#I got two new heart emojis yay

[practically-an-x-man]

I just want to say

I hope y'all know that when I leave the analytical line-by-line comments on fics and things, that takes effort. It's not an unconscious decision and I am actively reading and looking for particular moments to mark. I'm happy to do it and I know that that's what authors look for in a commenter, but it takes energy and focus on my part. When you say "you're so good at commenting!" - yeah, that doesn't come naturally, it's a skill that I've built and continue to build because I know people appreciate those sorts of comments.

And I have to say, it does get a little discouraging when one of my writer-friends reads my works in exchange and leaves a single-line comment, or sometimes skips commenting on chapters entirely. I understand that people have different commenting styles and I want to stress that I'm not upset at anyone and this is not meant to be a callout post by any means, it just gets disappointing to put so much effort into first writing my own fics, then trying to leave healthy, thorough, essay-like comments on a friend's fic, to then have it returned with "<3 loved this!"

Idk, I just... I really am grateful for all the comments I receive, but sometimes it just feels like I'm putting in so much more energy and effort than I'm getting back.

[stayinlimbo]

We Become We

pairing: husband!lee minho x reader genre/warnings: friends to lovers, marriage of convenience, fluff, poor attempts at me trying to be funny, mc's gender is not specified word count: 1.02k note:  i am not dead yay. i tried my best since i haven't had time to write for almost a month so please take this as a peace offering ♡

Marriage. It’s an interesting concept, isn’t it? 

You’ve always thought so, at least. Two people agreeing to sign a legal document and tethering their lives to each other for whatever reason, be it love, societal expectations, familial pressure, financial security, etc. 

Yours happens to be a man named Lee Minho. The same man you’ve been friends with for as long as you can remember. The same man who asked you to marry him for a reason you didn’t get to learn until he was already down on one knee. 

(“I’m sorry, you want me to WHAT?” “Marry me. Please, I need health insurance.”

“Okay, yes, sure, whatever; now please get off the floor. People are staring.”)

Lee Minho, who, after dragging you to the courthouse and legally becoming your husband, finally elaborated on how his job would pay him more and cover both of your health insurances if he was married. So really, in his words, he was “doing you a huge favor” by marrying you. 

And, in all honesty, he really was. No, you didn’t have a ring to show off your new husband’s weird skill at finding loopholes in company policy, and you’re like thirty-five percent sure the two of you are committing some kind of marriage fraud, but does it really matter when you can finally start using the hot water in your dingy apartment without worrying if you’ll have enough money to fund your crippling caffeine addiction? The government will have to drag you kicking and screaming before you resort back to mankind’s cruelest form of torture: cold showers. 

Not to mention that marriage didn’t even change your relationship with Minho. And why would it? You’re still you, and he’s still him. He gets on your nerves just the same, maybe even a little bit more after he decided to frame your marriage certificate in his living room and send a photo to all your mutual friends. You’ll never forgive Minho for laughing at your helplessly panicked state when the group chat wouldn’t stop exploding with messages and incessant calls. 

You’re still his best friend that resides in his apartment four out of seven days of the week while he inhabits yours for the other three. Maybe that’s why, two weeks after your “wedding,” when it was time to renew your lease, Minho suggested with a simple shrug of his shoulders that you move in with him since “you’re here all the time anyway.” 

You’ve really got to learn how to say no to him because now you wake up next to your best friend/roommate/husband in his one bedroom, one bathroom apartment at the crack of dawn with a light pressure on your chest and fur in your face when his cats decide you need to wake up right now to feed them. 

Not to say you don’t like the new arrangement! No, that would be the furthest from the truth. 

Sure, you didn’t appreciate your skin care routine being interrupted by the unexpectedly high-pitched scream Minho let out when he saw you in a face mask for the first time, and what kind of person still has their phone’s brightness turned up all the way before bed? But who else would willingly tolerate your deliriousness before your morning coffee or indulge in your pleas to cook your favorite food three days in a row? 

Living with Minho has only made the purely platonic feelings you harbor for him grow stronger.

That’s what the fluttering in your chest means every time you see him, right? The reason for the smile that grows on your face when you hear the distinct jingling of keys at the front door?

Yeah, that must be why heat spread across your cheeks when he handed you his phone to text one of his friends back, because since when did the heart emoji make an appearance next to your pinned contact name?

You just care about each other, that’s all. It’s normal to want to make sure he arrived at work safely and ask how his day is going during your lunch breaks. It’s normal to start receiving back hugs before bed—a comforting weight as Minho’s chin rests on your shoulder while you apply the rest of the products to your face. 

It’s natural to have doubts about the nature of your relationship during an evening walk, acutely aware of his fingers lightly brushing against yours as you silently study his features illuminated by the soft glow of the scattered streetlights. What if he meets someone else and falls in love with them and wants a divorce and– oh. 

Has he always looked at you like that? With his gaze softening as it locks with yours? With the corners of lips lifting into the gentlest smile you’ve ever seen? With all the stars shining above you finding a second home in his eyes? A look so loving that it takes your breath away and you can’t tell if you’re about to laugh or cry in relief. 

And when you return home to get ready for bed, the familiar feeling of hands wrapping around your waist and a careful pressure resting by the crook of your neck quells the remnants of your worries.

It’s you and Minho. Minho and you, just as it always has been. Just as it’s always meant to be.

The distance between your bodies on the bed becomes nonexistent when you curl yourself into his side, laying your head on his shoulder and intertwining your legs with his as he immediately, unhesitantly, adjusts his arm, his fingertips finding purchase on exposed skin and roaming across the span of your back. A kiss to the top of your head is the last thing you feel before the gentle lull of breathing and the rise and fall of his chest begin to soothe you to sleep. 

…

Ah, marriage—what an interesting concept. Two people agreeing to sign a legal document and tethering their lives to each other for whatever reason, be it love, societal expectations, familial pressure, financial security, etc. 

You love your husband, and you’re beginning to think he loves you too. 

liked this work? want to let me know how i did? please like, comment, and/or reblog; they are greatly appreciated my asks are always open ♡

taglist: @linospuddin @linocz @spicyhyunn

[captainnameless]

If I ask real nicely because I'm having an awful start to the new year, could you please write something about Oscar being upset and getting cuddled with a caregiver or with little lando just trying his best to cheer up little bro. 👉🏻👈🏻

-🐨🧡

yay a new emoji anon! ok so like i debated waiting w answering this bc i still want to write/finish/post that Lewis/Lando+Oscar chapter so i debated holding out and then answering it with that but like i’ll give you some crumbs.

Surprisingly, it’s Oscar whose lip quiver has turned into a subdued sob, hands balling into fists to rub at his eyes that are leaking tears, his shoulders now shaking with heavier sobs.

And no, Lewis cannot let that continue, all textbook procedures he wanted to follow on no sudden movements out the window when instinct tells him hold. Hold this little curled up brunette who is crying his little heart out.

“Hey, no. Oscar, shh.” Lewis rushes, pulling the chair back that Oscar was sat on and making quick work of pulling him up and sitting down himself, cradling the younger into his chest. “You’re okay, shh, poppet.”

Lewis resists a groan, two hours in and he’s already managed to make Oscar cry, and he really does not want to have to ring Daniel this early on in the day. And then there’s Lando, who’s watching the scene with wide wet eyes, bottom lip worrying in between his teeth, knowing full well he’s in trouble.

“Lando,” Lewis says, gentler this time, trying to soothe Oscar who’s still crying into his chest, shoulders stiff. “Come e’re.”

Lando’s got his signature pout on as he shuffles his way over, eyes downcast. “Sit down.” Lewis moves one of his arms off of Oscar and pulls the chair next to him out. “I want you to sit and think a bit about what’s happened just now, okay?”

“Okay,” Lando says, quietly. Folding his hands in his lap with a soft little sigh as he fiddles with his fingers, blinking back his own tears.

Lewis turns his attention back to Oscar, who’s still tense and upset and tries his best to calm him down. He’s not entirely sure what will work, their dynamic too new but he’s figured out the soothing circles onto Oscar’s back at least get the tension out of his shoulders, his crying quieter too.

“Lew?” Lando quietly speaks next to him, barely making eye contact. “Can I get him something?”

Lewis turns, eyeing the younger to see if he actually wants to get Oscar something that might help or is just trying to get out of whatever make shift time out this is.

“What do you want to get him, darling?”

“Giraffe.” Lando mumbles, and against his chest Oscar shifts at the mention.

Lewis looks down. “Oscar, sweetheart, do you want Lando to get your giraffe?” He regrets it as soon as he asks, worried he might have another George on his hands who might deny himself the comfort despite needing it but luckily, Oscar nods.

“Alright,” Lewis says, rewards him with a kiss to his forehead before turning back to Lando. “Go grab it, straight back here, okay buddy?”

“Okay,” Lando says and darts off.

- - something something tbw- -

Oscar’s a cuddler, Lewis finds out when he tries to extract him from his chest and into the soft pillows of the guest bed. It earns him a disgruntled whine, a stark contrast to what a peacefully asleep Oscar looks like. Luckily, Oscar settles with his plush, tugged in tight and the weight of Lando right beside him.

“Lew,” Lando whispers as Lewis is tucking him in, relishing in the soft touches Lewis pats along his face, brushing his hair off his forehead.

“Yes, poppet?”

“If- if I wake up first from my nap, then. Even then I’ll stay with Oscar so he isn’t alone, okay?”

Lewis coos, just a little, that’s a big thing for Lando, he doesn’t stay in bed for just anyone. “Okay.” Lewis says, pressing a big kiss to Lando’s cheek. “That’s so nice, sweetheart. You’re a good boy.”

Lando nods a bit, soft flush dusting his cheeks before he turns to get comfortable, squeezing himself alongside Oscar.

“Sleep well.” Lewis breathes, giving them both another kiss before he’s flicking of the lights.

[shibinus]

The Circle season 6 recapppp spoilers about the finale ahead!

I would've been sooo pissed if Paul didn't sacrifice themselves for Kyle. Like, obviously Paul was at the bottom and Kyle was higher up in the rankings, if Paul tried to stay even knowing that and hoping that Kyle would sacrifice himself? Nah, that would've been a load of BS. Mad respect that Caress made that decision and left the Circle in probably the best way possible.

Was a little shit that Paul threw Lauren under the bus though. I don't remember them flirting really - I remember super awkward conversations. Probably lost Lauren some points, at least with Kyle if not the whole Tres Fuegos.

Honestly I respect Liv for Blocking Myles. As much as I would've been annoyed that she took out the low hanging fruit by taking out Jordan, I would also have been happy if she took out Jordan - because he was fucking annoying. Dude was just too aggressive and half the fun of The Circle is seeing how people make connections without actually meeting face to face, not just throwing shade on everyone.

Sub-note on point 3 - I wouldn't have hated if she went after QT either. Hey, at least SOMEONE learned that when it's an anonymous block, they could take a big swing. You go girl (or guy, whatever, yay Brandon).

I felt so damn bad for Autumn. She didn't do anything and everyone made her feel so bad. I get that they were just playing the game and fired shots because she was an easy target as a new player and she really, in the grand scheme of things, shouldn't have taken any of their comments personally since obviously they hadn't had any time to get to know her. But I still felt bad for her. She seemed like a nice person and got booted out before she was even given a chance. But hey, that's the way it usually goes for people who don't get to start out at the very beginning.

I don't get why Jordan went SO HARD on Myles? Like, I guess he was a pretty big player when Jordan came in and had a lot of influence, but so did QT? And probably Kyle? And besides, influence comes and goes anyway usually as conversations go on. Like. Just. Chill my dude. You fucked it up for yourself from the start from being so aggressively attacking everyone. In public chat, no less.

Honestly, amazing job Liv. I was real confused in the first episode when everyone was like 'she's probably a catfish' and talking about how boring she was and then she got voted in the top two (I don't remember, was she first even???) It just seemed like everyone was hating on her in the beginning and then she worked magic and won it at the end. Great game, Brandon. And kept it pretty genuine, just a couple calculated moves that made all the difference.

Probably more things to talk about but this is enough of a text dump.

Oh oh oh oh one more thing. I'm so proud of Kyle for being like 'everyone thanked the super influencer except Liv. So Liv was probably the super influencer!' like yes, someone finally used their brain in this game. If Liv was playing a super calculated game she should've thrown in a comment somewhere in the middle being like 'thanks for saving me super secret influencer *heart emoji*' just to confuse anyone who analyzed the chat like Kyle did. SO anyway, good job Kyle, proud of you.

[dogboyklug]

comic one - the second one - [you are here!]

yeah

transcript under cut

...and now its been like a year since i started this comic

and i completely forgot to finish it. oops

well less forgot and more like...

got into a new fandom, had to get a new laptop AND phone, started focusing my internet activism on genocide instead of transness, got burnt out like five billion times, met a bunch of new people, started dating another person, dissociated for several months, celebrated the new year, got so terrified of the fact that might get backlash for this comic i didnt make another one, TRIED to make another one but had like five breakdowns,

and then

forgot

but uh

at least i know how to draw sam now!!

sorta

yay

So, now, with such a big pause, have things changed for the better?

Am I living my best life, finally on T? Or aT LEAST have i FINALLY gotten over ALL of my internalized transphobia (men variety)?

well uh no

in fact things are kind of

worse sometimes...

*new fandom has so much fatphobia it sucks

*there is still a group of trans women online whose sole purpose in life is to hate all trans men

*theres still a genoicde going on

i wish this comic couldve followed a "past, present, future" format where, in which, the last comic would wrap the whole thing up smoothly and i would have some sort of message of peace or hope or joy to give

an assurance that my life, and the lives of all trans people, and all people from cultures ravaged by colonisation and erasure wouldnt be for nothing, and that everything would be fine in the end

but im almost 18 and i cant say that like at all

everythings getting worse and i am not a wise old man with epic awesome knowledge and a cool beard

this comic mostly just exists as a thank you letter so

thank you

thank you to everyone who read the first two and to everyone whos reading this one and to the person who mentioned all male character options in videogames (esp in the 2010s) are ugly as sin. you are so right

maybe someday ill make a comic abt my experiences as a frisian trans man with the full knowledge of my history and a happy ending to make up for it all

(caps) Probably not though (end caps)

ok you guys get 1 happy

here's my favorite transmasc ocs of mine

tuyen sango, my agent 3, best bro

feathers chilufya-janstra, my favorite 30-year-old nerd

masa, my actual hero (she turns 3 this year!!!)

and hjalmar, i've had him for 10 minutes but i love him still. heart emoji

so uh

yeah

thanks for reading

[leseigneurdufeu]

Why did you hate Titanic?

It's not historically accurate. Not even counting my father's "hey that car only came out two years after the wreck" comments, many characters were not who they had been historically, I don't remember much but I have read at some point an article about Cameron being sued by the descendants of one of the guys because he had been a hero that night and many survivors wrote in their journals that they owed him their lives or something and in the movie he was a coward who killed two people to get out of the boat or something? Can't remember exactly but it's about the gist of it.

*sparkle emoji but i'm on desktop* sexual liberation! *same* this girl is so GREAT for ditching her whole family to go sleep with a guy she's known for two days top.

on that note, the general nudity and sex. I can get why it would be a very strong message to send to the fiancé that she's been drawn naked by her lover but a) they didn't have to show it onscreen, like Kate Winslet naked and all, I get showing the drawing if needed b) the whole "no no he was a real artist we didn't hook up when i came back naked he painted me" -> cue to the scene where he draws her and then they go out and hook up in someone's car (like wtf, gross, unsanitary, not your car, etc) c) kinda devaluates real nude painting (have a friend in art school who did some it's all about professionalism not a kink or foreplay like in the movie!)

the general message of "the poor people are happy, funny and nice VS the rich people are stuffy, snoby people who are unhappy, sexists pigs EXCEPT for this one new rich woman who is funny and nice but also challenges norms at every turn because otherwise she can't be a good person". At least that's how i perceived it.

to get back to my 2), because I feel like I need to expand on that one: the plot could have been good except instead of having a real choice between conformism, marrying a fiancé who is neat and nice but there's no passion and running away with the wandering artist, she has no real choice because the fiancé is the devil in the flesh or almost, he blackmails her family, he beats her up, he's got shady dealings with shady people (the heart of the ocean? can't remember if it's mentionned in the movie but this shit is a FRENCH national treasure stolen during the revolution of 1789-1790's and which was not found ever again so this guy has shady dealings) and he doesn't hesitate to try to kill Jake. So really despite all of Jake's flaws (like idk not being able to provide a future for her, being full of himself -but he's poor so it's ok! yay!- being a cheater and a liar, etc) she doesn't have a choice. And even where she could have had one (like... again, not sleeping with him after knowing him for two days, not using him to make her family rage, etc) the plot just makes her into no better than her.

On the note of the heart of the ocean, it is to french treasure hunters what bigfoot is to cryptozoologist. It's exactly as if Nessie had broken the hull instead of an iceberg and then it was never adressed again. Idk it just makes me vibrate in madness.

i mean yeah the whole plot, the nudity, french jewels reappearing out of thin air, the rich vs poor manichean dichotomy, did i mention the fact there are two actors (Theoden and the guy from the Flash) in there so it kinda broke the immersion but that's not on Cameron...

Oh, yeah, I remember.

The freaking "could they have both hold on to the door" debate?

It doesn't have any reason to happen.

Because Jake could have been on the door and rescued without a problem if Miss Rose here had not left the lifeboat where she was already seated to stay with him. Her stupidity (which, yeah, youth and all but when it has such consequences on the plot and it's not even adressed seems like they just didn't notice when they wrote it) costs the life of her lover!

The only way it would have been redeemed to me is if she really suffered the consequences after that. But we just learn that she leaves her family behind without telling them she's still alivle (which... fine, they're not the best. but still...) and fast forward eighty years, she still has the gem so we don't know how she had the money to live on her own after cutting ties with everyone? the big bad guy just kills himself in an unrelated accident 15 years later, and everyone dies death that are either stupid (killing oneself or again the fucking DOOR) or anticlimactic (of old age in someone else's boat, and to quote downton abbey to die in someone else's house you've got to seriously lack manners)

Also I don't like diCaprio's face in his young phase. I had a highschool friend who was always hyping him and all and I was like "meh he's not that good looking" and so idk maybe he's got a beautiful face no one could resist and that's why everyone's so stupid or enamoured or both around him in the movie but it really didn't work on me.

[johannwolfgangvongoethe]

Umineko....

episode 1, part 4

(content warning: i will be talking about a child getting hit by her mother)

battler you are so damn late to the party. everyone else has tried to solve the gold riddle for two years now and got bored with it but its new and fresh to battler!!!!!

hes a little moe sometimes

I LAUGHED ABOUT THERE BEING A GOLD CHASE RIDDLE but its pretty engaging now that im here.

THERES A SWEETFISH RIVER RIGHT THERE!!!!

^ serious remark by the way. i think this is meaningful and could genuinely be the mentioned river.

anyway, the riddle calls for eleven "sacrifices" in total. whether those are living beings or or objects or what have you.

thank you maria. i am not disturbed.

FUNNY how there are twelve family members in total. this could perhaps develope into some sort of battle royal scenario. then again, the servants and doctor are playing too, at least in theory. i am included in the riddle, too. maybe ill die as well!

if anything happens to maria. i dont know what ill do. cry maybe. i entirely cant judge how cruel/tasteless this novel could be in the future. if you Gotta harm a little guy, at least be clever and meaningful and tragic about it, you know? at the very least she seems to know enough about witches to defend herself. idk man, i trust her knowledge. she has her grandfather genes. somehow. LISTEN WOULD SHE RECEIVE SO MUCH ATTENTION FROM THE NARRATIVE IF SHE WASNT CORRECT.... maybe its all red herrings though.

i wonder if kinzo went through all these riddle steps before. i wonder if the earthquake was related, if he had been betting on a wonder that would make him the head of the family.

battler you are the realest person ever

btw rosa hits her child!!!! but not as badly as her father probably hit her!!!!! there is definitely a history of intergenerational violence here, emotionally but physically as well. very striking about the scene are two things: 1. no one explained to maria why her mother wants her to change her behaviour and every hit enforces it, makes it worse, its a downward spiral. 2. the enviroment accepts it and does not intefere, save for battler who is still an outsider of sorts, and he is quickly taught to not involve himself. george, who was usually kind and soft and amazing around maria, says it will be a kindness to act like this never happened, as to not embarrass her. this means purposeful ignorance and therefore acceptance.

anyway, irreparable damage. and now maria is beatrices messenger. thats what happens.

so here she is. apparently. the narrative REALLY wants to built up anticipation to a point where its overdoing it and ruining what tension it created. but i trust it to be satisfying in the end. so far i really enjoyed the interpersonal intrigue and pacing of conversations after all. but i yet struggle to make out how mysterious the storytelling is trying to be and how much thinking i am supposed to do.

BATTLER IS SO NOT TAKING IT SERIOUSLY THOUGH... its so funny. he really doesnt give a fuck. beatrice is a funny troll to him, hired by his grandfather, or perhaps a scam artist. she has also clarified that the contract she has with kinzo, which would allow her to collect everything he owns, is off, should someone find the gold. so suddenly everyone is friends again!!!!! YAY kyries working theory is that beatrice is the friends we made along the way (one of the people in plain view, just under a pseudonym) which is really solid. thats the most plausible explanation for them right now. its very cool that she gets to do a whole detective monologue on it.

this is just a little game to them. heart emoji

at the very least, there is a new 'furniture' development: it might also just refer to the fact that the servants are to be passed along to the whoever solves the riddes, alongside the mansion, as if they are simply furniture pieces within it. tools at disposal. the only reason i cling to this is bc how often this specific phrasing it brought up.....

everything is about to go to shit so i am ending this post here. but my god. its about to happen, i think. kill rend maim

[lazzledazzler]

Lazzle's Rune Factory 5 Review

Alright so here are my thoughts and experiences with RF5! This is a big boy so buckle in earthmates...

Obviously this review will contain spoilers, read at your own risk.

Initial thoughts upon playing...

Great opening! I enjoyed the jazz music~ I did feel like it leaned a bit more towards the male player though. It definitely feels like a rune factory game. It's familiar, and controls are easy to get accustomed to for the most part. The mold is there and rf5 doesn't stray too far from its predecessors which is comforting for veterans. That being said, I'm not going to pull any punches and will critique this game harshly. Keep in mind as updates for the game are released not all things discussed in this review will be as relevant overtime!

Let's hear some thoughts on...

The story/plot. The plot is enjoyable overall. I'm not crazy about the whole Seed organization thing but it was a neat idea. They address the Sechs Territory and it is confirmed that the game takes place some decades after RF4. But by the end of it, I didn't feel like I really accomplished anything because it felt like I barely did anything really. Also they left a lot of stuff unanswered. I'm not even sure I understood the message they were sending, if they were trying to send a message at all. The main story is too short, and it doesn't involve enough of the townsfolk. You're basically doing everything yourself in secret the whole time and the townsfolk barely know what's actually going on. Out of the love interests, Lucas plays the largest part in the story, followed by Priscilla and Scarlett. The story feels targeted at male audiences--at least that's how I felt. You, the player, have a larger role in the game, much like in RF3 and I was glad to see this. As of right now there are only two arcs. Praying for DLC 3rd arc...!

Protagonists. The latest protagonists to join the crew of Earthmates are...decent. Their designs are nothing special unfortunately, though I appreciate Alice's more than Ares's. Appearance-wise they lack personality and creativity. Personality wise I am pleasantly surprised with how sociable they are. They're not exactly quick witted and sassy like Lest/Frey were in rf4, or as endearing as Micah in rf3, but they have a certain realness to them that makes their reactions to things believable. I'm certain Xseed will see to making them a bit more sarcastic in their localizing efforts, so let's all look forward to that. Overall though, while I appreciate their mannerisms, they don't really measure up to all the previous amnesiacs we've grown to love over the decades.

Characters. Overall I enjoy all the characters introduced in Rune Factory 5! I feel like there is someone for everyone in this game on some level. The voice acting was pretty good for every character. The designs are very much Rune factory. Like OG runefa, compared to rf4 ( 4 kind of strayed from their usual style) which I like. Characters still have their own signature quirks that you find endearing. Although I would have liked to see more variety? Like we've had mermaids, univir, half monsters, vampires, etc in previous titles but rf5 only gives us the usual (half) elf, dwarf, and then a succubus (physically she doesn't have unique features aside from the ears and heart eyes), and some were-people. I was hoping for something more unique to really give that classic runefa vibe.

Dungeons/Battles. I'm pretty split on this one. On the one hand, the dungeons have more depth due to the 3D aspects. They've included more contraptions that are very fun to see even if they aren't executed that well. So I'm grateful for that. On the other hand, the dungeons are insanely short imo. It doesn't take long at all to get to the boss. The puzzles are also pretty subpar and few compared to RF4. Fighting monsters is similar to the other games. You can lock on now but I only use it when I'm trying to use my Seed Circle. The lock on feature is actually counter-intuitive and makes it harder to dodge. Weapon mechanics have shifted a bit. There’s a feature that makes you invincible to damage if you time the R button dash correctly. Axes and Hammers are significantly slower than in older games? Like. I thought I was in slow motion it was so slow. Lances are also harder to use as well? I'm questioning my sanity here. I don't know if it's a bug or intentional either.

Farming. Not much has changed from previous games mechanics wise. They added new types of special crops which is neat. The camera view changes to overhead when you go near your fields though, and it can make you dizzy/uncomfortable. It actually makes it a bit difficult to see at times so I wish there was a way to adjust the angle. If you are tilling corn or dried weeds to improve the soil, you need to place them separately if you don't want to use the entire stack. Otherwise, it will till the entire stack on the land if you place them all down at once. The flower shop is unlocked late in the story. Weird thing to do considering you need flowers to make medicine. Not to mention the fact that you wont have access to the fertilizer that increases defense against typhoons? During typhoon season? Thinking emoji...

The town. I have to say Rigbarth's design is poor compared to Sharance, Selphia, etc. It's too big and it takes too long to get around. Everything is too spaced out and there aren't enough warp points to make it easier on players. I don't want to walk an entire mile up a hill to talk to one person and then walk all the way down to the beach to speak to another. It doesn’t really feel like a ‘town’.

OST/BGM. Music was good, though nothing really stood out to me where I'd go "damn this slaps" or something. I think they might've had some old soundtracks from rf2 or something because it felt really nostalgic at times.

We need an exterminator. (Bugs Bugs Bugs)

Marvelous, I don't know how to tell you this buuut...your customers are NOT your testers. When you release a game, you need to make sure it's not littered with glitches because customers don't enjoy dealing with them and will drop the game!

Here are some of the types of glitches I encountered:

Crashing. Game would randomly crash or freeze and close at any moment. Sooooo frustrating! Sometimes you get lucky with the autosave feature, but the autosave only activates every morning at 6am in your room and then when you warp to a dungeon level/floor. So when you're in the middle of your daily tasks in town and it crashes, you have to start all over. Marveloussss no one enjoys losing their progress in a game I promise you that much.

Lag. The dialogue bar is seriously slow, especially after loading your file. Crafting/Cooking screen lags. When you press the Y button to skip through dialogue it lags like hell. Pretty much after every time you load the game will lag, the audio will lag if you're in a battle, everything is just. so. slow.

Repeating dialogue. So if you close your game entirely (or if it crashes) naturally you'll reload your file to continue where you left off. There's a bug that will cause all NPCs to repeat the last dialogue that occurred from whatever plot related thing you did last. So for example, if the last thing you did in the story was unlock Ludmilla, everyone in town will naturally have some dialogue about her. But even after seeing all this dialogue and even saving, if the game is closed and reloaded you'll have to read all that dialogue again from townsfolk. It got really annoying after a while.

Monster taming. One time I tamed a monster but once I named it and hit 'ok' the monster never showed up in my barns? Just. gone. Okaaaay then...? Additionally, I expanded one of my monster barns but all of the monsters I tamed wouldn't appear in the added room. You get 4 monsters for each room but the monsters I tamed would show up in the original room. Meaning I had like 7 monsters in one room! I tried to bring them into the newly added room but they would just warp back to the other room. Sad.

Pond Glitch. I fished in the pond located in Sasayaki Forest and left the fish I caught but didn't want laying around the water's edge. If you leave fish around the pond's edge and go to sleep, the next morning you will be teleported to the pond and trigger the fairy dialogue as if you had thrown all of the fish into the pond??? So the dialogue of her telling you she wants 'X item, not this!' will trigger over and over for all of the fish you left at the water's edge. RIP.

Party member Bug. I had Martin in my party and I made him leave. Then when I went into my monster barns to get a monster pal to join me instead it showed me Martin's portrait???? Also I've encountered a bug where I can no longer ask anyone to join my party for some unknown reason. The R &L button prompt was just gone when I reloaded.

Errors. When cooking or crafting, the dialogue box shows up sometimes...

Typos. Random average typo here and there. Not a real biggie but there is one instance where the heroine will use the japanese male pronoun "boku" instead of "watashi" which really convinced me that this game was completely intended for men lol.

Let's talk about Pros

The good stuff. The stuff that makes you all warm and fuzzy inside.

Plot Advancing. Now I'm gonna put this as a pro because I'm certain the average player will enjoy this even though I do not. There are now markers on the map to show you where to go to advance the plot. This is all well and dandy, but it also made the story less appealing for me because you don't need to go around town and speak to residents for clues or assistance to advance anything in the story.

3D Graphics The 3D models are all amazing. The interior designs of the houses/buildings are also incredibly detailed and realistic.

Collecting items. Now there's a feature that will allow you to collect items into your inventory just by walking over them. This is pretty neat and welcome for the most part. Once the item is sparkling, you can walk over it and it'll go into your rucksack automatically. This also makes lumbering and mining go much faster. Yay!

The miraculous L pocket. Now you can customize the categories that appear in your L pocket by going to the rucksack tab in the menu. This is a super neat feature that makes things easier on players who want to manage their items in a format that suits them.

Weapon/Tool Toggling. You can now toggle between your equipped weapon and tool by pressing the left or right buttons on the trackpad.

Collecting lumber/material stone. Oh lord this is probably the most welcome improvement moving forward from the previous game. You can now put all of the lumber and material stone from your inventory into its storage at once. This also applies to fodder for tamed monsters. Well done Hakama.

Autosave. This feature is a welcome addition to the series. The game will save your data every morning and every time you enter a dungeon. Autosave has really saved my ass a few times when I made a huge error in judgement so I'm incredibly grateful for this feature. And it doesn't save over your actual save file--there's a separate autosave file at the very top. So if you messed up something but already saved on your main file, you can still salvage your mistake by reloading the autosave! I just wish it activated a bit more often sometimes.

Warping. Now we can warp to each level in a dungeon as well as certain places on the map in town. It's pretty convenient for the most part.

Increased party members. Now you can have up to 3 members in your party! Hooray! Party members act more intelligently than in older games. Scarlett can use the Seed circle to assist you in fights. I think she also tosses healing potions at you occasionally. So far, no one has tossed a dish at me if I haven't eaten like Kiel and Clorica did in rf4. But I have been hit by a failed dish (from reinhardt?) and a healing potion (from scarlett). Scarlett, Priscilla, and Reinhardt are the most helpful when dungeon crawling in my experience. Some of them however, (looking at you Doug) don't shut the hell up with their one line of dialogue they have and repeat it constantly.

Seed Circle. This neat feature allows you to capture monsters. By charging it and releasing you can capture monsters for the bounty system or add them to your party temporarily. If you throw it without charging it, you can stun monsters in place momentarily or grab things from far away. When stunning monsters, it can also give you the monster's drop item occasionally. Unfortunately it uses a lot of RP so it can be difficult at times.

Combo attacks. This is a neat feature that I appreciate and use often for boss fights. They do some serious damage so it's good to save them for the bosses. The actual cutscenes aren't that impressive, and feel kind of subpar when you get down to it but I think it's a start in the right direction.

Farm Dragons. I'm listing this as a pro although I really just see it as a new feature. Farm dragons have fields on their backs that you can place monster barns on and farm on. Giving them certain crystals will give your fields boosts in certain criteria, like length of growth, soil quality, you get it. I personally don't use the crystals because I couldn't give a shit lmao I have men and women to woo here. But if you're into this kinda thing then it's a pro.

Storage. When opening your storage box, fridge, etc. you can actually hit the R & L buttons to switch between ALL of your other storages. Looooove thissss. Great addition. So much faster to put items away in their respective places.

Crafting/Forging. Now we can also use the R & L buttons to alternate between the different weapon types/accessory/gear types instead of having to exit the menu and going back in each time you want to make something different.

Cooking. More recipes have been added. Yay!

Days are longer now. More time to get shit doneeeee ayyyy

Fishing. They've added many more fish to the game! Now the player will shout something when you get a bite, making it easier for you to hit B at the right moment. Nice. Also if you fail or press B too early, the fish doesn't vanish most of the time. Also nice. There is now a feature to fish with another person's assistance. Once a day you can investigate the sign near the fishing station and someone might offer to lend you a hand. Press the B button at the right moments on the slider and you can get a rare fish that can't be caught normally.

Monsters. New types of monsters! Love the designs. Even the monsters that are the same but just have different skins are really neat. They look great in the 3D format too. You can even ride with up to two people on certain monsters! Some bosses had awesome designs while others...were bad.

New Types of Furniture. The carpenter store has a wide arrange of furniture you can buy for your home. It also has wallpapers and stuff which is really neat. Though unfortunately you can't even sit on some of the furniture so that's a shame.

Events. Now there is a system where events are triggered by approaching an icon on the map. This is probably an improvement to RF4's randomized system, though personally I found it annoying because it meant that I had to see the events before I could just enter a building normally. Sometimes I just wanted to get shit done and not have to read through walls of text for someone's love event when I just want to buy something.

Voiced Lines. The protagonist seems to have more voiced lines, as do other characters. Good!

Let's talk about Cons

Not including glitches. Oh boy. So many cons. Where do I start?

Dialogue. Probably the most notable con in the entire game. The dialogue is drastically minimal in comparison to previous games, especially rf4. There is probably a quarter of the amount of dialogue compared to rf4's insane amount of content if not less. Townsfolk repeat themselves. Often. Too often. Am I playing Harvest Moon? Originally I thought it was because the dialogue is randomized, but I think it's actually because more dialogue is unlocked as you raise townspeople's FP. Despite this, there's no linear build up where you start off as acquaintances and eventually become very close like in rf4 because of how sporadic the LP/FP is. Townsfolk don't even talk to each other. One of the greatest perks about runefa is the conversations townsfolk can have with one another. Residents randomly gathering in small groups to talk about anything. Previously you could add someone to your party and sometimes a dialogue will occur if you speak to the right person at the right time with that person in your party. This is nonexistent now. The only time they do this in rf5 is during the festivals. But, it will only trigger if you have unlocked all the characters in each marriageable lineup and they can't be in your party. The residents will talk about one another but that's pretty much it outside of town events. They got rid of all the minor dialogue that occurs too. Trying to sleep in someone's bed while they're right there? They wont comment. Inspecting objects in stores while the shopkeeper is present? Wont say anything. Take a character with you to a dungeon/boss fight? Their lips are sealed. Where's my sense of community? :(

FP/LP This ties into the dialogue issue. The rate at which LP/FP increases is sporadic as hell. You can go from 1FP/LP to 4FP/LP just by giving a gift sometimes. I wouldn't even speak to people and their affinity increased by like triple for no reason. Then it increases by like 2% for the longest time. Argh!!!

Graphics. I don't consider myself very picky when it comes to graphics. I don't really mind that the foliage and scenery are at the level of a ps2 game at best. I tried playing on my television initially, but the lag and camera operability was too much so I fully switched (haha puns) to handheld. One thing that sucked is that I literally cannot tell the difference between medicinal herbs, antidote grasses, and green grasses without the captions because the graphics are so indistinguishable. So when you're trying to pick up multiples of those items by holding the A button, you're just randomly walking over anything green in the hopes that you'll get the right ones...

Lack of Sound Effects. Something I noticed is they got rid of the sound effects that will play when you complete a puzzle or add someone to your party. When you try to brush a monster there's no sound for the '♪' they make when you successfully brush them. So it was hard for me to tell if I had actually brushed them or not. I was a bit saddened by the lack of cute sounds.

Too much free range. From the very beginning of the game, you're allowed to go pretty much wherever you want when leaving town. It was too easy to stumble into high enemy level territory without knowing, so when I was like level 5 so I got KO'd immediately.

Artwork. The portraits seem to be lower in quality somehow. Runefa has always had shitty portrait art imo but this time it's even worse. Many character's eyes looked fucked up. Though the 3D models are insanely good for mostly every character except Terry. Terry's 3D model looks Terryfying and I prefer his portrait.

Festivals. They've added some new festivals. Some I enjoy. Some not so much. They changed the format of the eating contest. It's horrible. Good luck with that one.

L pocket + R button? They got rid of the feature that lets you skip to the other end of your items when opening the L pocket by pressing R button. I really liked that feature because it made it faster to reach my items so I was bummed that they got rid of it.

Gotta go fast. Now when you speak to someone, it doesn't 'stop time' as you might say it did in previous games. So people are still moving about as you speak to someone, making it harder to catch up to people! Annoying!!!

Catch and release? Not in my farming simulator! Say goodbye to being able to toss a fish you caught back into the water. In fact, say goodbye to tossing anything you don't want anymore into the water. Now you just have an army of fish flopping on the ground around you. And with the auto pick up feature, they're probably going to end up in your inventory anyways once you try to move. There are still certain ponds with fairies that you can toss stuff into, but you'll have to deal with the fairy harping at you for giving her something she doesn't want.

Shop Hours. Oh god. The shop owners don't even open their stores at the correct hours? It says open at 9am. If you speak to them they won't open their store until like 9:07??? But Priscilla and Lucy will show up to work their part-time jobs at around 8:30am and you can buy stuff through them before 9am. So the actual shop owners (for the bread shop and general store) are pointless usually. Additionally, if the store is empty (but open) you can no longer add a shopkeeper into your party and then enter their store with them to buy things from them. Why. Just why. When you want to buy something that only a specific person sells (Only Hina sells fish, only Heinz sells misc items) you have to wait for them to finally decide to work in their own store. Wonderful.

Monster Item drops. Maybe I'm crazy but the monster drops are seriously a lot harder to get than in previous games. Especially boss drops. It's almost impossible to get the rare drops now. I don't even want to try anymore. And as far as I know, the only place to buy monster items is through Heinz, but his items are actually misc. items, not specifically monster drops. So you'll be lucky to check his store (whenever tf he decides to actually work) for any monster items you might want instead of farming for the drops. Sighs.

Difficulty. This game is too easy. There is little to no challenge whatsoever. I had to increase the difficulty setting to hard mode and it was still too easy. I beat it at level 139, never once did I need to grind or level. In fact, your character levels up way too quickly for the pace of the story. I had zero trouble with any of the bosses and even the final boss was a breeze. Quite sad. Though because I am not new to the franchise, it's likely that newcomers would have some trouble in the later parts of the story.

Fishing cons. Idk how you fck up fishing but they sure did. You have to stand further back now because the pole is so long that you'll miss the fish you're aiming for. In fact, it's seriously hard to aim period. You'll end up recasting more often than not. Fish come in the various sizes but they don't seem to have the darker or faded characteristics that can indicate whether it's a rare fish or not. The graphics make it hard to tell. The pros that i've already mentioned are welcomed but it doesn't negate the fact that I do not enjoy fishing like I did in previous games.

Mining/Lumbering Cons. You can no longer strike three times consecutively when mining/lumbering. This sucks lol. Even when you upgrade your axe or hammer, powering up the tool does nothing for getting wood and material stone--it only expands the area of your strike. So it takes longer to get wood/stone from stumps and rocks now since you have to strike the full 9 times but it's not too bad. It's also harder to aim now as well so that's also unfortunate.

Seasonal Fields? Kiss them goodbye! That's right, there are no seasonal fields in rf5 because devs are insane! You instead have the farm dragons that seem to look seasonal based on the fact that they are designed after elements like earth, water, and fire. But no, these dragons are simply extra fields for you to use. Here's a spoiler: you're not going to use those fields. You're just not. They're kinda useless unless you're obsessed with farming. Now you have to grow your crops out of season like the sad farmer that you are.

Farming cons. Seeds no longer tell you how long it takes to grow the crop. Why. As of June 29th, they fixed this with an update. But I still had to play the whole game without it so fuck you marvelous. The joystick is really sensitive? So when you're trying to use a fertilizer or something on your field you're likely to place it on the wrong 4x4 tile, wasting your fertilizer. So it’s best to hold down the R button when farming. Also the crops look uglie as hell.

Sleeping and warping cutscenes. Just like in rf4 there's a cutscene when you go to sleep that can be skipped easily by pressing A. In rf5, there's a cutscene to sleep and a cutscene when waking up. It takes a bit more than a second to skip these scenes so it gets annoying after a while. Warping is this new feature that replaces our beloved escape spell. Overall I appreciate the feature but I hate it for two reasons. One: there's an annoying ass cutscene for it each time you use it that could be much shorter. And Two: townsfolk now use warp even when inside the town. In previous games, someone exiting your party in town would just manually run to wherever they need to be. So you could easily chase after them if you need to talk to them or give them something. Now, party members use warp regardless of where you are at the time. So say you have someone at 7 hearts and you want to try confessing to them. You would have them join your party, save your game, and then have them leave your party and immediately speak to them and confess before they can run off. If it doesn't work you reload until it does. In RF5 this wouldn't work anymore because they will warp. Now you would have to save, run around town trying to find this person and hope they accept the confession. Otherwise you'll have to play hide and seek again because reloading your file will randomize the resident's locations (if they are not working in a shop)!!!! I often just waited until a festival day because then they will be at the plaza for most of the day and it has a warp point there.

Crafting/Forging/Cooking. They've removed the feature where you can press Y on the ingredients in the menu to add more of that particular item. I miss this feature :'(

Lacks incentive. There is no trophy room from my knowledge. The final dungeon that is meant to be like the sharance maze/rune prana isn't that hard to beat for skilled players and is only 20 floors. After you beat the main story and this dungeon there's not much else to do really.

Request Board. Unlike in rf4, you need to make sure you have accepted requests before you complete them or else it will not count. Previously, you could complete all sorts of tasks and Eliza would still recognize your work even if you accept their request after the fact. ie, shipping goods, harvesting crops, etc. So make sure you don't harvest your special crops before accepting the request it's for!

Return of the "Loli" Dragons... Yeah you read that right. We got more dragons in children's(???) bodies with skimpy clothes. I don't know anymore????¿¿¿

Can't marry the Milfs or Dilfs. Tragic.

Still no homo. Grow up Marvelous.

Reverse Proposal? Reverse Uno card-- Laid low by the patriarchy. You now have to buy the double bed and craft an engagement ring to propose to your man if you're playing as Alice. Marvelous this isn't what we meant when we said we wanted equal rightsssssss This can be seen as a pro if you're a softhearted babey who doesn't like rejecting bachelors' proposals because you feel bad :'( But this is a con for me because I don't want to spend money and materials on a double bed dammit!!!

Misc. Still can't stack dishes or fish. There's no green elemental fairy???All the other elemental ones are there except the green one? why??? Still can't tame the giant Wooly. Some bosses that have insanely awesome designs cannot be tamed and makes me wanna eat glass.

Let's talk about Love~

Relationships. We want them. And half of us only play these games for them. I've only played as the female heroine so far but I'll be updating this review as soon as I finish with the bachelorettes as the male hero.

Confessions

As usual, we must raise the love points of our beloved to 7 hearts before we can attempt to date them. However unlike in rf4, if you fail at a confession once, you will need to raise the LP up an entire level before you can try again with any chance of success. It's imperative you save before attempting a confession now.

Love Events

Each love interest has two love events that must be seen before you can date them. They're reminiscent of older game's style but I felt they could have been a biiiit more interactive or so? Or involved the town a bit more for some of them.

Dating

Once you get your honey to be your bf/gf, you get to choose the nicknames as usual. Then you can go on dates. The first three (non-festival) dates are actually events. You need to see all three events to get married.

Marriage Event

The final event you need to clear before you can marry your sweetie. In my honest opinion, so far for the boys, these events were rather disappointing. They lacked the drama and angst that sort of 'test' the love between the two when compared to rf4. Also this is a huge con for me personally and a minor spoiler but there are no special cutscenes at the end of the marriage event like in rf4. Instead, the cutscene takes place during your actual wedding. I was saddened by this because it took away the depth from the marriage events and the actual character? As it is just a cut and paste type of thing instead of an original cutscene for each person. They lack individualism this way. Also it kinda felt like a way for devs to avoid gay relationships and cut corners :^/....sus.

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes...

Children!!!!!! This is actually one of the coolest additions in the game. Just like in rf3, you can have up to 3 children again! Your first child will resemble you, and you will have the option to choose its gender as well as its personality. There are 6 different children, (3 boys and 3 girls), all with different hairstyles, mannerisms, and seiyuus. Your answers will determine which child you get. A year after your first child is born, you will get the option to have a second child. You'll end up with twins, both resembling your partner. You won't get to choose the genders (it will be a boy and girl) but you will get to choose the personalities once more. The children all have canon names too and each kid is incredibly cute. And of course, you're still able to take your kid with you in your party~ ...Though you can only take one kid with you at a time.

So is RF5 good?

Yeah it's a fun game! My theory is that Marvelous forced the devs to release the game earlier than they were ready for, and that's why it's so lacking. But that doesn't mean it's not worth playing! I'd rate it 3.5/5 stars hehe. Not nearly as good as RF4 (full stop 5/5), or RF3 (4/5) but enjoyable nonetheless. I wouldn't recommend it as a first game to play from the series for newcomers though, I feel it's best for vets who can overlook all the cons thanks to loyalty and nostalgia. By the time it’s released in the West, the bugs should all be dealt with too.

So! Definitely buy this game! We want the series to continue and we want RF6 to be better than this--and hopefully Marvelous will make sure of that next time. If you're not a picky person I think you'll enjoy rf5 a lot. If you're like me and have high standards then, well, still pick it up and let it run its course. Then dust off rf4sp and cleanse your gaming palette >;^)

[princecharmingwinks]

Here we go! Another fail date, no pressure, no rush! It was a fail not because I hated it, but we basically had to take a rain check. He had tried to impress me with the dairy he owned but I grew up on a farm so instead I was like yay cows! There was an emergency he needed to go fix basically as soon as we got there, so I hung out with the cows and let them nom on my hand and my hair. At one point I fell asleep in the hay, and his farm dog was in love with me and refused to work while I was there, so we napped together with the cows

Helllo my friend!! *waves* This took far longer than expected to get back to you and I went uber sappy with it. Oops. I am digging the idea of the Hale Farm so we are keeping it. It could technically be a prequel to the other farm one I wrote or a sequel. Hope you like it!

Derek was exhausted. The storm last night had rattled the cows and one had gotten stuck in the wired fencing. Thankfully being a family of werewolves meant they were able to drain any pain as they rescued the calf. It would need rest and stitches but was thankfully going to be ok. Which was great news.

The not so great news? He was meant to be spending the day with Stiles. With things quiet at home in Beacon Hills, Derek had suggested a break away for the two of them on the Hale Farm. Which was a good idea, in theory.

As soon as they had arrived, they had been bombarded with panic from the farmhands and the members of the extended Hale family about the impact the storm had had. Derek was swept away in the fluster and only had a moment to glance back at Stiles.

"Go be the hero, babe!" Stiles called out with a cheery grin. He had been absconed by Laura's twins who were dying to be entertained by the spark's magic.

Now that things had calmed down and most panic had been pacified, Derek was trying to sniff out where Stiles had ended up. He followed the scent of magic to find the spark curled up in one of the stables, hay haphazardly sticking out of his hair and one of the cows being used as a pillow. As Derek entered the stable, one of the farm dogs, Indigo, raised her head from her hiding spot behind the cow.

"So this is where you ended up, girl. Good to know you take your job seriously." Derek fondly scolded. Indigo padded over and nudged Derek's leg, seeking a pat that he gladly gave.

Derek sat down beside Stiles and admired the boy's sleeping form. "I really like him, girl. You reckon he'll let us keep him forever?"

Indigo wagged her tail happily before circling the spot and curling herself into a donut shape on Derek's other side.

Derek smiled combing his fingers though Stiles' hair, removing any hay he came across.

"You keep doing that and I'll never leave." Stiles mumbled sleepily as he slowly awoke.

"Promise?"

The spark's eyes shot open and his heart skipped on the next beat.

"You promise, you'll never leave?" Me. Derek released his hand from Stiles' hair so the boy could uncurl from the cow and instead crawl onto Derek's lap, straddling him.

Stiles smiled softly, running his fingers across Derek's face. "You think I'd be able to ever find someone with such glorious eyebrows?"

Derek scoffed but didn't pull away, rather he curled his arms more securely around Stiles' waist.

"You are never getting rid of me, big guy. And even if you die, I'll drag your fine ass right back to earth. That I will promise you."

"Not your most romantic declaration." Derek teased, drawing Stiles in for a kiss. He hoped it conveyed all the emotion he couldn't fully put into words in that moment. Like the fact that Stiles was the best thing that had ever happened to him. That his day was always brighter from just a single text or somewhat pornographic emoji. That he loved to curl up together every night. And that he really couldn't wait to ask Stiles to be his mate.

Stiles sighed into the kiss, threading his fingers through the were's hair, tugging a little to gain better access to his mouth. Derek happily complied.

The kisses turned softer again, more affectionate and warm rather than heated and passionate. Derek kissed Stiles' forehead and smiled.

"I didn't realise hay was such a turn on for you." Stiles grinned.

"You're the turn on." Derek nuzzled into the spark's shoulder and neck, scenting him.

"While I am enjoying this particular activity. The twins wanted a Spark Show and I'm exhausted. Carry me to bed?" Stiles waggled his eyebrows.

"Such a damsel." Derek mocked but did proceed to scoop the spark up in a bridal hold.

"Next time, I want fireman style so I can oogle your ass." Stiles purred, peeking over Derek's shoulder.

Derek rolled his eyes, "Whatever you want baby."

Ta da!! 😊❤ Derek was all sappy today and I couldn't make him stop. As always, thanks for popping in!

[subwalls]

Tales from the SMP Presents: The Pit

Another Tales, another Kingdom Hearts comparison post! “The Other Side” is a mix between the soundtrack The Other Promise and the cinematic “Another Side, Another Story” (both of which come from Kingdom Hearts, of course), which evokes a very specific KH character that... yeah. So let’s get into it.

Karl gets stabbed by the king’s new general and finds himself back in the Inbetween. A cool new logo pops up as we enter the Inbetween, which actually is a... very typical example of a Kingdom Hearts world logo / intro card / name card? I honestly don’t know what it’s called, it doesn’t have a name, it’s just a thing that happens every time the character enters a new world.

Castle Oblivion is just one (1) example, but if you just look up “Kingdom Hearts worlds” and scroll a bit, you’ll see what I’m talking about, haha. This doesn’t really change anything, it’s just another little wink and nod to the Kingdom Hearts series.

... Except, of course, the fact that there’s a title placard for this world implies the existence of other worlds. Which we eventually find out is, in fact, true. Fun! There’s a number of associations I could make based off the aesthetic of the logo (the castle reminds me of Radiant Garden, etc) but honestly they’re not worth much without more information.

So, the Inbetween is vividly aware of Karl’s straying from “the path”. It makes a huge attempt to still be pleasant and “nice” and whatever, but we can tell quite obviously that there’s an undercurrent of threat under all those pretty quartz blocks and smiles :]

Speaking of the :] smile, the reveal of Quackity’s previous lore stream actually doesn’t push me to think that it’s directly related to him in any way. It’s not impossible that c!Quackity achieved such heights as... becoming? The Inbetween? Because he’s got reason to be invested in Karl’s powers and keeping him in line. But it’s a reach or long-term thing at best, honestly, so I’m shelving the Quackity-smile association until further evidence appears.

(I could go bonkers and say that this is the culmination of c!Quackity’s ascension after ripping Information out of Dream or even XD, but that’s well into AU territory, so it’s all just shrug emojis for now.)

Which, of course, leads to the question of who that smile actually is associated with, and I think as clear an answer as we’re going to get is... The Inbetween itself. Clearly.

There’s a lot of meaning I could take from that; is it associated with Dream or XD then? Or maybe is it tapping into Karl’s memories of c!Dream doing the :) thing and it’s appropriating that for itself? Why? To intimidate Karl into obeying it?

Mayhaps. Mayhaps!

Anyway, Karl goes up to the tree, and as he approaches, the video feed distorts as the game abruptly switches to a higher-level shader like BSL or something.

Now, I haven’t confirmed it, but the way the audio shifts makes me think it suddenly started playing backwards, too. It’s just the way it sounds; it’s got that... sucking effect that’s pretty typical of musical tracks played backwards.

Karl swims down to the hidden room, which is very dark now. There is a book that tells him to go up the ladder for a surprise.

Also, by the way, I’m back on my wither rose pot association brainrot, because I can’t help but notice that there isn’t one here. There was one in the previous Inbetween segment, but it’s gone now. Now there’s a new book with the :] smiley, which of course should set the audience on edge, since we just saw the first book use it in a... mildly threatening manner.

We know that in Dream SMP it’s a pretty common thing to use redstone as blood. Other characters have used it in bits, some more seriously than others, and I think that’s what this room is trying to emulate.

If I had to guess, I’d... hm.

A part of me wants to say that the blood is probably from the different versions of Karl wandering around. Nobody’s going to notice if a few abruptly take a swerve to bleed themselves out in a room or something, right? But that carries a lot of implications, namely that of control so perfect it borders on possession. So either the Inbetween can control Karls, or it has some other agent capable of dragging something into this chamber to bleed it all over the room.

Neither of those options are particularly nice, I’ll admit!

There’s no Kingdom Hearts associations here, by the way. Due to being so closely tied with Disney, KH is deathly allergic to portraying blood in any way lmao. Not so many messages carved into the walls.

Or painted onto the walls with blood, if that’s what that is. Color correction gets a bit odd with shaders, so I’m not saying anything for certain; the closed books don’t look enchantment-purple, for example.

What does catch my eye are the torches, which will later be the flickering lights that guide Karl to the portal. The fact that they are here makes me think that this was definitely the scene of either a battle or some other conflict between the two sides to this story (haha, get it, Another Side, Another Story, because that’s a Thing in KH—), or at least proves that an influence from The Other Side was here at some point in time.

Karl quickly gets the fuck out of there, and when he swims back to the surface the shaders/music switch back to normal.

Oh, and for all you people who like to point fingers at anything vaguely false and scream “that’s gAsLiGhTiNg!!!1!!111″ about it, here’s an actual attempt at gaslighting. Note the language used here: “Your mind seems to be playing tricks on you :]”. It’s explicitly trying to convince him not to trust his own senses and mind. It’s saying, let me think for you. And that is a very dangerous thing.

Wither rose pot exists again, yay. Definitely a Inbetween voice, this book.

More wither rose book, this time in the, uh, grand entrance hall? The lobby? Yeah.

This book basically goes on a spiel about how the Inbetween is so great for Karl (a declaration, by the way, rather than a hope) and says that he is doubting himself or being less like himself, which is odd, because what he’s really doing is doubting the Inbetween and the path it has laid out for him. In a way, by questioning the Inbetween, Karl is being truer to himself than anything else.

The malicious way this place frames its words becomes more and more obvious with each passing page; it again reminds him that it’s a place to be “feel at ease”, which is super sketch that it has to tell him outright rather than actually being that place. It continues attempting to gaslight him, telling him that his imagination is getting away from him and that he can’t trust himself or anything else but this “path”.

I’ll get back to the “path” thing in a minute, but I really want to drive home that this is the truest instance of gaslighting we’ve ever had on the Dream SMP. Nothing has ever so clearly declared that it must be trusted over the victim’s own senses, practically infantilizing the victim’s concerns and trying to make them think that their worries are just flights of fancy. Please, please keep this in mind any time you want to accuse a character of gaslighting in the future; not all psychological abuse is a form of gaslighting. Sometimes it’s just... abuse. It’s not any more or less worse than gaslighting, it’s just different.

Anyway, about the “path” that the Inbetween is so obsessed with. No idea what the fuck that’s talking about.

In Kingdom Hearts, the only paths that are really of import are is a specific character’s “road to dawn” (redemption without fully yielding his edginess, essentially) or the “paths” that characters take to traverse between different worlds. I really don’t think the Inbetween has anything to do with either of them, but I’ll leave the options there if you want to peruse the possibilities.

What’s more likely, I think, is that this is a vaguely more subtle version of control/possession. The “path” is just “whatever the Inbetween wants you to do”.

Our next book is from the other side, and is plastered nonchalantly but boldly against the wall with no flower pot or anything.

Karl picks it up, puts it in his inventory (which probably indicates that he’s keeping this particular route close to his heart, rather than whatever the Inbetween is trying to make him do), and then the video stutters and he teleports back to the main entrance.

There’s a new book. It’s spooky as fuck, and hilariously hypocritical.

The tone shift is immediate, of course, aided by the abrupt change in background music since he got teleported back here. (I can’t quite nail it down; I assume it’s a slowed KH track like the others, but it doesn’t quite ring any bells for me.) The way the Inbetween speaks through these books has changed too, though; it addresses him by name without any attempt to cover up its intentions with flowery softness.

It does a cool fun thing where it says that it knows more than Karl, and knows what’s right, and then goes on to say that those visions shouldn’t dictate his opinion on the inbetween. (I’m keeping an eye on that lowercase, by the way. Not sure if it’s a typo or intentional, since it’s still one word, but.) As though he should trust the Inbetween’s opinions of itself rather than his own brain? A’ight. Sure, Jan.

Again it tries to tell him that it’s safe here. The lying is getting more transparent now.

He puts this book back, the previous book back, and runs after a double of himself until the shaders and music glitch again.

Fun thing about shaders is that they make dark areas... much, much darker. Especially since we saw that Karl’s got night vision (the effect, for cinematic purposes) on.

The music has a few notes that again sound as though they’re being played backwards.

The book on the tree in this courtyard does not come with its own little wither rose pot, and neither does it seem to come from the Inbetween, since it’s telling him some awful things about these other versions of himself.

It confirms a few things about the mystery other selves, namely that they’re definitely condemned to walk the castle forever, but it doesn’t really tell us why this happens or why the Inbetween (probably) wants this to happen. What’s the end goal?

We’re probably a bit early in the story to figure that out, but they’re questions worth keeping in mind as this storyline progresses.

Karl gets teleported back to the main lobby, which looks very dark and spooky, though in the transition we do see a glimpse of that portal. There are torches around the wither pot book pedestal, and the audio really kicks into high gear with the creepy notes and the visuals get stretched and glitch quite a bit as he opens the book.

Funnily enough, the audio kind of reminded me of some pokemon encounter music, but I think that’s just because I’ve got those notes wired into my brain from years of playing those games. Anyway! The book tells him this is not a warning, and that they’re gonna fucking come for him to make sure he sticks with their path.

“We”.

Who is “we”? Is the Inbetween a collective? Is the Inbetween just part of a different whole? Maybe it counts all the different Karls as a part of it.

Either way, it’s creepy and threatening. Karl starts running; the screen glitches and tells him to follow the torches, which at first I was kind of leery about trusting, but the next series of words helped clear up exactly what side those words are on.

Also, you’ll notice that some other text kinda skitters across the screen before the English, like it’s getting translated. I think it’s Galactic, which is something different from the thing that Ranboo uses for Ender? I think Ranboo uses the Alien language thing or something? I’m not 100% sure on that, feel free to correct me and I’ll fix this portion.

It certainly implies that the speaker isn’t communicating in the server equivalent of “common”, however. Not sure if they’re translating into English or if Karl inherently understands it and it’s translated into English for the audience’s convenience, but either way, the other speaker might be linked to something completely different.

Karl runs on with encouragement and creepy music until he finally arrives at the portal, which is not barred off like it was last time. Thanks, whoever’s responsible for that!

The music dies for this final book.

The Inbetween’s last-ditch attempt to make him stay. It calls him silly a couple of times, and smiles at the end with a :]

Problem is, we and Karl already know that staying with the Inbetween will keep him from his friends. And the voice tells him to leave for his friends.

Karl looks around at this place that calls itself his sanctuary, and makes his decision.

He arrives at The Other Side.

The music appears to be drawn from parts of either The Other Promise or Roxas’ Theme, both of which are heavily tied to the character known as Roxas. The version that Karl uses is slower and lower, the same as with the Dearly Beloved track he uses for his Inbetween segments.

Honestly, I’m not as certain on this as I could be, because I couldn’t find the exact variation on Youtube and there are parts that could just be Emotional rather than Roxas-related, I’m not sure. I’ll probably come back and fix this if it’s untrue.

EDIT: Yeah, uh, it’s Ven’s theme, not Roxas’, but the world itself is still heavily associated with Roxas in naming themes.

For now, I’m going off the assumption that the decision to make both the name and the theme of this world relevant to Roxas is purposeful, which means I’m... going to attempt to explain who Roxas is and what his story is.

Oh boy.

To grossly oversimplify the situation, Roxas is a “part” of Sora who develops his own sense of identity, is betrayed, gets coerced into murdering his best friend, gets kidnapped, gets memory wiped, and then—when he gets his memory back and realizes he super hates his captors—is convinced by those same captors to give up his existence because he “isn’t a real person” and if he lives then Sora will never wake up. So he “dies” and becomes a part of Sora again until later.

(Sora, by the way, is asleep due to the events in Castle Oblivion, which you might recognize as That Place I Keep Associating The Inbetween With.)

He’s also a fan favorite lmao. Take from that as you will, and, I don’t know, flip through his wiki page or something. Can’t guarantee it’s all understandable though.

My point to bringing Roxas up is that his arc... kind of parallels Karl’s. He did his job working for superiors he didn’t really understand in a white castle, with the higher-ups trying to control him, until he realized he was losing his friend/s to them. At that point, he defects. I think this is the point that Karl has reached, in his own storyline. He’s pulled away from the thing that’s made itself known to him, and now he’s wandering down something that hopefully isn’t as awful as the beast he’s just left behind.

Roxas also doesn’t get his happy ending for a long, long time.

Let’s hope Karl is different.

Off the top of my head, I can tell you that the mood this world creates is very reminiscent of some areas that the Kingdom Hearts games explore in 0.2 (yes, zero point two, that is the number of that game. This fucking series, man), specifically Castle Town, in which the player character has to smack a bunch of clock gears to make time go backwards in order to proceed, which is fun. But no exact inspirations come to mind the same way that Castle Oblivion did for the Inbetween.

Until we get a better look at the interiors, I’m going to gently claim that this build is more original and doesn’t take inspiration quite as directly from a Kingdom Hearts source, so there might not be an exact parallel. There isn’t a black castle in Kingdom Hearts that I can think of, honestly.

Also, I will say that I’m going to take this episode as confirmation that the wither roses are associated with the Inbetween and appear next to books that come from / are related to the Inbetween, especially since The Other Side associates itself with a completely different flower: the white tulip.

Anyway, The Other Side tells him he’s home, and that they’ll explore more soon.

This... eerily parallels the Inbetween, which told him that he’s safe, and has lots to explore.

I can’t say that I immediately trust The Other Side, but neither can I say that I inherently distrusted it the same way I did with the Inbetween. We’re going to have to wait and see how this place behaves in future episodes to get a good grasp of it. Who built these places? Are they alive, and writing the books, or is there a mastermind behind them? We still don’t have a lot of the answers, but that’s okay.

For now, I’m content to know that Karl is away from the more obvious perils of the Inbetween.

It could still be a trap, but for now, it’s a refuge.

[levi-lover]

New Light Part: 2

College Levi x Reader(Modern AU)

W/C: 5.2k 

T/W: None

A/N: Levi is a moody English major who spends his free time reading at the local cafe. I’m having a lot of fun writing this ! (pic from pinterest)

I’ve put all the parts in one list here:  New Light Masterlist

Levi’s POV

Levi and Erwin sat in silence on their drive home. The blinker would occasionally fill the car with a strong click. Levi counted the lit up rooms in the passing apartments. Five, Six, Seven… He wanted to keep his mind off of you, the way your hair framed your face, your hand caressing the mug, the way you pressed your lips together when you listened someone speak. 

“So, how long have you known (Y/N)?” Erwin asked as if he knew Levi was thinking about you.

“A couple of months,” he responded. 

“Do you like her?” Erwin prodded. 

“She’s nice,” Levi said. 

Erwin nodded, he knew better than to ask further. 

This was how their conversions normally went, Erwin would begin with a blunt statement and Levi would respond in a short manner. From an outsider’s perspective, it might have seemed like the two men weren’t friends but this dynamic worked for them. Erwin was straightforward with what he wanted and Levi didn’t like talking about personal subjects, even with one of his closest friends. 

When they arrived to their shared apartment, they said their goodnights and went into their rooms. Erwin had to be up early tomorrow for a debate meeting and Levi wanted to be alone. After they moved out of the dorms they decided to keep living together because it was the most cost effective option and plus Levi liked that Erwin was as neat as him, almost as neat. They lived in an old, walk-up apartment ten minutes away from Wall Rose University in a quiet neighborhood. They’ve been living there for three years now and had no plans to move out anytime soon. 

Levi opened the window slightly to let the cool air in, raindrops fell from the gutter and filled the dark bedroom with gentle taps.. He laid down on the bed and breathed in the smell of the city and old books in his room. He closed his eyes and let his body melt into the bedsheets, he used the same lavender fabric softener his mom loved. Mmm, I should give her a call tomorrow, he thought. He felt his thoughts bounce around in his head but he was too tired to unravel them. Levi focused on his breathing and eventually his thoughts subdued into lenient bystanders. 

There was silence around him when suddenly, you popped up in his thoughts. Levi let out a small sigh. Fuck, what are the odds of her knowing Hange. Hange of all people,the one person who doesn’t know how to shut up, Levi thought. Frustration began to fill his chest. He wanted you to meet his friends and he wanted to know more about you but he didn’t want it to happen like this. Levi wanted to do it right with you. He knew wasn’t the most charismatic or hospitable person and romance wasn’t his forte. Romance, Levi thought and chuckled. He remembered Erwin’s earlier question. Do I like her? 

He sat up and pinched the bridge of his nose with his index and forefinger. He didn’t have a ton of experience with romance. His only relationship with Petra ended in a disaster, she broke up with him after feeling neglected for months. That was never Levi’s intent, he loved her but he didn’t know how to express it. Whenever he saw her on campus she would always give him a smile and wave which Levi would reciprocate. He regretted the way everything ended but he was thankful she didn’t hold a vengeance against him. He was 18 and foolish but he was older now and slightly less foolish. 

Levi looked out the window and started to form a plan in his head. It was evident he had some sort of feelings for you, you were funny, pretty, easy to talk to and you cared about what he had to say. He smiled as he remembered how earnestly you looked at him while he explained the latest book he was reading, he started reading books he thought you might like. Shitballs, maybe I do like her. There was nothing he could do now, he didn’t want to do anything until he had a better understanding about what you were thinking. He nodded his head, proud of his plan. 

The hardwood floor creaked as Erwin walked over to the bathroom. Outside of the window, the sky was beginning to glow with a soft orange hue. Levi closed the curtain, pulled off his clothes and tucked himself into bed. He curled his body around a pillow and slowly began to drift off, eager to wake up to begin his plan. 

The crisp autumn hit your face as you opened the doors to the lecture hall. You felt light and airy after finishing your genetics midterm. It was one of the hardest tests you’ve taken but you felt okay about it. Hange had helped you study for the past week and their enthusiasm and studying techniques helped you out immensely. I owe them big time, you thought. Your phone buzzed in your pocket, it was Hange.

Hange: U FREAKING DID IT!!! IM SO PROUD XD

You: thank uuu, i feel good about it! 

Hange: YAY! We’re out in the park blocks! Join us!

You: ok !

You stared at the screen and re-read the conversation. Join us...they must mean Levi and Erwin. You scoffed the tip of your boot into the pavement, the familiar feeling of nerves began to dance in your stomach. Slowly, you made your way to the park blocks, the on-campus park where students would have picnics and study sessions. Students began to pour out of lecture halls and other buildings, eager to celebrate the end of midterms week. There was an undeniable feeling of excitement as they cheered and laughed. 

You stood at the edge of the park looking for the trio. Levi waved his hand from a picnic bench and smiled at you. Your heart momentarily stopped and you realized you’ve never seen him outside of the cafe. He was wearing a hunter green sweater and his black overcoat. The wind feebly moved through his hair but even from farway you could see the deep circles around his eyes. You made your way to the trio and gave out a half-hearted hello.

“(Y/N)! How do you feel?!” Hange shouted.

“Fucking relieved,” You said. Levi smiled. 

“I’m proud of you, (Y/N). Hange told us about all the hours you studied for the exam.” Erwin gave you a thumbs up. 

“Thanks, dude. How were your midterms?” You asked as you sat down next to Erwin. 

“They went well! I think I got an A on my Political Theory exam but we’ll find out soon enough.” 

“Erwin, you clown, you know you aced that test.” Hange rolled their eyes. “But thanks to the lovely Levi, I know I got an A on my essay.”

Levi frowned. “Tsk, I was surprised you even knew how to spell.”

Hange hit Levi’s shoulders and he swiped back. 

“Hey, stop it you two,” Erwin scolded. “I swear, they’re like children.” 

You laughed and nodded. The Levi you knew was always stoic and calm but Hange brought out a different side of him. He looked happier even when he was annoyed. You grabbed a dead leaf from the table and started to pull it apart, rubbing the dead plant bits between your fingers. 

“Are you good?” Levi’s voice broke your concentration. You looked up and met his gray-blue eyes.

“Yep, all good here.” You smiled at him and he returned one back. 

“That’s fantastic! So tonight. Ymir’s Bar at eight. Got it?” Hange ordered. 

Erwin and Levi nodded in response and looked at you. Your eyes darted between the three of them.

“Uh, I would love but I’m hanging out with a few people tonight.”

“Please, join us! Your friends are more than welcome to come, the more the merrier,” Hange begged.

“I beg to differ…” Levi mumbled.

“Shut up, grumps.” Hange elbowed Levi and returned their gaze back to you. “It’ll be fun, I’ll buy you a shot.”

You rolled your eyes, “fine, but I’m buying you a shot. I owe you, Hange.”

Hange squealed and clapped their hands. “Yay! My friend, Moblit will tag along too. You haven’t met him yet but he’s great and such a talented artist. You’ll love him.”

“Sweet, I’m excited, can you send me the address?” You responded. Hange nodded. 

“Who are you hanging out with?” Erwin asked.

“Oh, uh. My boyfriend and some of our friends,” You muttered. 

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. (Y/N) why didn’t you tell me?” Hange asked, heartbroken. 

Erwin glanced at Levi. He was looking at the grains in the table, his heart sank but he knew better than to let his friends know. 

“I don’t know. It didn’t seem like the most important thing to talk about during our study sessions.” You were unsure why but you felt defensive over Hange’s comment. 

Hange looked hurt at your response, you felt a pang of regret. You didn’t mean to keep your relationship a secret but your life didn’t revolve around your relationship so it felt pointless to bring him up. The air around the table was tense and cold. The sun was setting and the four of you were on the brink of being enveloped by the shadow of a large lecture hall. 

“Regardless, I’m eager to meet your boyfriend and friends,” Erwin said in a strained voice. 

“Yeah, I’m excited for all of you to meet. I think I’m going to go home and get ready.” 

“Of course, we’ll see you soon,” Erwin said in a quiet tone. 

You waved goodbye to all of them, the trio waved back and you made your way to the bus station. As you waited for the bus, you sent your boyfriend a message to meet your new friends at Ymir’s. He sent back a simple thumbs up emoji as a response. You pulled out a pair of headphones and blasted music to drown out your thoughts. Yet Levi’s face kept on appearing in your head, the way the sunlight caressed the hard lines of his face, his honest smile when he was with his friends, the way his eyes lost their glow when you announced you had a boyfriend. We never did anything. Hell, I didn’t even know his name until last week so why should I care what he thinks. We’re just coffee shop friends, that’s it. The bus pulled to the stop, you waited for everyone to exit before entering and made your way to the back window seat. The glass was cold on your forehead but it felt nice. You sighed, preparing yourself for a night out with your new friends and your boyfriend.

Levi’s POV

After you left, Hange and Erwin looked at Levi with concern in their eyes. Levi noticed their stares and glanced up at them.

“The fuck you looking at,” he growled.

“Levi, I’m sorry,” Hange whispered.

“About what?” He scoffed.

Erwin was about to speak but Levi abruptly got up and buttoned his coat. “I’m going home. I’ll see you both at Ymir’s.”

Erwin and Hange exchanged a look and nodded. When Levi made up his mind there was no stopping him. They watched him walk away, his head was slightly lower than usual. Levi walked over to the bike rack and unhooked his black low handle bicycle. In one smooth motion, he drapped his leg over the seat and began to peddle home. The wind hurt his face and burned his lungs but he pushed harder and harder on the pedals. Crouching down on the seat as he biked up the hills, hoping to ride away from the bench to run away from his disillusion that you could love him.

A few hours later, Erwin, Hange and Moblit entered the apartment. Hange called out to Levi.

“Hey, Mr. Grumps! We have something for yoooou!!” They called out.

Levi moaned and rolled out of bed, his bare feet hit the cold ground as he dragged himself to the living.

“What is it, Four Eyes? Hey, take off your disgusting shoes,” he scolded. “Oh, hey, Moblit.”

Moblit raised his head slightly as a hello. He wasn’t a man of many words. Hange held up a bottle of whiskey and grinned. “So we could pre-game. Take this as a thank you present for helping me write my essay.”

Levi rolled his eyes and smiled. He was touched by Hange’s generosity but he would never dare show it to them.

“I’ll grab us some mugs,” Erwin said and began to walk towards the kitchen.

“No, Erwin! Tonight’s a shot type of night,” Hange said deviously.

The three men looked at them and hesitantly nodded. They wanted to relax and unwind but a  night out led by Hange always ended up with someone’s head in the toilet. Still, they each filled a shot glass, cheered and downed the alcohol. They drank for a while, everyone’s faces were glowing. Hange was blasting music and dancing. Moblit watched them with admiration. Erwin and Levi were giggling over something stupid Erwin said.

Erwin looked at the clock, it was closing in on 8. “Shit, we should get going.”

“Hey, man watch your mouth. And maybe we should stay in. It’s cheaper,” Levi said.

“Levi, noooo. We can’t do that. We told (Y/N)  that we would meet her at Ymir’s!” The alcohol was already getting to Hange.

“Who’s (Y/N)?” Mobit asked.

“My friend from genetics! And Levi’s too,” Hange proclaimed.

Levi rolled his eyes. “Tsk, she’s not my friend. I hardly know her.”

“Mmm, if you say so.”

“Whatever, let’s go,” Levi said curtly.

The four of them grabbed their coats and headed to Ymir’s. It was only a ten minute walk from their place. Hange let everyone know that you had already arrived and saved a table on the back patio. As they walked, they talked about their finals and plans for the upcoming break.  When they arrived at Ymir’s, they pushed open the door and entered the humid room. The bar was full of people celebrating the weekend, a couple was making out in one of the booths and people were lined around the bar. They ordered their drinks and walked through the back doors.

Levi’s hands began to sweat and he felt a lump in his throat when he saw you. You looked beautiful under the glow of the patio lights, you were smiling and had a beer glass on your lips and you were laughing. Erwin stood in place and Hange stopped their chatter.

“Oh, so that’s what they’re doing now,” Hange spouted.

They were referring to Zeke who had their arm around you and to Porco and Pieck who were sitting across from you and your boyfriend.

You saw the group at the back entrance and waved. Your nerves from earlier were completely forgotten after your second beer. Zeke rubbed his thumb against your shoulder and you smiled out of habit. You made eye contact with Levi and gave him a toothy grin, his eyes darted away. Your friends looked at the party headed towards them and stopped talking but you didn’t notice.

“Hey, I was wondering if y’all forgot where the bar is,” you joked but no one laughed.

“Erwin. Levi. It’s been a while,” Zeke stated.

You looked at him confused. “What? You know them?”

Zeke chuckled, “yeah, I guess I do.”

“Zeke, it’s nice to see you again. Same to you Porco and Pieck,” Erwin stated.

Porco and Pieck looked at each other and smiled. “It’s nice to see you too, Erwin,” Pieck said in a sweet voice.

Levi glared at the way Zeke’s arm was draped across your shoulder. He gritted his teeth. Hange noticed how tense he was getting and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“What a small world! I’m glad everyone knows each other. Guys, sit down!” You motioned at the empty seats at the table, completely misreading the space.

Hange was the first to sit and the rest followed. The table was quiet for a few minutes, everyone sipped on their drinks.

“Levi, I like your scarf,” You pointed to the black scarf draped across his body.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, it’s such a nice scarf,” Zeke repeated.

Levi gave Zeke a dirty look. Hange looked at him nervously and Moblit put a hand on their knee to calm them. You took another sip of your beer.

“Yeah, Zeke, it is a nice scarf. That’s why I complimented it. Anyways, how do you all know each other?” Confidence surged through your veins thanks to the alcohol.

“We were floormates freshman year,” Levi’s dry voice said.

“Wait-oh, I see,” You said.

Erwin began to make casual conversation with everyone while Levi stared at the bottom of his glass. Hange and Moblit joined Erwin and conversed with the other two at the table. Wait, is Zeke the one that called Erwin’s kickback lame? That’s the only possibility, right? Your head was dizzy from the alcohol but the puzzle pieces were starting to fall into place.

“Hey, (Y/N),” Porco called out.

“Huh?”

“You good? It looks like we lost you there for a second.”

“Yeah, Porco. I’m fine,” You said sarcastically.

“Zeke, you and (Y/N) make a good couple,” Erwin said.

Zeke chuckled and squeezed you closer to his toned body, “I know but thank you.”

You kept your head down unsure about what to do. It was evident that Zeke had an issue with Erwin and Levi but you didn’t fully understand why. From what you heard, Zeke was the one who was mean to the other two but Zeke was your boyfriend so you should be on his side, right? You took another swig of your beer.

“Levi, are you still with Petra?” Pieck asked.

Petra? Who the fuck is that, you thought, anger coursed through your veins.

“No,” Levi said.

“Oh, that’s too bad. She was such a lovely girl,” Pieck sighed.

“Who’s Petra?” You asked.

No one answered your question. You looked at Pieck but she kept her eyes down. What the fuck is up?

“She’s a girl I dated freshman year,” Levi explained.

“Oh.”

Hange broke the tension by shouting, “(Y/N), I promised you a shot! Who else wants one?”

Pieck, Moblit and Erwin raised their hands. Hange called over a server and asked for a round of shots for everyone. A few minutes later, they brought tequila shots for the table. Everyone grabbed their lime and raised their glass.

“To finishing finals!” Hange exclaimed.

The table repeated what Hange said and took their shot. You and Porco laughed at Pieck’s face and she stuck her tongue out at you. Zeke kissed your cheek and you leaned into his warm body. For a second, it felt like it did at the beginning of your relationship. You felt safe and hopeful but those feelings disappeared when you caught Levi looking at you and Zeke. Immediately, you pulled away and Zeke frowned. You weren’t one for PDA but after a few drinks you didn’t mind showing your man some love but under Levi’s eye it felt wrong.

“Let’s do another shot!” Hange shouted.

“Hange!! Let me buy you a shot!!” You shouted back.

“(Y/N), you’re the best!!” Hange exclaimed, their cheeks glowing under the lights.

Everyone took another shot and the mood around the table began to lighten as everyone got drunker. Porco made a few jokes that made Erwin laugh. Zeke talked to Hange about their senior thesis. Everything seemed to be falling into place except for Levi. He didn’t make an effort to hold a conversation with anyone. He stared at the empty shot glasses and occasionally smiled at whatever Erwin said.

The patio lights shadows made Levi look heavenly, the soft glow bounced off his pale skin and you tried not to stare but you couldn’t, he looked so pretty.

Zeke could sense that your thoughts were taking you elsewhere so he gave you a kiss on the check. You gave him a smile in return.

The bar was packed and everyone at the table was talking after a new round of drinks. It should be a perfect night, all of your friends seemed to be getting alone but something didn’t feel right. In that moment, you wished it could have been Levi holding your body. Stop, Levi is just a friend, that’s it. I love Zeke. You repeated in your head over and over.

As the night dragged on, you slowly began to lose touch with reality, everything became a happy, surreal blur. Throughout the night, Zeke kept his hands on your body. Before that would have kept you grounded but now it felt off, you weren’t sure if it was the alcohol but you didn’t want him to touch you. You kept on smiling and talking to everyone until the bartender called for final orders.

“This was nice but I think we should get going now,” Erwin declared.

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Pieck said.

Everyone gathered their belongings and started to walk towards the front door. Zeke walked ahead with Porco and Pieck but you stayed behind with the others. Erwin, Hange and Moblit left you and Levi together alone. Hange’s arm was wrapped around Moblit’s shoulder. They leaned against their body and continued talking.  

“Hey, I had a good time tonight,” You said to Levi who barely acknowledged your existence.

“It was okay,” He stated.

The two of you followed the others.

“But what are the odds of us forming a friendship in this way, right?” You said.

“Tsk, a friendship? We hardly know each other, I wouldn't push it,” Levi responded.

“I guess you’re right,” You muttered.

Levi felt bad about his harsh tone but he didn’t know what to do. He still had the same warm feeling in his chest from before but watching Zeke touch you hurt him. All of you had exited the bar and you walked over to Zeke and he placed his jacket over your shoulders.

“Well, it was, uh, nice to catch up with all of you. Hange thank you for helping my girl study. Get home safe,” Zeke said. You smiled and everyone and waved.

“Zeke, the same to you too. Glad to know you’re doing well. (Y/N) congrats on finishing midterms. See you later,” Erwin said.

“I love yoouuu! I love all of you!” Hange shouted. Moblit still had his arm around Hange to stabilize them.

“Love you too, Hange!” You blew them a kiss.

They all turned and began to walk home. Porco and Pieck had already left in their Uber. You looked at Zeke and he gave you a smile and you smiled back out of habit.

Zeke made conversation on your way back to his place. You wrapped your arms around your body and counted the steps in between each street light. The air around you was dry and your breath fell to the ground in a transparent cloud. Eventually, you made it to Zeke’s apartment, it was highrise close to downtown. When you entered the apartment your attention immediately went to the large windows. They faced the city skyline and the lights poured into the living room and gently outlined the minimal furniture in the room. Zeke led you to the bedroom and began to kiss the back of your neck. His beard tickled your neck and left goosebumps on your skin. You rolled your shoulders and stepped away.

“Come on,” Zeke groaned.

“No, not tonight. I’m really tired,” You said.

You made your way to the bathroom and turned on the harsh lights. The lights bounced off the white tiles and highlighted the bags under your eyes. You stared at yourself for a while, the longer you stared, the faster your thoughts swirled in your head. Is Levi made at me? You splashed cold water on your face and tried to wash off the awkwardness from tonight but no matter how hard you scrubbed, you couldn’t get the image of Levi staring at the empty glasses out of your head.

When you walked back into the bedroom you saw Zeke passed on the bed. You smiled at him and placed a blanket over his body and brushed his hair away from his forehead. You curled up on the opposite side of the bed and wrapped a blanket around yourself. Zeke’s soft snores filled the room, normally that was enough to lull you to sleep but lately it was becoming more of a nuisance. Why am I feeling like this? I love Zeke and he loves me back, that should be enough. So why do I feel so unsure? Zeke wasn’t your first partner but he was your first proper love. Everything beforehand had felt like practice for this.

The two of you had met in the spring term of sophomore year. The sun was shining and you we’re sitting on a blanket with Rico bouncing off ideas for research projects. You kept an eye on the baseball team who were practicing near the two of you. Rico was in the middle of explaining her ideas when a baseball flew in your direction.

“Heads up!” shouted a deep voice.

Both of you covered your heads as the ball flew over your blanket. The footsteps of one of the players was nearing your spot.

“Hey, I’m sorry about that.”

You tried to look up but the sun was blinding your eyes. You were able to make out the outline of a tall, man with broad shoulders and wavy blonde hair. He flashed a charismatic smile and said,“the name’s Jaeger. Zeke Jaeger.”

You introduced yourself and Zeke knelt down so his head was at your level.

“Nice to meet you. I feel about almost hitting you. Not sure what happened, normally I have perfect aim.” He winked at you. “Let me make it up by taking you out for a drink, your friend is more than welcomed to come.”

You blushed and thanked him and began to decline your offer when Rico interrupted you.

“She, I mean, we would love that. Here’s her number and mine, too.”

“Thanks, I’ll shoot y’all a text.”

Zeke stood up, grabbed the ball and gave you a wave before running back to his team. From that point on, the two of you had been inseparable.

You drifted off thinking about those first memories, the sweetness of his touch, the excitement of loving Zeke, the hopefulness you had. If you kept on thinking about those moments then maybe they would manifest back into your life. You wanted back that stability in your love so much it hurt your chest.

The next day you rolled over to an empty bed. Your hand traced the cold sheets and you kept your hands in the sunlight, the warmth felt good compared to the draft in Zeke’s bedroom. He preferred a colder bedroom, he said it was better for the body. The front door opened and you pretended to be asleep. Zeke’s footsteps got closer to the bed and you felt him press a kiss to your cheek, he smelled of sweat and musk. Who goes on a run after a night out? You thought. The showerhead turned on and you heard Zeke sing.

You got up and rummaged through Zeke’s drawer and pulled out a navy cardigan. You wrapped the fabric over your body and padded your way to the kitchen. The kitchen was colder than the bedroom.

“Fuck, who lives like this?”

You poured yourself water and stared at the tiles on the walls. Re-playing Levi’s comment in your head. Tsk, a friendship? We hardly know each other, I wouldn't push it. You didn’t blame Levi for his harshness but his comment hurt. There was no denying that you two shared a kinship that was a bit deeper than friendship. Romance wasn’t the word for it either. The relationship you had formed with him felt safe, you felt understood and respected in a way you haven’t really before. Your concentration was broken when you heard Zeke enter the kitchen.

“Hey, babe. Good morning.” He pressed a kiss to your temple. “I bought you a smoothie.”

“Thanks, Zeke,” you responded.

He grabbed the smoothie from the fridge and smiled at you. You sat on the counter and began to sip on the drink. Zeke hummed to himself and began to pull out a pan from the cupboard.

“Whatcha thinking about?” you asked.

“Life.”

“Like, the gameboard?” You joked.

He rolled his eyes. “Honestly, I’m thinking about last night. I never thought I was going to see those guys ever again.”

“Mmm, why did something happen?” You said nonchalantly.

Zeke chuckled, “stupid freshman things. We were all young and dumb.”

He stayed silent afterwards as he went on to fry some eggs. The eggs sizzled in the pan and he whistled quietly. You knew him well enough to know he wanted to say something else.

“I mean, I did dumb stuff when I was freshman so how bad can it actually be?” You prodded.

Zeke stared at you with a series expression. “Look (Y/N), I don’t really want to hash out what happened but-” he hesitated as he looked for the right words to say, “-be careful around Levi. There’s something off about that guy.”

“Oh,” you muttered.

You continued drinking the smoothie, the smell of the egg was making you nauseous and you started to feel the hanging over. You went back into the bedroom and laid down. Your phone buzzed and saw a text from Hange.

Hange: OMG i’m so hungover, i don’t remember getting home

You: Hange, WTF that’s not good lol but I know you were in good hands ;)

Hange: wut does that mean??

You: Moblit lol he was so nice and caring

Hange: … no comment but what are you doing

You: nothing really, why?

Hange: do you want to get brunch?

Hange: it’ll just be the two of us :)

You: yeah, i would love that, send me the address !

The smell of egg had entered the bedroom and you gagged. You hated the smell but Zeke insisted that it was the best way to get protein in the morning. You grabbed your belongings and walked to the kitchen again. Zeke was sitting at the counter eating the eggs and drinking his smoothie while reading the paper.

“Hey, I think I’m gonna head out!”

“Really? I thought we could spend the day together before I leave,” Zeke responded.

“You’re leaving?” You paused while putting on your shoes.

“I thought I told you. My internship is taking me on a trip for the next three days and then I’m heading home for the break,” Zeke said in between bites of food.

“Shit. You didn’t tell me. How about we hang out later today?”

“Yeah, I guess that sounds good to me. I’ll see you later,” he said.

“See ya.”

You went back to your apartment to freshen up and hurried to the diner Hange was it. You stepped through the doors and immediately saw Hange’s smiling face. They were waving you to their table. You greeted them with equal excitement and walked to them. For the past few weeks, some of your favorite moments have been hanging out with them. They always brightened your mood with their cheerful banter and love for life. You were excited to eat brunch with them and question them more about the history between the trio and your boyfriend.

[nerdypanda3126]

Countdown to Midnight

This was written for the @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers Sprint Fic Challenge. 

The rules are three 15-minute sprints with 24 hours for light editing, which includes new writing to smooth transitions or make it feel complete. (I only added like 600 words this time! Yay!)

Prompt: New Year's party with a New Year's kiss

Read on Ao3

—1 Hour to Midnight—

Marinette bit at her thumbnail and checked her phone yet again as she waited for the increasingly late Métro. A minute hadn’t even passed since she’d checked it last. But every minute counted tonight. She only had an hour to get to the party, find Luka, confess everything to him, and somehow ask him to be her New Year’s kiss. More and more this plan was starting to seem too complicated. How had she let Rose talk her into this? Oh, that’s right, Rose had sighed about how romantic it would be and Marinette couldn’t possibly have argued with that logic.

M: waiting on metro. might not make it

She sent the text to Juleka, then resumed biting her nails.

J: I’ll wait a bit to tell him 😢

Marinette wanted to throw her phone. This was her chance! And because of a stupid late train she was going to miss it.

—30 Minutes to Midnight—

Someone tapped Luka’s shoulder and he turned to find Juleka frowning at him.

“She’s not going to make it.” Juleka was actually raising her voice to be heard over the music, which was a first. She waved her phone at him to indicate the text she’d gotten.

His heart dropped to his shoes, but he shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “I didn’t think she would.”

Juleka gave him that look. She knew he was lying, but wasn’t going to call him out on it. Still. A strange sense of relief washed over him, mixed with a dose of worry. If she wasn’t here, then where was she? But if she wasn’t here, then he wouldn’t have to wonder if he could ask to kiss her at midnight or if she would maybe kiss him or—

He shook his head clear and smiled at Juleka before he tapped his fingers against his empty cup and used it to gesture downstairs. Juleka nodded and as he turned away he let his smile drop. He definitely needed another drink.

—20 Minutes to Midnight—

As Marinette stepped onto the deck of the Liberty, the party was in full swing. How was she even supposed to find Luka in the middle of all of this?

She found a spot along the wall where she could watch the other partygoers. All of them were swaying to the music pouring out of the Liberty’s speakers, all of them had red cups in their hands, and all of them had already paired up for their midnight kiss. Maybe Luka was out there with someone else? Not that—it was okay if he was because she hadn’t—okay, so maybe she needed to tell him she wanted to kiss him before she got jealous that he might kiss someone else for the first time of the new year. But first she had to find him.

—15 Minutes to Midnight—

Luka sighed as he tucked himself into the cockpit. It was the one space that wasn’t crowded by bodies, and the music was fainter here, although the thudding bassline still rattled the glass. It had taken him all of fifteen minutes to struggle down the stairs, get himself another drink from the fridge, and swim back upstream until he ended up here. If he could take a minute and hear himself think, maybe he could convince himself he was actually okay that Marinette was somewhere else. Probably with someone else.

When Juleka had told him Marinette would be coming and the way she had refused to tell him any more about it had made him think—but it’d been stupid to get his hopes up anyways. He sighed again and tapped his fingers on his cup along to the booming bass from the deck as he slid to the floor and stretched his legs out. Just a minute here and he’d rejoin the crowd. He closed his eyes to recenter himself. Just for a minute.

—10 Minutes to Midnight—

"Have you seen Luka?" Marinette shouted to Juleka over the music. Juleka tapped at her red cup. He'd gone to get a drink? When? And if he wasn't there could she get downstairs and back up before—?

She tapped at her wrist and Juleka frowned in sympathy before she shrugged. Marinette huffed and pushed her way towards the stairs.

—5 Minutes to Midnight—

Luka's eyes snapped open when his phone chimed in his pocket. He'd drifted off for a minute or two there. He rubbed his eyes before he checked his phone. Five minutes to go, then. The text was from Juleka. As he read the preview on his screen, his heart started thudding in his ears.

J: Marinette’s looking for you 😘

Juleka didn’t send kiss emojis to him. Which meant she was implying that—

He started to his feet and tore out of the cockpit. He had to find Marinette. He checked his phone again. Four minutes to go.

—2 Minutes to Midnight—

Marinette was frantic. No Luka downstairs. No Luka on deck. No Luka anywhere to be found and with two minutes to go. She thought she'd have enough time. She thought she'd be able to make it.

She shoved her way back upstairs, hoping that maybe she'd just missed him in the crowd.

And as she reached the top of the stairs, there he was. Although he was facing the other way, his phone clutched in his hand, and he seemed to be searching for someone.

He ran a hand through his hair and pulled up his phone, typed up a text, and he looked up again when he sent it. Marinette clutched her own phone. When it buzzed not a second later she almost dropped it. But a quick glance at her screen showed her it was from Luka and a smile stretched across her face. Luka was looking for her, too.

—1 Minute to Midnight—

Luka spun in place. He’d texted Marinette to try to figure out where on this houseboat she was, but he wasn’t expecting an answer in the next sixty seconds. So what? He tried to reason with himself. Marinette wanted to kiss him. Wasn’t that enough? Why did there have to be a deadline on it?

But then his eyes caught on hers. She’d been downstairs, maybe retracing his steps from earlier. She was holding her phone up, smiling, and she waved as a perfect pink blush bloomed across her cheeks. He was drawn to her as if pulled by a magnet—irreversibly and inevitably. She pulled herself up the last few steps and stood in front of him.

“Hi,” she mouthed.

“Hi.” He knew he was grinning, although he couldn’t seem to stop.

“30 seconds!” Someone said over the microphone. “Better find someone to lock lips with because it’s almost time for the count!” The crowd whooped collectively, but Luka’s eyes hadn’t left Marinette’s.

He raised his eyebrows in a simple, silent question. Her blush darkened as she nodded to answer him and took a step closer.

As the countdown from ten began, his hands fell to her waist and her breath hitched as he pulled her a step closer to him.

5 — Marinette pushed up on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck.

4 — He leaned his forehead against hers, and she wasn’t sure if it was the music pounding in her ears or her heartbeat. He was so close.

3 — Her warm breath fanned across his lips and his eyes fluttered closed.

2 — She slid a hand into his hair at the nape of his neck to ground herself in this moment, here, with him.

1 — One of them moved, impossible to tell which of them, and their lips brushed against each other, featherlight, before they fell together.

Happy New Year!

There were little pops all around and Marinette could feel confetti raining down on them from the tiny champagne bottle fireworks she’d seen everywhere tonight. Luka lifted her against him, supporting her with an arm around her back and even though she knew the cheers around her were for the New Year, she felt like cheering, too. She smiled into their kiss and dug her fingers into his hair, committing every second to memory.

He lowered her back down, still refusing to let go of her lips until her toes touched the planks of the Liberty.

“Happy New Year, Marinette,” he said in her ear before he pulled away.

When she opened her eyes again, she giggled and brushed some of the confetti out of his hair. “Happy New Year, Luka. I think it’ll be a good one.”

[bangtan-sonyeonddaeng]

Jungkook Prompt request:

1. “Have you ever kissed anyone before?” 74. “I didn’t take you for the settling down type.”

 Y/n! Do you want to come watch a movie with me?

No honorifics? I’ll have to think about that then. 

Sorry, noona! Will you please spend my day off with me? I really want to watch this movie with you. 

What movie is it?

You’ll just have to come over and find out!

Is it Your Name again?

......

Jungkook 😂We’ve seen that movie together like 5 times already!

I know! But it’s my favorite. Pretty please 🥺

Nooo don’t give me that pouty eyes emoji

Noona 🥺🥺🥺 please 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Ugh fine! Fine. I’ll be there in like an hour.

🥺🥺🥺

.....30 minutes

🥰 yay! See you soon! 

You quickly got yourself ready, not wanting to keep Jungkook waiting. You knew how much he loved his movie days with you and you always found it endearing that he wanted to spend his days off with you watching his favorite movie. 

True to your word, you showed up at his apartment 29 minutes later. You knocked on the door and were almost immediately enveloped in a hug. 

“I’m so happy to see you!”

“You too, Kook. How have you been? It’s been a while since I have seen you, did you get taller?” You try to reach up to ruffle his hair but he stands on his tip toes so you hand is just out of reach. 

“I don’t think so. Maybe you just got shorter.” He teases. You stick your tongue out at him playfully and he laughs at you. You’ve always loved the sound of his laugh, frequently it sent butterflies into your stomach at the sound and the adorable way his nose scrunched up. 

“So, shall we start our movie marathon night?” He nods his head and takes your hand to lead you to sit down on the couch with him. Skinship wasn’t unusual for the two of you. Often times by the end of the night Jungkook’s head would end up in your lap with your fingers carding through his hair. He always fell asleep so quickly whenever you played with his hair and it filled your heart with warmth to know he was able to relax that easily around you. After you are both settled on the couch, he starts the movie and sings along with every song that comes on, and humming along to the ones that didn’t have lyrics. You find yourself watching him and listening to him singing more than the actual movie. His voice made it feel like your soul was singing along with him. 

About half way through the movie you can tell he stops paying attention and is fidgeting with his hands, like he’s afraid to bring something up. You let your hand move to his thigh and rest it there, giving him a comforting squeeze and a smile. His gaze meets yours only for a second before he looks away and turns his attention back towards the movie. He mumbles something but you don’t quite catch what he says, so you ask him to repeat himself. 

“I said I really want a love like that someday.” Oh? That was new. In all the times you’ve been watching this movie with Jungkook he’s never actually told you why he likes it so much. 

“Is that why you like watching it?”

“Yeah. It just, makes me think maybe someday I can have something like that. Although I know it’s not real but still. The idea that fate has tied us to someone and our souls are meant to be together is a wonderful thought. It gives me hope.”

“It is a rather romantic idea isn’t it? Have you ever been in love before?” He blushes all the way up to his ears. 

“Um.. I mean.. not exactly? I’ve liked people before, but it’s never went any farther than that. I only want to fall in love once and that’s with the person I am meant to spend the rest of my life with. I want to hear the bells, you know like everything in this movie.” You can’t help but smile at that. 

“I didn’t take you for the settling down type.”

“Really? Why?”

“I don’t know it’s just... you’re young. I figured you’d want to live up your 20′s like most guys would.” Jungkook scoffs at that. 

“No thank you.”

“Have you kissed anyone before?”

Jungkook blushes even more at this questions and stutters so much you don’t quite understand what he said. 

“What was that, Jungkook?”

“I said no. I haven’t.”

“Do you want to kiss someone?”

“W-why are you asking me that?”

“I’m just curious! Don’t you want to know what it’s like?”

“Well yeah but only if it’s with the right person! I don’t want it to be with someone who only likes me for my money or status. Or someone who might drop me right after they get what they want from me.”

“So you want it to be with someone you trust?”

“Yeah.” 

“Have you met anyone like that?”

“Um.. I think so?”

“Someone I know?”

“Noona quit teasing me!” He grabs a cushion off the back of the couch and whacks you in the chest with it and you can’t help but let out a fit of laughter. 

“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to tease you, I’m just curious is all. Because outside of BTS there are very few people you actually consider yourself close enough to that you would trust enough with that.” He grabs the pillow and holds it up to his face and mumbles something into it. You know it’s something he clearly didn’t want you to hear so you let it go, turning your attention back to the movie. You see Jungkook texting something out of the corner of your eye and a moment later your phone goes off. You lift an eyebrow at him questioningly but he doesn’t meet your gaze. He’s staring hard at the movie and clutching the cushion tightly to his chest. You open the message from him and what you read sends your heart thudding wildly in your chest. 

It’s you. 

Those two words cause your brain to cease functioning. You? Jungkook wants to kiss you? You stare at him but he seems to be too nervous to see your reaction as he continues to watch the movie. So you take out your phone and send him a message back.

You can kiss me if you want to, Kook.

He opens the message and you swear his eyes nearly pop out of his head as he reads it. 

“R-really?!”

“Mhm. I’ve liked you for a while now, just didn’t think you’d be interested in me so I never said anything.” 

“You really like me? You’re not just saying that because you feel bad for me or anything right?”

“Jungkook what kind of person do you think I am?”

“Right, you’re right I’m sorry. Forget I said that.” He looks down at his hands and picks at his nails nervously. You place your hand gently on his cheek and turn his gaze to face you. 

“If you don’t want this you can tell me to stop, okay?” He nods but doesn’t make any movements to push you away. So you lean in and place a quick peck to his lips, not wanting to overwhelm him right off the bat. You pull away and he chases after your lips and presses yours back together. It’s at that moment that the bells chime at the end of the movie and Jungkook jumps a little in surprise. He knows it’s just the movie, but he can’t help but think maybe this was a sign that you were meant to be it for him. When you both finally pull away he’s smiling at you so widely you think surely his cheeks must be starting to hurt. 

“So how was that for your first kiss?”

“It was more than anything I could have ever hoped for.” You smile back at him and settle into a comfortable silence, your head resting against his shoulder as he snakes his arm around your waist. 

“Um.. y/n?”

“Hmm? Yeah?”

“What um... what does this make us?” 

“What do you want it to make us, Kook? We’ll go at your pace, whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“I don’t know this is all new to me. I don’t know the order of things and how this is supposed to work. Like do I take you on dates first?”

“Let me ask you a question then. Would you be upset if I kissed someone else?”

“Yes.”

“If I went on dates with someone else?”

“Yes.”

“Then I think you want us to be exclusive right? Boyfriend and girlfriend? There isn’t an order to these things it’s just how comfortable you feel and how quickly or slowly you want to move with me.”

“Boyfriend sounds nice. I want you to call me that.” 

“Okay then, boyfriend.” You peck his cheek and swear he looks like he’s going to combust. “You wanna watch another movie?”

“Sure. Yes. Another movie sounds fantastic, I’ll go pick one!” He flies off the couch and you can’t help but find him adorable.You weren’t expecting your movie night with him to turn out quite like this, but you can’t say you’re upset about it. When he pops another movie in and turns around and meets your gaze, his eyes are literally shining with how happy he looks. And it’s in that moment you resolve that you will never stop trying to make his eyes light up like that for the rest of your life. If Jungkook wants forever, then you are more than happy to give that to him.

[endydancer1]

We used to be strangers | Part 6

Pairing: Tom Holland x Y/N Lincoln

Summary: Tom has just finished his latest movie and his heading back home to London. While he is passing the high building, suddenly something happens what changes his life completely. What is the shadow up there?

WARNING: Mentions of injuries, blood, depression, thinking of suicide.

..................................................................................

"Tom, get the fuck out of the bathroom! You are having a shower for almost an hour! There are 3 other boys living in this house if you haven't noticed yet!" Haz was forcefully knocking on the bathroom door. He had been standing there for good 20 minutes. Tom had went to the shower at 10 am and it was almost 11! Finally the lock clicked and the door opened showing naked Tom  wearing only a towel around his waist.

TOM'S POV:

"Holy Odin, thank you. What did take you so long?! Don't tell me you were actually showering 60 minutes!" Haz looked at me a bit annoyed.

"I was. I am sorry. I needed to shave and clean myself properly." I glanced innocently at him.

"Oh so you had to shave. Why?  Are you going on a date? You normally don't spend that much time in a shower even if you are shaving. So what's up?"

"No, I don't have a date. I just.. Want to look nice, you know? I am coming to hospital to see Y/N."

"Oh, I see now. So you are finally falling for someone new. And while she is in hospital she can't run away from you when you would want to play with her, right?" Haz teased.

I just rolled my eyes and pushed him out of my way.

"Yeah, that's my dark plan. But it's a secret, don't tell anyone or I will be forced to play with you too." I smirked and walked into my room.

"You need someone to play with you already cuz you are unbearable." I heard Haz laughing before I closed the door behind me.

"Well, what should I wear?" I was standing on one place for good 3 minutes directly looking into my closet. - What am I doing? I have never been thinking that much about what should I wear on the regular day. I don't even shower that long. Was it really an hour?- I looked at my phone. - It was! Oh God. I wasn't that nervous and didn't care that much about my look even when I went on a first date with Anna. And another thing is I don't even have a date today! It's just.. Casual visit of someone I saved, right?- I just sighed and took step closer to my closet.

"Hmm, what about this? Jeans with denin jacket. It's a bit casual, but hey, I won't spoil anything with that." I dried my hair, dressed myself and walked out of my room. There was no one except me and Haz in the house.

"Harrison? Are you ready? Can we go?" I shouted waiting in front of his room.

"I am waiting for you in the living room you div!"

"Sorry! I thought you were still in your room!" I came down to living room.

"Well not everyone is as slow as you." He stood up and took his car keys. "Let's go!"

After lunch we went to the shopping centre, because I needed to buy something for Y/N.

"Uhm, Haz? What should I buy for Y/N? I promised her to watch movies with her, but I don't know which she would want to watch."

"Well, you probably should have asked her."

"You are not helping mate!"

"I am sorry, I am sorry, I am just messing with you,haha. Well, from what you have already said about her, she doesn't know you are an actor. So probably you can show her one of your movies."

"I don't think it would be a good idea. I don't want to look like a selfish prick. And.. What if she is that kind of girl who would want me only because of my money and fame?" I glanced at my feets and played with my fingers nervously.

"Tom, I understand, but you said she sent you a heart emoji and it's a good sign!" Haz poked my arm gently and a laugh a bit.

"Yeah, but she probably saw my Instagram profile and she probably knows I am famous by now."

"Well..it's also possible, but maybe she doesn't know yet. You know what then? Take one or two Marvel movies. Iron Man or Thor, or Avengers, to see if she like these kind of movies, take some romantic comedies, you know, because girls like them, right? Take your favourite movie and maybe.. Oh yeah, try any of your movies where you were young. If she notices it, you know? The Impossible or In the heart of the sea? "

" That can actually works. Thank you Haz, what would I do without you." I smiled at him. "And we should borrow it from movie rental, because I doubt they have Netflix in the hospital." I chuckled. We borrowed 5 movies.

"Mate look at this hoodie! I need it! Haz, I need it!"

"Oh God Tom, you have tons of Spiderman hoodies! You really don't need another one..."

"But look at it!"

"It's just saying Mr. Stark I don't feel so good! Tom, this meme is over."

"Well not for me. I am gettin' it and you can't do anything about it!"

"God, fine! Buy it, but hurry up if you want me to take you to hospital." Haz rolled his eyes and waited for me outside the shop.

"I've got it! Yay!" I rushed out of the shop full of joy from my new purchase.

"You are such a kid Tom, you know? How old are? 5?" He laughed at me. "Let's go. You should buy some snacks."

"Why? I am the snack, she can eat me" I joked.

"Or you can eat her, huh?"

"Harrison! But yeah.. Maybe I will!"

"One day.." Haz sticked his tongue out.

We teased each other the whole ride to the hospital. Harrison told me to call him when I wanted him to pick me up. We said our goodbye and I went into the building.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Brown. How are you? I know I am here a bit early, but I here to visit Y/N." I smiled at young lady at the reception. Her face had already dropped while I spoke. Sad smile appeared on her face.

"I am sorry, Mr. Holland. You should go home and rather forget about her."

"W-what? Why? What happened? Is she okay?"

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but she probably won't survive much longer."

"What? You have to be joking? I was talking to her yesterday. She was fine. What happened? If it has something to with that Melendez guy I am sorry. But ple, don't joke about her dying, I.."

"I am not joking, Mr. Holland. I would have never joked about such a thing. She is my best friend. And she is dying. So please,don't make it even harder for me."

"C-can I.. Can I at least see her? One last time?"

"I am sorry, you can't. She is on fluid resuscitation right now."

I could feel my eyes started watering. I felt familiar anxiety and my heart almost stopped working. My palms started sweating, I felt dizzy. I had to sit down for a moment.

"Do you need water, Mr. Holland?"

I wasn't able to speak. My voice was caught deep in my throat. My eyes were blankly staring at the wall in front of me. I didn't even notice when she left to grab me some water.

"Here, drink it." She handed me cup of water and crunched in front of me. "Listen, I know how you feel. Y/N is amazing person, you don't know her for a long time, but I am sure you could see that. She doesn't deserve to die like this and this soon, but it's what it is. We have to deal with it. She wouldn't want you to cry over her death. She would want you to continue your life with joy. Let's honour every moment we could spend with her and if the worst comes, we should let her die in peace. " She gently rubbed the back of my hand. I looked at her with puffy red eyes.

" I don't want her to die. " I said with raspy voice.

" I know. Me neither, but she was diagnosed with severe damages to her body, her condition is really miserable and there is only a small chance of her to survive this even with the best doctors and facilities."

I growled and put my head into my hands. I didn't even try to keep my sobbs quiet. Mrs. Brown hugged me tightly.

" Psst. It will be okay. I feel the same. You are not alone. But you should go home now. Spend some time with your family and friends. It's okay to cry, but don't let it affect you in other ways. Do you have someone to pick you up?"

"What's her diagnose? What happened? Can you at least tell me so I know when she.. When she dies what causes it?"

"She suffers a septic shock. It's severe condition when 50% of patients dies, because of multiple organs failure."

"But.. She was okay yesterday. How could it happened?"

"Septic shock is caused by sepsis which does not respond the treatment.  Your blood pressure drops to a dangerously low level after sepsis."

"Oh my God." I gulped and felt dizzy again. My skin was pale.

"Mr. Holland, look at me. Do you have someone to take you home? Can you give me your phone so I can call you someone?"

I can't remember properly how I managed to unlock my phone and handed it to her. Her voice was muffled and my head hurt. I didn't know how much time passed, but suddenly Harrison appeared in front of me.

" Hey, mate. I am here, I am here. Can you stand up? I am taking you home." He helped me to stand up and led me in the car. He managed to sat me on the front seat.

"Wait for me I need to speak to the nurse. Can you do that?"

I nodded absently. He walked back to the nurse I was talking to, Mrs. Brown. She explained what happened and what he should do with me. After a minute or two, Haz took me home. I cant tell you how long the ride was, because only thing I could think about was Y/N. She was dying. Dying and I couldn't help her. I only spoke to her for a few hours, but I had already felt the bond between us. I couldn't lose her. I didn't want to be sad, broken. Not again. Not after Anna. I prayed in my head. I prayed so hard. - Please God, I have already lost the love of my life. Please, I don't want to see another person die. I have just started to have feelings for another woman, after years of being alone and crying over my sweet angel, I found another one, or at least I think I found. And you want to take her from me too? -

"Tom, Tom, please look at me. Don't cry mate, I know it's hard. I am here. Please look at me." Haz was looking at me, obviously worried. Somehow he managed to lay me down on my bed.

"Tom, do you need something? A water or something to eat?" he sat next to me on bed. I stayed quiet, not really listening what he was saying. He just sighed.

"I will give you some space. You should sleep a bit. I will be downstairs if you need something." He stood up and walked to the door.

"Stay.. Please.. I need you."

A/N: Let me know what you think about this story so far. Sorry for my English, it's not my first language and I am new with this. So I would be happy and thankful about the feedback. Have a nice day! 😊

[theladyofdeath]

Alone in the Ashes {24}

A Court of Thorns and Roses fanfction, characters belong to Sarah J Maas. Modern au. Revolves around Nesta x Cassian, Feyre x Rhysand, and Elain x Azriel. Other characters appear throughout. Based on multiple prompts sent in by anons tbr below.

Warning: Mature content. Alcohol abuse, verbal abuse, drugs, sex, language, eating disorders.

For summary & chapter index, click >  Alone in the Ashes {Acotar}

Word Count: 2.6k

A/N: Remember that one time when Lucas and Nathan faced off on the rivercourt for Peyton’s affection? Yeah. Good times.

Anyways, even I said “What the fuck” at the end of this chapter...Enjoy “The one before the finale”. x

“I'd always thought death would be some sort of peaceful homecoming - a sweet, sad lullaby to usher me into whatever waited afterward.” ― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin

“Lain?”

It was the week before Rhysand and Feyre’s wedding, and everyone was going out to celebrate. All but Elain, who offered to stay home with Mila so that Azriel could enjoy himself. He’d been on edge too often, lately. He needed a good night out.

Besides, Elain was pregnant and nauseous and the last thing she wanted to do was be out with a bunch of people when she couldn’t drink and was too damn tired to dance. 

“Yes?” Elain asked from where she was perched on the other side of the couch.

“Is the baby in your belly a boy or a girl?”

Elain chuckled. “We don’t know yet. What do you want the baby to be?”

Mila took a minute to think about it. “I don’t care. I just want someone to play with.”

Elain’s smile softened. “Well, soon enough, baby will be here.”

“I be a big sister?” she asked, with hope in her sweet, innocent eyes.

“Sure will,” Elain confirmed. “The best big sister!”

“Is Uncle Azzie going to marry you?” Mila asked. “Like Rhysie and Feyre.”

“Maybe,” Elain said, in all honesty. “But not right now.”

“I want you to marry Uncle Azzie,” Mila said, sighing as she pet Elain’s cat, Ginger. “We could all live together in a big house. Me, you, Uncle Az, and baby.”

Elain watched Mila as she kissed the kitten’s forehead. “I would like that, too.”

“Good,” Mila beamed. “Can we watch t.v.?”

“It’s getting late,” Elain said, huffing a laugh, a hand on her stomach. The morning sickness wasn’t as bad, but it tended to linger throughout the day. 

“Please?” Mila sang, big eyes pleading.

“Alright, but only for a little while,” Elain said. “When i say it’s time for bed, it’s time for bed.”

Mila jumped up on the couch, arms in the air. “Yay!”

Elain turned the station to a kid’s show as she pulled out her phone and texted Azriel, What did this child have for lunch? She has enough energy for all of us.

Azriel’s reply came a second later. Chicken nuggets.

Then, it was followed by, A cherry icee might have happened, too.

Elain laughed to herself as she typed out, Oh, good. Get her all sugared up then leave her with the pregnant woman.

“Lain, do you have ice cream?”

Elain shook her head. “How about an apple?”

Mila groaned. “Fine.”

As Elain went into the kitchen, her phone vibrated in her hoodie pocket. Azriel had said, I can always come home. I’m only ten minutes down the road if you need me.

Have fun, Elain had texted back. Enjoy yourself. We’re good over here. After adding a green heart emoji, she pressed send. 

After washing an apple and cutting it into slices, Elain walked back into the living room, where Mila was snoring, using Ginger as a pillow. Shaking her head, Elain took her place at the other end of the couch.

When she pulled her phone out of her pocket, it read, Kiss Mila and the baby goodnight for me.

Elain’s cheeks turned pink as she smiled. Every night, Azriel pressed his soft lips to Elain’s stomach, to the bump that had formed there.

I will, Elain had typed back. Always.

~~~~~~

“I feel bad for leaving Elain,” Feyre frowned. “She deserves to have fun, too.”

“She offered,” Nesta reminded her. “Besides, she’s been up at the crack of dawn puking her guts up. The woman needs to take sleep when she can find it.”

Feyre agreed before taking another shot.

Shots were on Mor, and the rounds kept coming. Feyre had already texted Rhysand once, to see where Cassian and Azriel were taking him, but he had replied that he didn’t know, that it was a surprise, and that he was scared shitless because any surprise that involved Cassian was asking for trouble.

Feyre didn’t disagree. 

“One week from today,” Amren began, eyes bright, intoxicated, “you’ll be a married woman.”

“Any idea where you’re going for the honeymoon?” Mor asked. “Rhys let anything slip?”

“Not a thing,” Feyre groaned. “And it’s been driving me crazy.”

“Any guesses?” Nesta asked.

Feyre took a second to think about it. Yes, she had guessed a few times over the past weeks, but Rhysand had let nothing slip. “My guess is Adriata. He knows I love the beach.”

And even now, as Autumn was beginning, Adriata was as warm and sunny as ever. But every time Feyre had guessed as much, Rhysand just shrugged and said, Guess you’ll have to wait and find out.

The handsome bastard. 

“You know what we should do?” Mor asked, then looked to Nesta. “Designated driver, pull the car around, please. We have to get the bride prepared for her honeymoon.”

Feyre groaned, but Nesta was already on her feet, hurrying out the door.

Five minutes later, they were gathered together in Nesta’s car, driving down Main Street. 

“Where are you taking me now?” Feyre asked, exasperated.

“You’ll see,” Mor crooned.

The endless list of surprises was about to drive Feyre insane.

They pulled up to a little lingerie shop and dragged Feyre out of the car.

“Is this necessary?” she asked. “Rhysand prefers me naked.”

Mor rolled her eyes as Amren said, “You can’t go on your honeymoon without a solid selection of overpriced lingerie.”

Feyre laughed, unable to argue as they entered the shop.

The room was filled with lace and silk, varying in styles and choices.

“Fine,” Feyre sighed. “Everyone pick out something and I’ll get it, no questions asked, but after this, we drink!”

Feyre was answered with laughter and hollering as she crashed in a chair near the dressing room. 

She would be married, Rhysand’s wife, in one week. It almost didn’t seem real. Everything was going so well, so smoothly, so beautifully, even with the rushed planning.

One week, with her girls by her side, and apparently a bag packed full of lingerie, ready to go wherever the hell Rhys was taking her after the ceremony... She would be her best friend’s wife.

~~~~~

 The back of Cassian’s truck was down, a twelve pack of shitty beer sat on the unhitched gate, and rock music poured from the radio as the three friends played basketball on the small court along the Sidra. 

Rhysand’s mom used to take the three of them there, from the time they were in middle school and fell in love with the sport. It had always been a safe haven, so it made sense why his two closest friends would gather an ass-ton of beer and take him to the court for some bonding before he got hitched in a week.

Cassian had a beer can pressed to his lips as he dribbled the ball to the free-throw line. 

“Anything new about Eris?” He asked.

Azriel cleared his throat. “No, but Amarantha calls and leaves a voicemail every other day, claiming the prick won’t give up. Which, I believe. Eris isn’t the type to be told he can’t have something and drop it.”

Azriel had gone to court a few days prior, and Eris had left furious after he’d been granted nothing. It was a win, but Rhysand could tell Azriel’s worry lingered.

“No matter what happens, she’s going to get older, you know? Eventually, she’ll have questions about them both, and I’m going to be the bad guy for saying, your mom’s in prison, and your dad’s a dick. Sorry, can’t see either of them.”

“Doesn’t make you a bad person for wanting to protect her,” Rhysand said. Cassian raised his beer in agreement.

“So I hear,” he mumbled, and surely Elain had been constantly telling him the same thing. “Nervous?” Azriel asked, where he stood beneath the hoop, undoubtedly hoping to get the conversation off of him.

“About playing against Cassian?” Rhysand asked. “Hardly.”

Azriel chuckled. “About getting married, dumbass.”

Rhysand grinned. “Not really. Nothing to be nervous about.” 

People were still around, the sun yet to have completely sink down, walking or jogging along the walk by the river. None of them seemed to care that they were drinking in a public area, or that their music was obnoxiously loud. 

“I’d be nervous,” Cassian muttered, throwing his empty can at his truck bed - and completely missing. 

“If you were marrying Nesta?” Rhysand asked. “Fuck, any man would be nervous. Or, you know, completely terrified.” 

Cassian snorted, but didn’t deny it. “About getting married in general. Everyone staring up at you, watching you stare lovingly into each other’s eyes as you proclaim your love…”

Azriel laughed, taking the ball away from Cassian and dribbling it up to half court. “That’s bullshit, you love attention.”

Cassian’s grin only widened. Rhysand said nothing as he watched Azriel dribble up to the three point line, all he could do is laugh as Cassian took a step forward to block his shot, but stumbled.

And yet, Azriel shot the ball and it missed the backboard by a foot.

Maybe they’d all had more to drink than they had thought. 

But none of them chased that ball as it rolled off the court, and out onto the grass, near the riverwalk.

Where a young man picked it up, saw Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel, and grinned.

So did his companion. 

Rhysand froze, and Cassian started charging forward, but Azriel quickly grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back.

Tamlin chuckled. “That’s right, control your bitch.”

He and Eris stopped at the edge of the court.

Those walking past must have sensed the tension, because they began receiving strange looks as they stood atop the court in silence. 

And yet, they all kept walking past. 

“I hear you’re getting married next week,” Tamlin went on, strutting onto the court, ball bouncing on the concrete. “I suppose I should congratulate you. And my beautiful Feyre.”

Rhysand said nothing, but Cassian spat, “Leave.”

“How about we play?” Eris suggested, but he was looking at Azriel. “It’s been a while since we played.”

“You’re not welcome here,” Azriel said.

“Where is my daughter, by the way?” Eris said, looking around. “With your whore, no doubt.”

Now it was Cassian’s turn to grab Azriel by the arm. It only made Eris’s grin wider and far more wicked. 

“We don’t want trouble,” Rhysand said, plainly. “Give us our ball back and go.”

Tamlin did no such thing. “I think a game would be fun. Me and Eris against Cassian and Az. Rhysand, you could referee. Wouldn’t want you getting injured so close to your big day. Feyre will need you to be able to...perform. We all know how needy she is in bed, especially on her wedding night.”

Rhysand’s jaw hardened. “Why are you here, Tam?”

“We were walking by,” he said, shrugging. “We can’t stop and say hello?”

“No,” Cassian said, plainly.

“Then perhaps we’ll stop and say hello at the wedding, instead,” Tamlin crooned. “I hear it’s not far from here. By the woods, along the Sidra…”

“If you show up at the wedding-” Rhysand growled, but he was cut off.

“You’ll what?” Eris laughed. “Ask us to leave like you’re doing now? How’s that approach working for you?”

“I’ll handle it,” Cassian said, voice low. “And, considering the state I left you two in after our last encounter, you know that’ll end.”

Eris’ smile faded. “You were lucky, filled with that unholy rage that’s landed you in a jail cell more times than I can count.”

Cassian took a step forward, and this time, Azriel didn’t stop him. “You know what you’re problem is?” Cassian asked, looking between the two of them. “You grow up, spoiled, getting everything you’ve ever wanted, and now, you have this unwavering entitlement that makes you think you’re fucking invincible.” He took another step forward. “But you’re not. One day, you’ll get what’s coming to you, and your daddys won’t be there to help you out.” 

Tamlin grinned as he met Cassian in the lane, closing the distance between them. “Spoken like a true bastard, who killed his own mommy and whose daddy didn’t want him.”

Cassian’s body went still.

Azriel’s face went pale.

Yes, Cassian had a lot of anger. And that anger came from somewhere. And that somewhere was just declared, outright, from Tamlin’s mouth.

Cassian didn’t talk about it, but Rhysand and Azriel knew. In high school, Cassian had found his mother dead in their living room. Then, unable to handle the pain of loss, he fled for weeks and no one saw him. The rumors that came from that were unbearable. But that’s all they were, of course, fucked up rumors.

That Rhysand was certain Tamlin and Eris had been the ones to spread.

“You need to leave,” Rhysand warned.

But Tamlin didn’t move.

Nor did Eris.

Instead, Eris pulled a small knife out of his pocket and flicked it open. He used the sharp tip to clean the dirt out from under his fingernails.

Utter rage consumed Azriel’s face. 

That man was Mila’s father.

Cassian was unleashed.

He instantly tackled Tamlin to the ground, Cassian’s fist colliding with his jaw. Then Eris was on the move, charging at Azriel, but he stood his ground.

Rhysand’s can fell out of his hand, spilling across the pavement as he moved toward them, one foot in front of the other, to where Tamlin now had Cassian held down, just barely, by his throat.

What happened after that was a blur of blood and chaos.

Women who walked past walked by quickly, and a few men eventually came to try and break it up, but they were only swept into the fight themselves.

It became an all out war.

“Call the police!” a woman yelled, and Rhysand had hardly heard her above the madness surrounding him, above the pounding in his ears. 

He had just brought a man down that had gotten him good in the nose when Rhysand spun around, and saw it.

Eris had Azriel pinned against the ground by his knees, one hand holding his face still, the other holding that knife to Azriel’s neck.

Azriel laid perfectly still, breathing hard. Any movement, and the blade would get him.

Rhysand screamed Eris’ name, but when he started to run that direction, he was caught by a random jogger who threw him against the court. Cassian was still tumbling around with Tamlin, completely unaware of what was happening outside of their feud.

It was then that a middle-aged man, who should have been nowhere near the court, stepped behind Eris and tried to haul him off of Azriel.

But Eris was strong, much stronger. He pulled the knife away from Azriel’s neck, only to push the man down with such force that Rhysand could hear him hit the concrete. Rhysand was already on his feet, moving as quickly as he could toward the scene, but he was still too far away.

Azriel took Eris’ distraction to his advantage, though. He grabbed the knife from Eris’ hand and stabbed him in the side. Eris cried out in agony, but Azriel was pushing Eris off of him, and was hurrying to the middle-aged man lying on the concrete, hazel eyes full of horror. 

“Call a fucking ambulance!” he screamed, his voice so loud, so panicked, that the fight surrounding them began to dissipate.

Even Tamlin looked at the sight, looked at Azriel hovering over the man, in horror.

Because he knew that man.

Cassian’s face paled as he dropped Tamlin to the concrete and, blood running from his nose, ran to his truck for his phone. 

Because lying on the ground, still as stone, was Isaac Archeron. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

tag List (to be tagged, comment or send me an ask!)

@throne-of-ashes-and-beauty  @starkovsnesta​   @redisriding​  @photofeesh

@mariamuses​   @tswaney17    @amaranthas-whore​   @awesomelena555

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@hashtolanashoba  @poisonous00​  @chemicha @samotita​

@mynewdreamwasyou​ @humming-asong​  

@candid-confetti @awkward-avocado-s​  @sensitiveillyrian​

@my-fan-side @queen-of-glass​  @stars-falling​

@ifangirlninja  @sleeping-and-books  @burritowithfeels

@morebooks-pls @kindofawalkingpoem​

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@shhhimreading03​ @brittneym15​

@emilyrose111294​  @queen-of-glass​

@negativenesta​  @keshavomit​

@argentumstella​  @sebxstianbarnes​

@itsme-malin

@flora-and-fae​

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@gloriouspaintercreatorbandit​ @iliketoasterstrudels​

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@awkward-avocado-s​  @nightcourtcinnamonroll​

@aelin-rowan-whitehorn​ @bamchickawowow​

@julemmaes​  @itsme-malin

@regular-nessian-trash​  @made-of-stardust-and-wanderlust

@ugh-avila​  @awkward-avocado-s​

@superspiritfestival  @the-dark-swan​  @girlgotattitude448​  @eversincebeirut​

@midnightrose-reader​  @lord-douglas-the-third​  @thestarguidingyouhome​

@empress-ofbloodshed​  @starkovsnesta​ @nickjgoodsell​

Prompts:

{ “I’m gonna fuck you so hard that you forget you ever met that asshole” - Feysand } -anonymous

{ “How about Nessian needing to fake date when they go home for the holidays?!” } - anonymous

{ “could u pls do like an elriel fic where azriel is like this mysterious bad boy and elain is a goody two shoes lik aaaaa i cant get that image out of my head” } - anonymous

[my-major-is-k-howard]

Cyber Connection

Another day, another Parrlyn oneshot. I’ve had this idea in my head for awhile now and finally decided to write it out. Hope you all enjoy this one!

Word Count: 1363

————————————————————

“Aragon! I need your help!” Cathy exclaimed as she burst through the door of their shared apartment. Aragon, who had been peacefully watching a movie just moments before, stood up and approached her flustered friend.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” Aragon asked hurriedly, trying to figure out what Cathy was so riled up about.

“I’m fine.” Cathy took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down before continuing. “You remember that cute girl from the coffee shop I told you about?”

“The barista with green eyes?” Aragon asked.

Cathy nodded. “That’s the one! Her name is Anne.” Cathy shuffled her hand in the pocket of her hoodie before pulling out a small slip of paper. “She gave me her number when I got my coffee this morning.” Cathy showed Aragon the slip of paper with a series of digits on it and a little note that said “text me later xoxo.”

“That’s great!” Aragon commented before her confused gaze returned. “But what do you need my help with?”

Cathy looked down at her feet in embarrassment. “I need your help with getting a phone so I can text her,” Cathy answered shyly.

Aragon chuckled at Cathy’s response. “What happened to the ‘I refuse to buy into the government schemes of mass control guised as cellular devices’ Cathy?”

“I’m willing to set aside my biases for this,” Cathy huffed. “I really like Anne. And, who knows, maybe I will enjoy using a phone.”

Aragon looked at Cathy skeptically before yielding with a sigh. “Alright. Let’s go get you a new phone.”

Cathy squealed with joy and gave Aragon a quick hug. “Thank you, Aragon!”

The two queens set off on their excursion, returning an hour later with Cathy’s new phone in hand. They sat down on their couch as Aragon explained the steps of setting up the device.

“Would you like a password?” Aragon asked, fully expecting the answer that Cathy gave.

“Of course not! I have nothing to hide!” Cathy answered vehemently.

“Then, it’s all set.” Aragon handed Cathy her phone which now had a blue case on it. Cathy took the phone carefully and peered down at the various icons on the screen.

“So… how do I message Anne?” Cathy asked tentatively.

Aragon smiled and helped Cathy open the messages app, enter in Anne’s number, and type out a greeting message. Cathy’s mind was swirling with all the new information, especially with the strange set up of the keyboard. Writing by hand was so much easier than texting.

Cathy slowly finished typing out her first text to Anne before thanking Aragon and running off to her room. She slumped down on her bed and looked back at her phone screen. She read over the message several times, checking for any mistakes even though she knew there weren’t any. Finally, she let her thumb hover over the send button before finally pressing it.

Cathy: Hi. This is Cathy.

After the text was sent, Cathy let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. She still didn’t completely trust the new technology but she was willing to try it out for Anne’s sake.

Cathy jumped in fright when a text bubble with an ellipsis appeared on her phone screen. She only realized what it was when another text appeared on the screen. Anne had replied almost immediately to her.

Anne: took you long enough cathy I was beginning to think you werent going to text me at all 😉

Cathy giggled at the message but stopped when she noticed the strange face at the end of the text. Aragon hadn’t told her anything about face texts so she decided to ask her about them.

Cathy rushed out of her room and back to the couch where Aragon had resumed watching her movie from before. She looked up curiously as Cathy approached. Cathy showed Aragon her phone.

“Oh, she texted you back!” Aragon commented.

“Yeah! But what is that?” Cathy pointed to the small face text at the end of Anne’s message.

“Oh, that’s an emoji,” Aragon explained. She took Cathy’s phone and showed her how to access the emojis from the keyboard.

Cathy carefully took back her phone and scrolled through the first few columns of emojis. She was overwhelmed by the seemingly endless amount of choices.

“Do you use all of them?” Cathy asked Aragon.

Aragon laughed and shook her head. “Not even close! I rarely use emojis at all but occasionally I’ll use the heart emoji or the crown emoji. Though, sometimes they are more efficient to convey how you are feeling. You should check them out!”

Cathy nodded and slowly made her way back to her bedroom. She rested her back against the headboard of her bed as she slowly typed out another response to Anne.

Cathy: Sorry! I’m new to this.

Anne: no problem babes ❤️

Cathy blushed at the nickname before typing out a question to keep their conversation going.

Cathy: How was the coffee shop today?

Anne didn’t respond immediately so Cathy took the opportunity to keep looking at the different emojis. She laughed at a few of them while questioning why others existed in the first place. She highly doubted that anybody desperately needed an emoji for an abacus.

Cathy felt her heart jump when Anne responded. She was still getting used to how quick texting was, and it was only made better by the fact that she was texting the girl she liked.

Anne: pretty chill. I missed seeing your pretty face tho 😘

Cathy felt her cheeks heat up once more at Anne’s flirty texts. She remembered what Aragon had told her about how emojis help convey feelings and decided to respond with her first ever emoji.

Cathy: ☺️

Cathy: I was there in the morning, though!

Anne: but you didnt come backkk 😫😭

Cathy: I’m sorry! I was a little busy after classes.

Anne: its okay babes

Anne: but you owe me

Cathy: Owe you what?

Anne: a date

Cathy smiled widely at Anne’s last message. She felt her heart flutter at the thought of going on a date with the green eyed girl. She typed out a message and browsed the different colors of heart emojis before settling on her favorite.

Cathy: I’d gladly go on a date with you, Anne. 💙

Anne: 💚💚💚💚💚

Anne: yay!!! 🎉🎊🎉🎊🎉

Cathy couldn’t keep her happiness to herself. She once again raced back to Aragon who instinctively paused her movie at the sight of Cathy’s joyful demeanor.

“Someone’s happy,” Aragon commented as Cathy sat down next to her on the couch.

“She asked me out on a date!” Cathy exclaimed excitedly as she showed Aragon the latest texts from Anne.

“That’s wonderful, Cathy! I’m so happy for you!” Aragon replied, reflecting Cathy’s smile with one of her own. She glanced down at her friend’s phone and noticed that Cathy had yet to change Anne’s number to her name. “By the way, Cathy, you can change her number to a name if you want to.”

Cathy looked back down to her phone. “How do I do that?” Aragon walked her through the steps until she was finally able to type in Anne’s name.

“You can make it whatever you want too,” Aragon added with a small wink.

Cathy looked back at her. “Will she see it?” Cathy asked curiously, not wanting to embarrass herself with the idea that was already forming in her mind.

Aragon chuckled. “Not unless you show it to her in person.”

Cathy threw her arms around Aragon and embraced her tightly. “Thank you, Aragon. For everything. It means a lot to me.”

Aragon hugged back just as firmly. “You’re very welcome, Cathy.”

After they parted, Cathy scurried back to her room and looked down at her phone. She bit her lip as she typed in the name for Anne in her contacts. When she returned to the chat, Cathy smiled the sight of “Future Wife 💚💙” at the top of the screen.

It would be years later when Cathy would finally get to drop the first word of that contact name, right after Anne and Cathy officially tied the knot.