. Ask.”

“Thank you, Professor,” she said, before fixing her posture and asking in the most serious tone I ever saw her using, “What do I need to do for you to take me in?”

—

@kathea, @extemporary-username, @wolfeyedwitch, @blu-jay-2779, @rose-pinkie, @latenightcupsofcoffee