#I haven't been 6 or 7 in a good long while now so I apologize if anything here is false

[cypric-rat-hyperfixation]

y'all know about the Tooth Mouse?

In Mexican culture, I guess they use the Tooth Mouse instead of the tooth fairy. It's the same idea though-- lose a tooth, leave it for the critter, critter barters for it

When I was 6 or 7ish, upon finding this out from my fully Mexican grandpa, I renounced the tooth fairy and embraced the Tooth Mouse

Also I'd leave it a little treat

[bluegalaxygirl]

Am i Crazy? (Zosan X reader) P4

Plot: Reader hasn't been sleeping or eating, they wont let anyone touch then and keeps having accidents. Everyone if worried or thinks they've gone crazy but the reality is so much worse.

Warning: Domestic abuse (Not by the hands of Zoro or Sanji), Bad language, violence, self harm, blood, mental damage and manipulation.

Zoro X Sanji X reader, Poly relationship, established relationship, Reader is GN.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8

After getting patched up in the medical room and finally managing to eat something, it was only a sandwich but it tasted so good, you felt a lot better. your face was now clean and the pain killers Chopper gave you made your back pain fade away. Nami stayed with you still apologizing for things you didn't think were her fault "Nami please. You did nothing wrong" you take her hand as she sits next to you on the bed your backs against the wall and your head on her shoulder. Chopper wraps your ankle up as Sanji sits on the edge of the bed crewing on an unlit cigarette, Zoro's hand on his knee while sitting in a chair. You haven't said much, your not really sure what to say, your still not out of danger you can feel it. "Are you ready to talk?" Chopper asks placing a ice pack on the ankle he just bandaged up. "Yea... i don't know what to say... but thank you" you look at all of them with a sad smile. "You can start by telling us who the hell he is" Zoro's hand grips Sanji's knee, someone has been hurting you under his nose, how did he not see this guy or even sense him. "He's my ex... i left him a few years ago, i knew he would try and find me but... i thought he would have given up a long time ago" you look down at your legs as Nami squeezes your hand "Has he been hurting you this whole time" The navigator asks earning a nod form you.

You start explaining everything you could, how he stopped you form sleeping and eating, how he hurt you if you did something wrong and what he would do to them if you stepped out of line. You talked about his devil fruit power and how he was always with you and when he wasn't he locked you in your room. You were so tired you couldn't fight back no matter how much you wanted too. Looking up you see the anger in Zoro and Sanji's face "Im sorry" you whisper feeling bad about not telling them but you had no chose "Iv seen the kind of man he is... when he said he would slit your throats in your sleep if i even looked at you, i knew he would do it" you hold back tears as they look up at you. Nami places a soft kiss on your head and moves off the bed "We should give them so space" She looks down at Chopper who nods and takes the navigators hand walking out of the room. Sanji gets up and moves across the bed to sit next to you still lightly chewing on the unlit cigarette while Zoro sits in the chair his hands clenched together while looking at your buried up leg. "Your safe now" Zoro suddenly speaks making you look up at him "We won't let him or anyone else hurt you" Sanji speaks taking his cigarette out and placing it on the table nearby before turning to you. "Can i hold you?" he asks not wanting to overstep, his words make you smile and let a few tears fall as you crawl into his lap and wrap your arms around him.

Sanji holds you close his face in your hair letting you cry into his chest "I'm so sorry... i didn't want you to get hurt and i'm sorry for wasting food and- and" you cried out as Sanji shushed you stroking your hair and lightly rocking you form side to side "None of this is your fault" he whispers down to you keeping his voice soothing and low to keep you calm. Zoro gulps looking at the two of you, it's been so long since you last let either of them touch you and when you lean into him outside your shared room, he was sacred to touch you but you need help. He stands up and sits on the edge of the bed scooting towards you a little "Y/n?" he asks seeing your head turn to look at him through Sanji's hold. You reach a shaky hand out to him and touch his arm letting him know it's ok to touch you, he gives you a small smile moving closer to wrap an arm around you and the other around Sanji keeping you three close together as he leans down to place a gentle kiss on your forehead "Your so strong y/n." The swordsman's words surprise you, you sit up in their arms to look at him confused. Sanji smiles and brushes a stand of hair out of your face and caresses your cheek with a gentle and soft hand. "He's right your so strong and brave" you shake your head at them "I didn't... i couldn't fight back" you didn't understand why they were saying these things. You are weak and tired and in pain, when he hits you, you don't fight back so how are you strong?

Zoro leans in and places his forehead against yours looking into your eyes with such a soft and loving expression "Your alive, you took a beating to protect Nami and Chopper, you took everything he threw at you and more. Your strong and brave and no one not even he can take that away form you" His hand runs up your back to your face rubbing his thumb under your eye wiping away a tear that falls "You think that?" You still don't fully believe him, your so used to being called useless, stupid or even that you deserved it by your ex and your mother. "We both do and i'm sure the rest of the crew does too" Sanji smiles kissing the top of your head still holding you close to his chest. As you lay there with them enjoying their soft touches yelling started to get louder outside until it was almost in front of the medical door. You jumped unsure of who was yelling but Sanji held you close telling you it was ok, you could hear so many voices yelling outside and your heart started racing, you body shaking fearing your ex got out. "Hay baby it's ok. I'll check it out" Zoro kisses your forehead and was about to get up and leave when you grabbed his hand stopping him "Please don't leave" you begged your other hand clinging onto Sanji not wanting either of them to leave you.

Zoro places a hand on yours sitting back down while Sanji pulls away a bit to look at your face "It's ok... i'm here, and he'll be right back" The cook reassures you but you don't let go "I'm going too then" you almost yell, determined to stay with them no matter what. Zoro sighs and shakes his head "Its probably just Luffy being mad, you don't need to come with" you shake your head at him and sit up straight. Sanji can't help but laugh catching your attention "That's my love" he smiles seeing you starting to act like yourself again, he didn't think it would happen this quick, but he's glad. Zoro stands up still holding your hand and nods, the two help you up off the bed and walk with you to the door. Zoro keeps you behind him his hand holding yours as Sanji holds you next to him, the door opens to see Nami and Chopper standing in the way of a very angry Luffy, Franky, Brook and Usopp. "I want to talk to Y/N" Luffy yells at Nami who stands in front of him, he doesn't make a move to get past her just keeps asking her to move, while the others yell behind him the same thing. Nami has a lot of power in the crew, she may not be the strongest, but she can put the crew on their asses if she wants.

The three of you step out and you feel a little better knowing its just your crew, Robin isn't with them so your guessing she's still watching the door which means he hasn't gotten out. There are no windows other than the one in the door but thats way to small to get out of and it's been covered up for a while. "Y/N" Luffy smiles waving at you once he sees you, Nami and Chopper turn to see you three "You should be resting" Chopper runs up to you worried about your health but you smile down at him "Im ok Chopper. i won't over do it i promise". Nami sighs and walks over the boys following her "You ok?" she asks looking worried but you nod at her "Yea i'm feeling much better, thank you for everything" she smiles at your words and hugs you lightly, you lean into her but keep your hands attacked to Sanji and Zoro not willing to let them go yet. Once she lets go you finally see your captains face, he looks mad, his hat covering his eyes, it makes you look down in shame but Zoro squeezes your hand letting you know it's ok. Luffy reaches a hand up and gently places it on your head, tears well up in your eyes "Nami and Chopper explained everything, is it true?" he asks his voice deep as he tries to keep his anger down.

You nod slowly "I'm sorry Captain" you whisper the hand on your head moves to your chin making you look up at him, he looks up with you your eyes meeting and you can see the fire burning in his pupils "No one hurts my crew.... we have your back" You let a tear fall before hugging Luffy, letting go of your boys to cling to the man who you know will become king of the pirates. Luffy hugs you back letting a smile form on his face "We'll deal with him later, for now let's eat" he pulls away holding you by your shoulders "You're too skinny" The captain comments only to get hit on the head by Nami and Sanji sending him down to the floor with a big red bump forming in his head "Don't comment on it" the two yell out in unison, you cover your mouth but can't help but laugh and smile at their actions, your laughter makes everyone look at you a little shocked at first, it's been almost a month since anyone has heard you laugh and it's a welcome sound. Zoro places an arm around you and laughs with you, happy your starting to feel more like yourself.

Sanji cooked up a big quick meal so everyone could eat, and he could join you at the table instead of staying in the kitchen. Franky had boarded up your bedroom door so everyone could eat together and discuss what to do with the man in your room. You happily ate with them and the conversation was nice but as dinner was ending the questions turned to your past and what to do with your ex. "How did you meet the guy anyway?" Franky asks, after hearing so much about the guy he wondered why you would even date him in the first place. "It was a blind date my mum set up. He's rich, runs his own company and my mum thought he would be a good fit" you answer feeling a little better about answering questions, no one seemed to think you were stupid or weak. It also helps that Zoro's hand was always on your leg rubbing it lightly when ever he senses you get nervous or upset and Sanji had his arm around you smoking a cigarette feeling more relaxed now your with him. "Is that all she cared about? Him being rich?" Usopp asks while slapping Luffy's hand away form his plate. "I guess i never talked about it hu... My mum and i worked full time, and we couldn't afford the rent on our little shack so when a rich man says i want to date your daughter of course you say yes." you look down at your hands on the table.

Zoro's hand running up and down your leg to clam you while Sanji finishes off his cigarette and lays his head on your shoulder. "S-Sorry" Usopp stutter feeling like he offended you and your mother, Luffy taking the opportunity to take the meat from his friends plate and swallow it whole only leaving the bone. You giggle it but turn back to the other as Usopp yells at his friend "It's ok, i don't like her anyway she's not the person i thought she was" you sigh as Sanji takes your hand and kisses your shoulder. "I'm sorry but... why would you date an abuser?" Franky asks raising an eyebrow at you earning a groan from Nami "Its doesn't start out that way" she comments stabbing her fork into her food. Robin nods with a sigh "Yes, Abuse never starts out hurting their partner" You nod with her Sanji moving his head to look at you. Franky looks down at his plate embarrassed but you smile at him "It's ok... he was sweet, always complimented me, bought me stuff and took me on my first holiday. After a few months of dating we were about to lose the shack so when he offered to pay of the rent as long as i lived with him i said yes... That's when the comments started, it wasn't anything too big, mainly about what i was wearing, i was too skinny or too buff. He asked me to work for him at home to help with his company so i did but ended up just doing house work... Overtime he would say things to my friends or fake emergency's so i couldn't see them which drove me apart from them. He convinced me it was their fault not mine though and i cut contact with them. I used to go to the gym to get out of the house, but he started asking why i was going, why i was wearing leggings or a crop top. He had a gym built in the house so i could work out at home. i was thankful for it, but he slowly started limiting my time in there." you gulped memories coming back "The first time he hit i only had my mum to go to.... she-she told me it was my fault" you sigh leaning back in your seat.

Zoro's hand moving form your hand holding it tight to tell you he's there. Sanji's hand rubs your shoulder while the other hold your other hand lightly rubbing his thumb over yours. The others listened wanting to understand how you got into this mess in the first place and what this man was like, as you talked they understood, they could see the manipulation and the tole it took on you. "Did you leave after that?" Chopper asks hoping you did but your face said otherwise. "I stayed with him for two more years, i feel so stupid but i had no one to turn to and nowhere to go, he had all the money in his control and the house was surrounded by this large wall, he had the only key to the gate and house." you sigh looking up at Chopper whose eyes tear up "T-The scar on your back, was that form him?" He asks, Chopper knows the scar well, you often come to him for help with it since it can get red and tender after a battle or a tough workout but you push past the pain and work hard. "Yea, he stabbed me after i turned on of his white shirts pink... its much better than it was though and its all thanks to you Chopper. You've been a big help" you nod giving the doctor a smile making him smile back and wiggle a little trying not to act like it affects him.

The others smile at the doctor's cute reaction before Luffy looks up at you and asks you've been dreading all dinner "So what do we do with him?" Your Captain looks at you, hoping for a straight answer but you don't have one, your not sure what to do or how to go about things. "I-i don't know" you stutter a little hating the fact you did but its not like you could help it "He's persistent and with his devil fruit powers, i'm guessing he won't give up easily" Robin ponders trying to think of the best way to deal with the man. "We should just kill him" Zoro speaks up catching everyone's attention, his voice seething with anger. You never considered your ex dying, you always thought of him as an unkillable thing but in reality he was just a man. You look at your swordsman seeing him very serious about what he said before turning to look at Sanji who had the same face willing to kill to protect you. You know Zoro would kill in a heart beat but Sanji never did, not as far as you know. "That's an easy way to go about it and I'll solve all our problems" Robin nods earning a nod from Brook in response. "Are we really gonna kill the guy on our ship? i don't want it haunted" Usopp's face goes white as he speaks causing the tension in the air to lift as Luffy laughs at his friend and Nami yells form across the table "Be serious"

You can't help but laugh too along with Robin as Chopper hugs usopp's side them both yelling about being haunted while Nami yells at them, "I think another ghost would be nice" Brook notes sipping on his tea only to get hit in the head by Nami causing the skeleton to fall of his chair. You were about to talk when an explosion went off on the ship, it shook the sunny sending plates and cups falling to the floor shattering and some of your crew falling out of their chairs. Zoro and Sanji managed to keep you form falling as the ship started to balance it's self. Luffy, Franky and Robin rushed out the kitchen to see what has happened, Zoro tried to follow but you stopped him grabbing his arm. He turned to face you and pulled your hand off his "It's ok, i'll deal with him, Keep them safe" He looks to you then Sanji who give the swordsman a nod as he holds you close to his chest. "I got them". Zoro leaves and takes his swords out ready to kill this guy for hurting you. Brook closes the door behind them to keep anyone form coming in or out with them knowing, Nami pulls out her staff ready to fight if need be. Sanji helps you up and walks you into the kitchen keeping you away form doors and window, "When i get my hands on him, he's dead" Sanji mumbles under his breath, gritting his teeth.

[gatitties]

Kidnapped

Manager Miniseries

─ Aoba Josai x fem!reader + Shiratorizawa

─ Summary: your friend insists that they have a practice match with your team and Oikawa is exaggerating

─ Warnings: none

5 < 6 > 7

The Shiratorizawa men's volleyball team was at the house of their beloved great ace, apart from doing a study session they decided to meet to talk about new techniques to win the tournament and go to Tokyo. Everyone was concentrated until the doorbell rang, the mother of the family opened by happily greeting the newcomer.

"What a surprise to see you here! I haven't seen you in a long time. What brings you here, honey?"

"Well..." you scratched the back of your neck, averting your gaze "my parents wanted me to come by, also to see if Toshi could help me with some issues."

"I was just going to leave, but Wakatoshi is in his room studying, he will gladly help you."

"Thank you, have a good day Mrs. Ushi"

"You too sweetie."

You entered the house saying goodbye to the owner, knowing that you would be alone before going to the room, you went to the kitchen to get a package of cookies. Your parents had forced to go so that Ushijima could help you study mathematics —a subject in which you were disgusting— knowing that he was a good student as well as that their families were very close. You walked unhurriedly to the well-known room, you entered as if were your own house, throwing on the bed without realizing that you practically crushed a boy. A boy who was clearly not your friend.

"Hey Tosh-"

You choked on the cookies when saw how there were more boys in the room, and to top it off, one of them was trying to get you off of him.

"Uh, sorry about that."

The poor black-haired man shook his head nervously and frantically as you backed away from him, muttering more apologies for putting him in such a situation.

"I-It's okay!"

Thunderous laughter filled the room, a redhead laughing tearfully as he watched the bowl cut boy grow more agitated by the second.

"(N) what are you doing here?"

“I need help with math, you know..." you played down the importance, brushing the crumbs off your shirt "but if you're busy I can come back another day."

"Wait, wait, Ushiwaka knows a cute girl?"

"Tendou, don't make those comments as if she wasn't here."

A boy with gray hair and darker tips scolded the redhead who teased him calling him 'semisemi mom' for scolding him, you ignored the small verbal fight in the background focusing on your friend.

"No problem, we are also studying, I will help you with your homework."

"Thanks Toshi, I promise to make it up to you."

While you were studying, everyone introduced themselves, the red-haired Tendou was undoubtedly the opposite of Wakatoshi, which you found funny, plus Goshiki was too adorable but just as intense as your friend, there was a mother here too, Semi, and they even had a sarcastic named Shirabu.

It was a curious group without a doubt. When the team finished their homework they started talking about volleyball, leaving you to concentrate on making derivatives and matrices. You sighed pulling some strands back, you couldn't concentrate so stopped for a while to look at your phone, it had been vibrating for a while, they were just messages from your team, you just left them on read to look at Ushijima who had his eyes on your figure for a few seconds ago.

"Is something wrong Toshi?"

"Yes." the whole team paid attention to their captain "I want a practice match against Seijoh."

Everyone seemed confused —even you— but of course, the others didn't know that you were the manager of the volleyball club, because you had only talked a little and about studies, but you thought that Ushijima wouldn't want to have a practice with your team when they always had won.

"You are their manager, right?"

"Yes, but today they don't have practice."

"Hey, hey, the cute girl also knows about volleyball, now I understand why you like her!"

"I... I don't like (N)." he cleared his throat. "So when could we have a match?"

"Well, if you want I can talk to them now, maybe they don't care."

"It will be good for us to try new things."

"Yes, we will defeat them!"

"Don't get so excited about that bowl boy, it's just a practice game."

Tendou laughed at Shirabu's comment, no doubt Goshiki and he didn't have the best relationship, but it was fun to hear the second year's sarcastic comments while the first year tried to return the comments to no avail.

"Huh? But I like his hair..."

You approached to be able to remove the black locks, noticing how he became rigid as a rock and his face exploded with pink tones, you decided to stop for his health, you would swear you could hear Goshiki's heart about to explode.

"I also want caresses!"

"Hmm if you insist…" you shrugged your shoulders to caress the redhead's head "wow why is your hair so soft?"

"(Nn)!"

Oikawa desperately ran towards you when he saw how you entered the gym together with Shiratorizawa's team —specifically, you were talking animatedly with Semi and Yamagata— quickly grabbing you to take along with your team.

"Are you okay? Have they done something to you? I won't let them kidnap you again."

"They have not kidnapped me, besides they are nice."

"It can't be, surely they are extorting you! Blink if you are in danger." He whimpered moving you from one side to the other, then you blinked but not because of your captain's request "Iwa-chan, they are harassing our pretty (Nn)!"

"Shut up Shittykawa, you need to blink to live, idiot."

"Ow, that hurts Iwa-chan."

You walked away ignoring the small argument between friends, leading the rival team to the locker room so they could change into their sports clothes.

"Hey (N) are they always like this?"

"Yeah, but I guess it's okay, it's funny."

Tendou laughed taking you by the shoulders as you walked back to the court, this action did not go unnoticed in the eyes of the Seijoh boys who glared at the interaction their manager had with the middle blocker, that only made Tendou become more attached to you.

"You could stop irritating the rival team."

Semi looked at how his partner had fun seeing the faces that the others made, rolling his eyes, he went to warm up without wanting to be part of the scene, he wouldn't be part of the redhead's game.

"(N) can you hug me? It sure brings me luck in the match!"

He spread his arms with a catlike smile, narrowing his eyes in amusement at seeing his attentive rivals like owls, causing him to chuckle as he robbed their manager in a thinly veiled manner.

"Sure, why not?"

You shrugged your shoulders without giving it much importance —for you all kinds of hugs were well received— Tendou also took the opportunity to quickly kiss your cheek as a farewell, that's when he completely angered the Aoba Jōsai team, he couldn't hug you as if nothing had happened you were their manager. Unintentionally someone —Kunimi— threw a ball towards the head of a certain blocker, although the ball landed on your head because you were just separating from the hug.

"Oww…" you touched the affected part with a grimace, searching for the culprit, everyone gasped looking at Kunimi, who seemed to want to disappear at that very moment "Kunimi, if you wanted a hug, just tell me."

Bonus

You had insisted on cleaning the gym by yourself for making them train on a day they shouldn't have, they reluctantly agreed, leaving you alone, or so you thought, because a certain imperturbable boy was waiting for you to accompany you home like a true hunk.

"Toshi, I thought you had already left."

He denied watching you keep the key to the place, arms folded, patiently waiting for his friend to finish closing the gym.

"I'll walk you home."

"It wasn't necessary, but thanks."

You two were silent for a few minutes until Ushijima cut it off, looking at you with a certain sparkle in his eyes, he stopped causing you to stop walking as well.

"(N)" you looked at him with a raised eyebrow "I want a hug too."

You laugh internally observing the serious face of your friend to wrap him in a warm hug, he was a big baby.

[cantcompetewhereudontcompare]

Fine Line lyric analysis

I have too many plates spinning at the same time, but I was having a conversation with a friend about this last night, and she encouraged me to make a post about it. I haven't been able to get it out of my mind ever since.

The original theory isn't mine, or my friend's, or even from the group chat we were talking on, but a compilation of different things we've seen around for a while and that we started to chat about a while ago. Apologies if whoever originally thought about any of this sees this post and recognizes anything about it, not meaning to steal anything

The conversation came up the same way random themes come up in group chats, so I know perfectly well it's random to bring it up now.

As we all know, most of Fine Line (the album) is about Harry's ex girlfriend Camille Rowe.

This was on the back of the album

Which is a reference to Camille's tattoo

Not all songs on the album are about her, but we can infer (Harry hasn't confirmed anything) that most of them are.

This is the tracklist of the album, I'll add if I think it's about her or not next to the track.

Golden - About Camille

Watermelon Sugar - About Camille

Adore You - Maybe about Camille / Maybe not

Lights Up - Not about Camille

Cherry - About Camille

Falling - About Camille

To Be So Lonely - About Camille

She - Not about Camille

Sunflower, Vol. 6 - About Camille

Canyon Moon - About Camille

Treat People With Kindness - Not about Camille

Fine Line - Partially about Camille

First less address the ones not about her

Adore You

I think Adore You could be about her because thematically it fits (it's somewhat similar to Watermelon Sugar), but I think "brown skin" would be an odd descriptor for her (since she's not really known to even tan) plus the timing of it doesn't really fit.

We know he wrote Adore You in May 2019 because Amy Allen (co-writer of the song) posted about it in her stories at the time. This was about a year after he and Camille broke up, when Camille had been dating Theo (her current boyfriend) for a long time.

Absolutely not impossible that it's about her, but I would say inconclusive. It could be just a feel-good song about finding infatuation again after being heartbroken. There's nothing in the song that points directly to her to make it conclusive.

Lights Up

Harry said this song is about self-reflection and self-discovery. I think it's an introspective song that's not about anyone other than himself.

She

I think it's a song similar to Lights Up in that it's about introspection. Harry hasn't said anything other than he wrote it while high on mushrooms.

Treat People With Kindness

Not much interpretation and explanation is necessary. It's a kooky song.

Now, the ones that are about her. There's a common misconception that the album is in chronological order and tells the story of a relationship, but that's not really true. Canyon Moon seems to be a happy song about missing her when things were well, and it's one of the last songs on the album.

My chronological order of the songs (and remember, everything here is speculation and interpretation).

1 - Watermelon Sugar 2 - Canyon Moon 3 - Golden 4 - Fine Line 5 - Falling 6 - To Be So Lonely 7 - Cherry 8 - Sunflower, Vol. 6

Watermelon Sugar

This one is self-explanatory because it gives you the timeframe in the song itself. "Baby you're the end of June." Obviously he's comparing the object of his desire to the summer season, but also, that's when he and Camille started dating.

We don't know exact dates or anything, but Camille started following Harry on Instagram between June 22 and June 25, according to this timeline of the relationship (Harry followed her first in 2016). Harry was first teased about the relationship live on the radio July 17th and they were first pictured together July 21st.

The name of the song is a nod to one of Camille's favorite books, 'In Watermelon Sugar' by Richard Brautigan, which Camille mentioned in this interview with Elle in August 2017

Harry said in his Tiny Desk performance that this book was in the studio while he was writing music and the title of the book inspired him. He has also said that the song came about while in a studio in Nashville in September 2017.

Canyon Moon

This song is, presumably, about late 2017, when Harry was first on tour solo and he and Camille were still in the honeymoon stage.

Camille lived in Beachwood Canyon with her BFF Lauren Cohan. This song is basically saying that while he's on tour, Harry misses those evenings with her, in her backyard, listening to music, surrounded by friends, under the moon.

The song references Kid Harpoon's wife Jenny. Kid Harpoon was Harry's good friend and producer. He and his wife became good friends with Camille.

"The world's happy waiting. Door's yellow, broken blue. I heard Jenny saying, 'Go get the kids from school.' And I keep thinking back to the time under the Canyon moon."

Essentially, the world is waiting for him, but he's on the phone with his girlfriend who's back home with his friends, and he overhears one of his friends talking in the background.

This is a video Camille posted on her Instagram stories while Harry was on tour. In it, she's hanging out with Jenny and Kid.

The song also references Camille's ex boyfriend Devendra Banhart.

"Quick pause in conversation, she plays songs I've never heard. An old lover's hippie music. Pretends not to know the words."

(A little bit of a dig at Devendra there too with the "songs I've never heard")

Camille and Devendra were together for about two years until right before she and Harry started dating, and he most definitely qualifies as "hippie music."

The entire song is about Harry anticipating getting back home to her. Harry toured Europe (which is referenced in the lyrics "through Paris or through Rome") twice, first in 2017 with small theater tours, and then in 2018 with bigger arena tours. This song seems to reference the first part of tour, in 2017, particularly because Camille was at Harry's show in Paris in 2018.

While Harry didn't do a show in Rome specifically in 2017, he did do a show in Milan. In fact, his European leg started in Paris and ended in Milan, and he had an off day right before the Milan show. Considering he has a lot of friends in Rome, he probably spent it there (also, Milan wouldn't have fit the metric of the song lol).

Camille was with Harry until right before he started this leg of tour, as she was in the audience with his family at his performance in We Can Survive (a cancer awareness concert), October 21st 2017.

October 25 till November 10 is exactly two weeks and two days. In the song he says "two weeks and I'll be home."

That said, Camille did join him for the last two dates of this tour, but most likely scenario, he wrote the song either during or about the beginning, when he was a little sad to be away from her for that time:

"Gotta see it to believe it, the sky's never looked so blue. So hard to leave it, but that's what I always do. So I keep thinking back to a time under the Canyon moon."

Perhaps at the time he wrote the song he didn't know she'd be joining him.

Golden

This is the beginning of the end, the dreading anticipation of what's about to come. In this song, Harry comes to terms with the fact that he doesn't see a lot of future in the relationship, and he's devastated by it.

"I don't wanna let you go. I don't wanna be alone when it ends."

It's daunting. A Chronicle of a Death Foretold.

This is obviously speculation because Camille hasn't said anything directly about it and Harry has only said anything through song, but we can infer because of other interviews and timing, that Harry was way more into her than she was into him. This is not a dig at either of them. Sometimes that just happens.

She was with Devendra for about two years and she said, while dating him, that she wanted to settle down with him. They abruptly broke it off in May/June 2017, and she immediately started dating Harry. We'll revisit the end of her and Harry's relationship in a little bit, but it shares similarities in the sense that she also seemingly moved on pretty fast.

Camille also recently revealed that she met Theo a year before they got together, but that they didn't get together at the time because they weren't mature enough to handle those feelings. This means that when she got with Harry, she had recently met Theo and seemingly had feelings for him. (She said this in her Elle France interview, which is not only in French but also not online, so I can't really link a source).

This in no way says anything about her or her character. It can happen to anyone, to dismiss a relationship with someone because it's too intense and you don't know how to handle it, and perhaps a relationship with someone else is more accessible. And it doesn't mean that this second person isn't important or that you're using them. It's just life.

But it would explain why Harry felt the way he did. He felt like he was "so open" and she, in turn, wouldn't open at all. At the time, Harry chalked it up to her having been hurt and ending up heartbroken before, but it could just be that he simply wasn't the right person for her. And that sucks, but once again, it's life.

Regardless of him knowing that it likely wasn't going to work out, he fell hard.

"But I can't feel you take a hold, I can feel you take control, of who am I and all I've ever known"

Harry and Camille met right about the time his stepfather, Robin, passed away. Robin passed June 20th 2017. In his song Ever Since New York, which is about finding out Robin was diagnosed with terminal cancer (he said this in a few interviews), he says "there's no antidote." In Golden he says "loving you's the antidote."

Of course falling for Camille wouldn't "cure" the fact that he's heartbroken by the loss of his stepfather, but it's very likely that falling in love on the heels of such a huge loss healed him a little bit, made him feel better at a terrible time. This is for another day, but in his song Daylight, off his third album, he mentions someone being/having an antidote again ("you got the antidote"). That song also seems to be about Camille.

Before I continue analyzing songs...

I should point out a little bit more about the timeline of events, especially because it will affect basically every song that comes after this.

Harry and Camille were seemingly in a good place until March 2018. I say "seemingly" because we do not know them, of course. She would post stuff on social media that alluded to him, or his friends, or follow his family. His family would follow and interact with her. She would go to shows, etc.

As I said before, Camille was in Paris for his second show in 2018 (his first show was in Basel). This was March 13 2018. In the following days, Camille would be spotted at his shows sporadically, or she would post Instagram stories from art galleries that happened to be in the cities he was touring.

For instance, she posted this pic March 21st 2018 (it's still up in her highlights), which is Untitled (cowboy) by Richard Prince, 1999, and it's exhibited in the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo, Norway

Harry had a show in Oslo that same day

This happened a few times, so it's likely that Harry was arranging private showings at the museum to be with her while on tour. Keep this in mind.

Camille seemed to have gone back home after this. We don't know if she had work, if they had a fight, if she was homesick. We just know that she went home. And by going home she missed Harry's Home London and Manchester shows, which were April 9, 11, and 12, which were attended by his million of friends and family members.

That was odd, and it was also odd that they didn't seem to see each other at all for several weeks (particularly because he was writing whole songs about being away from her for two weeks a few months prior).

She did go to the venue of his show in Dublin, which was April 16 and was seen chatting with him while Mabel, the opener, was playing, but she apparently didn't stay for his actual show. The timeline I linked earlier claims that she flew to London with him afterwards, but that's... speculation based on nothing, as neither of them were spotted in London. She was usually spotted at the shows when she was there and she was not spotted at this one (even though she was spotted during the opening act).

Harry had a show in Perth, Australia, April 21st, and he was first spotted there at around 2 PM local time the 20th, which would be very early morning in London.

A nonstop flight from London to Perth is about 16/17 hours, putting him actually getting on the plane late night the 18th or early hours of the day the 19th. This to say, that the timeline I linked earlier, while well-meaning, makes a lot of assumptions trying to make their relationship A-okay at this point in time, by, for instance, claiming that they spent time together in London between Dublin and Australia. But there's no indication this is the case, and at most it was two days.

What the timeline does get right is that Harry uses a new guitar for his Sydney show the 27th. This guitar, we now know for a fact, was painted by Nikolai Haas, who was a close friend of Camille's (more on him later).

Nikolai is based in LA and Harry hadn't been to LA in months. Camille had just been to LA before Dublin, so it is pretty likely that she went to his show specifically to give him the guitar. All speculation, of course. Camille did have work in London afterwards, so a trip to Dublin wouldn't be too much of a bother.

The timeline also mentions Camille liking a post of Harry's for the first time May 2nd. It wasn't actually the first post she liked of his, but the second. The first one was a March For our Lives post he uploaded on March 24th (right after she left). It does mark a shift in attitude on Camille's end. This is absolute pure speculation, but it's very possible that at this point they were no longer together, at least not in any official capacity. That her leaving his tour marked their separation in a very amicable way and that's why she felt, let's say freer, to interact with him on social media. Remember she'd followed him for close to a year at this point and had never liked anything he'd posted.

Her leaving the tour, them being apart for weeks on end for the first time, her missing his hometown shows. None of it says anything by itself, but it's a pattern that continues repeating.

The timeline I posted speculates that they disappeared and reappeared at the same time in England between May 14-20th and that that meant they probably spent time together. There's literally nothing at all pointing to this. And the truth of the matter is they hadn't seen each other in a month between April 16-17 and May 14 anyway.

Harry then continued with his tour, this time in Latin America and part of America, and Camille didn't go to a single one of his shows, nor did they spend any time in close proximity, for another month and then some.

Harry then had two shows in Madison Square Garden, June 21st and 22nd, and Camille did go to the second one. And we know she went to the second one specifically because she posted from the plane doing LA-NYC, June 22nd.

She had a photoshoot that day in NYC, btw.

As an asterisk, because we're about to get in muddy waters, at this point Camille was acting single. And I mean this in the most respectful possible way, because she probably was.

This is her and Alexander Skarsgard June 14 2018.

This was a couple of weeks later (it's very blurry but the original account that posted it got deleted, so this will have to suffice). It's Camille sitting on Alexander Skarsgard's lap, watching the France national team during the World Cup against Belgium (July 10th).

Around this time, Alexa Chung, who introduced Harry and Camille and was close friends with both of them, unfollowed Camille on social media. I can't prove this to you, but she followed Camille and often interacted with her posts, and they were, well... friends. They hung out. This was literally a couple of weeks prior (Camille still follows Alexa):

Alexa had dated Alexander up until July 2017. I presume she and Camille are all good now, just not, well... friends. They do seem to run in the same circles and I doubt Alexa would hold a grudge all these years later, but she did unfollow in 2018 when Camille and Alexander did whatever it is they did, and to this day she does not follow (it's a big deal for very Instagram dependent celebs like Alexa or Camille to follow/unfollow each other, don't let anyone tell you otherwise). The Sun would claim that Alexander and Camille were dating later (after they reported on Harry and Camille's breakup in like, late July), but they were late to the party and by then, Camille was already dating Theo.

But I don't wanna jump ahead. I'm trying to keep a semblance of chronology.

Camille went to Harry's second MSG show June 22nd and from mid March when she left his European tour and until now we have three long gaps of about a month each in which they do not see each other, with two tiny periods of 1-2 days in between in which they could've seen each other (but we have no proof they did) + we have Camille seemingly being... very friendly, with Alexander Skarsgard.

Camille was seen at Harry's MSG show, with his friends Max and Xander.

The day after the show, Harry went out with Xander and Max in NYC. And well, he got pretty fucking wasted (and yes, that is Joel Embiid's hand Harry is holding)

People speculated that Camille was there because of this picture, but it wasn't Camille - it was Farah Holt

She has deleted her ig and Waseem (Harry's close friend) has updated the caption ever since

This is a pic of her's that night.

(Not implying anything btw, just anticipating some of the things I remember people saying back then. It's clear that Camille wasn't there that night, and people thought the blonde girl was her, but it wasn't).

Harry had a show in DC the day after that (June 24th). People noticed him being off at the show from the get go, and all these years later it's a meme that he was pissed off.

In several interviews since then Harry said that he's fully sober while he's on tour because it affects the way he feels at the show later. He said he only did it once during his solo career, and the show afterwards was his least favorite.

Everyone in the quotes of that tweet understood immediately which show he was referencing.

Before we theorize any further, let me fast-forwards to the end, because there's not much more left to say.

After this show Camille attended, she didn't go to any others until the very last one, which was July 14 in LA. She wasn't seen in the friends and family section, but in the stands with some of her friends, and she didn't stay for the after party or go backstage. She just left. There were pictures of her leaving The Forum in the parking lot with her friends (I don't think there's a chance in hell I'll find them, forgive me), while Harry was still inside helping the crew pack up the stage (it was a whole thing, workers posted pics of him in the venue at like 2 AM).

At this point, she was likely already dating Theo, given...

Her fan accounts had noticed her posting stuff about Theo or with Theo for a while, this post is from August 16th, but it'd been weeks at that point. It's impossible to scroll and find anything concrete 6 years later, but anyone who was online at the time can attest. To this day Camille is with Theo.

Theo Niarchos is a son/child of Greek aristocracy. His family owns multiple galleries and museums. This will also come up later.

Now let's go to the songs.

Fine Line

I said this song is partially about Camille, because I think it's also pretty introspective. I think he's not just talking about the demise of their relationship and the work he had to do to be better after it, but also about healing in general, about working on himself and getting to a better, more mature, more solid place.

He said he started writing this song in January 2018, but he never said when he finished it, so I do think at that time, he and Camille were mostly in a good place. When he starts a song melodically and where it ends up lyrically are two completely different things.

The song doesn't have a lot of lyrics, but the verses are very wordy and important. I'll break them down.

"Put a price on emotion, I'm looking for something to buy"

He's so desperate for emotion, for any emotion, that he's willing to pay for it. This goes with the Golden lyrics where she wouldn't open up to him while he was super open and yearning for more of a connection. It seems it's reaching a breaking point.

You've got my devotion, but man I can hate you sometimes.

This will come up later in Falling and TBSL, this dichotomy of loving this person (Camille) endlessly, but feeling anger and frustration with her.

"I don't want to fight you, and I don't want to sleep in the dirt."

This idea of him sleeping "in the dirt" (away from her) after a fight will also come up later.

The imagery of sleeping alone is one that Harry repeats a lot in his music, going all the way back to Don't Let Me Go (the first song that ever leaked with just his vocals back in 2013). It seems to signify something to him, sleeping (as in, actually sleeping, not sex) with the person he loves vs alone in his bed.

We'll get the drinks in, so I'll get to thinking of her

This, this is important. He's not getting the drinks with her, he's getting the drinks with friends. And as he's getting the drinks with friends, his mind goes to her. We'll get back to this.

The chorus is the yearning, "we'll be a fine line"

"Test of my patience, there's things that we'll never know. You sunshine, you temptress, my hand's at risk, I fold. Crisp trepidation, I'll try to shake this soon. Spreading you open is the only way of knowing you."

This verse deserves to be talked about together in its entirety because it's so... fucking heartbreaking. He's comparing her to sunshine again (see, Golden, where she shines too bright for him). "My hand's at risk, I fold" means that he realizes he's about to lose, so he gives up. It's using poker imagery. The picture he paints is someone who's betting and betting until he realizes he's not going to win, so he folds.

She won't open up to him (once again, see "Golden"). Spreading her open, sex, is the only way of getting to her. She'll give him her body, but she'll give him nothing else.

This repeats itself in the unreleased leaked song Make My Day, where he says:

I make lots of money, build a big house Put an extra sink in, say I’ll settle down Friends call me a loner, I know they’re wrong She asked me to choke her, I play along

He wants to settle down with her - she wants sex that he doesn't really mean. He plays along. Coincidentally this seems to be something he repeats in the song Keep Driving (Harry's House), but we won't get into that now.

I don't have a conclusion for this song alone, because he talks about this again in Falling

Falling

"I'm in my bed, and you're not here, and there's no one to blame but the drink in my wandering hands."

People often think he's alluding to cheating here. He's very clearly not. Camille, all her friends, all her family, all seem to be on perfectly good terms with Harry. There's a song we'll analyze in just a minute that claims that she's asking to be friends with him after they break up. That makes NO sense.

We just went over a song in which he gets drunk with his friends and starts thinking about her, and where he talks about how sex is the only thing on the table with her because she won't open up in any other capacity.

This sentence, to me, is alluding to the fact that he just had sex with her (wandering hands) while drunk (the drink) but they're not together anymore (I'm in my bed and you're not here). There's no one to blame for falling in bed again with his ex he still loves but the drink in his wandering hands.

He KNOWS he shouldn't hook up with her anymore because all she's willing to give him is sex, because she's checked out of the relationship and seeing other people, but he does it anyway, because he's weak. Was was it that he said? "My hand's at risk, I fold."

"Forget what I said. It's not what I meant. But I can't take it back. I can't unpack the baggage you left."

What was it that he said? "I don't want to fight you and I don't wanna sleep in the dust." Remember? He's alluding to saying something he doesn't mean, but not being able to take it back. This will be repeated again in a third song. But let's finish this one first.

What am I now? What am I now? What if I'm someone I don't want around? I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm fallin'

Essentially: I hate myself, I hate what I'm doing to myself. I hate it here.

What if I'm down? What if I'm out? What if I'm someone you won't talk about? I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm fallin'

He's worried that if he doesn't do this, if he doesn't have sex with her, then she won't talk about him anymore. She won't think about him anymore. She'll forget all about him.

It kills him to do just sex, just casual, just friends with her, but what if not doing that results in her fully forgetting about him? Not needing him? Not thinking about him?

You said you cared, and you missed me too And I'm well aware I write too many songs about you And the coffee's out at the Beachwood Cafe And it kills me 'cause I know we've run out of things we can say

"You said you cared and you missed me too." If I'm right about the timing, of this happening after his MSG show, right before the DC show, the night that he got drunk with his friends, then it makes perfect sense.

He gets drunk, he thinks about her (because he just saw her, and she's in the area). He calls her, drunk, goes home to her (she had an apartment in NYC as well as her house in LA), they sleep together, and she tells him that of course she cares about him, of course she missed him - they hadn't seen each other in at least a month, possibly two.

But the conversation is awkward. They have nothing to talk about because she doesn't love him that way anymore.

And I get the feeling that you'll never need me again (Oh)

It's devastating. He loves her so much, but she moved on and is over him. That tiny physical connection is all that's left, and he's breaking inside.

We know that the Beachwood Café is Camille's favorite coffee shop as well. (Link to an archived version of the interview, which came out right before Fall 2019, a few months before Fine Line).

And the music video makes it perfectly clear it's about her. The window opens to a very subtle shot of the Eiffel tower

Camille was born in Paris. There are also very unsubtle shots of his left hand playing the piano, while wearing Camille's ring

Not that we needed proof of who this song was about, but ooh well

To Be So Lonely

Don't blame me for falling I was just a little boy

I don't take credit for this because so many people have said it before me, but I bet you she called him a little boy at some point. (She's about 4 years older. They were 23/27 and 24/28 during their relationship)

In Falling he's apologizing, and lamenting. Now he's like "you know what? Nope. Not my fault.

Don’t blame the drunk caller. Wasn't ready for it all

So he got drunk with friends, thought about her, called her, went to her house, they slept together... pretty clear image isn't it?

You can't blame me, darling, not even a little bit. I was away And I’m just an arrogant son of a bitch who can't admit when he's sorry

This is very obviously some private conversation they had. This is Harry being petty and throwing back things she said to him. I'm endlessly intrigued by "I was away" perhaps talking about her being with Alexander while he was on tour? It's impossible to know because while there's a lot we can gleam from looking at timelines and stuff (always just speculation) at the end of the day, he's incredibly cryptic when he wants to be. He's not Taylor Swift who paints a very vivid picture that anyone following her lore can put together. This? Only she can understand what he means. Maybe his producers.

Don't call me "baby" again, you got your reasons I know that you're tryna be friends, I know you mean it

This. This is why the idea that he's apologizing for cheating on her in Falling makes NO sense. She wants to be friends and continues to call him baby. I know she's a cool chick who doesn't GAF about much of anything, but that makes no fucking sense.

Now, if they were friends with benefits after they ended things, then that... that makes sense.

She's so cool, all good, she's over him. So she's fine hooking up with him here and there (while hooking up with other people). She's over him. She can call him "baby" and whatever other term of endearment. She never fully opened up to him, not the way he did. He actually thinks she's too good for him (Golden).

He's not claiming that she's malicious either. She fully feels this way, and that's valid, because she's not responsible for his feelings, or the fact that he's a mess and a half who's still head over heels in love with her.

Don't call me "baby" again, it's hard for me to go home Be so lonely

Once again the imagery of sleeping alone. Of going home after sex and sleeping alone. He hates that. They're sleeping together (having sex) but sleeping apart (actually sleeping). And that kills him.

I just hope you see me in a little better light Do you think it's easy being of the jealous kind?

Once again alluding to a fight. Perhaps his jealous streak is what he said that he regrets in Falling? Who is he jealous of? Maybe Alexander? Maybe someone else? Maybe the situation in general?

He's basically saying, I hope you know I wasn't trying to be mean or jealous when I don't have any right to be. I hope you think better of me.

’Cause I miss the shape of your lips You’ll win, it's just a trick And this is it, so I’m sorry

It seems that Harry has put an end to the cycle. In the Falling music video, he cycles through being soaking wet on the floor and a mess, and being on the piano, playing the keys that make the water fall and flood the room, drowning him.

When the music video begins, he's already wet:

He misses her, so he has to put an end to it, because otherwise the cycle that makes him miserable will continue. "So this is it, so I'm sorry."

"You'll win, it's just a trick." + "My hand's at risk, I fold"

These three songs go on top of each other and enmesh each other all over. They seem to be talking about the same exact thing, just slightly different angles of it, because it's at slightly different stages.

In Fine Line, he's about to do that thing that hurts him. In Falling, he's already done it, and regrets it. In To Be So Lonely, he decides he's not going to do it anymore. All three songs mention drinking, all three songs mention sleeping alone, all three songs mention fighting with the person he loves.

In Fine Line he triumphally says he'll be alright, likely because he's looking at the situation from afar, after having gone through it. It's not just about this situation with Camille, likely, but about working on himself and getting himself out of it. Getting better. Taking care of himself.

Cherry

This song is the aftermath of To Be So Lonely. In To Be So Lonely he asks her "Don't call me baby again"

In Cherry he says:

Don't you call him "baby" We're not talkin' lately Don't you call him what you used to call me

It's a play with words. Don't call me baby, but also don't call HIM baby either. He's fully aware of how petulant it is. Not me, because you won't give yourself fully to me. But also not him??

She asked him not to call him, so they're not talking lately. Just because we don't talk, don't think you can call him what you used to call me.

I, I confess I can tell that you are at your best I'm selfish so I'm hating it

She's with Theo, and he tells, from afar, that she's happy. She never fully gave herself to Harry, but she did to Theo. And Harry hates it.

I wanna say, I don't think it's selfish that he hates it. In normal circumstances, sure, but if your ex who you loved (and still love) never fully gave themselves to you but does to the person right after, then I don't think it's selfish to be upset by it. But I do like that Harry is self aware enough and critical enough of himself to call himself out on those petty thoughts

I noticed that There's a piece of you in how I dress Take it as a compliment

This is me being petty but I don't think he means actual clothes and it's crazy to me that some people credit Camille with his entire street style in 2017-2019. He's talking about her ring, most likely. A piece, not, "I dress exactly how you liked me to dress." He can't exactly say "I wear one of your accessorieeees" now can he? He's making it poetic.

I, I just miss I just miss your accent and your friends Did you know I still talk to them?

He's talking about Nikolai, the man who painted his guitar. And thankfully, Harry seems to have kept Nikolai (and his wife Djuna) in the divorce.

This is Harry with Nikolai a few months ago

I'm sure they're on good terms with Camille. I'm just happy Harry doesn't have to miss them lol

Does he take you walking 'round his parents' gallery?

Anyway, I'm not exactly discovering anything. Anyone with minor knowledge on the subject already knows that Camille's new boyfriend (and current boyfriend) is Theo Niarchos.

His grandfather is Stavros Niarchos, a Greek oil tycoon and one of the world's richest men. His first son, Philip Niarchos, inherited Stavros' art collection and owns incredible paintings such as Van Gogh's self-portrait and Basquiat's self-portrait (Harry admires Basquiat a lot, so I'm sure this was personal for him).

Philip is Theo's father. So when Harry says "does he take you walking 'round his parents' gallery?" he's saying "I didn't have rich parents and I closed out galleries for you." (If he's not saying that, then I'm saying that goddammit).

The ending of the song features him crying agonizingly while she laughs cheerily in a voice note (which she gave him permission to use. Insanity)

Sunflower, Vol. 6

This is one of my favorite songs he's ever written because he takes all of this pain that we just described and he goes "alright, well, I'm gonna be happy anyway."

He's reminiscing on the good parts of the relationship:

Sunflower Sunflower, my eyes want you more than a melody

(...) I couldn't want you any more Kiss in the kitchen like it's a dance floor I couldn't want you any more Tonight (Tonight, tonight, tonight) (...) Wondering, headshake Tired eyes are the death of me Mouthful of toothpaste before I got to know you I've got your face hung up high in the gallery

All those little things, the cotidianity of the first few times someone sleeps over, brushing your teeth side by side, seeing them just woken up, hanging around in the kitchen making breakfast. He's thinking back to all that.

While also being really sad that they don't have that anymore:

I don't wanna make you feel bad But I've been trying hard not to talk to you Sunflower (Sunflower, sunflower) (...) I don't wanna make you feel bad But I've been trying hard not to act a fool Sunflower (Sunflower, sunflower)

Because he told her they shouldn't talk, and he doesn't want to make a fool of himself while she's with someone else. And also being really sad that she never got to open up to him fully.

Let me inside, I wanna get to know you (...) Let me inside, wish I could get to know you

And he's saying, the flowers (the relationship) have died (ended), but they're sunflowers. And when sunflowers die, you get sunflower seeds. The very center of a sunflower is where its seeds are, and the flower needs to die for hundreds if not thousands of seeds to come out.

It's all part of the process. It's a stage of growth, hence Vol. 6.

He's taking all of this, all of these feelings, all of this yearning, all of this love, and he's planting it in his melody, in my music. He's making art out of his heartbreak.

Sunflowers sometimes keep it sweet in your memory (...) Your flowers just died, plant new seeds in the melody (...) Sunflowers just died, keep it sweet in your memory

The flowers died, but I'm planting them in my melody, and the good things will live forever.

Fine Line is a beautiful album, which does tell a story beginning to end, just not chronologically.

There aren't any bad guys, or bad people. He's not calling himself out. Or her out. He's not pointing fingers. He's not mad.

He's processing going through this heartbreak, and trying to make it all better. Learning from it, getting to know himself. One day I'll analyze Lights Up and She a little closer, but that day won't be for a while, because this fandom is incapable of being normal about that sort of thing.

I have other things cooking, but tonight I just wanted it to be about Harry and the beautiful album he made, and the wonderful conversations me and my friends have when we miss him.

I hope he's doing alright, taking care of himself, and surrounded by family.

If anyone made it all the way here, congrats! And thank you.

I'll probably run through this lately and correct a few grammar mistakes, but I just want to put it out now.

[lady-gravity-129]

Various TDP Season 6 thoughts under the cut/things I believe will come back in Season 7

Be careful it's kinda a long one

First things first. RAYLLUM! WHEN I TELL YOU THAT I WAS DEFINITELY SHEDDING A FEW TEARS DURING EPISODES 3 AND 6. Like, I'm not too interested in ships and romance but Rayllum has me in a death grip I swear.

I just want to point out that a couple writers have stated that they know whether Rayla is able to kill Callum if the time comes. I would also like to note that there was not a moment where she had to consider that this season. She just said she would when he asked her in episode 3. Now that they're back together...something tells me she won't be able to do it. Either that or we're in for a very gut wrenching scene in season 7.

Speaking of that, I think Kosmo said to Callum that if he performs dark magic again, it'll definitely consume/corrupt him. Don't remember the exact sentence but I've seen people talking about it so I know I didn't make it up. Anyways, I genuinely feel like they wouldn't bring that up unless it's going to have some sort of payoff in season 7 (which I'm 90% sure is titled after dark magic? correct me if I'm wrong) coupled with the previous paragraph here. Oh god if we thought season 6 was gonna put these two through the wringer we haven't seen *anything* yet

Alright enough about Rayllum (even though I love it)

Kinda disappointed that the Janaya wedding happened at a point in the story where everyone in the cast conveniently wasn't all together to celebrate the occasion. But still, an LGBT wedding in a show rated TV-Y7 is absolutely HUGE in my opinion. Not really sure what other words I can say, it was great.

Next is how they handled Viren. Honestly, I'm kinda ok with it. I said on Twitter that a redemption arc could work with him if written correctly. How he was written was...well enough. While he didn't directly apologize to really anyone (aside from Claudia I think and then Soren on paper that he burned. I've watched this season twice now but I'm running on an hour of sleep so forgive me for not remembering everything lol), he still acknowledged that he doesn't even deserve to be forgiven and understands that everything he's done was nothing short of awful.

Holy fudge this season really convinced me how great of a character Claudia is. She's such a tragic character who's experienced loss and trauma and just needs the chance to acknowledge everything she's been through and properly heal from it. However, one thing I've noticed is that whenever Viren dies, Aaravos is right there guiding her away from the path of healing from her trauma. First is after Season 3 when he tells her there's a way to bring Viren back. Then, presumably I think, in between season 5 and 6 when he somehow tells her how to complete the resurrection spell. THEN there's the end of season 6 where she's realizing that her father is gone for good and what does he do?? He basically goes "lol yeah here's my backstory so you'll want to free me even more oh whats this i can even give you the spell needed to free me". Y'all someone please get her away from Aaravos so she can process everything.

OH YEAH! Fun fact, I'm pretty sure Rayla and Callum left the Starscraper thinking/assuming that the Pearl was safe with the Celestial Elves. They're gonna see giant Aaravos in Season 7 and just have fifty panic attacks at once.

Gonna edit this with more stuff later.

[sun-lit-roses]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tags @curator-on-ao3 and @emonydeborah! I apologize for how long it's taken me to respond 💛

I'm so late to this, I have no idea who's already done it. If you haven't yet, please, please consider yourself tagged - and tag me in your response so that I can read your answers! (Actually if you have done it already, also link me so I can read your answers. These are fun questions with bonus fic recs so I'd like to see them all!)

Anyway, I got a little rambly, so I'll put in a cut to not murder anyone's dash 😁

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 82.

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 397,560.

3. What fandoms do you write for? I've been primarily writing Star Trek (Strange New Worlds and Voyager) lately, with a dash of The Librarians and Leverage.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Fringe Benefits (SNW) - My beloved monument to ridiculousness where I approach the totally canon subject of Chris Pike's horse skills via Number One's hair.

October 2373 (Voyager)- My magnum opus! The one time I've managed to achieve completion of an October prompt list - five of them. In one coherent (ish) fic. Granted, it did take me until December... but the point is that I finished it! It follows a very eventful and occasionally random month aboard the Starship Voyager, where they have to deal with imprisonment, alien attacks, diplomatic meetings, and Kathryn's inability to talk about her feelings.

For the Captain Who Has Everything: A Prixin Story (Voyager) - Look. You can't just give me three delightful misfits for ONLY ONE EPISODE and not expect me to adopt them as my own. SO this is what happened next for the little Good Shepherd flock, where 'what happened next' is shenanigans to set up their Captain with her First Officer as a gesture of gratitude.

Growing Pains (SNW) - Aw, one of my early Chris and Una fics! This is one of the set I wrote while the first season was just airing weekly - hard to believe that was almost two years ago 😲 This one was the aftermath of Una 'I'm just fine-ing' her way into emergency surgery and Chris letting her know that there were things up with which he would not put - top of the list being losing his Number One.

Command Advice (SNW) - Another of the early SNW set! This was my 'spicier' take on the resulting conversation between Chris and Una after she learns about her Where Fun Goes to Die nickname. In one version, they have a very serious conversation about Starfleet principles. In *this* version, they're less serious. Also naked.

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes! Or at least I try. I love and cherish every comment, but I tend to run (very) behind on responding and have to play the game of 'is it weird to reply to a comment this late?'

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? My very first fic ever! Actually I think it might be my only fic with an angsty ending. I guess I got it all out of my system early. That one is Wednesday, a Sanctuary fic where Helen has a very sad day.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Literally everything else. I can't even pick out of my collection of sappiness.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not really.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yes, there's very little I would not be willing to at least try writing! Up to now I think I've written at least mildly smutty M/F, F/F, and F/M/M sexcapades and/or BDSM. I'm working my way around to some F/F/M for SNW if I could get the three of them to cooperate.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I think I've only written one crossover and it was for SNW/The Librarians, bringing about a meeting between Eve Baird and Una Chin-Riley, which we would have in a fair and just universe.

Wait, I take that back! I also had a little snippet on Tumblr where Hawkeye, BJ, Jonathan, and Ardeth meet up, because The Mummy/MASH is... certainly a combo. Actually, I think I also had a snippet of Gomez Addams meeting Hawkeye and BJ? What is it about MASH?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Also not that I know of.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Kind of? The Discord crowdsourced the plot to a ridiculously hilarious fic and I wrote a bit of it for fun, but I'm not sure if that counts? Co-writing does sound like a good time, though!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? Voyager! The happiest little ship in the Delta Quadrant 🚀

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I have a lot of bits and pieces on my hard drive that will never be finished and released into the Ao3 wilds - the plot didn't work out/was barely a plot, I've moved on from the fandom, I was trapped in a fever dream of my nieces playing Frozen on repeat, blacked out, and woke up to 3 chapters dealing with the socio-political ramifications of Elsa decamping and Anna appointing the prince of another land in charge rather than Arendelle's Privy Council. Anyway.

The WIPs I have posted, though, I fully intend to finish at some point! It may take a while and it might not be my original planned ending, but they haunt me. So one day I will have to put them to rest. Possibly with a 2x4, tarp, and shovel.

16. What are your writing strengths? I like to think I'm pretty good at getting into the character's voice. I hope so, at least; I spend a lot of time on it! Also, humor, although that one is objective, of course.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Commas. Clearly.

Structurally, it varies per fic, but I have a habit of running thin on plot. I start strong at A, want to get to B, but the middle gets kind of wander-y. This also leads to me sometimes stalling mid-project if I get distracted or pulled away - hence my current three WIPs. Though it doesn't help that the past six months have sucked on letting me have much free time.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? If it was short, easy dialogue in Spanish or French I might be able to swing it. Otherwise, I would need to phone a friend.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Sanctuary!

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? This is a hard one. I love them all for different reasons, some of which have more to do with the time I was writing them than with the actual contents. Reluctance was my first multi-chapter fic ever back in the FFN days, so that seems like a pretty good candidate. I learned so much while writing that fic!

[jpitha]

Hidden Depths 13

Awakenings 1 2 3 4

Hidden Depths 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Chloe stood at the entrance to the docking ring, tapping her foot. She had received word that Abyssal Plains had linked in not one hour ago and was impatiently waiting.

"I'm sorry, but it takes as long as it takes." One of the K'laxi running Traffic Control told huffily her when she asked for the third time. "We're in the middle of a battle in case you missed it, and things are a little off."

Cereni looked at Chloe, worried. "It'll be fine Chloe. We both know Abyssal is doing their best. They don't want to barge in and cause a ruckus. If nothing else, it would bring attention onto them and they might get a missile for their trouble."

Chloe sighed. "Yes, you're right. I'm just impatient. I don't want those people down on the Reach any longer then they need to be. It won't be safe here if...Starbase has to leave"

Cereni flicked an ear. "You were going to say something else."

"I don't want to be negative." Chloe said.

Cereni gasped. "You're worried Starbase is going to be captured!"

"Shhh! Not so loud!" Chloe said, looking around. With the curfew in place, the docking ring was empty of everyone except essential personnel. Even the Stevedores who hung around loading and unloading starships were sent home. "Yes. I am worried Starbase is going to be captured - or worse." Chloe continued to look around while talking and kept her voice very low. "If the Venusians were going to just smash and grab they would have done it by now. They're hanging back, repelling people going after them, but other than a couple of missiles, haven't done much of anything. I don't know what they're waiting for, but it probably isn't good for us."

"Should we even be going to get the colonists on the Reach? Maybe we should go down there?" Cereni looked thoughtful.

"No!" Chloe said, too loudly. She took a breath and started again. "No. That's even worse. Then we're all trapped. Other than Abyssal who is an antique there aren't very many high capacity drop ships left. If we go down, we're stuck. Here, we can leave if Picaresque's wormhole generator works, and if it doesn't we can probably evacuate to some Starjumpers or something."

"Chloe..." Cerenit started. "Do you not like planets?"

"No, I-" She stopped. "Yes. I do. I hate planets. I hate being planetside. I always have. Maybe it's because I was all different ships for a long long time, but I always feel trapped when I'm on a planet." She shuddered. "All that sky. Ugh, it's like being under a roof and you can't go anywhere."

Cereni smirked. She took Chloe's hand again. "Thank you for telling me the truth Chloe. It means a lot to me that you trust me with that knowledge."

Chloe blushed a bit, her impatience at Abyssal forgotten "I'm trying Cereni, I really am. It's very hard for me. I've been...secretive my whole existence. It's like...a core part of me."

"Well, I'm not here to stop you from being you." Cereni said carefully. "But, If you can work to not keep- "She thought a moment. "-big secrets from me, I think that will be enough."

Chloe smiled at Cereni. "Hah, thanks."

Cereni looked up. "And look at that. Someone's here!"

As they both looked, the umbilical port they were standing at started whirring and clanking as it snaked out towards the ship. The panel over the port flashed Abyssal Plains as the lights around the umbilical turned green, and the port irised open. The speaker on the umbilical clicked "Once again, I find myself running to you Chloe." Abyssal said, much less jovially than their first meeting. "It was smart of you to say that you have Cereni with you; I would not have come otherwise."

Cereni's fur rippled a blush at that. "Abyssal, Chloe apologized to me unreservedly about what happened at Spruces. We're okay now."

"Speaking of which." Chloe cleared her throat. "Abyssal Plains, I'm sorry for how I kept you, Sophie and Cereni in the dark about what I was doing. I was too busy trying to get things done without realizing how much it would hurt you and them when you realized what I was doing. Cereni points out that she would have gone anyway if I had told the truth, and I need to take that to heart. Thank you for coming out, and I understand if you don't want to hear from me again after this."

There was a pause.

"Chloe, you can be a real asshole sometimes." Abyssal said. "But, I can also see how you mean what you say, and you haven't shown me that you have done anything other than what you think you need to do at the time. Like Cereni though, I really wish you'd tell me what you were doing. I would have gone too - though I still think you didn't need to blow the reactors on Spruces. Have you heard? Nobody was there. They left heat generators to fool folks."

"What?" Chloe did not know this.

"Yeah. You didn't blow up anyone after all." Abyssal said, chuckling. "Don't make what you did all right mind, but it does make it weigh a little less heavily on my conscious."

"So, nobody was in Spruces after we loaded everyone?" Cereni said, astonished.

"Nope. Place was empty. Chloe just made a mess for nothing."

Chloe glared, but didn't say anything.

"Anyway." Abyssal continued "Why am I here now? Your beacon said something about getting people off the Reach?"

"Yes, with the Venusians on the edge of the system ready to cause trouble, I wanted you and Cereni to go down and get the residents off the Reach and up here in case we need to leave."

"Leave? How can a K'laxi Starbase leave?" Abyssal sounded incredulous.

"K'laxi and Human." Picaresque answered. "Hi Abyssal Plains, my name is Picaresque. I was the Starjumper that was broken down for parts when humans first came to Starbase, but they didn't get me out and I was deactivated. Gord re-activated me with the idea to get me out, but then Venus attacked, so I'm working with Starbase for now to keep everyone safe while Gord goes and gets Mt Greylock the colony ship. I've still got two of my reactors, a weapons battery and my wormhole generator hooked up. My Stardrive is here too, but that can't really do anything. If I lit that, I'd destroy the whole place!"

Abyssal was stunned. "Chloe, you don't do anything by half measures do you?"

Chloe sighed. "This kind of stuff always happens when Gord's involved. I swear it's not me."

"Uh huh. Anyway, Cereni you're on board with all this nonsense too?"

Cereni squeezed Chloe's hand. "Yes Abyssal, I'm on board. It's great to see you again."

"It's good to see you to. I'm glad someone here has their head on right. So are you both coming with me?"

"No, I'm going to stay here and coordinate the AI response to Venus." Chloe said. "You and Cereni can go down, get the colonists, bring them back up here and then you can leave. No need to be another target for their missiles."

"Pfft. A few missiles never worried me any. But, better go while the going is good. You ready Cereni?"

"Ready and waiting Abyssal. Let's go get them."

"Right you are. Come on board. We'll leave now."

Cereni squeezed Chloe's hand one more time and said. "I'll be back before you know it."

Chloe looked at her a moment and then bent down for a hug. "You had better." she whispered.

Cereni leaned into the hug, and then broke it off and without looking back, ran down the umbilical onto Abyssal.

The umbilical irised shut, the sign over the top went blank, and the green lights around the door turned red, and then black as Abyssal disconnected and powered away.

Chloe clicked her headset. "Starbase, Picaresque, Traffic Control? Please give Abyssal Plains priority routing. They're on a rescue mission to collect the colonists from Zen'ma'gan's Reach and bring them here."

Starbase answered "Of course Chloe. Traffic Control? Chloe's request is approved. Give Abyssal Plains priority leaving and returning to expedite their trip."

The K'laxi running Traffic Control sounded unsure but replied. "If you say so Starbase. Priority routing approved."

As Chloe turned to walk back to the administration offices, she clicked her headset. "Picaresque, you have room for them once they get here?"

"It won't be comfortable at first, but yes." Picaresque answered. Starbase added "We're working on re-routing some halls now. We can make Picaresque's spaces officially accessible from the promenade. Give folks some time, and if they want to stay, we'll have at least two new halls for quarters and ancillaries."

Chloe nodded. "Excellent. I'm going to make some calls. Once the colonists are up here, we need to show Venus we're not going to just take them linking in aggressively and causing trouble."

****

On board Abyssal Plains, Cereni sat in the commander's chair. "Are you sure you want me sitting here? I feel weird."

"I'm sure Cereni. You can be Loadmaster and Commander."

"But, you don't even need a Commander. You spend most of your time these days empty."

"Well sure, but that doesn't mean I don't like having a Commander. Many Starships prefer to be crewed. These days there are fewer and fewer sapient crews around and the Starships - of all kinds - tend to run as their own businesses and do their own work, but I'm old fashioned. I like people. I like being crewed. Even if it's only you on board, I'm more comfortable if you're the Commander."

"But-" Cereni looked lost. "I'm K'laxi"

"So?"

"You're a human ship!"

"I am not. I may have been built by humans, but I'm an AI. I'm an AI ship. Doesn't matter that you're K'laxi. There are plenty of K'laxi that serve on ships like us. I've seen the trades, I know."

"Are there any K'laxi in command of one?"

"Now there is." Abyssal said with laughter in their voice. "Just think. You're a vanguard. The first K'laxi in Command of a human built, AI ship! You'll be famous!"

Cereni's ears flattened. "I don't want to be famous. I want to work in the docks and-" her fur rippled "-get to know Chloe better."

"So you and Chloe eh?" Abyssal said, kindly.

"Maybe. She seems interested. I know I am. She can be..a bit much, but she keeps showing these hidden parts of herself. I think she has a lot of armor up."

Abyssal agreed, "Lots of the really old AIs do. I think it has something to do with how much they've seen, and how often they feel like they've been disappointed in humanity."

"Disappointed?"

"People are people. They do things that hurt others even when they don't mean to. Chloe is old enough that she remembers when humans would treat her as a thing. They don't really now, but those kind of interactions stick with you."

"Hmm. I can see how that would color someone's perception." Cereni stopped. "Wait, how old is Chloe?"

"She's one of the oldest. She's around 1800 years old I think."

Cereni just sat, staring ahead. She was trying to date a being who was 72 times her age.

She shook her head. "Abyssal, do you know Gord?"

"Gord? I've heard of him, I think every AI has. But, no I never met him. He was big on AI rights back in the day, but keeps a low profile these days. I heard Chloe talking about him when we were docked. He's going to rescue a colony ship?"

"I've only heard the story second hand, but I guess the human colony ship Mt Greylock was coming in system slowly and they think it'll have supplies on hand that we can use to defend against Venus, so Gord and two Starjumpers just left to catch up to them."

"I saw the Stardrive flames when I docked. I didn't know that's what it was for. Sheesh, this is a mess isn't it?"

Cereni nodded.

"Well, let's concentrate on our part. We'll get those folks off the Reach, get them on Starbase and then figure out what our next steps are. Remember, when you find yourself going through Hell, keep going!"

Cereni turned her head, confused. "What?"

"Old expression. "Going through Hell" means you're having a hard time. And if you're going through Hell, well then, keep going. You'll get out of it eventually."

Cereni shook her head. "Okay then. Let's keep going through hell."

Abyssal chuckled. "Close enough."

Part 14

[elwenyere]

Fic Writer 20 Questions

I was tagged by my beloved @frostbitebakery: thank you so much, my friend!!!

1.) How many works do you have on ao3

56

2.) What's your ao3 word count?

301,664 words

3.) What fandoms do you write for?

So far, the MCU, Star Wars, and Top Gun.

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Call Me By Your (Pet) Name (MCU, Sambucky)

Tactical Engagements (Star Wars, Codywan)

Citation Needed (MCU, Stony)

Helps to Relieve My Mind (MCU, Sambucky)

Good Soldiers (Star Wars, Codywan)

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do, yes! Sometimes it takes me a little while to write back if things in real life are hectic, but eventually I do, because I love chatting with readers about what they noticed in a story and what I was thinking about/working on while writing.

6.) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I have never written what I would call an unhappy ending. But sometimes what we know about the canon ending can still make the ending of a fic bittersweet, and that's true of a fair number of fics I've written. I think the two fics that leave canon angst most fully on the table are my MCU ficlet A Stitch in Time, which is about what else Steve might have done while returning those stones, and my wee Star Wars piece Yes, It Feels Like That, which is a moment with Leia's grief during ANH.

7.) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I swear: I used to write plenty of fics that were happy all the way through! That happens a lot less frequently now. But Right on Time is just about the happiest ending I could give to a post-war Codywan, and my Sambucky fic Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice is (to me) maybe the funniest fic I've written.

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

I've been very lucky with readers who are largely very generous.

9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I am a relative newcomer to writing smut, but I have dabbled, yes. I'm not sure what kind of smut it is. Feelings-forward, I guess?

10.) Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I think the only thing I've written that could come close to being classified as a crossover was my very first multi-chapter fic, Should You Choose to Accept It, which included characters from both the mainstream Avengers and Agents of SHIELD and mashed up the plots of Iron Man 3, CA: TWS, AOS Season One, and Mission Impossible 3.

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not yet!

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Yes! The Stony identity porn/professor AU fic Citation Needed was a collaboration with the incredible @festiveferret, and it is the most fun I've had writing fic.

14.) What's your all time favorite ship?

Cannot pick a favorite, but my first OTP was Mulder/Scully, and they will always have a special place in my heart.

15.) What's a WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

God what a painful question. 😅 I am a stubborn bastard, and I don't know if I've fully admitted defeat on any of my WIPs, even the ones I've neglected the most. But the WIP that's probably been waiting for my attention the longest is the sequel to my Stony fic Three Little Words; or, Five Times Steve and Tony Didn’t Actually Apologize + One Time They Did, which I cannot abandon or scrap for parts because I'm really attached to the bits that I have written, but which I haven't been able to make progress on for a long time. Bug me for snips about it if you like: I would love to be able to share what I have so far.

16.) What are your writing strengths?

A borderline aggressive amount of figurative language, narrative beats that feel layered, and I think I have a decent ear for dialogue.

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm so, so, so inexpressibly slow, and I also build up increasing levels of anxiety about WIPs when I'm not getting outside perspectives about them, so I find it nearly impossible to write anything longer than 20k.

18.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I have experimented with this a little bit in the past, and I'm currently trying it again in a WIP in a language I'm not deeply familiar with, which is nerve-wracking. But I think it can be so effective when done well, and I'm excited to keep growing in that area.

19.) First fandom you wrote for?

Stony in the MCU: a missing-scene fic from Endgame

20.) Favorite fic you've ever written?

I love all my children equally, but my Codywan fic Recollection is probably the fic that felt most ambitious to me at the time that I wrote it: memory-related temporal shenanigans, surreal scene changes, some heavy psychic territory, and my very first smut scenes. I'm proud of how many new things I tried.

----

Open tags for anyone who would like to play!!! This was very fun: @ me with your answers if you'd like to join. <3<3<3

[pomie-fruitshake]

Part 9!

part 8:

--

We are sitting on his bed by the time I calmed down. He smiles at me and jokes "Did my question make you this sad? Haha"

"That's not why I-" I groan and hug him again. "I missed you.. a lot. Why did you disappear?.."

"Well.." He doesn't finish his sentence and instead laughs awkwardly. But I pry further.

"That's not fair, Solomon. I always tell you everything!"

"Do you really?" He says with a suspicious smile. As if he knows that's not true.

"Uhm-" I nervously try to scramble for words.

"It's alright, MC. We all have our secrets." He pats my head. Wait he WHAT!? I stare at him and he just chuckles.

"You like that, don't you?" A teasing smirk appears. And my heart beats faster.

"S-Solomon!! You- " I hide my face behind my hands. Though I don't stay hidden for long as I feel the pull of magic take my hands away from my face.

"HEY!"

"Ahahaha!" He leans in closer, while he's smiling so happy. I feel my heart fill with joy. "Please don't hide from me, my adorable apprentice ~"

I stay silent for a bit. And Solomon tilts his head, looking a bit worried now. "MC I'm sorry if I-" I don't let him finish as I kiss him softly on his even softer lips. I also see a very, VERY cute blush appear on him.

"Wh.."

I ruffle his hair and it's SO soft. My hands feel like they're experiencing heaven. So of course I continue petting him. Which doesn't help the already flustered sorcerer.

"M-MC!!"

"Aaawww~ look who's all shy now~" The roles have been reversed and I'm sure I look very smug right now.

He now groans in embarrassment and I have a feeling he'll get revenge on me. And revenge he takes. I feel hands on my sides start to tickle me. I start laughing and squirming, playfully trying to get away.

"Solomon! Hahahaha! Please!! Mercy!"

"Now now, why should I do that ~" He mercilessly continues until-

"MC? Solomon..?" An angelic voice is heard by the door. It seems we have been too loud. "I knocked but you didn't answer.." He looks troubled.

"Were we too loud..?" I look apologetically at him.

"Thankfully Luke has not woken up yet. But you were quite loud, yes."

"I apologize Simeon, we'll be quieter." Solomon says as he still has an arm around my waist from his tickling attack. I try not to think about that now.

And Simeon noticed that, he's been staring at it to be exact. "I see you have resolved what's been bothering you, MC?"

"Ah y-yes..?" No??? I haven't figured out anything! It got even more confusing!

"Well then. I wish you two a good night." Simeon leaves and closes the door. A silence befalls the room, Solomon is staring into the abyss, still with a slight blush. He giggles and leans back, closing his eyes and sighing happy. I'd stare at his lovely content face for longer, but I need to progress in my quest. "Solomon?"

"Yes, MC?" He says while his eyes are still closed.

"Can you.. come to my room tomorrow?"

He opens his eyes now and takes my hand. "Of course MC, I should be more free from now on."

I smile and get up. "That's a promise!!" I go to his door and open it, wanting to leave as it's late. But Solomon closes it again, suddenly having appeared behind me and leaning on it with his arm.

"Not so fast, MC."

... By the way this is how our dear Solomon looked after the kiss!

[mrsaguapapi]

Ch 1  Ch 2  Ch 3  Ch 4  Ch 5  Ch 6  Ch 7  Ch 8  Ch 9  Ch 10  Ch 11

Chapter 12

Declarations

The Vibe:

Boy

I'm kinda freaking out. Like, full-blown panic. It's almost time to pick up Namor, I spent the day stress-cleaning the apartment and shopping for snacks and ingredients for dinner; I'm making stir fry with sauteed shrimp on the side (in case he doesn't eat meat 😬). I don't know why I'm so nervous about him being here, I feel like this is kinda a big deal. I haven't been able to eat because of my nerves and Peter talked me down from canceling several times and practically forced fed me meal replacement shakes so I wouldn't fall over.

Thank god for Peter, by the way, he said he'd make himself scarce for the night and patrol the city; Fridays are busy for Spiderman. Honestly, he's been busy almost every night, I high-key think he may be seeing someone; that 'Black Cat' girl maybe? He hasn't said anything to me since telling me about her and I swear the other night he smelled like women's perfume.

I suppose he'll tell me when he's ready

I'm wearing a pair of stone-washed jeans and a navy green crop top layered with a beige extremely cropped long-sleeve turtle neck. I was going to pair it with heels but decided to throw on my white sneakers since we were just staying home. My braids are starting to look a little raggedy so I throw a bandana on to cover my loose roots. Top it off with a pair of gold hoop earrings and I'm done. I look at myself in the mirror satisfied; with my scar, I don't usually like my belly exposed but today I look good.

I put on my sling ring, and do a once over the apartment, everything looks good. Checking my phone and see it was only 7:45 pm so I decided to play on my phone and smoke a joint to help with my nerves. Opening and sitting by the window I see I have 3 more unread texts from Bucky

Fuck I never replied to him

3:22 am

I saw you read my message...

3:36 am

I just want to apologize. I've been terrible to you.

5:02 am

I coming to see you

Is he serious right now??

I begin to text him back,

7:50 pm

Bucky, stop. I have company coming over, and you will embarrass yourself, Just stay home and we can talk about this tomorrow. Have a good night.

Almost 5 minutes later he responds with 2 thumbs up.

"Girl he is something else," I say to myself while turning my phone to silent. Closing the window, I quickly go brush my teeth, then eventually open a portal inside Namors Temple. Leaving the portal open behind me, I step through and see Namor painting something new on his wall. He was wearing signature green shorts and white robes; I don't think he's noticed me here just yet.

"Táan wáaj a ts'o'oksik, in Ajaw? 'Are you ready my king?' I ask him

He turns a bit startled and smiles at me, "Where did you learn to speak my language like that? I've heard you speak it before but now you sound as if it's your native tongue."

"Yaanten in secretos. 'I have my secrets' " I laugh, "Uts ti' a wich? 'Do you like it "

"Ma'atech a cha'ik u sorprender in. 'You never cease to amaze me " he replies

I giggle and look away, "Stop it"

He's got me blushing like a high school girl.

Namor puts his brush down and has a seat at his table, "Come closer Ki'ichpan" he says raising out his hands to me

I walk up to him and place my hands in his, "You look beautiful today" he says smiling up at me

"Thank you" I smile

He then takes his hands placing them on my hips pulling me closer between his legs and places a kiss on my bare stomach and looks up at me, "I've missed you"

"I've missed you too," I say playing with his hair, "Come on" I start to pull him out of his seat, "let's go so I can cook you some dinner."

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

I gave Namor a tour of the place, it's not huge; your basic 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and a kitchen right off the living room. He was sitting at the kitchen island, watching me prepare our bowl with the stir fry, "I made some shrimp on the side if you'd like some. I wasn't sure if you ate meat."

"Absolutely" he smiles

I finish by adding a handful of shrimp to our bowls and hand him his while I sit across from him, "I hope you like it" I say, watching him try his first bite.

"I Like it," He says with a soft chuckle, "This is good, thank you"

"You're welcome" I reply.

He is giving me the warm fuzzies

We eat our dinner mostly in silence, the food was pretty good, I hadn't eaten all day and he So thoroughly enjoyed the taste. Now we find ourselves on the couch sharing a bowl of ice cream. I've easily convinced him out of his robes and am sitting in his lap, feeding us back and forth.

"I don't think I have had this much fun in a while. You're good company" I laugh

"I can say the same about you Ki'ichpan. Keep feeding me like this and I'd give you anything"

"Anything?" I ask

Oh this should be fun

I scoop the last bit of the ice cream and hold it to his mouth, "Here last bite." Namor opens his mouth and I 'Accidentally' drop the ice cream on his chest, "Oh shoot, let me get that for you" I say dipping down and licking it off his chest, "Better?" I ask

"You're playing a dangerous game Ki'ichpan. I didn't plan on taking you this early in the night." Namor warns

I spread my legs a little further on his lap and lightly grind on his dick teasing him, "What's stopping you hm?"

Namor pulls me into a fiery kiss quite literally taking my breath away. He breaks away only to kiss and bite my neck causing me to moan.

"Keep that up and you won't last the rest of the night."

Before I could reply we were interrupted by a knock at the door, "Ignore It" I say continuing our kiss.

The knocking gets a little louder, "Sounds important. Go, I can wait for you"

I nod my head and get off his lap and head to the door. I look through the peephole and see that it's Bucky.

The Vibe:

Celeste - Strange (Lyrics) | I am still me you are still you

"What the fuck" I say exasperated

"What's got you upset?" Namor says walking to me and taking my hand

"It's Bucky." I say embarrassed, "He's been messaging me since last night. He said he was coming to see me, but I didn't think he'd follow through. I also explicitly said to stay home."

Namor's eyes darken a little, "Let me take care of it."

"No, no. I can take care of it, just please wait here." I crack open the door so bucky can only see me, "Bucky what the hell?"

"I just want to talk, can I come in?" He says beginning to walk forward

Holding my hand out I make contact with his chest and firmly stop him from entering, "No Bucky, I'm serious go home. I don't want you here."

"Fine I'll say what I have to say here then," he says

I feel the door being ripped from my hand, it was Namor, he was now standing over me with one hand on the door and the other holding the frame. "Why don't you leave as she said."

Bucky clenches his jaw looking at Namor and then at me, "Really Millie?"

"Really what James? I don't owe you anything. And both of you knock it off with the alpha male behavior Okay?" I snip, "You want to talk?" I say pointing at Bucky, "Fine, 5 min, and then take the hint and go the hell home." I push him into the hallway and turn around to Namor, "Please stay here, I'll take care of it."

He looks at me, then at Bucky, and back at me, "I don't trust him." He says pretty loudly.

"Hey man, why don't you go back inside and mind your damn business." Bucky scoffs

"Will you just be quiet, please?" I yell to Bucky. Looking at Namor, "You don't have to trust him. Trust ME when I say I'll be fine." He looks at me and nods, walking away and closing the door behind him.

He's very upset

I let out a sigh of frustration and turn to look at Bucky, "Dude what's the matter with you? You're giving me whiplash. You break up with me because what? You think I could do better, but when I start to move on you want me? I don't understand you."

He brushes his hand through his hair, "I still love you."

"Well I'm sorry but it will pass," I say half hysterical

"Do you not love me anymore?" He asks

"What does it matter? Bucky YOU left me." I Yell

"It matters!" He yells back

"WHY?"

Before I knew it he was kissing me; I wanted to stop him and fight back but my body betrayed me. The kiss was desperate and full of desire. I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck as he held me tight in his arms pushing me back into my door making a loud thud. The noise brought me back down to Earth,

What am I doing?

"Stop" he continues to kiss me, "STOP" I push him off trying to catch my breath.

Finally, he begins to answer my questions, "It matters because if you still love me, then we have a chance. If you don't I will stop and move on" he begins to walk away, "Call me later when you're ready to talk"

Fuck...

I catch my breath and gather my barrings before I open the door and come back inside. Namor was standing there by the door waiting for me. His face and body language were unreadable, I don't know where his head is at. His energy is a bit alarming I can't tell if he wants to yell at me or jump my bones, or both.

Uncomfortable with the vibe, I take a step back putting my hands in my back pockets, "Hey..." I say "Did you hear-" I try to continue

"Everything," he says softly. He was looking me in my eyes like he was reading my mind searching for something. Finally, he speaks up, "Do you love him?"

I feel myself about to cry, twice tonight my body fails. I look down so he can't see my eyes filling with tears, "I don't want to..." I say softly.

Walking towards me, he gently lifts my head, pulling me into his gaze, "It's okay." he softly says pulling me into a hug. I was fully expecting him to yell and be angry with me but he surprised me with his compassion. "Love is a library of confusion. It's complicated, I can understand that."

"I'm sorry," I say embracing him back.

"Nothing to be sorry for. Millaenyia," He calls to me. I look up, " In case I haven't made it abundantly clear already, my heart burns for you. I want you to be mine, and I to be yours. You may not love me now, that's fine because I can wait until you do; whatever our souls are made of, yours and mine are the same" he kisses me. Unlike my kiss with bucky, this one was calming and gentle, he let me lead. Just before I can lose myself in this kiss he pulls away, "I can smell him on you."

"I'm sorry... I don't know what to say"

What can I say in this scenario? How can you remedy an impossible situation like this? He thinks our souls are one of the same. I can't deny at this point that I still love Bucky, but with that being said I'm developing feelings for Namor. Fast and Hard. What do I do? Everything is complicated right now.

"Millaenyia?"

"Hmm?" I say focusing back in on Namor

"Where did you go just now?"

"In my head"

"What are you thinking about?"

"That I am confused." I half chuckle and half cry, "I don't know I guess I'm overwhelmed." I place my hand on his face, "I appreciate your words, you've been extremely accommodating of my feelings. I just need a little time to think and gather my thoughts before I respond to your beautiful words. I don't like jumping into things half cocked and if I'm going to be with you, I want to BE with you. Does that make sense?"

"I understand, take your time" he nods, "In the meantime, while I'm here with you, can we forget about everything and just enjoy each other's company?" He smiles

The Vibe:

Doja Cat - Freak (Audio)

Smiling back at him, "What did you have in mind?"

"I was hoping I could get that smell off of you and replace it with something more," he looks me up and down, undressing me with his eyes, "pleasant"

"I could go for something pleasant" I smile grabbing the top of his shorts and pulling him closer to me, "Ba'axten ma' ka pitik a ka pitik hmm? 'Why don't you take these off hmm?' "

"Teeche' yáax 'you first' " he challenges me

I have been waiting for this moment hehe

Tonight I decided to spice it up a bit and wear a white crochet lace garter lingerie set. I take my time peeling off my top layers one by one, slowly revealing my snug bralette. Namor couldn't help himself and reached his hand out to touch me but before he could, I smacked him, "Le taj muk'óolal jach amarga, ba'ale' u yich ch'ujuk 'Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet" I wink at him and begin to unzip my pants and drop them. Stepping out of them I stand dangerously close to him and whisper in his ear, "U a Cha' paax in ajawo 'You're permitted to touch my king' "

He abruptly picks me up which startles me, causing us both to laugh; he leads me to my bedroom closing the door behind him. Namor puts me down on the bed and steps back to take his shorts off exposing his erection. Unable to help myself I slide off the bed falling to my knees in front of him. Being face-to-face with his dick is quite a daunting experience, he's the biggest I've been with so I'm a little intimidated. When I look up though, I see Namor watching me, waiting in anticipation; just the thought of him at my mercy immediately washed away any anxiety that I had.

With a sudden rush of confidence, I take his cock in my hand and begin to slowly stroke him and eventually take him in my mouth. I started slow, taking him further and further with each bop of my head sneaking occasional looks up at him, watching his reactions.

I can tell he's holding back like he needs more, so I snaked my hand up his leg, lingering a bit on his ass, and eventually grabbing his hand and placing it on the back of my head, silently permitting him to let loose. He takes the hint and begins to take control, slowly face fucking me, going deep and deeper with each thrust.

"Fuck you're so beautiful like this," he says now grabbing my head with both hands fully losing control, grunting and moaning with every other thrust. Namor was hitting the back of my throat now causing me to gag a bit, and making me tear up. I'd never fucked like this before, it was intense, and the heartbeat in my pussy grew more feverish as Namor came closer to his climax. I look up at him making eye contact as I take my free hand and begin to touch myself, wanting to feel just as good as he does.

Watching me do this lewd act was all he needed to reach his climax; he began to pull out not sure if he should finish in my mouth but I held him in place. Namor gratefully takes the opportunity and begins to grunt through his teeth and say words that I couldn't understand, losing himself entirely as I take every last drop of him down my throat.

After collecting his breath he slowly pulls out of my mouth and wipes away some of his cum from my lips, "You mystify me," He says helping me up and kissing me.

Slowly he starts to walk me back to the bed and gently lays me down kissing me as he works his way down to my panties.

"My turn to take care of you Ki'ichpan." He says as he hooks my panties; pulling them down.

[gerhardtz]

20 Questions for Writers

OKAY so Tumblr decided to start blasting Line of Duty posts onto my dash again and I saw @ac12bookworminthetardis do this tag (I have no idea how long ago, apologies if I'm tagging you over something ancient) and wanted to give it a go ^__^

I know we don't know each other, apologies if me tagging you like this is weird !!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 11 public, two hidden (awaiting rewrites to make public again)

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 24,985, as of this post

3. What fandoms do you write for? Mostly Fargo! In fact, almost exclusively Fargo these days. I haven't written for another fandom in years. I've considered returning to writing Doctor Who fic, though. Maybe LoD if I end up hyperfixating again.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Dazed & Confused (96 | Doctor Who) When The Clock Struck Thirteen (23 | Doctor Who) One Hour Ahead of the Possee (9 | Fargo) Dead Boys (6 | Fargo) A Promise Made In Blood (6 | Fargo)

5. Do you respond to comments? Always! They always make my day, and I try my best to respond to them with as much insight as possible ^__^

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? It's not complete yet, but Drop It, Doe Eyes is definitely going to have the saddest ending. Sorry JethRye enjoyers. It's rough.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Dazed & Confused, I suppose, though it was only a oneshot drabble from back in the day. As for my current WIPs, I think One Hour Ahead of the Possee will be the happiest. I've kind of accepted that it's a fix-it fic at this point LOLLLL

8. Do you get hate on fics? Nope! And I thankfully never have.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yepppp I sure do. I haven't published any of it (yet) but it will definitely be included in my JethRye fic, and probably a fair few future oneshots. Though most of the smut I've written as of late has been for my OC stories rather than fics.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Yes! @pastelspindash and I are slowly working through a Fargo x Sonic crossover AU which we are taking WAY too seriously lmao.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not yet, but I will with the FargoxSonic crossover.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship? ALL TIME FAVOURITE??? I couldn't choose one. Genuinely. Here are some of my favourites though! Lester Nygaard/Lorne Malvo (Fargo) Peggy Blumquist/Constance Heck (Fargo) Steve Arnott/Dot Cottan (Line of Duty) The Doctor/Jack Harkness (Doctor Who) Cal Lightman/Gillian Foster (Lie to Me)

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Ughhh my Xenoblade Chronicles AU, Lone Homs. It's been hidden for a while now because I changed a lot about my OC after writing the first few chapters, and then never ended up rewriting it. I haven't cared about Xenoblade in years now so I doubt I'll get around to it :/

16. What are your writing strengths? I think probably dialogue, especially capturing characters' voices. I've had people tell me a few times that I'm quite good at it -- especially in Fargo fics ^__^

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Well first of all I NEVER WRITE ANYTHINGGGG I'm so slow! Writing is so hard!!!! And second of all I'm not great at descriptions unless I really put my soul into it. I'm a screenwriter first and foremost, so prose is hard for me.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I'm not proficient enough in a language right now to be able to do that T__T

19. First fandom you wrote for? I don't have it in me to admit that!!! It was back in 2016 and I'm taking it to the grave. You can try to guess if you want.

Let's just pretend my first fic was when I started writing Doctor Who fic back in 2019.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Hmmmm. Either One Hour Ahead of the Possee, or Dead Boys. The first has just been super fun to write and I'm proud of the prose. The second I'm SUPER proud of how I juggled so many characters in one scene ^__^

[thewolfisawake]

I posted 193 times in 2022

That's 14 more posts than 2021!

127 posts created (66%)

66 posts reblogged (34%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@rpmemes-galore

@arcxnumvitae

@mostly-sentence-starters

@annicon

@rp-meme-central

I tagged 156 of my posts in 2022

Only 19% of my posts had no tags

#wolfatrest - 16 posts

#answered - 11 posts

#open - 10 posts

#arcxnumvitae - 8 posts

#hunter and executioner - 7 posts

#baring fangs with a rabbit's heart - 6 posts

#the beta hunter - 5 posts

#strawberryxdreams - 5 posts

#the bad luck charm - 5 posts

#cxrsedsouls - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 73 characters

#of course he would just casually drink while looking at a bar fight go on

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Aspis

Send me the name of one of my Muses you want to learn more about, and I’ll ramble about them.

My boy! (something goes wrong) My boy! (Father help--)

Now that that's out the way. Aspis has held the place for like...my favorite to torment for years. Like even Samir and Artemis are way less time than I've ruminated on all the ways that it could go wrong for this boy. There's stuff I haven't even written on the blog or chats because it's just my special brand of fucked up and/or extreme self-indulgence. And I apologize in advance because this probably the most rambling and least cohesive of the ones I have written.

The fact there are so many bad ends I've concocted just tells me Aspis is hanging onto his sanity by a thread. One that is frayed and staying with hopes and prayers. He is also one of the biggest proof that bonds are the way to go if someone for some reason wants to save my muse. Like he is the biggest derailment of his original plot. Like to the point, I'm almost going to toss the original plot. And this is not a complaint! I'm genuinely intrigued as to how one can, essentially, have their fate changed.

That being said, I have given enough ambiguous plot points to have any number of weird things go on for him. Namely his strong spiritual power, being from a supposedly long dead family line, and his sketchy adolescence. Like it sounds like a lot of things but the point for me is to give possibilities, not all of them would ever be pursued but it gives the opportunity.

Like with the spiritual power, there's so many things. From seeing some interesting things while a lot of the world will not notice. As well as stuff like possession, probably a good sacrifice to some gateway to hell (thanks for that F.atal F.rame), and of course interactions with the dead. All are things that could be fun to explore and because Aspis is inexperienced with this power, just...room for either funnies or really sad things because he doesn't know a better way.

His family line has had all sorts of things associated with them but because of their nature, it's not clear what's true and what's legend. And as it's pretty much also lost itself, Aspis doesn't know what they are either. The funniest thought I had about it was if there was some long lived being that was like ‘hey, your family said they’d do x or I have a score to settle from y years ago.’ Cliché but I do love those ones. 

There’s also the idea that his family were ‘beloved’ for some reason. I have thought about if this ‘affection’ is...not quite good. The most specific was like some angelic-like being that wanted a songbird...because their musical talent is the only thing that I can admit is canon amongst them (there are several muses from the same bloodline as Aspis but they’re separated by like...centuries). There has also been the consideration that someone in his family had ended up being ‘blessed’ by the god of destruction, currently going by Noctis, which showing up now for Aspis turns into more of curse. And considering he’s already cursed, really blows.

His dubious adolescence is probably the most recent development but one I’m rather fond of because it gives opportunity to meet other muses of dubious background. And it could be friendship, could be mentorship, could be ‘oh god, I stole from them. Fu--’ anything goes. And it just ends up being almost comical because his friends think he’s just sweet and good and how ever could he end up with anything seedy? Aspis is just a nice contradiction like that. And this was between his training to become a hunter so there is the question of how he had time...and really it just goes with his surprisingly self-destructive being. 

I’m not sure if it was ever made known to others but Aspis had an insane workaholic-like time frame for years between his cadet years and becoming good friends with his coworkers in the European branch of the Bastion. Like since he was unsupervised anyway, he spent that time basically getting money to get him a better start for his hunter career equipment wise and training himself...unconventionally in the process. And when he did get licensed, he spent so much time making up for failed assignments with others so that he didn’t fall behind. Think like...black company sort of overtime, that’s what Aspis was up to.

Okay I gotta stop somewhere or I’ll spend all night on like....all the terrible stuff that is up with this boy. I know certain people will be like ‘let him rest’ and I am like ‘tell him that!’ 

6 notes - Posted March 12, 2022

#4

Not me sprinting onto here so I can say ‘Happy Birthday’ to my sunshine boy before the day ends. 

6 notes - Posted March 28, 2022

#3

meals: how many meals does my muse eat a day? what do they generally consist of? Arty

"...huh, I don't really keep count to be honest," Artemis admitted, "I eat when I'm able. So it could be as many as five and as little as none. Right now...it's whenever I feel like it so at least twice? Maybe? And what that consists of, whatever I have or can make. I'm not picky and it's not like I can't go to a shop and buy something. Or forage if I needed to."

6 notes - Posted February 13, 2022

#2

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Percy demanded from above, “that’s history you’re destroying!”

6 notes - Posted July 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

You never realize how much you miss having a long bathroom mirror until you wear cute clothes and can't find a way to show that off.

12 notes - Posted March 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[cafeinthemoon]

The Home I Crave - Chapter XVII

Chapter 17/?

Wordcount 1,8k

Title Cold

Fandom Naruto

Pairing Tobirama Senju X reader

Previous chapters

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 .  7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16

Symbols ⭕ . ➕ . 💛

Warning (s): none

Tagging @uzumakgi (if you want to be tagged in any of my stories, just send an ask or a message 😉)

N. A.: So… it's been a while lmao

I'm on a break from work and took this time to rest and organize some stuff that has been abandoned for months, including this story. This chapter brings a change in reader's perspectives, but not a clear confession. It's more of a deliberation, and that's why it's so short. Also I commented about it here on Tumblr, and I'm gonna repeat it here: there are some impacful things waiting for reader in the future, and these ideas have been with me for all this time I haven't wrote for this fic, and I'm happy that they will finally see the light of the day.

I apologize for leaving this story aside for this long, but I hope you enjoy this modest comeback :)

(Also I couldn't decide which GIF to use so let's have this charming one for now ❤🥰)

It was early in the morning and you woke up to find out you caught a cold.

A soreness in your throat was the first thing you sensed once you opened your eyes, but you were too tired to stand up and seek for water, and your head felt too heavy for you to move. You sighed: so that was what you gained for working so hard. You didn’t think you were so susceptible.

With effort, you turned to your side under the sheet only to have the unpleasant discovery of a running nose. The irritation overcame your exhaustion and you finally sat on the futon, standing there for minutes to prepare yourself and head to the bathroom in order to clean your nostrils...

But before you could do it, you heard the sounds of steps approaching your spot. The room was so quiet that you thought you were alone in it, but you looked up and found Tobirama approaching with some objects in hands. When he stopped and knelt beside the futon, you identified the things as paper towels and a cup with some steamy liquid of citric smell.

He bent down and gave you the items without a word. You mumbled a “thank you” and spent the next minutes alternating between the cup and the towels.

When you finally were able to speak, the first thing you said was all but unexpected:

- This is the worst moment for one to catch a cold – you grunted with your palms around the cup half full, your voice nothing more than a whisper – I can’t believe I’ve been long enough under the water to end up like this.

- To be fair, we’ve been spending long periods in the wild, including in wet territories – he crossed his arms – Your current condition is not entirely unexpected when we think of this.

You thought of asking why he didn’t seem to be as affected as yourself when you have been under the influence of the same weather, but after being with him for a while you could just suppose this endurance had something to do with the Senju blood, so you just nodded and said nothing.

You left the bed and went to the bathroom at last, washed your face and were going to take your things to prepare a hot bath. When you looked at your side, you noticed the bathtub was already full.

- I filled it and heated the water moments ago – Tobirama’s voice came from the bathroom’s door – It is better to check the temperature before entering it.

You looked from the tub to him, and then back to the tub. You went there and put your fingers in the water; it was still warm.

- It’s still good – and with a pause – Thank you.

He accepted it with a nod and was turning to leave, when you called him.

- Was it possible to find shelter and food for all the people who stood here? How are they going by now?

- They are trying their best despite the circumstances – the reply was categorical, as if he wasn’t surprised with the sudden change in the conversation’s direction at all – And yes, there are enough resources for all of them. The inn’s staff, Yoko-san and my Clones have been working on this since last night. Messages have been sent to the villages near, requesting supplies and help. Fortunately no one got sick, just tired. The children are the ones having the hardest time to understand the situation, but Yoko-san and the female workers are giving their mothers the necessary support.

You felt a twinge of discomfort when you heard that. So everyone was working to give the victims of the storm all they needed, including your husband, while you would have to stay in your room just because of a stupid cold. Great.

Again, Tobirama’s voice brought you back from your deliberations.

- Y/n-san. You do not need to tire yourself out thinking of this. You have done enough. Remember that it was your family’s jutsu that saved all those lives. If there is someone to whom they owe gratitude, it is you.

You stood up and crossed your arms.

- I know. Still…

A moment of silence and you shook the frustration aside, again changing the subject.

- And what about you?

He frowned.

- Me?

- Where did you sleep last night? – you shrugged – I know you’re used to wake up early, but after all of that you must be tired.

Knowing him the way you did, you weren’t shocked with the response you got: you didn’t even startle when he said he did not sleep.

- Yes, I am tired, but there was still work to do. My Clones have been helping the staff and the others while I’ve been here with you.

Well, that took a reaction out of you. You were sort of imagining that he would leave a Shadow Clone beside you and go work for the villagers in person, if he hasn’t decided to take a well deserved – and needed – rest, for creating and maintaining Clones was tiring to a certain point. However, after spending all that amount of chakra, he was still able to send new Clones to work and stood awake, taking care of you since you came back.

You approached the bathroom’s door and crossed it, passing by your husband. You went to your things and grabbed some clothing and soap. When you came back, you stopped before him. You silently thanked all the stuff you were carrying, so that he would never see your shaking hands: even after all those days traveling with him, your body still reacted that way whenever you got close.

You raised your eyes to his, facing their redness with all the courage you could gather in those few seconds.

- You should really take some rest. We still have some days on the road.

- I know. But I do not like the idea of leaving you without assistance while I sleep.

You startled at those words before you could stop yourself and gave him the fastest verbal reply you could think of before your face heated up.

- I’ll be fine! – and fearing that you have spoken too loud, – I’ll be fine, I promise. If you’re staying here, I can call you if I need something.

You thought you were going to find some resistance from his part, but he accepted your suggestion and left to give you privacy for the bath.

***

You took longer than usual to take off your clothes more because of some aching in your muscles than because of the headache, that only increased when you bowed your head. You raised your arms to brush and tie your hair up and hissed in discomfort and annoyance: you couldn’t believe you were that bad.

When you entered the tub, you had this sensation that the water was hotter than when you checked it with your hand. Were your hands too cold to mistake the temperature or weren’t you paying enough attention? You didn’t think it mattered, since the water seemed hot enough for you to stay in it for a long time.

Your limbs were all complaining since you left the futon, only relaxing when touched by the water. You stretched your legs as much as the tub’s width allowed you and rested your head on its edge, secretly grateful for the impossibility of leaving the room that day: you were really tired, as you haven’t been in a long time, and were yet to process the events of the last night. However, that was something you wouldn’t do right now. You just wanted to rest, despite sleeping for the entire night.

You sighed. You were so used to work hard that you didn’t sound like yourself that morning. But heavens, when was the last time you were forced to work to your limit? Well…

Have you ever been forced to your limit before?

If the answer was yes, you still had too much to improve. But you didn’t want to think of this right now; you wanted to get rid of this cold and continue your journey, reach your family’s home, see your sister. Your sister. How was she doing by now? You knew she was being well cared, yet your heart still ached with anxiety for her. This sickness, so sudden in a healthy girl like her. You just couldn’t accept it.

Slowly, your thoughts wandered towards your husband.

I do not like the idea of leaving you without assistance while I sleep.

You found yourself smiling at those words. Hearing them touched a new chord in your heart, one that you didn’t know about; it was the same when you saw him in action the night before, how quickly he memorized your hand seals and mastered your jutsu. There you had a truth you didn’t like to admit: Tobirama was stronger – and more skilled – than you. When you thought about this, you realized that if he wanted, he could just trap you and take you back to Konoha; in fact, he had countless chances to do so, still he decided to follow you in this failure of a travel. Not only this, but he has been taking care of you since the first day, giving you advice and even asking for your help – he who made it clear that working all by himself would always be his plan A.

Any other girl would be embarrassed or ashamed in your place, but you… You still didn’t know what was that feeling you had. No, you didn’t forget the reasons why you were there, why you tried to leave the Leaf Village in secret: he had his part in this. Still… he has been showing consideration towards you when you didn’t even ask for it. Was he trying to get something in return or was all of that some sort of punishment for you? No, it couldn’t be. You’ve met men like him before, so you knew they always had a hard time dissimulating; it wasn’t their style. And wasn’t Tobirama’s as well: the man would sweat honesty.

In this case... how hard it would have been for him to not talk to you about that letter, to keep your sister’s condition a secret from you?

You frowned and moved under the water, nervous with the new idea forming in your brain. Was it too soon to give him a chance and consider forgiveness, or were you being too stubborn by now? Well, all you knew was that if you were some foolish little girl, you would’ve already changed your manners towards him and forget all the events that preceded your departure from Konoha. But a shinobi would stay quiet and observe until they find out what they were supposed to do.

You sighed and continued your bath. Wait ad observe, that sounded good for you.

Let’s see what you got for me, Senju.

[kpop---scenarios]

Same Time (1)

Pairing: Changbin x Reader / Minho x Reader

Genre: Friends to Lovers sort of, Friends with benefits

Warnings: Eventual Angst and Smut

Word Count: 2.5k

Authors Note: This is now a mini series! It will consist of 7 or 8 parts! Hope you look forward to it! If you would like to be tagged, let me know!

Taglist: @binnieboyswhore @f4ncyvelvet @skittlez-area512 @biaswreckingfics @buttvi

You walk through the empty dorm, heading to a specific room, one you had frequented quite a few times before. 

You walk into Changbin's room, seeing him sitting on his bed, playing in his phone. 

"Finally." He groans, standing up and walking towards you. 

"No one can know about this." You gasp as Changbin's lips attach to your neck, gently sucking, allowing a small moan to escape from your lips.  He removes his mouth from you, looking you in the eyes with a knowing look. 

"Why do you keep mentioning that?" He huffs. "I haven't told anyone anything." He finishes, moving his face back towards your neck, peppering kisses up and down.

"I heard you with Bangchan." You breathe heavily. "Talking about the girl you're fucking, the one with the tight pussy." You gasp. "They're going to want to know who it is, or meet her. So stop." 

He doesn't reply to you, instead his hands reach down for the hem of your shirt, tugging at it before beginning to lift it, exposing your stomach and then your breasts. He moves his body away from yours, and you raise your arms letting him fully take your shirt off and throwing it onto the floor of his room. 

"I'm serious, Changbin. The guys can't know." You say as he looks down at your breasts, pushed up with the help of a lace bra. 

"My favorite color." Changbin laughs, reaching behind you with one hand and undoing the clasp of your bra like a goddammit magician. You stare at him in disbelief as he smirks back, pulling the lace cloth from your body and dropping it down to the floor to join your shirt. "I have always loved your tits." He exclaims, cupping both your breasts with both his hands before opening his mouth and wrapping it around your nipple. Your hands run through his hair as he sucks slowly, flicking the tip with his tongue. 

"Changbin?" You both hear from the otherside of the door. "Are you in there?" 

He releases your nipple, his head shooting straight up as the two of you begin to panic. You scramble to hook your bra up, grabbing your shirt before running to the bathroom, quietly closing the door just before his door opens. 

Changbin sits on his bed with a pillow sitting on his crotch, hiding his very large erection. 

You press your ear to the door of the bathroom, doing your best to hear their conversation. 

"What?" Changbin asks, clearing his throat. 

Minho walks into the room, looking around, before looking at Changbin with confusion plastered over his face. 

"Is Ayn here? I thought I heard her giggle." He asks, a small blush spreading across his face.  

"Yeah, she's in the bathroom." Changbin says, pointing to the bathroom.

You take a deep breath, continuing to listen. "What were you guys doing in here?" He asks. 

"Just talking about shit. Did you need something?" Changbin asks, getting annoyed. 

"Yeah, I have something to ask Ayn." He answers. Changbin tenses up at is reply, feeling like he knew what he wanted to ask. He knew Minho had feeling for you, even before you and he started fucking around, but hey, it wasn't his fault Minho didn't get to you first. 

You turned on the tap, quickly walking your hands and flushing the toilet before opening the door to make your appearance. 

"Oh, hey Minho." You smile, as you walk out of the bathroom, drying your hands on a towel you had found laying on the bathroom floor. 

"Hey you." Minho grins widely. "A few of us were going for lunch, if you wanted to join?" He asks. 

"I'd love to." You smile, walking towards him. 

"Hey!" Changbin yells. "What about me?" 

"Uh yeah, if you wanna come you can." Minho says, smiling at you while he talks to Changbin. 

You had yet to confirm it, but you had a bit of a gut feeling that Minho had a thing for you and honestly if he ever asked you out, you'd probably say yes. Changbin had made a sort of agreement from the first time the two of you hooked up that whatever the two of you were, you would just be two friends fucking and nothing more. 

*Flashback; 6 months ago* 

You were walking through the dorm, looking for anyone, but it had seemed like everyone was out. You checked almost all the bedrooms, and with your hand on the door knob, you turned and opened Changbin's door. Your eyes immediately fell to the bed, seeing Changbin laying there with his hand wrapped around his cock, pumping it fast. The sounds of his grunts and moans echoing through the room. 

He looks up and sees you, panic mode setting in. "Ayn.. uh.. I.. " he stutters, trying to cover himself. 

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry" You say, squeezing your eyes shut. You had heard the door close behind you as you walked into the room. You turn your body facing where you thought the door was, reaching your hand out, trying to find the door knob that had just been let go but you were struggling. Even with your eyes closed, you pictured his cock, making your pussy throb, it had been months since you had been fucked, and seeing how thick and long his dick was, it instantly soaked your panties.

You gave up on finding the door knob and just began to back out of his room, whispering apologies. 

"Wait." Changbin yells. 

You stop. 

"Would you want to.. fuck around?" He asks. 

Your eyes open. You look down, seeing him pump his cock. 

"As friends.. with benefits." He says. "I know it's been a while for you too.." 

"Two friends helping each other get off.." you whisper. 

"Yeah, a friend helping another friend." Changbin smiles. "No feelings involved. We're just friends." He says again. 

"Yeah." You say forcing a smile. "Got it. Just friends." You knew this was a bad idea. 

You knew you shouldn't do if, considering you had a very sizeable crush on him, but you'd never be able to tell him. You knew this would likely end up ruining you, and your friendship. 

"So what do you say?" He asks, a smirk appearing on his handsome face. 

Say no. Ayn don't. 

"Absolutely." You answer. 

Having him this way is better than not having him at all. 

"So Ayn, anywhere in particular you feel like for lunch?" Minho asks you, holding the door open for you. 

"It doesn't matter to me." You smile. "Wherever you guys wanna go is fine with me." You finish, motioning to the rest of the guys who were waiting in the hallway. 

"Pizza!" Hyunjin yells, raising his fist in the air. The rest of the men begin moving down the hallway, Minho waiting for you, and you were waiting for Changbin. 

"Lets go or we're leaving you." You yell into the living room. 

"Yeah yeah, stop rushing me or I won't eat your pu.." he pauses seeing Minho still standing there. "Pizza.. uh.. When you make homemade pizza next time I won't eat it." He coughs, trying to hide his slight embarrassment. 

"When did you make homemade pizza?" Minho asks as you began walking downg the hallway after glaring at Changbin. 

"I um, I'm not sure what he's talking about. You know him, always making things up." You tell him. 

Minho just nods his head, but you can tell he's trying to figure something out. "What kind of pizza are you going to get?" You ask Minho, trying to distracy him. It seems to work, he perks up, smiling at you. "Wanna split one?" He suggests. 

"Sure." You say, smiling back at him. 

While you were too busy looking at Minho, you missed the scoff and eye roll from Changbin who trailed behind you. 

**

A few days later, you sat on the couch at the dorm, laughing at a show with Bangchan while the rest of the members muddled around the dorm doing whatever they were going to do. 

"Hey, Ayn?" Minho calls you from behind the couch. You turn your head to look back at the nervous looking man. 

"What's up?" You ask, resting your chin on your hand on the back of the couch. 

"Could I talk to you for a minute?" He asks. "Over here?" He says, nodding his head towards the kitchen. 

You get off the couch, heading towards the kitchen with Minho following behind you, closing the small door separating the kitchen and the living room. 

"You okay?" You ask the man who stands there, his hands fidgeting in front of him.

"I'm going to ask you something, and I need to lose it before I lose my nerve." He says in in semi panicked voice. 

"Okay, go a head." You laugh. You can feel the butterflies floating around in your stomach as you wait for the question he needs to ask you. You already have a feeling you know what it was going to be. 

"Would you.." he pauses. Just as he's about to finish his sentence, the kitchen door opens revealing Changbin, who walks in, heading for the fridge. "Go on a date with me?" He says. 

Changbin freezes, his hand on the fridge door as he anticipates your answer. 

"I would love too." You smile. You can see the change in Minho's demeanour immediately as he processes the fact that you said yes. 

"Awesome.. wow. Okay, cool." He excitedly says. "Tonight? Like an hour?" He asks. 

"An hour works great." You nod. 

"Movie?" He asks. 

"Perfect." You smile, watching Minho exit the kitchen with a giant smile on his face.  

"A movie with Minho?" Changbin asks, turning around to face you. 

"Yeah, so what?" You say, shrugging your shoulders. 

"It's a date." He reminds you. 

"I know that." You laugh. "I heard when he said the word date." 

"Interesting." He mumbles, his hand gripping his bottle tightly. "You're really going to go? He asks. 

"Why wouldn't I?" 

"Cause you and I.." he trails off. 

"Are just friends, remember?" You say, patting his chest before walking out of the kitchen, getting more excited about your date. 

 ** 

Later that night you are standing outside the movie theater with Minho after the movie had finished. 

"That was a good movie." Minho says.  

"Oh yeah, really good." You agree but truthfully you hadn't paid much attention to the movie. You had been far too focused on on fact that the two of you were sitting so close to eachother, and your heart was beating so fast you thought he would most definitely be able to hear it from where he was. 

Your hands touched a few times as you both reached for popcorn, making the butterflies in your stomach flutters faster. You both nervously laughed, pulling your hands away. But it didn't take long for him to do the move, the one where he pretends to stretch, and places his arm on your shoulder, pulling you in close. You stayed like that for for rest of the movie, not to mention the fact that he held your hand when you were walking out of the theater. 

Minho was someone you could definitely see yourself with, but unfortunately you still had one problem. After he dropped you off at your apartment complex, he watched you go up the stairs until you were out of sight. You smiled at the ground as you walked towards your apartment. You looked up to see a figure leaning against your door with his arms crossed. 

You roll your eyes as you approach Changbin, nudging him over with your hip so you can put your key in your lock. 

"How was your date?" He asks, his face close to yours, a smile on his face. 

"It was really nice." You say, opening your door. You stand in your doorway on the inside while Changbin stands in the door way in the hallway, his arms on either side of the frame, leaning in close to you. 

"Will you see him again?" He asks. 

"Probably, yes." You laugh, walking into your apartment. 

"What about me? What are you going to do with me?" He asks, walking into your house, closing the door behind him. 

"What about you? Why do I have to do anything with you? Me and Minho aren't anything." You say. "As of now." 

You look at Changbin, a grin spreading across your face. "Why do you care, it's not like you're jealous, or are you?" You laugh. You grab your phone, reading the text from Minhk asking if you made it into your apartment okay. 

Changbin doesn't say anything, but stalks towards you, sliding his hand to the back of your head, pulling you in until your lips meet, making you forget all about your date with Minho. 

With your lips attached, he moves you both into the living room, sliding his tongue into your mouth, pressing himself into you. You can feel his cock pushing into your through his pants. You just wanted him to fuck you now. 

"Fuck me." You breathe, breaking the kiss, your phone still in your hand. Changbin bends you over the back of your couch, hiking up your skirt to expose your ass. He drags your panties down your legs, pooling them around your ankles as he forces your legs open. He moves his head under you, licking a your pussy with the flat of his tongue. He spreads your lips, flicking your clit with the tip of his tongue as he begins to slurp up your juices. He brings his hand up, pushing two fingers inside of you, making you gasp. Your head is laid on the back of the couch, your hand still gripping your phone as Changbin continues to eat your pussy and finger you. 

Your phone rings loudly, startling you. "It's him." You moan as Changbin sucks on your clit. He removes himself from you to say two words. 

"Answer it." Before going back to latch his lips to your clit. 

"Hello?" You breathe, your legs shaking as Changbin picks up the pace of his fingers. 

"Hey you." Minho replies. "You okay?" 

"I'm good." You say. "What's up?" 

"Have you heard from Changbin?" He asks. "We have rehearsal but no one can find him." He says. 

"Oh, Changbin is supposed to be at rehearsal?" You partially moan. "No he's not here but I'm sure he's on his way." You say, squeezing your eyes closed as you cum all over Changbin's face, letting out a small moan over the phone. "I gotta go. I'll talk to you later." You quickly say, hanging up the phone.

Changbin stands up, licking as much of his face as he can before he walks towards the door. 

"Until next time." He winks, walking out the door, leaving you there panting and feeling slightly guilty about doing that to Minho. Although, that night you went to bed dreaming about one person, and one person only.

[palettes-and-prompts]

Hello! I don’t know if you still do this but could you do a prompt off of “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space” by Spiritualized. It’s my favorite song. It’s a tad sappy but I love it so much

This song made me feel a specific kind of sadness I haven't felt in a while. I like it though, great song. I really hope you like these prompts, I enjoyed writing them.

1) "I don't ever want to get off this ride with you."

2) "Did you walk all the way here?" "I'm still in love with you."

3) "The world is spinning too fast." "I'm sorry, I wish I could stop it for you."

4) "You can't keep going like this, you'll end up killing yourself." "I'm sorry." "I don't want you to be sorry I want you to get better, I want you to want to get better."

5) "Will you kiss me?" "I don't think that's a good idea." "Okay."

6) "If we were the only two people alive where would you want to live?" "Wherever you are."

7) "I love you, even though you don't love yourself." "I love you too, because you make me feel like I can love myself one day."

8) "You remind me of daisies." "Do you like daisies?" "I love daisies."

9) "I've never been to rehab before." "It's okay, you can hold my hand if you're scared." "I'm going to have to let go in a minute." "Then I'll hold it until you do."

10) "Your nose is bleeding." "I'm sorry, for everything. I never meant to hurt you that day." "Come inside, let's get you cleaned up."

1) Person A and Person B are in love but A has a drug problem and no matter how many time B tries to help, Person A can't stop themselves. When B tells them they'll only stay if A goes to rehab, Person A tells them they don't want them to stay. Heartbroken Person B tells them they still love them and they hope Person A will still get the help they need.

2) Person A and Person B do drugs together and are happy. They fall in love and tell each other about their lives and their pasts that they aren't proud of. They feel better with each other but when Person A overdoses they decide they should both get clean before either one of them die. When they do get clean they discover they don't really have much in common and that they aren't really in love with each other like they thought they were. Without drugs to help the two grow apart and find love with other people but still care for one another in the end.

3) Person A and Person B used to date but when A's mood would change constantly they couldn't take it anymore. They never hurt Person B but after a particular incident they told Person A they need to get help. Unwilling to do so they try to convince themselves that Person B was the problem. When they see B with someone else they're jealous and angry and end up nearly swerving into another car. Things get more intense and Person A's anger turns into sadness making them feel overwhelmed. They turn to drugs and alcohol to cope but it only makes them worse. When Person B and A's friends and family decide to intervene, A tells everyone they're fine. After doing drugs in the bathroom when they excuse themselves Person A overdoses. Their family has them admitted and Person B visits when they're allowed to. When A gets out, B is the first to greet them. A apologizes for everything they said and did and asks if there's any way B would ever consider trying again with them. Person B just smiles and asks if they want to get breakfast together.

4) Person A lives by themselves when their family abandons them and Person B lives with their family but they're horrible towards B. When A stays with B for the night and one of B's family members tries to hurt B, A knocks them unconscious and the two take A's car and decide to live somewhere else. The two go on long road trips together and end up working odd jobs to pay for hotel rooms. When they return home they find that Person B's house burned in a fire and that everything now belongs to them since their family is now gone. The two decide to take the money and live in the place they always talked about going together.

5) Person A is a florist and Person B is baker who specializes in wedding cakes. The two often get invited to weddings together. Despite making things for weddings the two actually hate weddings but go because of the free food. While Person A always loves the cakes, Person B falls in love with the flowers. The two finally meet and do nothing but talk shit about the annoying guests or wedding color schemes. The two bond and eventually become friends by the third wedding. When they finally hangout together Person A shows B their garden, that they fall in love with. And Person B has A try their very best cake recipes. The two finally agree to do the others wedding when it comes down to it but over time they fall for each other. When they're alone after a particularly special wedding Person B tells A they hope that when they eventually make the cake for A's wedding it'll have their name beside A's. Person A happily admits they hope it does too.

Sorry if these are kind of weird, this song just feels like a movie where the ending is always bittersweet. If you hate these just let me know and I can make more for you!

[stay-tinystars]

Table Tennis

Ship: Hyunjae (TBZ) x reader

Non idol, college au, slice of life, enemies to lovers (sort of) angsty fluff?

Word count: 1,184

Warnings: rivalry between reader & Hyunjae, mischievous friends, I'm not even sure what else to be honest.

A/N: I wanted to write something about Hyunjae, and when I saw that he liked table tennis this is where my mind went. I hope you all like it. Please let me know what you think.

"Well Mr. smartie pants. I bet I can best you at almost anything here." you yelled competitively as you entered the empty rec room at the university.

"Don't be so sure." you could hear his smirk.

Hyunjae had been your rival, for lack of a better word, all semester. The chemistry professor had pitted the two of you against each other the first day.

It was a friendly rivalry, yet the both of you couldn't stand letting the other top your score, nor did either of you accept defeat when the other finished the assignment before you. Which led to today. It was the week before finals, last day in class, and the professor had told you both that he enjoyed seeing the way the two of you had learned together. You both had top marks in the class. That's when Hyunjae asked 'so professor, who has a better percentage' which spiraled into an argument. The professor never answered, he just smiled as he watched the two of you bicker.

"OK, being as you scored lower, I'll give you the upper hand, and let you choose" he mocked, as he looked around the room.

"He never answered on who had the better marks" you defended pointing at him, with your finger and your eyes.

"That's because he didn't want to see you cry" his eyes became devilish.

"Oh shut up" you said, exasperated. You quickly surveyed the room, when the familiar folded green table caught your eye. You grew up playing against your dad, and you knew you could beat this pompous jerk at table tennis. You walked over and grabbed a paddle, then turned to face him.

"Table tennis" you smirked, and he laughed in response.

"Really?" Laughter hung on every letter. "You think you can best me at ping pong?"

"Yes, I am in fact very skilled at table tennis." you jeered back as you started putting the table into playing position.

A half hour later you were still in the intense match with Hyunjae. The both of you had drawn a small crowd to the rec room. The score was 6:5 it had been a fairly even match.

The room cheered as you hit the ball, it spun slightly,  hitting the table just right before bouncing past his paddle, scoring against Hyunjae. He glared as he retrieved the ball

"5 serving 7" he growled as he served. The small ball seemed to float, as the two of you continued another long rally. "You know I'm actually impressed. No one has ever actually played against me this well" you almost stopped at Hyunjae's words. Was he actually trying to compliment you? He took the your moment of confusion to backhand the ball, scoring as it soared past you. Some cheers as well as some disappointed cries came from the crowd around you.

"You should always pay attention" his devilish smirk reappeared.

"I guess I was just taken back by your fake kindness" you rebuttled, "7 serving 6" you called as you started another rally.

"This is it! Game point!" Eric yelled as the crowd cheered, it was 10:9. Hyunjae was leading. The crowd was lively, on a Thursday afternoon you expected there wasn't much else for them to be doing. The rally was getting more and more intense. Hyunjae backhanded the ball, to which you smashed back. Bringing the score to an even 10:10.

"She's not going down that easy!" Kevin cheered, and high fived someone behind you.

"Of course I'm not. He's just gotten a few lucky shots" you smirked, placing your hands on your hips. Hyunjae glared at you.

"Lucky shots? Lucky shots? Yeah right. I'm better than you." He stated, setting down his paddle and walking towards you.

"We are literally tied" you met him. Now standing toe to toe. The tension was thick. "Admit it! I am just as good as you are." you poked his chest emphasizing every word. He grabbed your left wrist, holding it between the two of you.

"No, I don't lie." he leaned in, his eyes boring into yours, with a fierce glare. You opened your mouth to speak when you felt hands on your back push you into Hyunjae. Your lips connected with his for a moment.

The shock on both of your faces must've been evident as you both looked at each other as you separated, taking a step back. You both stared at each other while the room seemed to explode with cheers. 

"I - ugh" you yelled, as you threw your paddle to the ground. You stormed out of the room, and down the hall, as oohs fell from the lips of the crowd.

"Wait!" You heard Hyunjae, his footsteps echoing behind you.

"What?" You responded as you whipped around. He skidded to a halt, almost knocking you over. You tried catching yourself against the wall, his arm around your waist also trying to catch you.

He opened his mouth, then closed it shaking his head. "I'm sorry" his words barely left his lips.

"About what?" You asked brashedly, pulling yourself from his grip.

"Being a jerk." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I tend to get very competitive."

"Really? I couldn't tell." sarcasm dripped from your lips.

"You're not making this easy," he sighed, biting his lip slightly.

"What am I not making easy? You have riled me up all semester. Your little jabs, your mocking tones. I am just as good as you are Hyunjae!" Hot angry tears stung your eyes. You refused to let them fall.

"That's where you're wrong-" you cut him off,

"Hell of an apology" you turned to walk away, but he caught your wrist.

"Let me finish. You're wrong because you're not just as good as I am, you're better" he looked sincere, but your anger was too much. You went to pull away, but his hand remained tight on your wrist.

"I don't believe you" 

"Look, I tend to get caught up in everything. Friendly competition isn't usually friendly with me." He let go of your wrist and ran his fingers through his hair. His eyes darted from you to the floor multiple times. He seemed to be scrambling for something to say, yet the words never came.

A sigh left your lips. You'd always known you were stubborn. You also knew you had a mean competitive streak. Maybe he wasn't so different than you.

"Can you both just admit you like each other?" Eric's voice rang through the hallway, followed by stifled laughter.

"Shut up Eric!" Hyunjae called back smugly, then looked at you.

"Not until we see a real kiss, being as the last one backfired" Kevin chimed in.

"So it was you! You little twerp!" You yelled as you started towards them, Hyunjae's laughter caught you off guard, as well as his hand on your shoulder. "What's so funny?" You asked, cocking your eyebrow looking at him.

"I haven't heard someone be called a twerp in years" he laughed harder. "It fits him so well"

You couldn't help but smile, then you started laughing too.