#I know it'll get better with time but i wanna be bitter in the moment :

[qsmp-yaoi-island]

Man sometimes I think about how sad it is that purgatory broke the lore progression of the server so badly. Like we had so many good story beats going on (in no particular order):

Everyone breaking rules trying to figure out where the eggs are. The first run-through of the Maze and Tubbo thinking he killed all the eggs in the wheel spin. Foolish being crowned KOC and getting officially hired by the fed. Cellbits despair and murdering rampage. Bagi and Cellbit backstory. Roier backstory and angst. Foolish taking the muder case knowing and covering for Cellbit. BBH kidnapping a worker and Tubbo figuring it out. Baghera covering for Bad despite it hurting her. Tubbos and Freds blooming "friendship" and subsequent kidnapping. Forever happy pills arc. Forever getting stuck in the nether. Fit backstory on his secret mission. Mikes kidnapping and brainwashing. Jaidens fucked up birthday party from Cucurucho. Pol working for the fed 20 years ago. Philza being tormented by the fed and losing sense of reality. Charlie and codeFlippa. Kameto rescue and him being a spy. The giant code structures. The black concrete/"black matter". Cucuruchito being a spy. The mini-mes which "are gonna be super useful in the future." A federation jail and courthouse being built.

It was fine I guess to put all the rp on hold for Purgatory, but the end wasn't worth it at all. Aside from how unsatisfing the ending was and nothing got explained, over half the CCs didn't come back and most of those that did are "non canonically" there gearing up to go back for round 2.

I wasn't expecting any huge lore during the holidays but I really don't expect any of these storylines to be resolved until February, that is if some of them are even brought up again at all. Like at this point I don't care if the main story is driven by NPCs, I just want the CCs characters to be involved in the story at all.

[syoounn]

Hi! I hope you're doing well :)

Could I was wondering if you could write a gn!reader who is sick and refused to take their meds. So PM Dazai and Fyodor who are already fed up and annoyed with the whining about feeling sick, take the pills and water into their own mouth and kiss the reader to make them take their pills. And afterwards saying something to make the reader swallow.

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•BSD men with a stubborn sick s/o

•Characters: Fyodor, Dazai, + Chuuya

━━━━━━━━━━━━ Fyodor ━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Everything felt dizzy... as you lay down the couch while you wait for Fyodor to come back. You don't know when you felt so heavy, as you heard the door unlocked and saw Fyodor.

"Welcome, baaack.." You said while he saw you completely looked sick.

Fyodor's expression falls the moment he notices the state you're in. He approaches you, careful not to disturb you too much. He looks worried. "My, my dear, you don't look well." His voice contains a slight note of concern. This is... not something Fyodor is accustomed to. "Are you alright?"

"I dunnnoo.." You said as Fyodor kneels next to you. His hands rest on your forehead to check on your temperature.

"Oh, dear. You must've caught a cold." He then looked at you sighing... he was worried about how you got cold.

"I shall return with the necessary items in merely a second." Fyodor walks off and comes back carrying medications, drink. He sits next to you on the couch and gently places you in his lap. "Now, now... I know this tastes not to your liking, but you must drink it. It'll alleviate your symptoms to a certain extent."

You kept your mouth closed, refusing to drink the medicine.. you hate the way you have to drink some bitter medicine. As you looked away and not daring to even look at what Fyodor was holding.

"Im not gonna drink that.." You said being stubborn after seeing the medicine colour just makes you feel sick.

"Be a dear and make it easier for both of us. I don't want to resort to more drastic methods. Drink it." His tone has grown colder again, a note of annoyance evident.

There were still no signs that you're going to take of you taking the medicine.

"I don't waaaant to..." You said... Fyodor sighs.. and have enough with your protest.. but he can't help to adore your vulnerable state and being stubborn. He loves the view he's viewing right now, but he has no choice but to do it.

As you feel Fyodor's hand on the back of your head, and he tilts you upward. He kisses you on the lips, sliding the cold liquid into your mouth. His tongue forces the medicine down, and just like that, he holds your mouth closed until he's sure you have swallowed everything.

You can taste the bitter aftertaste running down your throat as Fyodor pulls away. You were speechless as he still looked at you with a serious expression of him as you were so stubborn.

A blush spread on your cheek as you kept quiet on what just happened... as he smiled mischievously.

"Now.. close your eyes and rest.. you don't want me to make me use other methods for you to obey, right?" He then kissed your forehead and made sure you're comfortable. It's pretty rare to see this side of Fyodor.. as your eyelids slowly get heavy and make you fall asleep.

━━━━━━━━━━━━ PM Dazai ━━━━━━━━━━━━

"Belllaa~" Dazai won't stop cudding with you as how much you've been saying you're sick and still snuggle up to you.

"We can't cuddle right know..." You said.. slowly nudging him as you felt bad.. you wanna cuddle with him too but you don't want him to get sick.

Dazai continues leaning forward until only their noses are touching, he whispers in a voice that is barely audible. ".. How about we just spend time together until you get better..?"

Dazai's hand remains gently pressed against your cheek, his thumb occasionally gently rubbing against your skin. Dazai leans back as he continues speaking

Dazai keeps smiling and continues whispering, "... Because there'll be no shortage of opportunities to do more than just caring for you."

Dazai's hand remains gently pressed against your cheek as he leans closer once again and speaks with a soft and comforting voice. "You're mine after all.." He said, smiling at you.

You felt more dizzy as you can't really much tell what's Dazai was saying he noticed that you were starting to feel dizzy. His hand remains gently pressed against your cheek, but he leans back. His voice becomes softer, and he grabs some medicine.

He tried to be as convincing as possible as he spoke. He knows you're going to be stubborn when you have to drink medicine.

"Come on, just drink it up. It won't taste very nice, but it'll get your cold control faster so you feel better...then we cuddle you know..?"

He said as he looks at you pleading.. You didn't fall for it as you kept refusing.

"No.. im not going to drink that..!" You said and avoiding his gaze.

Dazai chuckles softly as he speaks, his tone becoming more seductive and comforting as he was slightly annoyed.. how can he cuddle you if you kept going like this..? he then leans closer towards you

"... You're really too stubborn at times, you know that? Fine.. let's do this on easy way.."

Dazai's hand firmly held your chin as it forces your jaw open just wide enough so he can pour the medicine into your mouth. Dazai keeps a firm grip of your chin the entire time so you can't spit it out.

Dazai chuckles as he feels your tongue trying to push the medicine back out of your mouth. Dazai then seals your lips with his, forcefully preventing you from pushing the medicine back out. Dazai's other hand holds you in the tight grip as he forces you to swallow the medicine.

You were surprised as you tried to push him away refusing to swallow it Dazai doesn't give you any breathing space to refuse the medicine as he keeps holding your mouth sealed shut with his. His hand keeps on firmly gripping your chin as you try to move your head away from his. He keeps trying to make you swallow the medicine.

Dazai eventually manages to make you swallow the medicine in its entirety because of how hard he pressed his lips against yours. The medicine is gradually flowing down your throat and into your stomach.

Dazai pulls away smirking as he gave you a kiss again as you clearly start to struggle to breath and a blush spread across your face. Dazai kept repeating the same loop and immediately throw a pillow at him to stopped Dazai.

"Im not done kissing you yet..!" He said.. with the look of lust on his eyes as he took a note of you blushing a smirk can be seen on his face. "Oh..?~ You liked it after all.." He said teasingly.

He then snuggled up to you feeling relief you've taken your medicine.. "Now we can cuddle now..~" You still felt flustered and felt so defeated by his kiss.. Maybe next time you'll drink your medicine with your own will.

━━━━━━━━━━━━ Chuuya ━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Chuuya came home tired.. seeing your state making him so annoyed.. he just wanted to cuddle with and sleep already and now.. he's not able to.

As he takes note of your fever. Despite that, he still wants to comfort you for a bit, even if he is going to end up getting sick.

“I know… but I can’t let you lie here alone like this.”

He sighs as he pulls you into a hug, knowing very well that there’s likely a chance he might fall ill, too. But he is willing to risk it if you could be made more comfortable, even if it’s just for a bit.

"Chuuya don't be stubborn..." He then let of you pouting as he spoke.. “Damnit, Doll… you made sure to take your medicine right?”

You then looked away, avoiding his gaze.. "Well.. uhm.." Chuuya’s eyes narrow as he raises an eyebrow when you mention you haven’t taken your meds yet. “You didn’t take your medicine..” He looks at you with a disappointed look as he sets you out of his arms and sits up in bed. “Why didn’t you take your medicine..?”

"It taste bad and im going to be fine..!" You said protesting.

“So? You still have to take them…” He grumbles as he stands up and walks to the bathroom, grabbing some medicine and a glass of water from the drawer under the sink. He walks back to you and places the water and medicine on your lips. “Just open wide…”

You covered youself with blanket and moving away from him. "I don't waaannnaaa"

Chuuya scowled at how stubborn you’re being, but he’s already made up his mind and knows he won’t stop until you take them. “I know you don’t want to, but you need to.” He tells you sternly as he holds the tablet to your mouth and waits for you to swallow. “Come on, Doll. You know I’m not kidding around.”

As much as Chuuya had felt a bit exasperated with you, he still couldn’t help but to find you adorable. Your stubbornness was always one of things he adored about you. Even when you pouted and hid away your mouth.

But once he placed the pill on your tongue, he didn’t hesitate on kissing you to get you to swallow it.

Chuuya continued to apply soft kisses on your mouth as he waited for you to swallow the medicine. Once he heard you've finally swallow it, he broke the kiss and pulled back slightly. "Alright... you took it?" He murmured as he looked at you for an answer.

You cough a little and felt embarrassed as you hid yourself with a pillow. “That wasn’t so bad, Doll, you’re fine.” He told you as he gently removed the pillow from your face. He also brought a hand up to brush back your hair, as if it was a natural reflex to do so.

“Just relax, there’s no use in being so embarrassed…” He rubbed the back of your head gently and kissed your forehead to comfort you. “It’s not like I haven’t kissed you before anyways. You don’t need to turn all red for me…” He teases and smugly about.

Well he's right.. but it was unexpected... as you lay your head to his chest and wrapped his arms around you to make you sleep comfortably.

"Rest well, Doll.." He then kissed your cheeks adoring you. The medicine wasn't taste so bad when Chuuya makes you drink it.. you wondered why...

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[lunatic-pudge]

Postal Dude NSFW Alphabet

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Was gonna work on my TF2 and Postal requests, but I've been sick and was in the ER cause of it. But depsite all of that, I'm still horrifically down bad for this stinky pissman. My need for this man cannot be contained. Halp

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A: Aftercare (What they're like after sex):

Admittingly, his aftercare kinda sucks. Just wipe ya off then pass out. It's just not something he's used to. You're gonna have to teach him how to do some proper aftercare. It'll take some time, but he'll get better at it with some time

B: Body Part (Their favorite body part of their and also their partners):

Now I'm putting my own (weird) biases here, Dude likes his hands. They're so long and spidery. Perfect to shove his fingers down your throat. He's such a long and gangly man.

Now his favorite body part on you would be your thighs. Thick thighs means a nice, fat ass and I can just tell that this man is an ass man. And also thigh highs?! The way they hug the thighs are there's that little thigh pudge at the top of the thigh highs. You know what I'm talking about. Dude lives for thick thighs. Choke them with your thighs, he'll die a happy man

C: Cum (Anything to do with cum, basically):

I'd like to think cums a lot. Please let me dream. Just picture him cumming in you so much that it spills out of you as more tries to fill in you. Maybe even creating a little tummy bulge.

But for taste wise, it is BITTER. Like it starts salty but gets bitter the more you taste it. So good luck with that. Man's good for stuffing ya, but the taste is one that will take a bit to get used to. Someone get this man on a better diet!

D: Dirty Secret (pretty self explanitory, a dirty secret of theirs):

I feel like he's secretly an exhibitionist. I just know that Dude would get off to people seeing him getting fucked. Hell, he'd probably let people run a train on him if given the opportunity. This man's a slut to the highest degree even though he gets no bitches

E: Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they're doing?):

I'd say he's got a decent amount of experience. Like, he definitely knows what he's doing. Could it be better? Yeah. Much of this man's potential has yet to be discovered

F: Favorite Position (This goes without saying):

Homie doesn't discriminate. Any position is a good position. You wanna ride him? Go for it. Want him to bend you over and pound the fuck out of you? He's already bending you over. He definitely loves being bent over, stuffed and fucked

G: Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment? Are they humorous? etc.):

Has this man ever been serious? He's a chill boy. I don't really have much to say here. He's a goofy goober

H: Hair (How well groomed are they? Does the carpent match the drapes? etc.):

I'd say Dude's got a decent amount of hair. Definitely not hair, but not bare. And even then, it's light in color so it doesn't catch your attention at first. And he's kinda groomed. He'll keep up with it if asked

I: Intimacy (How are they during the moment? Romantic aspect):

Dude's not much of a romance person. But that doesn't mean he isn't trying. On special occasions, like anniversaries or your birthday, he'll put the effeort in. He'd be cheesy and break out the rose petals. How'd he get them? Don't worry about it. He's even broke out the candles as well, ignore the burn marks on his hands, his ass was not paying attention when lighting them and almost set the trailer on fire

J: Jack Off (Masturbation headcanons):

He does jack off, kinda often, but it's just never enough for him. He's tried all sorts of things but finds much more satisfaction being able to fuck someone. He gets irritable when he doesn't get needs fufilled

K: Kinks (One or more of their kinks):

I'm doing it. I'm going there. I don't care what you people say. He's got a piss kink. (So does Sniper but he's not apart of this, fight me) He will piss on you and he will have you piss on him. He'd be gross and try to drink your piss. He doesn't care. I'm a piss kink Dude truther

Another major kink I'll throw in here is pegging. He loves it when his lady put the strap-on on, bends him over, and makes him her bitch. Pegging makes Dude the most adorable little sub ever. Just a begging and moaning mess. You know you love it, don't deny it

L: Location (Favorite places to do the do):

Anywhere and everywhere. Just say the words and he's ready. Nothing will stop this horny man. NOTHING

M: Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going):

Your existence gets him going. You could be sitting around, reading a book or watching T.V. and that gets him hard. It's his inner simp showing. What really gets him going is seeing you wearing one of his shirts and nothing else. Especially when the shirt starts to ride up your thigh. It's like your teasing him without realizing

N: No (Something they wouldn't do, turn offs):

Now Dude is a pretty open guy, but of course he has limits. I'll just say that he's not into the really gross stuff. The only gross thing he likes is piss. Like, that's the only time you're gonna see this man at his most vile. Anything else gross and he'll start gagging and leaving

O: Oral (Preference is giving or recieving, skills, etc.):

Loves oral. Prefers to receive but will gladly give. Sit on his face. He's begging you to. But when you give him head, watch out cause if you don't stop him, he'll wanna fuck your face. He loves being able to stuff his cock down your throat

P: Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.):

Loves going fast and rough. He lives for it, especially when you mark him up during it. Rarely is slow and sensual. He'll be slow on thos rare intimate moments he has. But wither way, he will leave you a shaking, satisfied mess afterwards

Q: Quickie (Their opinion on quickies, how often, etc.):

Not the biggest fan but desperate times call for desperate measures. He tries to not partake in quickies often so when it does happen, he's so desperate to cum

R: Risk (Are they game to experiment? Do they take risks etc.):

Huge risk taker. The risk is what gets hims going. Always ready to take them. Bouns points if you're like him in that aspect. You two would be such an unstoppable force, for real for real

S: Stamina (How many rounds can they go for? How long do they last?):

He's got some pretty good stamina, especially when he's high on crack. He's practically insatiable. You two will be going at it for HOURS. Practically a whole day of sex so you better be prepared or you'll be a pile of dust afterwards. And yes, he will make fun of you for it.

T: Toys (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?):

Literally in the one scene in Brain Damaged when he's sitting on his couch, there's a fucking dildo on the floor. So obviously yes, he owns toys, and yes he uses them. And yes, he will use toys on you. Why wouldn't he? Using toys means extra fun, and Dude ain't gonna pass up such an opportunity to tease and overstimulate you

U: Unfair (How much do they like to tease?):

Such a teasing bastard, and a hypocrite. Loves to tease and make you beg, but can be stubborn at first when you try to same tactics on him. He knows how to press all the right buttons when teasing. He rightfully deserves to be treated back, but also a little more harsher for being such a little shit

V: Volume (How loud are they? What sounds they make? etc.):

I'd say Dude isn't the loudest, he prefers to hear you rather then himself. But that can easily be changed with a little pegging. Remeber, he's a hoe, so he is fun to make a moaning, whiny mess, just begging for more

W: Wild Card (A random headcanon for the character):

If it isn't obvious by now, this man is bi/pan. You cannot look at this man and say he's straight. It's just such a bold face lie. Homie likes his men, women, enbys, trans people equally. All he wants is a good time. I'd say he has a slight preference for more feminine people. But now by saying that, I'm thinking of femboy Dude and I'm more than here for that

X: X-Ray (Let's see whats going on under those clothes):

Now please bear with me here, cause I unfortunately don't have male anatomy. I'd say he's about six inches, cut, head's this nice little rosy pink color and SENSITIVE

Y: Yearning (How high is their sex drive):

Very high drive, constantly horny. He cannot be contained. Sometimes multiple rounds a day isn't enough for him. He understand that sometimes, you're not gonna be needy as him so he's used to having to take care of himself. Though he'd appreciate some help during these trying times

Z: Zzz (How quickly they fall asleep afterwards?):

Almost immediately after doing the do. That's probably why his aftercare sucks cause he's ready to pass the fuck out most of the time. Falls asleep like a man in the Victorian era dying from Influenza. He's practically clonked out like a dead man too. It's ridiculous and deserves to be bullied for it

[linagram]

everyone's album covers, song previews and album trailer voicelines!

YESSSSSSSSSSSS I'M FINALLY DONE WITH ALL OF THEM *falls on the floor*

okay okay i'm actually kinda proud of myself?? :'D like i always prefer just. drawing characters even though i don't really avoid drawing backgrounds and i don't find drawing them that difficult but i rarely pay attention to things like. doors so yeah it's kinda cool that i've managed to come up with ten different door designs and draw them! even though most of them don't even look like doors. it's okay listen i just wanted to make them as weird as their mvs okay

(also about some prisoners having the symbols on their uhhh restraints and most of them not having them. well you see i just didn't have any energy left to draw them so i was like "it's fine i'll just draw the actual symbols later" and guess what. i didn't :) and i'm too tired to draw all of them so y-yeah. honestly maybe i'll change the symbols to something else like it takes way too much time to draw them and they're not even that close to the canon ones)

okay sorry for rambling, you can read everyone's song previews, titles (though you can see them on the covers, but still. or maybe you can't see them i'm sorry if the text is hard to read 😭) and album trailer voicelines under the cut! and also more of my rambling

Album trailer voicelines:

Akio: "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"

Aimi: "Don't you think that's kind of.. unprofessional?"

Shun: "I-Isn't it a good thing that I'm getting better?"

Naomi: "But in the end, I've simply decided to agree with you."

Kei: "It's time for your punishment, Eiji~"

Eiko: "It's like.. your life finally has a purpose."

Asahi: "I wanna go home, even if I don't have one anymore."

Yurika: "THIS DOESN'T MAKE ANY FUCKING SENSE!"

Riku: "Haha, trust me, I'm strong enough to do that."

Reina: "So, yeah, the show's over."

Song titles:

Akio: The King's Execution

Aimi: Mask of Kindness

Shun: Wrong Route

Naomi: Your Story

Kei: Web of Desire

Eiko: As Seen On TV

Asahi: 'Cause I Deserve It

Yurika: Bitter Aftertaste

Riku: Trendsetter

Reina: Death of the Author

Song previews:

Akio: "Come on, fight me, punch me, beat me to death,

Show me how you've really felt about me all this time

There's no one left to support me, no one left to call me "Your Majesty"

I guess it's time for me to admit my defeat" 

Aimi:

"Let's have as much fun as we can today, like this is the last day of our lives

I won't ask you to be careful, I know you won't listen to me anyway

Let's make these moments more colorful than ever before

Let's turn today into our best masterpiece"

Shun:

"I know that this is the best option, I don't even need a guide

"Real life"? What's that? Some kind of joke?

I know you will love me in every world and universe

Tell me I'm your everything, let me get the best ending"

Naomi:

"I can't believe I found out about this only now

Why didn't you tell me sooner? Why didn't anyone else tell me about this?

Your life was so short, but so full of pain

Does this mean that I've saved you from all that suffering?"

Kei:

"Congrats, you've fallen right into my trap

Make yourself comfortable, you're in for a long ride

Tying you up, choking and biting

Keep your eyes on me, take those rose-colored glasses off"

Eiko:

"Yay, she did it, good for her! What an icon, am I right?

Haha, thank you, thank you! Serves him right, I know

You've forgiven me, darling, so let me thank you properly

Tell me what you want, I will give you everything and more"

Asahi:

"Give me more, you know that it'll never be enough for me

You want me to repay you? That's funny

Why should you give me so much and get nothing in return?

It's obvious, 'cause I deserve it"

Yurika:

"Please, please, make my world sweet again

This world is so cold, so bitter, if I take a bite, I'll get poisoned for sure

Hey, hey, what are you saying? You want more sugar as well?

Sure, anything for my master! But you're not her, so get out."

Riku:

"Now, listen, I don't like to do this

I'm not the type to abuse my power

But looks like it's time for you to get what you deserve

So get him, everyone, I'll pat you on the head later"

Reina:

"What about my crime? What about my sins?

Well, why don't you figure it out yourself?

I'll let you decide, I'll let you write my story

Aren't you the one who's supposed to judge us anyway?"

Random facts about everyone's song titles, lyrics and doors (spoiler-free. mostly):

The silhouettes from Akio's T1 MV are back!

If you've read Aimi's T1 MV description, you probably already went "Wait, is her song title a reference to that mask from her video?" and you are correct!

Shun's song title is kinda supposed to be a pun? Basically it's a reference to dating sims, character routes and all that stuff, but it's also supposed to mean taking a wrong path in life or something like that.

Naomi's song title was the hardest one to come up with and it turned out to be the most boring one. I am so sorry.

I actually wouldn't say that Asahi's door shows his MV that well, since his video will actually have mostly white and green colors, but I thought that a door like that would look boring, so yeah, I made it more colorful!

"Why is Yurika's door like that?" Oh, don't worry, compared to Asahi's door, Yurika's door shows her MV perfectly fine <3

Riku's door. Riku's door made me go through so much pain, IT WAS THE LAST DOOR I CAME UP WITH. I LITERALLY HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO DRAW. Not even because I dislike his MV, it's just that his MV has this motif that's. Very hard to show as a door. Like all ideas I had just sounded stupid so I decided to go with something like this instead. Also I still hate drawing chains and I used a brush instead.

Yes, Naomi's door just. Looks like a diary. BUT I TRIED TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A DOOR OKAY I TRIED

Reina's door having a more "actor-like" motif probably doesn't make much sense because of the song title, but trust me, it does. And yes, her song title is based on the trope of the same name.

Aimi's song lyrics kinda sound like a sequel to her T1 song though i guess her t2 song can be called that here, but the rest of the lyrics sound more different. And yes, there will be more of their song lyrics in the MV descriptions this time >:)

Kei's song lyrics are actually supposed to be much more sad this time and even the chorus will sound differently in the end.

Reina, please, stop breaking the fourth wall, you're becoming way too powerful.

[josephquinnswhore]

Eternal Destiny

Chapter 2 - Bound by Destiny

Pairing: Prince Oberyn Martell x fem!Reader

Summary: You know better than to defy your destiny, but when you're threatened not to pursue the man further, you're stuck on what to do.

Word Count: 2.4k

From the moment you woke up your attention was drawn to an irritable itch on your arm, the tingling sensation had been replaced with an irritable ache as you had dismissed the tingling feeling, having your head stuck in this menu for the wedding, which was a mere 9 days away.

Your eyes scanned the small half-circle, small black lettering on your forearm just shy of the crease near your inner elbow, 118.0006 * W. Co-ordinates? You couldn't figure it out without the other half, having a suspicion the man from the markets could have the other half. You sigh in exhaustion, thoughts of anxiety kept you awake most of the night, wondering how you could ever pull all of this off. You unplug your phone from its charger and pull up your best friends contact, she picks up after two rings, "hey Jaide, wanna grab a bite?" She laughs over the phone, the noise welcome to your ears, "you know I'm always down to catch up, I'll meet you at yours give me 30." "Kay see you shortly." You end the call and get dressed, a yellow sunflower dress that hugged your figure perfectly, you decide to braid your hair and tie it in a bun, sliding a pair of black wedges on your feet before brushing your teeth. You hope this would give you a peace of mind, a blank state to help you concentrate.

A knock on the door finally indicates that Jaide is here, you stand swiftly with your handbag and throw it over your shoulder, you swing the door open, and your eyebrows pinch together when the doorway is empty. "Jaide?" You poke your head out and walk outside a few steps, "hey." You jump, startled at Jaide's voice as you see her walking 10 feet from you, she's smiling until she sees the frown on your face. "Is everything okay?" You bite your lip in uncertainty, "yeah everything's fine. Probably some kids playing a prank knocking on my door." You lie to her, an uneasy feeling settled within you, and you decide to bury the feeling as you lock your front door.

"Hey, maybe it's that handsome guy from the markets you've been texting me about. Maybe he chickened out last second." She grins, her shoulder knocking yours playfully. You scoff, "I doubt I'll ever see him again, and he gave me this weird marking." Jade looks at the black mark on your arm. "Maybe it'll lead you to him." You snicker, "how can I find him with half the co-ordinates, Jaide?" Realization sets in her face and you both burst out laughing as you walk up to Ed's restaurant, "Eddie's House." I know, not super creative, but it didn't need it be. It was authentically Ed and the food spoke for itself.

"Hey Tab, Jaide. What can we start you off with drinks this morning?" The waitress asked. "Spare the formalities Eb, I'll just grab a lemon lime bitters yeah, make sure to put in the lemon slices for me." She smiles taking down your drink, "I'll just get a glass of cola, thanks Eb." She smiles and closes her notebook. "Be right back with that for you guys." You turn to Jaide, "what're you thinking for food?" Jaide eyes you, you both order the same thing off the menu every time you come to eat. "You didn't just invite me to lunch to eat, did you? Somethings wrong." You sigh putting the menu down on the table and stacking them for Eb to pick up when she comes back. "I dunno." She puts a hand on your own and you look up to meet her eyes and kind face, "you can talk to me, or not. I'm here for you Tab." You sink into your chair further, feeling more guilt creeping under your skin. "It's just this wedding and the man from the market, it's a lot of pressure to uphold you know? I don't know what my destiny is, I'm going in so many different directions I can't keep up."

"Oh hun, we'll work through it okay? We will work this out." You offer a small smile, some weight lifted off your shoulders as you vented to Jaide. "Here you are, lemon lime bitters with lemon slices, glass of cola for you. What are we thinking for our meal ladies?" She looks between you and the three of you laugh, "right so the usual then. Steak medium rare with mash and veg for Jaide, slow cooked duck ragu pasta for Tab. Expect to wait anywhere from 15-20 minutes."

"Thanks Eb." You praise, your stomach rumbling, creating a harsh ache at the thought of that slow cooked duck ragu.

You sip on your drink; the acidity tickles your throat with bubbles as you swallow. "Tell me more about him, I need to know more about this mystery man!" You huff out a chuckle and sigh at the mere thought of him. "He was so handsome, he has these dark brown eyes that were just staring into my soul, you know? Like he really saw me. He was so kind, offered to buy me a drink, but i had to decline. I know, I know." Jaide's face was scrunched up, not impressed by you turning down the man destiny had offered you. "I had to get to work, and plus, he bought me another one exactly how I like it, right here."

"Sounds like he's into you." Your heart leapt at the thought, would he like you? He's all you could think about, was it the same for him? You kicked yourself for at least; not getting his number.

He did think of you, since he met you, he was distant, unreachable and not reciprocating to his girlfriend, Elliara. She didn't notice it at first, the small half circle mark that had appeared on his forearm. She was furious, after bearing him 8 children, he would still consider abandoning them for someone he had just met.

"My love." Her fingers dig into his tense shoulders, trying to relieve some tension and get him to relax, "you're so tense." She begins kissing his neck and down his shoulders, "let me help you relax." Her hands begin to wonder down his chest, and he pulls away, standing to stare down at the town below through his diamond shaped window. "Not now. I've got a lot on my mind." Ellaria scoffed and he turned to face her, "are you too busy thinking about a girl you've met once for five minutes Oberyn? I'm your wife, I've given you 8 children." Oberyn sighs, running a hand down his face, frustration peeling the layers of his patience back, his gut bellowing at him to defend you. "She's a woman Ellaria, not a girl. If we're being precise about things, you're my girlfriend, the King never approved of us being wed." Ellaria's face ensembled unfiltered rage, she was furious. "Okay Oberyn." She takes a deep breath, forging her calmness. "I'll return soon." Walking out infuriated as she was met with silence.

She ended up walking through town, her elegant gown catching eyes of the public and dares to catch her reflection in the glass mirror of a building when she sees it-you. The reason her partner wants to leave her, she knows she has to take her opportunity now or she faces losing everything. You're pointing to the mark on your skin, identical to Oberyn's but different writing and numbers, showing it off to your companion with a smile.

She decides to walk in through the door, your head unflinching as she the bell chimes, signifying a customer. A young girl walks up to her with a smile and leads her to a small table with two seats, "I'll be right back with a menu." She grips the young girls wrist and it halts her, "I'm not here for the food sweetheart, I'm here on business. That woman over there, could you mind notifying her I've asked her to join me for a moment?" The waitress hesitates before looking over at the table, "Uhhh sure. I'll be one moment." She walks to the table only a few feet away and you turn around to look at the waitress before muttering a few words to your company before strutting over to where she sat. "We need to talk." She states firmly and you raise an eyebrow, "we do?" She only hums and nods her head, gripping your wrist and digging her fingernails in. "Stop looking for that man, understand? He's married with children. His destiny is with me, his wife." You frown, your heart falling past your ribcage and settling in your stomach, disappointment and heart aching over someone you never had, ignoring the crescent shaped indents in your skin this lady had left in your arm. "I-I didn't know." She sneers, "now you do. Come looking for him and I guarantee you'll regret it." She swiftly leaves, exiting before anyone can ask what happened.

"Hey, you okay?" Jaide places a hand on your shoulder, standing next to you. You simply shake your head, and she looks at you, pitying you. "Let's get you back home okay? Get this off your mind." You sigh in defeat, Jaide places a hand on your back and it stays there until you get back to your house. She looks through your notes on what the options are for the menu, "let's start narrowing down the entrees to begin with, okay mu-" "He's married." Jaide stares at you in shock, you're rubbing the mark with your fingers, tracing it back and forth. "With children." Her mouth drops and sits beside you, rubbing your back hoping to offer some comfort. "Oh, Tab. I'm sorry hun." You shrug sadly, "it is what is it I guess, let's get to finalizing the menu." She hands you the notepad that was littered with your scribbles, "so, I know they didn't specifically ask for Vegetarian option, but I'm seriously considering the mushroom risotto for 1st Entree." Jaide groans in agreement, "good god I still remember the first time you cooked that for me, it was heaven." You scoff at her, "it was the first time I ever cooked mushroom risotto, I've perfected it since." She hums, thinking about it has her stomach rumbling, making spare room for the delicacy. "Say, how about you cook it, you know, just so we can sample it before you offer it to them." Jaide shrugs nonchalantly, as if the thought of your food didn't have her mouth salivating. "Right," you say skeptically with a smirk, "let's get to it then." You swore you heard a moan leave Jaide's lips.

You set the mushroom risotto on the table before Jaide's seat and your own, shaving some fresh parmesan on top. "Go ahead and taste it, miss connoisseur." You offer, holding your hand out. She doesn't need to be told twice as she digs her spoon into the dish and stuffs her face with it, eyes closing and licking her lips after swallowing. "God that has to be on the menu." You sit and begin to eat, Jesus, it's fucking incredible you truly surprise yourself sometimes. "I'm glad you think so," you reply earnestly. “You know.. maybe you’ll run into him.” You drop your spoon, the metal clinking onto the porcelain loudly. “Jaide..” “Tab, you’re my best friend I have to have hope that guy is out there thinking about you too, I can’t stand to see you so miserable.” She’s right, you’re moping and she’s trying to help, you were grateful to have such a thoughtful friend. “Yeah, maybe I’ll see him around, thanks Jaide.” She offers a smirk and looks at your half-empty or as Jaide sees, half full dish of risotto. “Take it, I won’t finish it.” She cheers loudly and you both laugh, “I could always make up a few batches you know, put them in takeaway containers.” Jaide a eyes light up as she’s scooping the risotto into her mouth, with her mouth full of food she gasps, “you would?” Her voice muffled at the fullness of food, “for you, yeah, course.” “God you’re a saint anybody ever tell you that?” You roll your eyes, admittedly loving the compliment, “hmm, a few. Just waiting for the one that matters.” Jade stills for a moment before laughing, “fuck you’re so cheesy Tab. Here, I’ll wash up. Go pick a movie, no romance.” You plop on your couch, pillows digging into your back as you click the remote buttons, flipping through Netflix. “Ah, found one.” Jaide wipes her hands on her jeans, discarding the dishwater that lingered. “Oh, Tripple Frontier, you know me so well, Oscar Isaac is such a babe.” You laugh and pull a blanket over your laps, “nah. I’m more of a Pedro Pascal kinda gal,” She bursts out laughing as she turns to you, “we have got some serious daddy issues man.” You giggle with her and nod your head, “yeah, we sure do.”

Ellaria finally gets back to Oberyn's quarters and he's pacing at the tingling sensation where his mark is. What does this mean? His head turned as Ellaria knocks on the door, "come in." He mused quietly. Her hand rests on his shoulder and squeezes firmly, "things will go upward from here, my love. Any obstacle that stands in our way, we can overcome." He turns to face her, a mischievous glint twinkled in her eyes, and it weakened him, physically. He stumbles to sit on the bed with his hand outstretched, keeping a barrier between them. "What have you done?" She scoffs, "I haven't done anything to your pet, Oberyn, regardless of your betrayal. I simply put her in her place and told her to stay away." His body was heating up, fury and anxieties push him upward and he grabs her by the neckline of her dress, "are you out of your mind? Get out of my quarters. We're over, I cannot trust you." His hands release her dress with a small shove, and she watches him as she walks out, hands pounding on the door as she forces it open.

As he watches her leave, he feels nothing, no sorrow, no regret. Only you, you're all he can think about. wondering how-if this could be fixed. For the first time in his life that night, he prays.

[friendshipgirl]

Brain and Pinky walk into the cage, both extremely embarrassed from another world domination. This time, they were at a prom and were trying to use a mind control substance in the fruit punch, but it tasted bad so they had to throw it out. Make it sweeter next time, probably not a problem. But what made tonight humiliating is that Pinky accidentally slipped on a confetti bit, causing him to fall on top of Brain and accidentally kissing him in the process. Everyone in the prom laughed at them on the way home. Brain was angry and mortified as he angrily took his bow tie off.

"Laugh at me! Will they!?" Brain shouted angrily, "I swear, when I take over the world, laugh at me for it, and they get to kiss their crush, on purpose, and then I laugh at them, and see how they like it!"

He threw his bow tie angrily on the floor as Pinky tried to calm him down, "Calm down. It's ok. They're just jokes."

"Oh, yeah?" He said angrily, "The bitterness of the punch was bad enough, but you had to trip and land on top of me! AND kiss me in front of everyone!"

"Brain, that was an accident," Pinky said.

"I don't care if it was an accident! It had to happen!" Brain shouted before looking miserable and hides his face, "Oh my lord, how I am humiliated,"

Pinky put his arm around him, "It'll be okay. Maybe we can do something else next time, ok? Will another kiss make you better?"

"Well, next time, it will—" Brain started, only to stop as realization hit him. That question was enough to make his face turn red. He looked away. After a while, he spoke again, "I guess…"

"You guess? What does 'you guess' mean?" Pinky asked in confusion.

Brain shrugged, "You know… maybe next time… we could try that. If you still wanna… kiss me…" Pinky smiled widely, "Of course I want to kiss you! You are my best friend, you know that. We can do anything as long as we have each other."

"Yeah. Yeah, ok. So let's go to bed," Brain said, feeling awkward over the kiss topic.

Pinky then lightly turned his head and stares deep into his red eyes. The way he did makes Brain feel uncomfortable and anxious, yet it is also exciting. He doesn't want to pull away but knows he has to. Just looking deep into those beautiful blue eyes made his heart pound and his cheeks feel warm with a blush. But then his body relaxes and feels light when Pinky pulls back. He looks into his eyes and sees no disgust or hatred or anything negative. No judgement or fear. Only pure adoration. Pinky is smiling sweetly at him now, and Brain feels safe and comfortable. Still, he was extremely nervous that Pinky was going to kiss him any moment now. Pinky leans in slowly and softly presses his lips against Brain's. In an instance, Brain's hands, feet, and face burning like a terminator as steam came out of his ears. He didn't even notice when Pinky pulled away, until he heard a slight chuckle from Pinky and saw that he was blushing bright red as well. Brain's own face felt hot, and all his nerves calmed down. The two look into each other's eyes, absolutely blushing messes. Then they look away embarrassed from how they must seem to the prom attendances.

Pinky turns around, still red faced, "Good night, Brain."

Brain watches as Pinky walks towards the bed, blushing heavily as well, "Night, Pinky…"

[horriblelolipop]

I think my reluctance to find work in my hometown again stems from the fact that I had a very negative experience at my last workplace, both emotionally and quite literally in a This Was A Bad Job type way. I don't wanna say it traumatized me, mostly because the application of such serious language would, I believe, make me even more reluctant to work again because I think I'd try to convince myself that I need to "heal" which I know would on some level be dishonest and just another way of putting off the inevitable under the now respected guise of bettering my mental health, but I do believe it left a big impression on me and it changed me on a level I have yet to understand.

My last job wasn't hard, but it wasn't easy either and it wasn't an enviable position by any means. When I worked there I felt ashamed, depressed, loser-esque and aimless. I had no idea why the hell I was even working anyway when I had no goal no speak of and nothing to spend my hard earned minimum wage salary on except the bare necessities. Spending money on material possessions somehow felt stupid and wasteful even though I wanted to buy myself things and spending money on experiences was damn near impossible since everything worth seeing or doing would take place during my working hours and also in the city, which adds the whole transportation issue into the mix.

I also felt deeply ashamed of the work i was doing. There were times when the shame wasn't so present, mostly when relatives or acquaintances would ask me if I'm working and I could somewhat proudly say that I am, indeed, working, which would then elicit positive or neutral reactions. Interesting to note is that I had slightly more negative and even bitter reactions to the neutral responses, as if I somehow wanted to be applauded for doing what every person does. I suppose I wanted acknowledgement and reassurance that it's actually very good that I'm employed and earning money, that I'm on the right path to becoming a hardworking honest person, a good person in the eyes of society, or at least an avreage, respectable person who could not be attacked and ostricized so easily just based off of minimal information such as whether I'm employed or not.

The... pride(?) i felt in those moments would then spill over into a vague sense of slight relief, like "Well, yes, i do live with my parents in my hometown and not getting a degree currently, but at least I'm employed, at least that's been taken off of the Reasons Why I'm A Loser list in my brain." But that would only last until I had to clock in again or until the internet would show me the people I used to go to high school with doing better than me in some way. Basically I felt like the Person Who Never Left Their Hometown stereotype all the time and like I'm wasting my potential. I had no energy nor the will to do the things I know I'm good at before or after work. No time to see friends, no time to attend events, nothing. I was just working and going home all day everyday except for Sunday. I got so afraid that this is my life now. That this is how it'll be forever and ever until I drop dead and that any previous hopes and dreams were foolish and childish maladaptive daydreams and half baked ideas that would never come to fruition because I don't possess the necessary wherewithal to make things happen for me. I guess this is the reason why I'm so afraid to work again, I'm afraid of feeling like that again. I already do, but somehow the shame is lessened by this feeling of anticipation I have, like my dream life is just another wasted day away and that if I wish for it hard enough and not do anything it'll somehow magically happen. Whereas when I'm working, I'm forced to face the harsh reality of my own mediocrity and lack of drive and ambition.

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

Lol this poor guy xd

Oof lol, bro needs a van xD

Oop o.o

LOL nice cover though lady ngl!

Aaron like "slay :D. ID :)?" LOL love him xD

OOP guess he got the fight after all xD slay Aaron lol :D

OOP money o.o gosh

Hmm could that be related?

Don't brush it off Harperrr- okay good lol

I mean couldn't Lucy do it?

Oof xd sorry girl 😬

Having been recently watching season 4 this is weird that she's not with Tim lol

Hopefully she's gonna be able to come to terms with some of the detective stuff while she's out here :)

OH WAIT O.O JUST REMEMBERED IT'S SUSPECTED SHE GETS INJURED THIS EPISODE 😬 xd

Welp hopefully she's okay o.o now forgetting I know xD

Oof poor Celina xd 😭

She's just a little stupid <3 we love her but she's not all trained yet xd :)

Yeeah he is lol

Nice that y'all care though lol

Nolan just standing there xD

Ahh nice

Hmm interesting

Oope?

Or could just be random I guess :/

XD but yeah fair that's good :) lol

Hmm

Yeeep I figured that was it xdd

LOL "Phone call. On the phone" XDD

Okay okay slay Aaron

Yess be more interested in that! It shows good priorities :D

Yeeahh slay Aaron :D thank you Tim :))

Lol yeah xD love the train thing slfhdl

LOL "Nope" sorry Aaron xD

Oogh gonna have to notify him :((

Oof on his lunch break xd yeeah not a lot of time

Might wanna be in a room anyway lol

Oh maybe he already knows?

Ope no o.o

Aww :((

No D: poor guy <3

Yeeah makes sense xd

Okay that does make it seem (whether it was or not) like it was that question lol (if you get along you probably interacted recently)

Aww that's nice but it sucks :(

Okay good he has an alibi, so they don't have to be suspicious of him really at all

Okay but yeah you do want her killer to be found xd

Yeahh gotta check it, especially since he left quickly lol (though I don't think it was him and I think he was telling the truth there)

I mean yeah it seems suspicous

Ooh or another test?

Yep lol

"That's two I's" 😐 "Nevermind" XDD

TIM O.O

Lol xD

I mean I don't think he'll aaactually do it lol

I think Aaron can do it :))

Girlie I.o

What are you doing Aaron lol- oh right looking her up

Ahh same prison o.o

Ahh and in the prison gang o.o 😬

Ahh yup lol

LOL Aaron's look xD oof slfjd

Aww poor lady :((

Ayy slay Tim already did it :D bro knew

Oop 25 seconds o.o

Oh gosh are you missing something xd

Okay hopefully not

Sirrr don't doubt yourself xdd

I mean you can't get all of them on the first try lol

Hopefully you didn't miss too much but xd

Lol those are wild xD

Oope o.o?

Could that have something to do with the case?

Or just because at least it would be interesting lol?

Ahh those are the reasons o.o ooh slay nice Nolan

Oof poor lady xdd

Nahh you know something at least lol

I mean I doubt you always knew

Oop o.o

Oh gosh from the first victim o.o D:

Yeeah that's pretty incriminating xD

Ohh yeah that's a good question lol

OOPE O.O

(okay now I can stop pretending I don't remember that that was in the promo lol)

Oh gosh xD

Oof poor lady :/ it'll be okay

Ahh well she might 👀! I bet it'll be useful

Lol xD

Ahh to build rapport

Hmm yeah

Oh I forgot to ever say it but

Hi Gray :D!

Yeah Nolan don't sell yourself short :))

Ooh slay guys :O!!

Hopefully Celina doesn't embarrass herself again lol or get embarrassed xd

Aww hey Lucy :/

Oof :(

OOF sorry Lucy D' that sucks xd :(

I like that Tim sounds like he believes that too (I'm sure he does), that she deserves it :')

Oof xd

Yeah it happens :'/ :) it sucks but yeah <3

Hey yeah :D!

I bet she will be eventually this episode

And idk if it'll be good o.o xD

Especially if her and Tim fight as I heard theories of xd or have some kind of issue

LOL "don't be greedy" xD

Ahh yeah it's rough

Lol glad we're not just ignoring that o.o xD

But glad he's not bitter lol

Yeah it did :)

SLFKGHD o.o "not a moment's hesitation?"

Yeeah fair xD

Yeah it is his duty lol

Hey you better not be affronted you said that too xD

LOL SLFJGHSDK NOLAN O.O careful you've been framed for things and hid evidence before xD

Lol idiots <33 love them 🥰🥰

[sw4tch]

There's this person at the office that really seems to like me, and i like them a lot too but.

Well it's scary. They keep telling me wonderful things about how They Like Me, They Want To Do So Many Things With Me, That They Would Accept Me As I Am, and just. In general pretty much i think flirting with me and being super affectionate.

I like feeling like i am wanted, that my presence is appreciated but.

I don't know how to reciprocate this.

I am too ashamed of all that I Am. In public it's really embarrassing to have people see how much i like them.

They told me they want for us to go on a trip to canada just to visit and hang out. A couple activity if i ever heard one. It made me happy. But i didn't know how to respond.

They told me that they liked me today (te quiero) and. I had to force myself to say it back because i was too embarrassed to say it. I panicked. I wouldn't have said it otherwise.

I try not to say things i don't mean. I do like them too but. I don't wanna say it. I want to mean it. I want to show it in all the things i say and do but not in my own words because then the words would feel too real on my tongue.

But also.

Hey this is funny but.

I don't want to like this person. I am afraid of forming a romantic relationship with them.

Because i don't limit myself to visualizing the happy moments we would share if we became an item.

I am too busy already seeing the bitter end where i am back to the start, feeling abandoned, feeling used and discarded after things inevitably don't work out because i was too much.

Scary.

Scary.

Scary.

Love is such a painful thing. Relationships are too complex. Isn't it better to play it safe and never let your feelings be known? It worked for me so far.

I am sad sometimes. But i am safe. Unburdened. Safe.

I can't be hurt if I'm never vulnerable.

I like them a lot but. I don't think my feelings are pure. They're more a casual feeling of affection.

It's. It's the first time I've loved in such a casual way that doesn't hurt. That's the scary part.

It makes it feel like something is wrong on my side. Like my feelings aren't genuine. But.

Do people without Weird Brain syndrome actually love like this all the time? Casually? Without feeling like they're suffering for it?

It's... Unusal for me. I think. I might be singing victory far too early. Maybe in the future something will Click and then this casual love will begin to Hurt. That scares me too.

Because it'll be my fault.

Maybe i am not ready for this.

But.

But.

Maybe. I deserve a casual love. A love made not to last but to be enjoyed. A love to be kept at arms length. A love that i fully know the entire time that it won't pan out. So there's no need to have Big Feelings about it. Casual. No need to open my heart to it. I just need. To experience it one day at a time. Without letting my cards show.

A love in which i get to reap all the rewards without giving anything of myself away.

I could try. I could try.

My bpd always makes me want to destroy my life. It makes me want to take bad decisions.

But this one can't be that bad. The worst part of it would just be a broken heart. We can manage. We can survive that.

We'll see how it pans out.

[wildcatofgreen]

...

That. That slapped her back into place.

At least a little.

Her eyes widened at how calm she was... and then she winced at the words she spouted, not entirely realizing what she just said until it was already out there.

She let go. She turned around. She wiped her tears with her hands, but stones they wouldn't stop coming.

Damn it all.

She replied, a bit more sensical, a lot more bitter, but her voice was a whisper, "Ya act like I'm fuckin' up on purpose, ya jackass. "Ya think Iun't know that? Ya think Iun't notice how Lyli's fucked up? Ya think Iun't care about my friends or somethin'?

"I'm tryin' my hardest here--I jus' dun't wanna fuckin' mess up too badly, alright?" Her next sentence was spoke with heavy sarcasm, "Sorry that I ain't tell my girl about the tree house earlier, but you know how fuckin' important that thing is 'ta me an' her, ya dirty mindreader. "That ain't an easy subject 'ta broach--an' even then, it ain't my fault if she forgets. If more important things were on the line at the time."

She wasn't fuckin' homeless--not like she thought Evie was. Neera wouldn't let her live on the streets... probably. She may be cruel but stones know she's not heartless.

It... needed a little more time to simmer.

She needed to get over her own selfish desires first. And she... still hasn't, not really, but hell, Lyli figured it out anyway so what does it even matter?

A sigh.

"I'm sorry. Thank you. I'll get better. That's what ya wanted 'ta hear, right? Fuckin' buzzwords for all I care. "I appreciate the shit ya do, the stuff ya did for the weddin' was great an' you've helped me more than I 'prolly know.

"But."

. . .

She can't speak this out loud.

But frankly, she's just curious why.

Why the hell she's so nosy, why the hell she's so in her life, why the hell there's this weird amount of care there.

Carol came all the way here because she didn't know Evie was homeless. Because who the fuck checks on where people sleep? She's not some sort of detective--she's not looking for clues like a fucking dog. She thought Evie lived in there, because like... why would she think otherwise? She rebuilt the tree house because of what she thought about. Because she saw Evie one day sleeping in the middle of a fucking forest and lamented about her being homeless.

She wanted to rebuild that with her fucking Lyli. She wanted to do that when she came back. Carol can only assume Evie knows how the cat feels about Lyli--she holds up the wrist wearing the purple scrunchie.

Dirty mindre--

Stop. Don't shit talk the girl she's right there.

Ugh.

To Carol, Evie does way too fucking much without actually asking. She's too fucking impulsive. It's another damn thing to add onto when she already has to deal with Lyli and Sony and Neera and everyone else she knows. She's not ignorant, she's just fucking stupid, and maybe she doesn't know how to properly tackle certain things without the fear of everything falling apart.

Lyli's the only constant she knows about that she can probably freely tell things to because she hasn't left her in decades, she's spent her entire life with her.

It's not easy to tell people shit! It's not easy to tell her husband things when she feels like it'll ruin the entire relationship!!! When she feels like she'll lose him at any moment because she's not actually good enough to have him!!!

It's not easy to check in on people because she's too overbearing and she knows it. She's not a good person, she's not fun to be around and her feign cockiness is annoying and awful and barely anyone can actually take it!

These aren't excuses they're reasons and she knows she should be better but it's not easy but she's trying she's trying she's trying.

And she doesn't need nor want people to shit on her for how shitty she is because she perpetually knows how shitty she is. She's lucky she's got it as good as she does now.

Still hurt people to get here, though. Still made her cry. Still made him cry. She's still untrustworthy and terrible and would be better in the fucking Scarves.

This is stupid. All of this is stupid. She wants to leave.

"Just because someone can do something doesn't always mean that it is necessary, let alone the right thing to do."

She'd reply, very calmly, despite the wildcat basically yelling in her face. Clothes can easily be repaired, it's the other things that matter more.

"Especially when such a selfish thing would cause far more problems than it would supposedly resolve."

Of course, she knew exactly what would happen if she did exactly that and she only implied the temptation, not the decision to not to perform such an act.

It was yet another test on her part, to drive in her point further.

"So, ask yourself this... Are you going to learn from your mistakes and move forwards or continue to wallow in it all and drown, taking everything and everyone that you care for down to the depths with you?"

"What will it be? Sink or Swim? Try not to forget that you are not the only one treading rough water."

[villxinmiixx]

I have a request, What is the reaction of Shigaraki, Geten, Dabi, Mr. Compress, Hawks, and Tokoyami to the Filipino S/O that cooked adobo for them (We need more Filipino representation in these fanfics/ imagines/ headcanons) and I know you can do it better than me.

- mellomarshmello/ keigorgeous

adddooooooobo !

hawks ( takami keigo ), shigaraki tomura, dabi, mr. compress ( atsuhiro sako), geten, tsukuyomi ( tokoyami fumikage )

+ gn!reader

+ genre; fluff

+ mixx's note; i'm tired 😭

ャ hawks;

ㅤhim? with a filipino s/o? hmm, i won't say he would give a fuck? since y'know he's a hero, he doesn't discriminate against races or gender or the color of your skin.

ㅤbut i'd say, he never went to philippines before; so realizing you came from and/or have half of the blood of filipinos seemed so cool to him.

ㅤif you grew up eating filipino food and like cooking, there you go! he'd taste anything you make! especially food from the philippines, even if it does look disgusting!

ㅤhe'll still taste it, but of course he's going to be honest about what he likes; he's not gonna let you make food that he doesn't like or may or may not throw it in the garbage! he wants you to use ingredients that he'll actually eat, otherwise it'll be a waste.

ㅤunless you wanna eat it??

ㅤthe first time you cooked adobo for him he was skeptical, due to the fact it's brown?? and it's soup? for all he knows it's probably sh- /J!!!

ㅤbut oh my goodness, the moment he ate adobo with rice, oh my fucking god.

ㅤhe started eating like no tomorrow. the sweet and slightly bitter taste was just ✨perfection✨ to him.

ㅤsafe to say when you make him adobo he brings it to work for lunch/baon.

you also taught him a few filipino words! and now he's bless-ly cursed accidentally saying them on a daily basis!

ャ shigaraki tomura;

ㅤhe does not care what your nationality is. like he gives zero fucks.

ㅤyou could be from belgium and he wouldn't give a fuck-

ㅤwhen you made him adobo let's say he was disgusted, it was a tiny bit slimy and he was staring at it with a brow raised while looking back and forth at you and the food.

ㅤhe's not trying to be rude!! kind of-? he's just- what's the word- surprised?? that you gave him a dish? that may or may not kill him if he eats it.

ㅤbut you assured him that it was edible and you can't die from it.

ㅤso he rolled his eyes and ate it.

ㅤhe said it was good 🤷🏻

ャ dabi;

ㅤjust like shigaraki and hawks, he doesn't really care what your nationality or race is; he literally could care less.

ㅤunlike the others, he actually walked in while you were making the adobo- he said it smelled great and said he can't wait to eat it when you're done 👍

ㅤhe's one of the mfs that didn't care what it looked like, hindi sya ma-arte ( he's not fussy )

ㅤthe moment you gave him the dish, he tasted it without thinking; he said it was good with a bored expression and gave a thumbs up while chewing.

ャ mr. compress;

ㅤhe finds it amusing since he has never tasted adobo or any other filipino dish.

ㅤso he was actually pretty excited!

ㅤhe even decided to set up the table so fancy, he even included those singular candles on the center of the tables like the ones you see in the movies.

ㅤi won't lie he probably doesn't smell anything under the mask unless he does that loud ass sniff, so you probably heard that while you were making the adobo.

ㅤmf was all *SNIFF* lIKE OKAY..!? CHILL... DAMN!! it's like his hoe ass don't got a nose.

ㅤwhen you put the dish on the table, you can see stars in his eyes since he removed his mask; he was astonished really.

ㅤit smelt so good it's just ✨✨

ㅤhe was asking questions like “what's it called?” “who made it?” “is this soy sauce???”

ㅤit was so adorable i can't.

ャ geten

ㅤhe does not pay attention toward whatever food you decided to give him, if it was poisonous he would spit it onto your face, if it tasted gross he'd spit it on your face, if it- yeah you get the idea.

ㅤso when you actually asked him if he wanted to have a change in the meals you give him and make him one of your countrys' best dish... he raised a brow, atleast- he slowly turned his hooded head towards you.

ㅤhorror movie lookin' actin' ass...

ㅤhe shrugged and walked away from you with his hands in his pockets 🤷🏻

ㅤwhich you took as a yes because you already bought the ingredients and you won't be taking a no or an i don't know as an answer 🖕

ㅤwhen you stopped by wherever he fuckin' trains, you were holding a tray with a plate, utensils, etc. and an unknown dish that caught his eye.

ㅤit was oily, and much like shigaraki; he looked towards you and the adobo.

ㅤhis... hooded.. facial.. expression?.. practically spelled out; “tf is this?”

ㅤHES NOT SAYING IT LOOKS DISGUSTING BUT HE'S A JUDGEMENTAL POS LIKE ME AND IS SILENTLY THINKING IT DOES LOOK DISGUSTING..

ㅤbut you brought a spoon with the soup to his mouth and told him to say “ah” he reluctantly did and drank the soup.

ㅤhuh. it didn't taste all that bad. it's just the appearance. slimy ass appearance-

ャ tsukuyomi;

ㅤone of the people along with compress that would actually help you make the adobo despite not knowing what the fuck to do.

ㅤyou tell him stories about how your parents would sometimes make this and you'd always be a happy little child when they did.

ㅤyou promised him it was gonna taste delicious and he nodded, trusting you.

ㅤhe even asked if he could let his friends taste it too because he wanted everyone to taste your wonderful cooking!!

ㅤalthough tokoyami does think that you should only make food for him because.. you know.. he's your boyfriend, it's only fair.

ㅤalong with the rest of his class he thought it tasted great!

ㅤhe looks forward eating more of the dishes that came from your country that is made by you <3

+ mixx's note; it's been so long~ sINCE I HAVE POSTED A FICCC 💢 this was hella fun though!! thank you for asking an amazing hc rq again hexrts! <3

©𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐦𝐢𝐢𝐱𝐱 - 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝. 𝐍𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝, 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧; 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝.

[skampi835]

Let’s never speak of this again! (Motonari x reader)

Let’s celebrate Motonari’s upcoming route with an oneshot! 🥳 Since I hopefully avoided most of the spoilers I didn’t come up with any good idea, but then I found this:

you and your enemy hug each other, it's completely accidental, and neither of you know why it happened, and it's like,,, you glare at each other, with an expression of ''let's never speak of this again'´

Thanks for putting this idea in my mind @screnwriter​!

Fandom: Ikemen Sengoku

Language: english

Starring: Motonari x reader (female)

Genre: Comedy

Warning: besides Motonari’s slanguage surprisingly none... ahaha who am I kidding? It's Motonari 😂

real Warnings: angst, bad language, violence (fighting scene!)

Word Count: 1.810

“Get her!”

Shoot! How do I always end in situations like this?!

With this thought you’re bolting straight into the next alleyway. You’ve left the busy trading streets of Azuchi a long time ago and unfortunately lost track of your current position due the rising panic inside of you. Honestly, you’ve no idea where the heck you are right now! Though obviously still in Azuchi you’re running hopefully into the right direction towards the fuller marketplace!

Desperate, you’re squeezing your way through a very small gap between two buildings and dash on. Maybe your pursuers can’t follow you through this and it'll buy you some extra time! The shouts from traders and the sounds of frisky chatters are getting louder with every step you’re taking, which means you have to be on the right track!

Determined you’re keeping up the fast pace, praying you’re able to shake off your pursuers completely in the crowds of the busy market, as you round the next corner. But all of a sudden you’re awfully crashing into a wall.

“Woah!”

“Uff--!”

The heavy impact is stealing your air, though obviously not only from you, but also from said wall, which in the hustle and bustle you’re literally falling into his arms eagerly not to fall. Together you’re even staggering sideways for a split second. Stressed and tense you’re spinning your head up with surprise, staring into the startled, wide ruby red eyes of the man. "Wah-…?"

“… You?!”

You didn't even realize how tight you were clutching Motonari when you crashed into him, until he’s violently yanking your arms away. "The hell yer doing? Got a bloody death wish?" He hisses and is glaring at you furiously.

As shocked as Motonari's reaction was, so are you aghast to face him right now. "What, of all people, are you doing here?!" You snap, still completely out of breath.

Quick steps are pulling you back to the current situation you are still in. You were supposed to keep running from your pursuers but simultaneously you’re facing an enemy of the Oda forces. Your situation is definetly growing somewhat hopeless. Nevertheless the sight of Motonari’s anger makes it a lot easier for your decision, to pass him and run away, than to stand rooted on the spot.

Unfortunately Motonari suddenly grabs your wrist roughly when you've just turned away and is pulling you back. "Ack-…! Let me go!" you plead.

"I won't do shit," Motonari growls venomously. "Now that yer recognized me, princess, I’ve gotta improvise something."

The hectic steps from the side street are getting louder with every passing moment, before they’re coming to a sudden stop right next to you. “There’s this witch!” One of the pursuers is shouting. He’s considerably tall with broad shoulders and a massive body. Shortly afterwards another two coarse figures appears behind him. They’re building themselves up with stern grimaces in the narrow alleyway.

Your eyes anxiously widen and your body starts to tremble ever so slightly. But there is no running away again for you, for Motonari’s adamant grip is chaining you.

"Huh, didn't even know yer know so many grim-looking acquaintances, princess." Motonari’s saying coolly, scanning the three men with his steely gaze. Still he doesn't loosen his grip on your wrist instead he’s tightening it.

"I haven't!" You snort, trying to yank your hand free to get away from him - without avail. You don’t know if it's better, getting caught by Motonari or these guys. But you know for shure both scenarios are pretty bad.

"Hey, you there! Plat-head!” One of the scoundrels growls and is glaring at Motonari grimly, whose dryly raising an eyebrow at this denomination. "Give us the little girl. We have business with her."

“That stupid hussy broke my nose!” Another of them shouts indignantly. You’re noticing his swollen red nose and you can't suppress a brief, yet inappropriate, flash of pride in your face.

It was just a few minutes ago, when they stalked you after you’ve exited your favorite shop. Unfortunately this shop is located in the outskirts of the village so there weren’t many people when they confronted you. The guys wanted to ‘talk to you nicely’ and after a few seconds you’ve ‘nicely declined'. Thank goodness you know some techniques of self-defense!

However, even more inappropriate is Motonari's spiteful laughter that he’s suddenly uttering. It’s giving you the creeps! "Seriously?" With a quick sideways glance in your direction with his ruby red orbs, he’s grinning at the fellow with extreme smug. "Tell me, how’d she did it, putz? Did she climb onto yer?"

Good gracious! Wouldn’t you please make him madder than he already is? Pretty please?!

"What did you just call me?" The broad shouldered man’s roaring furiously. Shortening the distance to Motonari, he’s threateningly waving with his massive fist.

Without wanting to, you’re quickly seeking cover behind Motonari, who has finally let go of your wrist. Now with his hands free he’s facing the attacker. With quick reflexes Motonari’s skillfully dodging the scoundrel's punch and draws his sword with a metal 'shink' that’s humming in the air. You’re holding your breath when Motonari’s holding the blade right against the throat of the ruffian, who is instantly not moving a muscle anymore. "Are you out of yer damn mind? You fucking want to take me on unarmed?!"

Motonari’s sounding incredibly unimpressed, for it was him against three rapscallions, but also incredibly pissed. No matter how this will end, you're sure you won't be of any use. So you’re looking around for an escape route. But you are cornered. The only side you could rush to is a dead end.

"The lil’ one’s mine, get it? So piss off, aye? ” Motonari’s growling with a frown and kicks the man roughly in his side. Gruntling the man hits the ground hard.

"You sunova-!" Furiously about the defeat of his crony, another ruffian - not quite as stupid as his predecessor - is trying his luck with a rusty dagger, when he’s running towards Motonari. But after a few seconds it lands on the ground, followed by the guy.

The last of the crew charges in, just to earn a brutal smack with the back of Motonari’s sword in the side of his neck. "Tch! How the hell did ya morons think yer can take me on when a lil’ girly beat you up? Ya wanna make me really mad?”

You’re recognizing the change in the air around Motonari. It’s tense, shifting from the beginning amusement to bloodlust. Motonari’s wielding his sword, but apparently used it just to disarm his opponent. But now it seems that he won’t restrain himself any longer.

"Crap, let's get out of here!" The guy with the lost dagger is yelling towards his pals. Frantically they’re getting up and quickly disappear into the alleys.

You sigh, relieved as the men finally disappear. But just one moment later your heart’s sinking completely into your boots when Motonari turns back to you, though this time with a sword in his hand. "Back to ya, princess."

“I haven't seen or heard anything!” You shout, throwing your arms up in air and backing from him. Now pressed against a real wall on the side of the house, your heart is pounding up to your throat, when you meet Motonari’s sharp gaze. Luckily the bloodlust you’ve seen before has gone, too.

Motonari’s raising an eyebrow, probably irritated by your strange reaction and is fixing you. Then the corner of his mouth curves up to an amusing smirk while he’s withdrawing his sword back to his belt. “Heh, ain’t that a start?” He snickers.

Abruptly he shortens the distance to you, placing one of his white gloved hands right next to your head against the wall behind you. Superior and smugly, Motonari’s looking straight into your eyes, straight into you. The tension’s getting tangible again and your heart’s pounding hard in your chest. "You owe me. I bet you saw nothing, understood?"

Something you least of all wanted, is to owe to some madman like Motunari! His stern expression is sending a shiver through your spine. "I- ... uhm ... thank you?"

"What should I do with yer thanks? Can’t buy anything with ‘em.” Motonari snarls dissatisfied and is slightly narrowing his eyes. "Either you damn shut yer mouth about everything ya saw - hell, just forget I’m even here! Or I'll cut out yer pretty tongue. Ain’t that a deal?"

Automatically you’re pressing your lips together sealing your mouth - and especially your tongue. You’re staring at him in horror with wide eyes. "Let's never talk about this again, aye?"

What joice do you have? Of course you could just agree with Motonari and then tell the warlords about his whereabouts. But you’ve always been a woman which sticks to her word, no matter how bitter this one is. Not entirely sure whether he'll still carry out his threat to cut off your tongue, you're just nodding, while glancing determined up to him.

"Splendid." Motonari’s pushing himself off the wall with a mask of satisfaction on his face, giving you the way free. "Then rush back to yer patrons, ‘lil princess.”

Uncertain you’re blinking towards him. Motonari makes no move to stop you, he’s just waving with his hand in your direction. He really leaves you with just that! Without further thinking, you’re taking to your heels and bolt away. Not that he'll change his mind after all!

After two more alleys, you’re finally reaching the busy and crowded market and try to calm your panicked pounding heart. That was definitely too much excitement for one day! Still, you're grateful for Motonari getting those ruffians off your back. But why does it haf to be Motonari of all people?!

A deal is a deal, you’re thinking to yourself taking one last, deep, nessecary breath. Certainly it won’t mean anything good that Motonari’s currently in Azuchi. You just hope, you won’t regret this deal someday.

With quick steps you’re heading purposefully back to the castle. Even if this idiot surely won’t appreciate it, your silence about that accident was certain to him.

And you are going to take to grave, that you’ve embraced Motonari by that accident, when running into him. Yes, better never even think about this again!

_____

Motonari’s running his white gloved fingers through his hair and grunts in annoyance, after you left. That you’ve recognized him is a great nuisance to him. It’s time to rethink his plans. That would slow things down a lot.

As if he’d actually trust a little princess like you to keep her mouth shut. What stupidity!

Casually he drives his hands on his sides to get rid of the strange feeling from your delicate arms embracing him.

Let's never talk about this again. - Yeah, better let's not.

[kojinnie]

tis is ranon! i wanna try the twisted match-up eventho it'll probably hurts. my worst traits would be

1. Not knowing myself well enough, having to ask others how i actually am from their eyes instead of looking through my own lense because I care of other's judgement better than mine.

2. I suck at handling compliment. Everytime anybody says anything good about me, I always get defensive by saying no, change the topic of the conversation, or saying "thank you, but [insert why i don't deserve compliment]"

3. Similar to the 2nd one, I have horrible horrible self esteem. I never really look at myself in a good light, I think I am horrible. Sometimes I feel like "im the worst" yet some of the times I feel like "woah I'm a queen". Even worse, sometimes I don't have the motivation to better myself in order to raise my self esteem.

My favourite(s) would be reiner and jean, you can choose the one with the worst(or whoever you prefer) compatibility with my traits. tears up already as I slip 1 dollar to your hand, whispering happy ending please..

Pairing: Jean x Reader

Summary: You accidentally meet Jean, your high school sweetheart, thirteen years later. While he has turned into a successful man whose face you'd see on TV a lot, you think of your life and what could have been with him, if only...

Tags: Angst/Fluff, coming of age, slice of life

Word Count: 3.6K

A/N: Oh Ranon my sweet child, hereby I present to thee... hopefully an antidote to the despair Yams had given us with 138. Hope you like it love!

Song mentioned: Linger by The Cranberries

"It's nice to see a familiar face 'round here."

There was no word that could describe the feelings you had upon hearing that voice. A voice that was once the first sound you hear in the morning and the one you say goodbye to before falling asleep. A voice that you had not heard for what felt like forever.

You didn't have to turn around to tell who it was, "Jean?"

The two of you erupted in laughter, both surprised by the mere coincidence of meeting each other at this old and ran-down department store, on the outskirt of the town you both grew up in.

Jean was quick to pull you into a big embrace that you gladly came into. A familiar piece of warmth was his hug, and yet it had struck you as odd that it did not feel foreign at the closest, although it had been years since the last time you met him.

Jean had grown very tall. There was no longer his signature undercut as he had let his hairs to grow past his ear. His chiseled jaw hid beneath dark brown beard he now had. You pretended to check him out and be shocked with the view, "You really grew! Like grew, GREW!" as if you hadn't seen him on the news station or the daily mail. As if you didn't follow his Instagram with your second account. As if you never thought of him at all.

He held your shoulder and pulled away to look at you, "Thirteen years and you don't look any different."

Your face grew hot and the compliment sent an uncanny discomfort to your guts, "Ah the lighting sucks here - to my advantage, fortunately."

There was a disapproving look in Jean's eyes for a passing moment before he carried on with the conversation. He didn't expect to see you at the old department store the two of you used to roam in after school, he said. Neither did you to ever meet him again, especially here. A place so awfully ordinary for someone who had grown to be the best version of himself. Jean had finally achieved his dream to be a household name in the country as one of the rising young attorneys.

The celebrity status he had achieved, all the actresses and models he had dated - it all inflicted you with some kind of inexplicable pain. One that made you feel worthless, to say the least. Someone who used to be so close to your heart, had grown so magnificently, leaving you with the painful fate of being ordinary. Yet, still your face lit up in distant pride each time a mention of Jean’s name surfaced, be it from the passing conversation your friend had, or to see it announced by the news anchor for some big public case he was working on.

Jean said that he returned home for a funeral. His uncle died, and he needed a spare sandal. He didn't know any other store, as the area both of you grew up in had changed a lot. Leaving this old department store the only place he could remember.

You passed your condolence but he was more curious with what you were up to. You chuckled because he seemed so serious when he asked, "Didn't you move out to the city? Why the hell are you coming back?" as if the misplacement of seeing someone so glitzy in this boring, dilapidated town didn't apply to him.

So you answered, and Jean turned silent for a moment. He tilted his head downward, and you noticed that he was the same person with the same mannerism. Although he was no longer the 17-year-old boy who used to get all ruffed up in school fight, trying to defend you from some stupid jocks; nor was he still the tall, lanky kid from your Home Economics class that you gave your first kiss to.

Your mind couldn’t help but to race to all the what-ifs, and the presence of Jean before your eyes right now only made the wonderings more palpable.

Jean smiled faintly to your answer, “Congratulations,” he still made his way to pat the side of your head, something he used to do every time, “big step, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s scary.”

“So, who’s the lucky guy? Anyone I know from school?” Jean said, faking the enthusiasm in his tone, but you didn’t notice. Because in your mind, it would be an absurd idea to think that you would still have the tiniest bit of effect on Jean, for he had outgrown all the memories he ever had with you.

“No, no,” you tried to mask the bitterness that suddenly emerged on the back of your tongue, “we met at work. He’s a great guy.”

Indeed, he was. The reason why you returned home was because you were getting married, and your fiancée wanted to be close with your family, for he didn’t have one growing up. He was an exceptional man, he had this magnetism in him, with the way he perceived things, to the abiding tenacity he had in him.

Your fiancée was a man you knew you could lean on in the eye of adversity. That’s why you agreed to marry him. But then again, there was always a void inside your heart that had no resolve to it for so many years. Your fiancée was your foundation, and yet, perhaps selfishly, you still yearned for the childish laughter and the irreplaceable feeling of freedom you once had with the man standing tall before you. Whose glance never failed to make you feel the most at ease with.

“He must be a pretty great guy to get you,” Jean’s faint smile grew into a grin, he was trying to down play the commotion he started to feel within his chest, “what’s his name? So, I can picture him.”

You laughed, because it was only natural for you to do so in the presence of the first guy you had fallen for, the first guy to ever told you how pretty you were and how all your imperfections never mattered to him, the first one to bring your teary face into his embrace after a gruesome day, before saying, ‘I never thought it’s possible. But, crazy, seeing you cry hurts me too.’

However, you knew, that all those memories had passed by and you were happy with where you were now. “Reiner,” you smiled at the mention of his name, “my fiancée’s name is Reiner Braun. He’s… amazing.”

“Wow. Tough name. Probably someone I’d stay clear from in high school.”

Both of you laughed, and the two of you continued to talk, as you walked him through the desolated alleys to find the sandal that he wanted to buy, and Jean walking you to the towel aisle that you had meant to buy one for Reiner, only to find out that they had stopped selling towels since long time ago. The laughter and reminiscing persisted until the cashier row when Jean heard your stomach grumble. Both of you exchanged glances and broke into yet another laughter.

“Salerno’s?” Jean said, suggesting the pizza place off the highway, where you had spent so many dates with him back then.

“How could I ever say no to that?”

“Settled, then. Did you drive here?” Jean’s eyes gazed afar to the parking lot, strangely looking for the old car you used to drive back in school, before realizing that thirteen years had passed and there was no chance that sickly car could ever survive the time.

“No, actually Reiner dropped me and—” As if staged by the universe, your phone rung and Reiner was calling, “—right in time, it’s him!”

You walked away from Jean for a moment as he looked for his car key inside jacket. Across the line, Reiner was gruntling, his voice was hazy, “Babe—”

“Reiner, I bumped into an old friend!” there was a sing-songy tone in your words. Through the phone, Reiner chuckled, picking up the excitement in your voice, even though it was getting more apparent that Reiner was drowsy, “Anyway babe, can you get an Uber? I took the cough syrup your mum gave me, and now I’m sleepy as fuck. ‘Fraid I won’t be able to drive.”

You turned to Jean and saw him jingling his car key at you, before returning back to Reiner on the phone, “Rei, I think my friend can drive me home. I’ll be stopping at Salerno’s, do you want anything? The calzone maybe?”

Reiner yawned, “That sounds nice but—” yet another yawn, “I’m gonna pass out. Come home soon, okay? Tuck me in.”

You cackled at the buff man whining before you said goodbye and followed Jean into his car.

The trip to Salerno’s was nourishing with memories. The poplar trees along the avenue had been replaced by lines of billboards – from advertisement of real estate agent to divorce attorney, they all reminded you of how much the town had changed. Yet the sense of comfort you shared with Jean as you joked about all of the absurd things you saw along the way, had not changed at all.

If for one second you forgot that you were driving in Jean’s expensive car, and that you imagined he was wearing a shabby soccer jersey instead of a tailored-fit shirt – if you closed your eyes and thought that thirteen years hadn’t gone by between the two of you, it almost felt like you rode a time machine to a time when Jean was yours and you were his. And something about the thought of it just broke your heart.

When Jean pulled over at Salerno’s and found out that it’s past the time for dine-in, the two of you decided to eat at his car instead. Jean didn’t even ask what you want and he returned with exactly what you had in mind, the classic calzone, something you always used to have. He remembered.

The two of you laughed, bantered and joked at each other. It felt almost as if no distance had ever been laid out between the two of you, like you hadn’t lived an entirely different life, like he was the same person after all. He hadn’t once made you self-conscious like you thought you would, considering the amount of success he had attained for himself. You felt bad for accusing Jean of the worst, when all it was just a projection of your own insecurity.

“So, you’re getting married on the 15th, and your annoying aunt is not invited?”

“Yeah, thank God for the pandemic somehow. Legit excuse, when all I wanted was not to have her talk shit about Reiner on my wedding day,” you munched through your calzone, talking mindlessly, “as for you, sir, you’re invited. That’s a no-brainer. Hereby I invite thee to my humble dwelling. Bring your model girlfriend, please, so I can brag to my cousins.”

His grin subsided into a weak smile and then into nothing at all, as he sipped on his coke. Suddenly awkward silence loomed within the small space of his car.

“Jean,” you shifted in your seat as the guilt grew on you, realizing the error in your judgment, “sorry I was being presumptuous.”

“No worries, it wasn’t serious. None of it ever was.”

You nodded, engulfed in your own guilt for bringing a bad topic up. The silence let the radio’s murmur to become noticeable, and an old song had just been played through the local radio, a tune that you used to listen with him on the back of your old creaking car after a make-out session filled with enraging teenage hormones.

And I’m in so deep~

You know I’m such a fool for you~

You got me wrapped around your finger I—

Do you have to let it linger?

You sighed and finally looked at Jean with his head hanging low, “Do you want to settle down someday?”

“Eventually.” Jean answered nonchalantly, “Not even sure about the whole relationship thingy.”

“Oh.” An acknowledgment you voiced, before succumbing to yet another silence.

Jean called your name softly and when you turned to face him, he was looking at you. Even in the darkness of the parking lot, you could see his honey eyes gleamed in a look that was so familiar to you—a look of disappointment, “Tell me, how could you never end up working where you’ve always wanted to be?”

You were pulled even deeper into your silence as you looked away. Suddenly a hot rash of sadness started to swallow you whole, “I—”

You tried to voice out a tangible reason, but you had realized that all of it was your own doing. Your insecurity, your self-consciousness, the thought that you were never good enough for the thing you once wanted so bad; all of it led to a life unlived, and to have someone finally putting you in your place was embarrassing, if not painful, “—wasn’t sure if I really wanted it and—”

“—wasn’t sure if I was good enough to pass the test.”

“So, after college, you never ended up applying there? Not even a try?”

You shook your head embarrassed, looking down at your shoes.

Jean sighed and laid his food on the dashboard, before reaching for your right hand and held it warmly into his grasp. He called your name which propelled you to look back at him, “Weren’t you the one who talked me into getting into law school? Even when I thought it was impossible? Weren’t you the one who wrote on my yearbook to-my-future-attorney when everyone was convinced that I’d end up working a mediocre office job? Or a mechanic in my Dad’s shop?”

Jean carried on, “I just… I just don’t understand. How could you have so much conviction for other people but—but yourself?”

You passed a grim smile, as vulnerability started to catch up with you, “Nevermind Jean, it’s passed. I am where I am now.”

“But, wasn’t it your dream?” Jean grew antsy on his seat, it was obvious that he truly didn’t understand, “The pages and pages and pages of diary you wrote about wanting to work there? What happened?”

You sighed, running out of words to say, until you caved in, “Maybe I never knew what I truly wanted.”

“Is that why?” Jean shot another look at you, there was an intensity in his eyes that you had never seen before. There you wondered what had happened to Jean’s life in all those years passed at your absence, had he led a difficult life before getting the success he was enjoying now? “Is that why you left me—because you didn’t know what you truly want?”

Jean understood the consequence of his action, he was a well-accomplished attorney after all. He also understood the vivid pain painted all over your face, but he was taking his shot. Years of wondering where had you gone, what kind of live had you lived – you never ceased to haunt him, all the what-ifs with you he always thought about whenever he broke off yet another meaningless relationship with yet another woman he’d never cared for in his life. Over the years, he’d taken a close look at you. He’d find you on the internet, he’d asked about you to friends of a friend that was still in touch with you, he’d ‘accidentally’ found your legal documents just to see that you had gotten your college degree one year earlier than him. He didn’t know why the thought of you lingered, you just did. Arriving into his dreams where he was seventeen again and unassuming, only for him to wake up disappointed at seeing a woman that wasn’t you in his bed.

For the longest time, Jean had fended for himself to be where he’s now. When survival had finally bore fruits, what else could there be for him? Still, he felt lonely in the embrace of another woman, still he felt the void persisted even if he spent his money on things he didn’t need. Jean never thought, that after years of dreaming to be the person he’s now, all he yearned for was to have a piece of simple, ordinary and innocent happiness he once had with you.

You were, after all, the only thing that could remind him of the innocence Jean had lost after years of grueling work as an attorney—seeing how corrupt and insidious men can be. So, when his wearied eyes landed on the sight of you this evening, in the alley of that long-forgotten Department Store, Jean had no choice but to finally face his haunting.

“Jean, it’s a long time ago,” you smile, cupping his hand with your free hand, “besides, I’m no longer your type, right?” A grin, a playful grin, painfully fabricated and Jean saw right through it.

You could feel the air had gotten thick in his car, and you shifted closer to the door. Jean let go of your hand as he moved closer to you, running his long fingers through your hair. His voice had gotten deep and you could sense a hint of pain in his words, “Maybe I never had a type.”

He dragged his gaze all over your face; your eyes, your nose, your lips – the way he used to reassure that you were so beautiful in his eyes despite the self-hate you inflicted upon yourself, “Maybe all I ever wanted was you and all I ever did with those girls was to try finding you in them,” he forced a smile, so stale, so painful, “to no avail.”

You could feel the air into your lung was compromised as you battled the tears, “Jean…”

“Out of so many things that I have been brave for, I was never brave enough for one thing that I needed the most: to tell you that it’s always been you,” Jean slithered his hands through your waist and pulled you into his embrace. He laid his head, heavy with loneliness and exhaustion on to the nook of your shoulder. For lack of better term, Jean was finally back home, as he muttered, letting go of all his inhibitions, “Baby, it’s always been you. It’s always been you.”

Your whole body was weak with emotions. The thoughts, the persistent ones – the what-ifs you could have had with Jean, the life you could have lived and the dream that could have been fulfilled. Without your permission, the tears fell to your dismay as you thought of one last thing remaining in your heart: Reiner. The way he smiled and listened all through your nightly despairs, caressing you close until you fell asleep, exhausted with tears dried up all over your face. The way Reiner whispered on to your ear, amidst your drowsiness, that he loved you and that he promised to make you whole, to fill the void you had always feared for. All the little things he had done without you asking, or the way he loved your family as if they were his own.

You cursed yourself for being surprised at how much you realized that you truly loved Reiner, even when you were in the embrace of someone you wondered about often. You realized, the best way to prove to someone that you love them was to stick around. And Reiner had stuck around, as much as you stuck around for him.

You left Jean long time ago for reasons you only vaguely remembered now, but life went on and sooner or later you should make it in your heart to accept it. You smiled and thought of your life. Sure, there was a lot of thing you need to patch up, but what is life if not persevering?

You pulled away from Jean, surprised to see a beaten look on his face. Far away from the dandy and sharp young attorney you would see on the news. Once, you loved this man, but years had passed and the one he wanted was no longer there. You were no longer the person you were thirteen years ago. You were no longer the girl Jean longed for, all he wished for was a passing ghost that you have left behind in your adolescence.

You caressed his cheek for the last time and landed a kiss to his forehead, “Jean, I’m so proud of you. How far you have gone. I’m sorry I wouldn’t be the one you’d share your future achievement with, but for all the things you have done to me, for seeing the good in me when I could hardly see it… I want to say thank you,” you smiled although pain was searing within your chest, “there’s a world out there where this would work out. But not this world.”

The unexpected rendezvous you had with the man whom you had given your first love to ended with both of you crying at each other’s embrace, until Salerno’s closed and turned off their lights.

When Jean finally dropped you at your childhood home, the place he used to spend all the times in, Jean smiled and pointed at your room with the lights still lit, “He’s waiting?”

“I think he’s asleep. He’s a deep sleeper, he forgets to turn off the lights every time.”

“Does he even fit in your tiny bed?”

“Well, you did fit.”

“For a time.”

“Yeah, for a time.”

“So, you’ll be Mrs. Braun?”

“Yep, Mrs. Braun I will be.”

Jean scoffed, pretending to be annoyed, but smiling nonetheless, “Lucky bastard, that Mr. Braun.”

[one-boring-person]

I Trust You.

Marko (The Lost Boys) x Chiraptophobic!reader

Warnings: very vague mention of abuse, but they do not apply to the reader necessarily.

Context: The reader suffers from chiraptophobia (the fear of physical human contact/touch) and has somehow found themself in a friendship with Marko, who has somehow managed to understand how to not constantly need to touch his friend to show affection, until they take a ride on the Ferris wheel.

A/N: This was interesting to write, so j hope it's turned out alright. I guess I took a little inspiration from Death Stranding's Sam, but I thought it would be fun to do which it was. I hope it's enjoyable!😊💛

Masterlist

It took Marko weeks to finally figure out why I always shied away from his advances, why I'd stared uncomfortably at his offered hand until he withdrew it when he'd tried to shake mine in greeting, why I always wore gloves even in the suffocatingly hot summer air (despite him doing the same), and why I wouldn't go near people I don't know personally, often doing my hardest to steer clear of others in general. Rather than ask, he tried to work it out for himself, observing my behaviour and mannerisms for hours on end, though he still couldn't get what was up with my actions. He'd had to ask for some help from the others, though only David and Dwayne could offer any plausible reasons as to why: maybe I'd been abused in my past and was now averse to unfamiliar human contact, or maybe I was a germophobe. When the young vampire had asked me about both, I'd quickly denied them, thinking that it is unlikely he'd understand the real reason for my odd behaviour. It was only when he saw another person try to shake my hand that he finally noticed the emotion passing through my eyes at the prospect, at which point it all clicked into place. I was afraid of the contact.

Explaining to him what chiraptophobia is was surprisingly easy, though he was a little disappointed by this fact, being a very touch-driven person when around others, even when not in a relationship, though he did manage to take it in his stride, taking time to inform the boys of this as well, in case one of them accidentally made me uncomfortable. He'd nearly ripped Paul's head off when the taller vampire tried to wrap his arm around my shoulders, only letting up when I told him it was alright, that there was no harm done, despite how uneasy I felt afterwards. Since then, Marko has become almost like a bodyguard for me, making sure no one ever comes into my personal space, all while keeping his distance, too, respecting my limits.

We became fast friends, so much so that he eventually told me his secret, revealing his true self to me on one of the nights we chose to hang out together, alone, on the beach, a night I'd never forget. Naturally, I'd been shaken by this revelation, but soon grew used to the idea, knowing that my friend would never hurt me, not intentionally. After a few months, I finally felt comfortable enough to let him touch my gloved hand, though it still made me feel a little uneasy, the sensation of another person's fingers on mine unfamiliar and disturbing to me, but it made the vampire unbelievably happy, a bright smile plastering itself across his face for the rest of the night. He tells me he had to fight off the urge to hug me, for which I'm very grateful - touching a covered hand is very different to being enveloped in an embrace. Since then, he's taken any chance he can get to hold or touch my hand, always beaming like a beacon when he does so, my discomfort in the contact fading a little over time, though I'd soon found that it was only with the curly haired blonde that my body reacted like this, having asked Dwayne to try at some point, to see if it improved overall. Having come up negative in this test, I gave contact one last try with David, who never seems to take off his gloves, only to find that his touch made me uneasy as much as Dwayne's had, despite the two layers of cloth between our respective fingertips. The memory still sets me on edge, though I am well aware it has nothing to do with either David or Dwayne, rather my own mentality.

A shiver goes up my spine as I feel a hand slip into mine, though I quickly recognise the young vampire stepping in beside me, my stance relaxing again when my body realises whose touch it is, though my arm still remains a little tense, out of habit. Reassuringly, Marko swipes a thumb over the back of my glove, glad that I haven't rejected the contact yet, meaning I'm doing better than normal.

"Hey Stranger." He greets, grinning widely at me.

"Hey Blondie." I reply, smiling back at him in return, before casting a quick glance around for the others, "What'd you do with the other three?"

"They're around. Not sure where." The young vampire shrugs, dismissing the question quickly, "How was your day?"

"Not too bad. I didn't get much work done though, I was too preoccupied."

"Preoccupied? With what?" Marko inquires, raising an eyebrow at me in confusion, though his lips are still quirked up into an amused curve.

"That's for me to know, and for you to figure out." I chuckle, tapping the side of my nose secretively.

"Challenge accepted." He smirks, eyes lighting up at the prospect.

I smile at him as we walk, knowing he'll figure it out eventually, the answer being a little closer to home than he thinks.

"Anyway, how'd you sleep?" I question him, eyeing the Ferris wheel off to the side of the Boardwalk.

"Better than usual, actually."

"Oh yeah? How come?"

"Paul didn't snore so much for once, and David wasn't muttering in his sleep either, so it was pretty quiet, altogether." He explains, smiling when I laugh at the mention of David.

"Wait, David talks in his sleep?"

"Yeah, but you can't tell anyone! And especially don't tell him that I told you, or I'll have my ass kicked to the moon and back." Marko grins, biting his thumb as if nervous, though I'm aware that this is one of his signature mannerisms.

"That's a lot of ass-kicking. Probably quite impressive to watch. " I muse, noticing his arm lift slightly, as if to give me a playful slap on the arm, as he normally would've done with someone else, only to briefly squeeze my hand instead, shaking his head in mock exasperation. I grin at him, before turning my gaze back towards the Ferris wheel, admiring the glittering lights in the black night sky, wondering what the view is like up there.

"Wanna take a ride?" Marko interrupts my thoughts, eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Huh?" I blurt out, not having heard his question, quickly snapping my eyes back to his.

"Do you wanna go on the wheel with me?" He repeats, gesturing with a nod of the head to the great circular structure a little way away.

"I would love to, but I don't have any money on me tonight. I forgot my change." I say, somewhat remorsefully, using my free hand to pat my pockets to check for any loose coins, though I'm well aware I have none, having spent it all on food earlier in the evening.

"Who said anything about you paying? Come on, it'll be fun!" The blonde vampire promises, pulling me into the crowd, which parts around us thanks to his reputation (and choice of company), meaning no one comes into touching distance. At one point, my arm brushes past some surfer's bare bicep, which sends uncomfortable shivers and goosebumps through my body, the bitter, irrational fear that comes with it soon biting at the back of my mind, my pulse picking up slightly in response, my muscles turning rigid under my clothes. Marko notices this, briefly stopping to make sure I'm ok, before turning to memorize the surfer's face, most likely intending to take it up with him later, before we continue on, swiftly reaching the shortening queue for the Ferris wheel. Beside me, Marko fidgets and shifts in place, clearly eager to get on the rotating structure, his thumb between his teeth as usual, doe eyes focused on the ticket booth.

"Calm down, Blondie. The wheel isn't going anywhere." I laugh, watching the people around us as they amble to and fro, inching out of the way as a group of made-up girls push past, wincing as I brush against Marko, only to feel surprised when I don't feel the usual discomfort rising up in me from the contact, setting a train of thought into motion. I barely notice as the queue diminishes, only really returning to the present when we reach the booth, at which point Marko buys two tickets and leads me into one of the seats. An attendant comes over to help us secure ourselves, but Marko quickly stares him down, doing the job himself with efficiency.

Not too long after, we've reached a decent way off from the ground, our feet swinging gently in the air as we watch the Boardwalk from above, grinning and joking with each other as we take it in turns pointing out random individuals, making comments about them until the other laughs. At one point, the young vampire manages to spot David, Dwayne and Paul, making some sort of remark about how the leader's hair "looks like a pineapple from the top", before comparing the latter's to a mop. I do my best to hold back my laughter, but it only results in me nearly choking as he starts pointing out more and more likenesses between his friends and everyday objects, tears threatening to spill as I struggle to contain myself. It is only in this moment, that I realise one thing, but it takes me a couple more minutes to act on the thought that has sprung to mind.

Slowly, I pull off my left glove, teasing each finger out of their designated space with a deliberate hesitation, wriggling them a bit once I've exposed them to the air, enjoying the sensation of the light breeze around my heated digits. Marko makes a point of ignoring this, turning his gaze up to the star-strewn sky instead, only to snap his eyes back to mine when he feels a single finger touch the skin of his hand. Gingerly, I trace it over his knuckle, expecting to feel a rush of discomfort, my movements careful and calculated, knowing this is the first time in years that I've had deliberate contact with another person's skin. From my fingertip, it feels as if an electric shock has travelled through me, butterflies suddenly appearing in my stomach. Biting my lip when nothing bad happens, I continue this movement with the rest of my fingers, cautiously slipping my hand into his, enjoying the feeling of his icy cold palm against my warmed one, my eyes finding his shocked ones as our fingers intertwine. In them, I find a tonne of questioning, though he makes no move to actually ask, instead remaining quiet, carefully tightening his grip around my hand as he tries his best to feel as much of my soft skin as he can, the calluses from the handlebars of his bike rubbing slightly.

"What does this mean?" He eventually queries, elated that he can finally hold my hand without a glove being in the way.

"It means that I trust you. I've had no reaction to your contact, and I think it's because I enjoy being with you, and also because you've increased my confidence levels a lot since we first met. I've been trying to figure out why I'm ok with you touching me and no one else all day, which is why I was too preoccupied to work, but I finally worked it out." I inform him, telling him part of the truth - in reality, my trust goes a lot further than wanting a platonic friendship.

Marko is quiet for a moment, as if not quite understanding what I've told him.

"You trust me?" His voice is laced with disbelief, eyes fixing on mine again.

"I do."

Eyes widening again, he smiles, his other hand coming up, as if to try and wrap me in a hug, but the awkward positioning of the barrier, as well as the reminder of my usual discomfort, stop him in his tracks, his hand tightening around mine instead .

"I'm really glad you feel that way, (Y/n). Not many people do." He chuckles, referring to the naturally predatory air he gives off, being a vampire and all, still surprised that I let him touch me.

"I feel safe around you because I know you're my friend, but not many people can have the same claim." I point out, watching the view a little, enjoying the sight of the many glittering lights sprawled out before me, admiring the tiny orange specks of fires on the beach, as well as the rapidly moving headlights of a train passing through the outskirts of Santa Carla, most likely heading out towards the Bridge.

"Fair point." Marko agrees, still staring at our joined hands, which he continues to do until we reach the bottom of the wheel again, at which point he has to let go in order to remove the barrier from our laps. As soon as we're back on the Boardwalk, however, I slip my hand back into his, a small feeling of warmth welling up in me as I see the bright smile splitting his face, clearly happy that I've willingly made contact with him again.

A whistle behind us draws our attention, the sound belonging to a grinning Paul, who approaches us, along with David and Dwayne, who are both smiling at the sight of us, the latter more so than the former, though both seem glad to see their friend happy. As they come closer, I make eye contact with Dwayne, who lifts an eyebrow in questioning, a smirk making its way onto his face when I silently give him a nod, knowing he understands what it means.

I've fallen hard for the blonde vampire who's helped me get over my fear.

[doyelikehaggis]

Rowing the Rarepair Rowboat: Barry Allen x Iris West x Leonard Snart (The Flash)

Requested by @wonderdoves

He's not allowed to go anymore. It's all Barry hears in the lecture he gets from Joe when he brings him back from the prison again. Third time this week, he catches, refusing to look at him. Have to stop.

"No," Barry says flatly. And then he's running up the stairs and slamming the door to his bedroom shut. It's not his bedroom. It's just some guest room, currently holding the poor foster kid he had to take in.

True to his word, Barry doesn't stop. He wants to see his dad. He knows he didn't do it, no matter what anyone says. But apparently Joe swayed the prison into not letting Barry visit. Makes a point of telling him as much at breakfast, as if he can sense his plans.

Barry doesn't say a word about it, just eats his cereal in deliberating silence. And as soon as he's done and on the path to school with Iris, he takes a left turn in the wrong direction.

"Barry," Iris says, making him pause to look back at her. Her expression's confused, but her eyes are full of worry. "Where are you going?"

"Anywhere," he says, shrugging. Then he takes off.

He's never exactly been the fastest runner. Still, Iris doesn't try to follow. It's good, he wouldn't want to get her in any trouble. He doesn't care the same for himself.

No one questions the little kid wandering the aisles of a store, no one paying enough attention to see him slipping candy bars and strange little juice things barely the size of his hand into his pocket as he goes. Not when he actually has money to pay for the two things he sets on the counter when he's done.

Then it's back to wandering through the streets of the city, but at least he has chocolate now. It's not what he would like to be doing, but it's better than being at school and abiding by all of the dumb rules they're trying to enforce on him because he's "out of control" according to his teachers, and Joe, even the headmaster.

But around comes lunch and he's bored, so he finds himself slipping through a gap in the fence into the playground. He spots Iris. Alone. She's just sitting on the ground, back against the wall, flipping through homework.

It brings a small smile to his face. Approaching her, he sits down beside her unnoticed until he taps her knee with one finger.

She startles and her head whips up, eyes wide. But then she sees it's him and her features relax. Not too much, he notices; she still seems tense.

"I didn't think you were coming," she says, but her voice gives away that she's glad he did.

He starts to respond, mouth opening, but he's cut off by quick and heavy footfalls rounding the corner they're tucked behind.

A couple of boys. One's who have never liked Barry, and Iris through association. He can already tell that this isn't going to end well by the looks on their faces when they come up short and realize they're there.

In all honesty, Barry doesn't catch much of what happens. He's gotten used to tuning insults out that his brain just sort of automatically does it on its own. But he hears the words "mommy", "dead", and "orphan", and none of them are used with all that much sympathy.

Next thing he knows, he's on his feet and swinging for the closest one. His fist makes contact, hard, and he just keeps going. There's blood, he thinks, but he can't figure out where it's coming from as they end up on the ground.

There are rough hands pulling at his shoulders and he thinks Iris' voice is there somewhere. But all he can focus on is the bubbling anger that's been boiling inside of him for weeks now, at the man who really killed his mom, the police, Joe, even his dad for not fighting to see him.

The other boy isn't fighting back, he registers faintly, his hands pushing at him instead to try and topple him. Then a fist makes contact with the side of his face and he falters, thrown off balance.

It's long enough for them to shove him off. His elbow scrapes off the ground and his head hits it with a thud that makes a dull pain shoot through it. But it doesn't feel so bad. It actually feels good. Even the stinging in his hand.

There are shouts now, deeper, older voices. More footsteps hurrying in their direction.

He tilts his head, catching a glimpse of the boy, being carefully hauled up by his friends. There's dark splotches on the ground, and when Barry manages to look at the boy's face, he finds it covered in red. Blood streaming from his nose, his forehead, his mouth, even the back of his head. And he's crying. Kind of screaming, actually.

Barry feels a hand taking his and he looks to his left. He finds Iris next to him. Holding his hand. His hand that's scraped at the knuckles and covered in someone else's blood.

Her eyes are wide and terrified and shining more than he wants them to ever. But she swallows and just holds his hand a little tighter with a smile. One that says I'm with you. No matter what. Even after that. It makes him feel a little less lost and alone.

~

Security cameras. How did he forget to avoid the cameras this time? Because he's eleven, and it just didn't really cross his mind.

But they did. Joe has to talk to other police officers because of it. And because of that kid. A broken nose, concussion, and some damage to his mouth. They said he was lucky there was no permanent damage to his eyes as well.

Barry feels a little stir of regret. He just snapped. But the kid started it, and he didn't even want to be at school in the first place. He wanted to see his dad.

Joe's talking to the principal, too. The parents aren't happy. The store owner isn't happy. Barry hears him try to come to his defence; he's eleven, he's a kid, he's traumatised and grieving, he's in pain, he just needs help and support.

Maybe he's right. But Barry doesn't want his help. He doesn't want his support, because he won't give it to him where it matters most. He still doesn't believe him.

This isn't the first time he's been in trouble.

"He's been caught stealing before," the store owner says.

"He's violent and aggressive and is in fights far too frequently," the principal says.

"He's broken school property." "He's damaged store property." "--public property." "Truancy." "Vandalism." "Theft." "Fights." "Hospital."

"Acting out." "Scared." "I can help him."

"Pressing charges." "Needs discipline." "Out of your control." "Just a foster kid."

Barry chews on the inside of his cheek, biting it until he can taste blood. Iris is silent next to him, but he can feel her fear. Not his own. He's not afraid.

"A juvenile detention facility will just teach him a lesson that he needs to learn. It'll be better for him."

The hearing goes through. A couple hours of community service. It could be worse, Joe reasons. Barry doesn’t say anything.

~

Cleaning graffiti from windows is his punishment. Barry doesn’t entirely think that this is an eleven year old’s job, but apparently complaining about it will only make it worse. Not that he cares either way, but it at least gets him out of that house.

It’s working in silence mostly, the other kids scattered out in the vicinity, doing other jobs. The supervisor is around somewhere, but not close by, fortunately. It’s actually kinda boring. Right up until--

“Psst. Barry.”

He glances around for the source of the familiar voice, and he finds it. Iris’s head, peeking out of an alley on his left. He relaxes, starting to smile, then hesitates.

“What are you doing here, Iris?” he asks, trying his best to sound disinterested, and with real suspicion. A touch of bitterness. “Did your dad send you here to keep an eye on me?”

She looks hurt. “No. I told him I was going to Dinah’s house to study. I just wanted to see you. You’re always in your room.”

Barry softens, and he lets himself smile this time. Iris then glances at the graffiti-ed window and her face scrunches. 

“That doesn’t look fun,” she notes. “At all.”

“Wanna give it a go?” he jokes.

Iris scoffs. “And do it all for you? I don’t think so.”

Barry rolls his eyes, but he laughs. A laugh bubble up out of her chest as well, and it makes his heart skip a beat. As if it’s a few months ago, when everything was good and fine. It feels so familiar.

Then his eyes dart off to the side and he catches sight of a group of boys making straight for him, and he knows he’s in for it. Especially since the leading boy has a black eye and bruised face, and his nose looks a little wrong in some way. And he looks pretty intent on revenge.

“Go,” Barry quickly tells Iris, who’s eyes are wide now that she’s spotted them, too. But she shakes her head. “Run, Iris,” he hisses. “Run. Please.”

She listens. He watches her take off out of the alley and down the street. The boys pay her no mind; she’s not the one they want. Unfortunately for him, he can’t even run away this time unless he wants more hours of service.

Barry swallows, but stays where he is, tilting his head up. A bad move, he decides, because suddenly the kid’s on him and he’s just given him access to land a blow on his jaw.

It hurts. A lot. It throws him enough that he doesn’t have time to react before the boy’s throwing another punch, straight to his stomach this time. It winds him and he doubles over. Then it’s punch after punch, the sharp kick of a shoe. He doesn’t try and fight back.

The numb pain is actually soothing. Like all of the turmoil, the anger that’s been boiling like a brewing storm thundering inside of him, it’s all draining out of him with each blow. 

His head’s starting to feel like it’s detaching from the rest of him and sitting up high on a cloud when there’s a shout. For a moment, he thinks it’s just from one of the boys, probably mistaking a laugh.

“Get out of here unless you want me to show you how this pocket knife works,” an unfamiliar voice says, strangely calm, but low in a dangerous way. “Or I can just get my buddy to light you up. How do you like the sound of feeling your skin sizzling and peeling off your bones until you’re just a puddle of flesh?”

The blows stop coming. Barry faintly catches the sound of hurried footsteps, now running in the opposite direction. Someone actually scared them off, he thinks in disbelief. That’s a first. 

He cracks his eyes open, and it feels like an effort for at least one of them. A boy comes into sight above him, standing over him. His expression matches his voice. Calm, but something dangerous in the cold, glinting eyes. Like ice. 

But he reaches a hand out to him. Barry gingerly takes it, and finds himself faced with Iris appearing at the mystery boy’s side. She’s crying. 

“Your girl ran into me, and she was a mess, so.” The boy waves a hand like it’s a good enough explanation for a question that wasn’t asked. He eyes him, then the window. “Ah. You’re the new kid, right?”

Barry’s eyebrows furrow, his attention divided between taking Iris’ hand to reassure her he’s okay. “Uh, new to...to...?”

“The legal system. Juvie.”

The boy raises an amused eyebrow at him. Barry’s finally able to register details about him and notices that he must be a couple of years older, maybe thirteen, fourteen. Probably why the boys ran off. That, and the good few inches he has on all of them, not to mention the threat of a pocket knife that Barry can’t help but glance at his pockets for any sign of now. Just in case. 

Barry just stays quiet. 

“Thank you for helping...” Iris steps up, raising her chin. She trails off pointedly.

The boy stares for a moment. His eyes that Barry are realizing aren’t just cold like ice, but are the colour of it as well, flick between them. Then a slow smile spreads across his face. 

“Snart,” he answers her silent prompting. “First name’s Leonard, but call me that and I will shiv you. Don’t have to be in juvie to carry one on you.”

Iris’ hand tenses in Barry’s, and admittedly he’s a little intimidated. But then Iris laughs. He glances at her like she’s out of her mind, but the pain in his head must be getting to him, because a slight chuckle escapes him as well.

“Noted,” Barry says.

“Does that mean that people call you Leo?” Iris asks, and she’s teasing. She is teasing the older boy who just threatened a group of kids with a pocket knife and clearly knows his way around the legal system better than them. “Or is it just Snart?”

“No one calls me Leo,” he answers coolly, but there’s a quirk at the corner of his mouth. “Besides, I highly doubt I’ll be seeing either of you again. No need to be on an any name basis.”

He turns his stare back to Barry, and something about his expression tells him that his own face isn’t looking so good right now. He winces for him, actually looking almost sympathetic.

“Piece of advice for you, kid,” he says, “run away next time. Or find yourself someone to look out for you. That’s what I did, and I’m still alive.”

He then turns and walks away. Finally, he pulls his other hand out of his pocket, flipping a knife between his fingers like it’s a game. 

Iris tugs on his hand, bringing his attention back to her concerned gaze, her hand gently reaching up to his face but not quite touching.

“Come on, we need to do something about this,” she says, and she makes him abandon his window in favour of finding the supervisor.

~

Barry’s community service is due to end, but apparently skipping out on doing it only lengthens the punishment. He’s sure that stealing a couple more things from a store probably didn’t help. 

Breaking the rules of his community service, they say to Joe. Needs more extreme measures. Isn’t learning anything. Not enough discipline. Barry could already feel what was coming.

His community service doesn’t extend, but becomes a two-week sentence to a juvenile detention facility. Joe tried to fight that, too, but he seems wearier. More hopeless. Like he’s slowly realizing that nothing he’s doing is working on him.

And he hasn’t exactly been too happy about Iris hanging out with him when he’s skipping his hours. Or accepting half a stolen chocolate bar from him, waiting around the corner. Barry doesn’t see the problem. That doesn’t seem to help.

So, when the sentence is given, there isn’t as much of a fight. From Iris, there is, but Barry shrugs it off and says it’s fine. He’s only been at the facility a couple of hours, but it doesn’t feel so bad. There’s a room, and food. 

And it’s boring. 

Then, at last, he gets a sliver of hope that these two weeks aren’t going to be as dull and torturous as they seem. He spots Snart across the room, sat on a table, in conversation with a slightly taller, slightly older, even more intimidating boy. 

It’s probably a huge risk to just approach someone in juvie, Barry thinks. So, he does exactly that. Walks right over to them, practically unnoticed by mostly everyone else as one of the smallest people in the facility. 

“Hey,” Barry says when he reaches them. 

Snart keeps talking, as if he hadn’t heard him. The older boy doesn’t show much acknowledgement either.

Barry considers tapping Snart to get his attention, then remembers the pocket knife, the threat, and just the overall general unspoken rule of not touching anyone in juvie if you want to keep your hands.

He tries again, addressing Snart this time. It works. Snart stops talking, his eyes sliding to him, sharp and like a cat’s narrowing. Recognition flickers in them.

“Beat it, pipsqueak,” the older boy next to him grunts out, menace flashing in his eyes. He doesn’t have the same cold glint, but it’s still harsh, but more blazing, like burning flames rather than ice. 

“Well, well,” Snart says, ignoring his friend’s comment. That same slow smile is curving his mouth as he seizes Barry up with subtle disbelief. “Proved me wrong. Tell me you and that girl didn’t get yourself thrown in here for fun.”

Barry chuckles, but shakes his head. “No."

“You know this kid?” his friend asks in confusion.

Snart shrugs, a tilt of his head. “Stopped a couple of kids from killing him during community service a few weeks ago.” He turns his head, smirking at his friend. “Sound familiar, Mickey?”

His friend grunts again, clearly displeased. “It’s Mick. I’ve told you to cut that out or I’ll shiv you myself, Lenny,” he shoots back, and Snart glares. 

Mick then looks back at Barry. He doesn’t seem any more eager to have him standing there, but he doesn’t protest as much anymore. 

“What’d you do, kid?” he asks. “Set something on fire? Rob a bank?”

“I’m eleven,” Barry says in confusion. “How would I rob a bank?”

Mick shrugs. “Easy. Just--”

“Just, answer the question,” Snart cuts him off, tone somewhat gentle, but sending an exasperated look Mick’s way. He turns back to Barry. “What’d you do?”

“Just stole some stuff,” Barry says flippantly, brushing it off. He pauses. “And... I sort of vandalised a cop car.”

Both of them light up, interested. Mick laughs, and Snart looks fairly impressed. 

“All right,” he says, nodding, then throws a glance around, “and, uh, your girl?”

“Iris isn’t here. Just me.”

Barry can’t help but notice the flicker in Snart’s expression when he mentions Iris’ absence, almost as if he’s disappointed.

“Does just me have a name or am I gonna have to keep calling you pipsqueak?” Mick asks.

“Oh, it’s Barry,” he answers. 

Mick’s eyebrows draw together. “That short for something?”

He’s clearly asking for a reason. One that Barry is not going to give him to him considering the nicknames he’s sure he probably already uses on Snart. 

“Nope,” he says, shaking his head. “Just Barry.”

The answer’s accepted without question.

“Alright then,” Mick says. “I’m Mick, and that’s Len. Though, personally, I recommend you call him Leonard. He loves it.”

“You do remember that you have to share a room with me, right?” Snart asks him, the implications clearly there. “You really want to be pushing that one knowing that?”

Mick glares, looking like he very much wants to. But he doesn’t. He presses his lips together and breathes a sigh out through his nose, but says nothing else on the matter. A wise decision by the sounds of it. 

“Okay,” Barry says, grinning. “Got it. Guess we’re on an any-name basis, then.”

Snart--or Len, Barry decides--catches his eyes with a knowing look. He’s smiling, almost secretive about it. Then he’s rolling his eyes but motioning for Barry to join him on the otherwise empty table. He does, and Mick starts talking again about something or other. Juvie could be worse, Barry decides. 

~

Visitation isn’t like it is in the proper prison. Instead of being separated by panels of glass and having to talk through a phone, there’s a room filled with soft chairs and two-seated couches in four rows with a table in between each seat. 

Barry sits across from Joe and Iris. Joe keeps looking around like he’s unsure about something, questioning, searching. Barry just focuses on Iris the entire time. They talk, they laugh, it’s surprisingly nice. Then again, every moment with Iris is usually. 

When Joe excuses himself for just a second to go and talk to one of the guards, or whatever reason he gives that Barry doesn’t listen to, he feels someone drop down beside him on the couch. Iris’ eyes widen. 

“Was wondering when we’d finally meet again,” Len says.

Barry rolls his eyes, but turns to him, shoving his arm. “You’re not allowed to be here. Isn’t Lisa missing you over there?”

“She’s talking to Mick,” Len says, as if that’s practically the same thing. 

“Wait, you’re in here, too?” Iris blurts out, over her inital shock already. She then aims a light kick at Barry’s foot beneath the table. “You didn’t mention him!”

Barry starts to open his mouth, but Len’s beating him to it, feigning a gasp.

“You didn’t mention me yet?” he asks. “I’m hurt, Barry, truly.”

“I haven’t had a chance!” Barry says in his defence, and quickly waves a hand between the two of them. “Iris, this is Len, Len, this is Iris. There. Happy?”

Iris quirks an eyebrow as Len suppresses an amused smirk. 

“So dramatic,” Len jokes, addressing Iris with a shake of his head. 

She nods back, her laughter kept in her mouth, even as she says, “He always has been. I don’t think he can help it, but I’ve gotten used to it, and it’s now one of the reasons I love him.”

Barry’s heart jumps. Love. It means a lot of different things, he reasons, but his heart still grows and beats a little stronger when he catches her eyes and she smiles that cute, happy little smile at him. 

“Yeah, I can see why,” Len agrees softly. Then, when Barry looks at him in surprise, he rolls his eyes and gives his knee a nudge with his foot. “Though you’ve been a real pain since you got here. Honestly, can you go one day without getting in trouble?”

Barry grins. “But where would the fun in that be?”

“All right, I’ve been leaving you with Mick for too long, you’re gonna start setting fire to things soon.” Len turns to Iris. “Would you be willing to commit a minor offense to get thrown in here and take him off my hands? I’m going to go crazy.”

Iris laughs now and she shakes her head. “Sorry, boys, but I plan on staying out of here if possible. I’m not so easy to corrupt.”

Len’s eyes narrow, but the smile stays on his face. Sly, secretive, curious. 

“Perhaps,” he says. “Or maybe you just need to see that there’s fun to be had in a little corruption. It’s not all bad.”

“You’re in juvie,” Iris says blankly, raising an eyebrow.

Spreading his arms around them, one on the back of the couch, Len replies, “And it’s not so bad. We’re having fun, aren’t we? I’m just saying.”

“Do not get yourself thrown in here,” Barry says to her, laughing. “This is enough. Seriously. I’ll be out before you know it.”

Joe starts to come back over, and Len makes his exit. He only lingers long enough to wave a goodbye to Iris with a wink and promise Barry he’ll see him later before he hops back over the couches, settling back down beside Mick across from a girl about the same age as Barry and Iris, and an old man. 

~

So, Barry was a little bit off when he said he would be out in no time. He accidentally gets into a fight, and his sentence is lengthened by a couple more weeks. And it kind of just keeps happening. It’s not intentional, obviously. But he will admit that juvie isn’t all that bad. He has Len, and even Mick.

Time just passes. It doesn’t even really feel like it’s been a year and a half. But it has. And as the months have gone on, Joe’s grown more reluctant to let Iris visit. He says it’s affecting her. Making her distant and constantly worried about him, finding it hard to concentrate in school. Acting out. 

Of course, he says none of it to Barry’s face, but he overhears him saying it to his probation officer. When asked why he thought it was better if she visited less when it clearly makes both of them happy. But Joe’s firm. He stops Iris from coming. So, Barry eventually refuses to see him, too. 

He’s a little more miserable, to be honest. But Len’s there, cheering him up, at least. Mick’s... well, Mick.

But Barry’s probation officer talked to him a couple of weeks ago, bringing a little bit of news. Bad in their eyes, of course, but very good in his. 

He’s not allowed to see Iris the day she’s brought in, letting her get settled into her room first. Just down the hall from him. Apparently juvie in Central City doesn’t care about separation. 

But the next day, when they’re forced to go to class, he finally sees her and takes the seat right next to her. She lights up right away.

“Really, Iris?” he asks jokingly. “I know you missed me, but Len was kidding when he said you should join us.”

“No I wasn’t,” Len says from the seat behind him with a grin, shaking his head. 

Iris smiles. Something that people wouldn’t expect from someone on their first day in a juvenile detention facility. 

She shrugs. “What can I say? You made it sound fun.”

“What did you even do?” Barry asks, leaning across in his seat. He catches Len doing the same, shifting just a little, his curiosity obviously piqued as well.

“I was just skipping too many days of school...” she says, fiddling idly with a pen, “...stealing too much from the same store...but in my defence...I missed the chocolate you kept stealing for me, and it’s really not as much fun without you.”

Barry grins. “So, what you’re saying is, you missed me.”

“Maybe,” she says, rolling her eyes. She then points a thumb back at Len, adding, “But it’s his fault, too. If he hadn’t interrupted every one of our visits just to tell me what you guys have been up to, I wouldn’t have felt like I missing out. Or like I should be rescuing one of your from the other. Still haven’t decided which one needs it more.”

Barry scoffs, but Len’s smirking, a happy glint in his eyes. It’s a rare sight, one that Barry sees now and again. It’s how imagines he must look when he gets that heart-skipping feeling around Iris.

“Definitely me,” Len drawls. “I’m going out of my mind, Iris. Mick’ll agree with me, won’t you, Mickey?”

Mick groans from two seats in front of Iris, turning to look back at them over the empty one between them. “Stop dragging me into this. I’m tired. And I don’t care. Kill each other, please.”

Iris raises her eyebrows and looks at the two of them. But they both laugh and just wave it off as Mick slumps in his seat, his arms crossing. 

“You’ll get used to him, if you stay long enough,” Len says. “He grows on you. Eventually. As do I.”

“Eh, he’s alright,” Barry says when Iris looks just at him. 

“Rude.”

Barry leans back in his seat, grinning at him upside down.

“Kidding.”

Len’s eyes narrow. Barry had once thought they looked like cold, harsh ice. Dangerous and terrifying. They still kind of do, as does Len in general. But it’s like a softer ice now, in the middle of melting but not quite there. But slowly getting there. 

“So, Iris,” Len turns back to her, a mischievous look replacing the feigned glare, “tell me, do you like heists? Because, you definitely need to for this to work. Barry, Mick, and I are already planning our future for once we get out of here, and there are many heists involved. Are you in?”

“So much for subtle,” Mick mutters. Len ignores. 

Barry shrugs helplessly when Iris shoots him a questioning, almost disbelievingly amused look. They’ve talked about a couple of heists. Jokes. Maybe. The ideas aren’t so bad, and at this point, Barry isn’t sure what his future’s looking like. Maybe bank robber is his destiny. Hell, maybe they could break into Iron Heights and get his dad out. 

A genuinely thoughtful look crosses Iris’ face as she hums in consideration. 

“I’ve never really thought about it,” she admits. “How high are our chances of being caught? Because, my dad’s a cop, and I really don’t think it would be good if he caught us.”

“Not to worry about that,” Len says. “I always have a plan.”

Iris takes another moment, pausing. “All right. If it’s a good enough plan, and if Barry’s in, then sure.”

“I’m in,” Barry says, grinning. “Let’s rob a bank.”

~

“Why does stealing from the CCPD seem like our dumbest idea yet?” Barry whispers, but he keeps walking, careful not to make a noise in the deserted hallway. 

He glances at his watch. Seven minutes left. He can make it in and out in seven minutes. As long as he’s fast. He can do fast. 

“It’ll be fine,” Len assures him through the comms, his voice that soothing calm. “Just get to the lab. You remember where it is, right?”

“Yeah.” Barry turns the corner and spots the big sliding doors. “Right here. Okay, so, I go in and--”

“And you find the evidence,” Iris finishes for him, confirming. “They can’t afford to pull any of our fingerprints, or hair, or just any DNA off of it. Grab whatever they have on us, then get the hell out. My dad’s going to be there in six minutes, forty-three seconds.”

“Okay. Got it.”

Barry reaches up, flipping the little switch on the side of his goggles. Everything quickly turns shades of blue and orange and yellow. No red. No human heat signatures nearby, and none in the lab.

He slides the door open and walks in, flipping the switch back. Setting the gun in his hand down on the nearest surface, he quickly looks around the lab. It’s immaculate, not a thing out of place. 

“Thank you, Mr. Albert,” he mutters under his breath. Makes his life a hell of a lot easier if he’s not having to rifle through a mess of papers and other pieces of evidence. 

Instead, it only takes him thirteen seconds to locate exactly what he’s looking for, and another sixteen to carefully pull the evidence from the machine mid-test. Thirty-two to find the file, swipe it, and stuff it in his bag, which he keeps away from all surfaces. Eleven to grab the two other items of evidence they have against them, and then twenty-four to delete the digital file and the half-run tests. Not a single thing left to indicate there was even a case in the first place. 

Stepping back, he closes up his bag, grabs his gun, then makes back for the door. “Okay, we’re all good here.”

“Wait, Barry, see if you can find the evidence from the Laurdon case as well,” Iris says. 

“Good idea,” he says, quickly recalling their uncertainty over whether or not they had accidentally dropped something at the scene. 

He backtracks, heading back over to the case files. There’s a flash of light from the corner of his eye and he glances over at the windows. Probably just lightning, he reasons, or some part of the launch tonight. The particle accelerator finally being turned on gave them the perfect opportunity to clear their tracks since nearly everyone is over at S.T.A.R. Labs to watch it.

Finding the file, he flips through it. One bit of evidence, still being processed. 

Barry sets the file back and quickly moves over to the shelves. It said something about a chemical test that he remembers trying out a good few years ago. It’s just a matter of finding the right one. 

Fortunately, it’s not so hard. He grins, triumphant as he spots the beaker up on the second highest shelf, filled with a red liquid and a tiny strip of fabric. 

He reaches for it when there’s another flash outside, brighter this time. For a brief moment when he looks back at the windows, he thinks he was right in it being a storm. But then he takes in what he’s seeing. The lightning isn’t coming from the sky. It is, but it’s like it’s being controlled by some beam shooting up into the sky right from S.T.A.R. Labs.

Confused, he takes a step towards the window, then falters, glancing back at the shelf. The air feels like it’s filled with static. That’s not a good sign.

“Barry?” Iris’ voice asks. 

He’s going to respond. But his eyes fix back on S.T.A.R. Labs just as something happens. He can’t even explain what; a surge of powers, but accompanied by a bright light, shooting out from the building and sweeping all over the city. Coming straight towards him.

His eyes widen, but when it hits, he just feels the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand up. The lights go out. Every light, not a single dot within the whole expanse of Central City. 

“Barry? What the hell was that?” Iris asks, alarm in her voice now. They felt it, too. 

“Barry,” Len says sharply. “Answer.”

“I--I don’t know,” Barry says. “Something must have gone wrong with the particle accelerator, I think. There was like this power surge, and lightning, and--”

Thunder rumbles overhead. Right above him, actually. Far too close to be safe, especially when he still feels like he’s just stuck a knife in a toaster. 

“I’m leaving,” he says. 

He moves to make good on that, but stops short at rain pouring into the room. His eyes flick up and find a hatch in the roof. Open, of course. CCPD really has some geniuses on its payroll. 

Ignoring it, he moves to head for the doors. But as soon as he steps beneath the hatch, he can feel the shift in the air. The dread and panic already creeping up his spine, latching its claws into his shoulder. The taste of something metallic fills his mouth. 

He barely has time to lift his eyes back to the sky to see the bolt of lightning come straight down. It strikes him, and he’s aware, somewhere, of his body being thrown across the room by it. Of his back hitting something hard and metal, of things crashing down around him, and a burning beneath his skin and on it, like acid seeping through into his veins while he’s set alight. 

~

Speeding straight through the doors, Barry then skids to a halt and quickly slides it shut. When he turns around, he’s met with raised eyebrows and pointed looks that he’s all too familiar with.

“Damn it,” he groans, feeling the burn in his shoulder now.

He whips his shirt off, throwing it to the stone floor to stamp the flames out. 

“He’ll learn eventually,” Len says wryly, voice coated in sarcasm. 

Iris grins from her comfortable position in his lap, legs stretched out across the couch. “It’s been a year.”

Barry groans again, saying, “It’s hard, all right? You don’t know, it’s easy to forget that I can just--accidentally set myself on fire because I ran too fast!”

“I’ve accidentally set myself on fire,” Mick says, and Barry nearly startles, finding him sitting at a table in the corner of the room, drinking a beer. “Wasn’t pretty.”

The room falls silent at that. Barry just looks over at Len and Iris, and they all have a similar thought process of just let it be. It’s Mick. They’ve been used to it since juvie. 

“Alright then,” Barry mutters. Then, clearing his throat and in a more audible voice, says, “But anyway. Thought you’d like to know that I got it.”

Iris’ eyes widen, and she perks up, head lifting. Len’s expression isn’t quite as expressive; it never is, but Barry can see the glimmer in his eyes, the spark that comes alive.

“You got it?” Iris asks. “As in, it?”

Barry grins and produces the little leather pouch from his pocket. He holds it up and now they’re definitely both brimming with excitement and amazement, all knowing what’s inside. Even Mick is eyeing it with interest. 

“I got it,” Barry says again. He shrugs. “Perks of being a speedster, I guess. Some geniuses they are. S.T.A.R. Labs didn’t even have any alarms in place. I went straight in by them and straight back out with it.”

He crosses over to them and tosses the pouch for Iris to catch, which she does with both hands perfectly. In return, she briefly moves her legs to let him drop onto the couch before she throws them back over his lap. 

“Does it work?” Len asks, glancing at him. 

Iris is already pulling the strings to open it and tipping it upside down. A triangular device tumbles onto into her lap. 

“Don’t know.” Barry shrugs, spreading his arm over the top of the couch. “I haven’t tried it out. I was obviously waiting to get back here to you guys for that.”

Len smiles a little. Then all eyes are back on the device, now between Iris’ fingers as she turns it over slowly, careful. It’s grey and blue and definitely looks like what he was expecting. If he was to build one, it would pretty much be the same.

“If this works, you realize we can go anywhere we want now, right?” Iris says, voice as full of excitement as she seems, looking at the two of them. “Any planet. A different universe, even.”

“So many banks to rob, so many heists,” Len says dreamily, almost mocking.

She shoots him a look and presses her lips together in a smile. “Seriously, though. If this extrapolator is the real deal...”

“Would be pretty cool,” Barry agrees. “So. Let’s test it out.”

Iris holds it out, aiming at the empty space in front of the couch. She hits the centre with her thumb, and it shoots out a small beam of light that quickly expands, becoming a huge glowing blue circle in the middle of the room.

They all stare in awe, even Mick, his mouth hanging open with his beer halfway to it. Barry breathes out in disbelief, then shakes his head and turns to Iris and Len. 

“The universe awaits then, I suppose.”

[fancycakedragon]

Undeniable Attraction

Reader x Reader?

[Not my gif]

Source: @butteryplanet

Warning(s): some risque experimentation with reader's duplicate.

A/N: This is for a request that was made.

Masterlist

Finals were always a stressful time in college, but this year they were different. Before starting your spring semester you spoke to your advisor and decided on double majoring. It seemed a little daunting at the time but your advisor suggested you try it out this semester. If it didn't go well you could drop one to a minor or all together.

Now you were overwhelmed with all you had to do, projects, presentations, tests to study for. You knew you weren't going to make it but you didn't plan on failing for classes you already paid for. So you did all you could with the time you had. It was 6 in the evening when your study group decided to end the session for that day. They decided on going out for dinner but you declined telling them you were staying to do some reasearch. 

One of your classmates Drew shook his head, "You're gonna need one more of you if you wanna get all your work done." You looked up at him in realization, he probably didn't even know what idea he'd given you in that passing comment.

"Yeah, I would need one more of me," you said to yourself. "You know what, I'm going back to my dorm. I think I left some stuff there." You packed up your stuff and rushed off.

You went to your room and searched until you found the spellbook that had been in your family for generations. Flipping through the pages you looked for the right spell you needed. Then you saw it, a duplication potion. 

Your familiar sat next to you looking at the page suspiciously. You were glad your roommate transferred to another school. It made it easier on you not trying to hide Zenia or any of your witchcraft from someone living in such close quarters with you.

"Don't do this," was all she said but you could hear the warning in her voice.

"It's gonna be fine Zenia, I just need to make the duplicate for a day."

Zenia looked at you irritation evident on her face, "I dont care about you using it for a day, I care that you'll get caught. This spell-"

You looked at Zenia scratching under her chin affectionately. '"It'll be fine, assuming I don't get caught I'll just have the duplicate do as much work as she can before I break the spell."

Zenia looked at you with a stern expression. Then you went to work putting together the ingredients for the potion. Zenia helped you of course but she made it clear this was against her better judgement. One you were done you held up the crystal goblet carrying the teal liquid. A eery mist hovered over it some spilling towards your hand. 

Looking into it you said the incantation making the mist dissappear and revealing your reflection. Tipping the goblet back against your lips you gulped down the bitter drink. 

You felt a piece of your being ripped out of your chest and in a flash you stood in your room staring at, well, you. You grinned knowing that it had worked. "I might just pull this off," you said to yourself. Your duplicate stared back at you with a naive smile.

You led the duplicate to the desk at the end of your room. You eyed her for a bit, "You don't really talk much do you?" 

She only answered with a shake of her head, "I am a part of you, I know why I'm here."

You nodded with you lips pressed together. "Ok, we've got a lot to get done. I'm gonna have you do my final essays and projects while I study for the tests." 

Your duplicate wordlessly began working and you layed on your bed to study. It felt good to have a the load reduced a bit. The more you got done the more confident you became. If this wen well you might look into making a duplicate more often. 

Hours passed and you decided on taking a break when your stomach grumbled. 

"I'm getting some dinner. Do you want anything?" You addressed your duplicate.

"No, also I need to go to the library and get books for this presentation, is that ok?"

You thought for a moment, "Ok but be back here as soon as possible. Don't talk to anyone!" 

"You know I'm not that stupid," your duplicate said with a roll of her eyes before leaving for the library

The days passed and you had grown fond of having you duplicate around more. Enjoying your time spent with her was something you hadn't expected. She was just a means to get through finals. Still, you noticed yourself becoming more aware of yourself. You tried to fix your hair at random times, you used your chapstick more to keep your lips from drying, you even thought more about the outfits you chose. The reason it was so unexpected was that this was your duplicate, not an entirely different entity. There were a lot of territories still unexplored in your new emotions and trying to think about them only confused you more.

Suddenly she walked into your dorm room with a grin, "We should go clubbing!"

"Um, what do you mean we?" you asked sitting up on your bed.

"You, me and your friends. They wanted to celebrate and I thought it was as a good idea."

You shook your head in refusal, "No, we can't both go out. It's too dangerous."

"Oh come on! A simple glamour spell and some makeup, no one will ever notice a resemblence." your duplicate took a step into your personal space, "We both deserve this." She tipped her chin downwards her identical eyes batting their lashes at you.

You sighed knowing your resolve was weakening, "Fine." Once you made sure neither on of you looked like eachother you decided you were ready.

Turning to you with sudden panic in her eyes, "Wait? What's my name?"

You shrugged, "Jane Doe...man Doeman."

Jane nodded, "Ok. Ok, Jane Doeman." She shook off any remaining nerves before the two of you left.

The club was filled with with other college students trying to let off some steam as well. You noticed Jane was getting along with your friends. Which wasn't a surprise, she was you after all.

After a few drinks, a light buzz set in and you began to worry less and enjoy yourself more. Without a word you lead Jane to the center of the club for a dance.

The neon lights and pumping bass only added to your inhibitions. Your body moved closer to hers as the two of you danced in a sea of sweaty bodies. Even with the other people bumping against you, all your attention was on Jane. Her perfume-your perfume-somehow smelled way better on her than you. Her head was thrown back a carefree grin on her face as she moved in time with everyone else. Not thinking twice you grabbed Jane's face and smashed your lips against hers. How were her lips so soft and when did she buy peach flavored lip gloss? Pulling back for air she stared at you with a new found desire. In an instant you were stumbling out of the dance floor towards a booth in the back of the club.

Jane's mouth was back on yours with a frevor you weren't expecting. You moaned when she pulled your bottom lip between her teeth. Her hands reached behind you squeezing you bottom. You soon turned your attention to her jaw then trailing nips and kisses down her neck. She let out a mix between a moan and a sigh, her hands squeezing your sides. "We should probably got somewhere more private."

"This is crazy right?" you asked looking into her eyes. Every part of what you were feeling wasn't supposed ti make sense. Yet here you were making out with your duplicate feeling youself fall deeper into your feelings. 

Jane stared at you with a mischevious glint in her eyes, "Hell yeah this is crazy. So are we gonna go back to your dorm or what?"

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