#I’ll figure it out and someday I will achieve little me’s dream of having anyone at all give a shit about my personal endeavors

[10-59]

doodles of my oc terrence for his th page (lies down) (evaporates)

[amphxtrite]

sylvie laufeydottir x fem!reader

warnings: lots of fluff, fast paced.

summary: sylvie meets a beautiful dancer while resting on a planet about to meet it’s end.

word count: 1.4k

song: runaway by aurora

hope you enjoy!

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Sylvie sighs as she pulls her cloak tighter around her and clutches the reset charge close to her body entering the time door in front of her. She was absolutely exhausted after her last few attacks of the minutemen and vigorous jumping around the timeline, so she figured she would stop by an apocalypse that still had a little time before its demise to rest.

Sylvie steps into the opening of an underground shelter on Trio Imus-4 in the year 3038. The planet was in the middle of an interplanetary war with another world and on the losing end, Sylvie predicted she could have a good couple of days here, and if she laid low the TVA wouldn’t be able to detect her before she fled. A green glimmer coats her body as her headpiece fades, a bag appears on her back and her armour is well covered by another cloak, before she knocks on the door.

“Hello? P-Please is anyone there?” She chokes out in her most pleaful voice.

A couple moments go by when a woman and a man emerge with holstered weapons, staring curiously at her.

“May I come in? M-My family died on the journey to find you, I have no one left.” She murmurs, shivering the wind.

The two look at the young Sylvie with pity and nod as they stand aside.

“Come on in, you’ll be safe here.” The man whispers. 

“Oh thank you.” Sylvie smiles, happily entering and following the two further into the shelter.

Almost too easy, she smirks.

The distant sound of chatter eventually grows into a clear hum as she enters the main living area, Sylvie scans the space as she finds an empty area to sit and finally rests.

A sigh of relief leaves her lips as she collapses and feels her eyes begin to droop, reaching into her conjured, travellers bag she holds her dagger and new reset charge in a tight grip and allows unconsciousness to pull her into the sweet abyss.

“Hey, wake up and have something to eat, you’ve been knocked out  for a while.” A soft voice chimes from above her. The woman who let Sylvie in hands her a small loaf of bread and a bowl of what looked to be soup. “It’s not much, but it will help you keep your strength up.” She smiles.

Sylvie’s eyes widen as she takes the warm meal into her hands, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been shown such kindness.

“Thank you...” She murmurs, looking up in awe at the woman.

“Please, call me Urith.” She smiles, walking back over, to who Sylvie assumed to be her husband.

Looking back down at the food in her grasp, the blonde takes a deep breath in and gratefully begins eating, the warm feeling in her stomach felt so nice after countless cold nights, and she debated going to ask Urith for more when she was finished, but decided against it at the sight of the hungry children around her.

For a couple moment the runaway, felt at peace, almost tranquil at the almost homey feeling of the small shelter, one by one the children were filling up on Urith’s soup and then rushing over somewhere just out of Sylvie’s vision, it didn’t seem like anything at first, but after every child ran over in the same direction, she began to grow confused.

And then she heard it.

Singing.

“I was listening to the ocean, I saw a face in the sand, but when I picked it up then it vanished away from my hands, down.”

Sylvie’s ears prick up and she glances over to see the children sitting around a woman’s feet.

“I had a dream, I was seven, climbing my way in a tree, I saw a piece of heaven waiting impatient for me, down.” Her body began to move unconsciously, standing and slowly shuffling towards the almost ethereal voice pulling her in.

“And I was running far away. Would I run off the world someday? Nobody knows Nobody knows, and…”

Sylvie spots you, a beautiful maiden clad in a cream coloured gown, slightly dirty from the dust, but still absolutely beautiful.

“I was dancing in the rain, I felt alive and I can't complain.” You continued, swaying around, twirling and smiling as the children clapped and Sylvie watched from a distance.

“But now take me home. Take me home where I belong, I can't take it anymore.”

You raise your head and your eyes lock with a pair of blue-green eyes, you smile at the beautiful stranger as you continue the song and she cocks her head at you.

An idea pops into your head and swerving around the children, who laugh cheerfully, you reach Sylvie and offer her your hand.

“My name is y/n, care for a dance, traveller?” You ask sweetly, a smile resting on your face.

“Sylvie, pleased to meet you, but I’m afraid I don’t dance.” She apologizes.

“I’ll have none of that nonsense, everyone can dance Sylvie.” You offer again with a laugh.

The blonde grins at your seemingly endless amount of positivity as she prepares to decline.

“Please miss, we want y/n to finish the song.” A young boy pleads, wrapping his arms around your leg as he makes puppy-dog eyes at the woman.

Sylvie’s voice catches in her throat.

“Oh, I-”

“Pretty please, y/n’s an amazing dancer.” A young girl chimes.

“Children, be nice to Sylvie, she’s had a long journey.” You scold playfully, stroking the children’s hair as you wave them back to the group.

You begin to walk away as Sylvie’s arm reaches out and takes your hand, you turn back around a confused smile on your face.

Sylvie swallows her nerves and removes one of her cloaks before lifting your hand to her lips and placing a soft kiss to it.

“I can’t say no to such an offer.” She smirks, causing your face to light up as you pull her towards the children.

You help Sylvie place her hands on your hip and in your hand as you begin to guide her in some easy steps, once she gets the hang of it, you begin the song again.

“And I was running far away. Would I run off the world someday? But now take me home, take me home where I belong, I got no other place to go. Now take me home, take me home where I belong, I got no other place to go.”

Sylvie watches in awe as you sing, still expertly guiding her as she removes one of her arms to twirl you and you laugh into the song.

“You’ve got quite the enchanting voice, darling.” She compliments as your face heats up in a soft blush.

“Now take me home, home where I belong. Oh, no, no. Now take me home, home where I belong…” You pause, leaning in close to Sylvie as you breathe out the last lyric.

“I can’t take it anymore.”

Sylvie couldn’t trust, it was an impossible task to achieve, in that moment, she was conflicted, an stunning woman in her arms inching closer to her, eyes closed, her own eyes darting about in search of a danger, but there was none, for once, in this small shelter on a war-ridden planet, she was the safest she’d ever been and when your lips met, a warmth flood her entire body, making her dizzy in the head and weak in the knees. She quickly returned the kiss, moving her hand to your chin to deepen the kiss, closing her own eyes as she tilts her chin.

Your heart pounds out of your chest as Sylvie passionately leads your lips, it was desperate, quick but almost loving, as though she had wanted someone to do this with her entire life. The sheer sincerity of the kiss almost brought you to tears as you finally broke and the children all cheered.

“Sylvie, I think you’re the one enchanting me.” You laugh, continuing to hold her hands as she lets a small smile escape.

If only you knew, Sylvie sighs to herself, feeling her heartbeat quicken as you squeeze her hand gently.

“You kiss strangers often?” Sylvie teases, squeezing your hand back.

“Well, not usually, but sometimes... you can make exceptions.” You smile, wrapping your arms around Sylvie’s torso and swaying again.

“Now that is quite the story.” Loki chuckles, sitting back in his seat.

“Yes, yes, I fell in love with a fair maiden and had to leave as her planet destroyed itself.” Sylvie groans. “But when this is all over, I’m going back for her.” She states, determined.

And maybe feel her lips on mine again, a small part of her brain silently prays.

[cosmicjoke]

Alright, so onto chapter 2 of “No Regrets”.  

I want to talk a little about these opening panels, when Levi, Furlan and Isabel are being driven to HQ by carriage.  They seem unimportant, but I think they’re actually really important in understanding Levi’s psychology going into this new situation they’re all in.

We see the interior of the carriage, with Levi and the other two, along with an escort from the SC.  Furlan and Isabel are both looking out the window of the carriage, and in particular, Isabel seems incredibly excited and in awe of the passing view.  She’s stood up, with her face pressed to the window.  And in the next panel, we see her looking at a little girl with her mother, dressed nicely and holding a doll.  This really encapsulates everything Isabel herself has probably never had.  A reliable mother to take care of her, fancy clothes and toys to play with.  Essentially, an actual childhood.  We see Isabel’s face in the window, and her mouth is open in wonder, her eyes wide.  Like she can’t believe what she’s seeing.  It emphasizes the depravation and lack of privilege she’s endured all her life.  Meanwhile, by contrast, Levi sits there with his head bowed down, ignoring the passing scenery, looking deeply unhappy, even depressed.  When he does look up though, he sees Isabel looking out the window, and on the close up shot of him, he’s got an almost thoughtful expression, if still extremely dour.  No doubt, Levi is feeling uneasy and uncertain about the situation they’ve all gotten themselves into here, but I’m also sure that he’s unable to ignore the bubbling over excitement of Isabel, her obvious joy in being, at last, on the surface.  I’ll get more into this later in the post, when we see Levi really considering his friends and their dreams, and how it influences and dictates his own decisions.

But first lets talk a little about Erwin and his role in all of this.

Now at the time this series came out, Erwin’s actual, motivating reasons for doing what he does weren’t yet known, so it’s interesting to read into his actions in this story with that context.  I have no doubt that Erwin really DOES care about humanity, and wants to fight for it, and its salvation.  But as we come to learn from the main series, he places his own dream of proving his father right about the existence of human’s beyond the walls above what’s best for humanity, and it puts his actions in this story into an interesting, if harsher light.

No doubt, Erwin is a master manipulator.  He plays both sides expertly against the middle in this story, and I’ll get more into it by the end, when his actual plan is revealed to Levi.  But what I don’t see often discussed is how, exactly, Erwin got all the parts moving in the direction he wanted, to obtain a specific outcome, and how he pretty ruthlessly uses so many people as pawns to do so.  It’s obvious from the context of what we later learn in the story that Erwin first spread a rumor about having evidence against Lovof stealing funds in order to force him into tipping his hand by trying to make a preemptive move.  What I see people miss all the time, or at least, fail to discuss, is how Erwin also, at the same time, made it public knowledge within the Capital, that he would be going after a group of thugs in the Underground who had shown exceptional skill using ODM gear, and that he would be making contact with them as soon as possible to try and enlist them into military service, and how Erwin made these plans public specifically to encourage Lobov into seeking out Levi and his friends for the exact purpose of both implicating Lobov in a crime, and gaining Levi’s and his friends strength for the SC.  One, by hiring a group of criminals to steal from Erwin and attempt to assassinate him, so he could use that as leverage in case he wasn’t able to obtain proof of Lobov’s further criminal activities, thus having two means of getting rid of one of the SC’s biggest threats, and at the same time, also manage to score for the SC the exceptional skill of Levi and his friends through forced enlistment.  He even says to Zackely at one point “I intend to make use of anyone who has even the smallest potential during this expedition.”.  Erwin manipulated and had control of this entire scenario from the start, and from behind these scenes moved all of these people exactly how he wanted to, to achieve his goals.  That’s pretty impressive, but also pretty scary.  Well, I’ll talk more about all of that when we get to it later on.

Back to Levi and his friends though.

We see them arrive at the SC HQ, and a really important conversation happens between Levi and Furlan.  

Furlan seems like he’s almost bitten off more than he can chew here, beginning to express his concern to Levi about what joining the SC actually means, before Levi cuts him off, telling him he’s got no intention of enlisting, and that he only agreed to come along so that he could get closer to Erwin and then kill him.  I think Levi genuinely felt murderous towards Erwin at this point, and really means what he says here, at least about killing him.  Though given the end of chapter 1, with the significant look shared between Levi and Furlan, and Levi’s begrudging acceptance of Erwin’s offer, it’s obvious that Levi also agreed to come because that’s what Furlan wanted him to do, to give them the opportunity they needed.  Levi’s just feeling incredibly emotional here, I think, with the way Erwin treated all of them hot on his mind.  Furlan tries to implore Levi to forget about killing Erwin, that it isn’t necessary anymore because of his own plan, and the almost certainty that Lobov and his people won’t ever try to make contact with them again.  He tells Levi, if he just listens to him and follows his plan, “I know it’ll work.  Trust me, Levi.”  Furlan asking him to trust him pulls a meaningful look from Levi, seeming to break through Levi’s angry insistence on killing Erwin.  This is where the manga improved on Levi’s characterization and motivation by leaps and bounds over the visual novel, because in the next few panels, we see Levi walking away, with Furlan calling after him, concerned, but we get to see Levi’s inner thoughts, and he’s remembering specifically Furlan insisting to him that “one day, we’ll get outta this trash heap and live up above.”  We see Levi thinking about Furlan’s hopes and dreams in these panels, and he has a saddened, and guilt-ridden look on his face, like he feels bad about having dismissed Furlan’s plans back there in favor of his own plans for revenge.  We didn’t get any of this in the visual novel, instead the text there making Levi look like he refused to consider anyones position but his own in this whole situation.  But here, Levi is clearly concerned with and considering Furlan’s desires.  

We go into a flashback then, with Furlan explaining to Levi his plans, telling him that “nothing’s gone according to plan... But with you here we’ll really be able to raise hell.”  Furlan’s trying to explain to Levi that since he now has Levi’s strength to rely on, they can actually get something done once they get into the Survey Corps.  It almost seems like Furlan’s been planning on trying something like this, or at least, had some sort of loose plan about getting to the surface, even before he met Levi.  It’s obviously something he’s been dreaming about for a long time.

Then Isabel comes back, and she’s been roughed up and assaulted, and we learn from Furlan asking her if she went to see those “low-life scumbags again?” that this has obviously happened to her before, that she’s been associating with some bad people and it’s gotten her hurt.  She denies it and lies about having just tripped, but clearly neither Levi or Furlan are buying that.  Levi asks Isabel what happened to her hair, and Isabel reacts badly, running away and hiding in her room.  We get a close up of Levi holding a knife in his hands, foreshadowing his own intentions.  Later that night, Furlan hears Isabel crying in her room, and her chanting to herself over and over that she’s going to “kill you”, presumably meaning the men that hurt her earlier.  Furlan stands there lamenting that he thinks both Levi and Isabel are going “mad”, and that all they can think about is dragging everyone else down to where they are.  He’s obviously terrified that he’s going to lose both his friends to the savagery and ruthlessness of the Underground, that both of them are going to end up becoming lost to their own anger and pain.  He starts to say “That’s why I...” before Levi suddenly comes back in, holding a bloody knife, clearly having returned from exacting revenge on the men who hurt Isabel.  Furlan asks Levi “Did you kill them...?”, and Levi doesn’t answer, but we see a completely resigned, even sad look on his face.  This of course is the world Levi comes from.  It’s the world he was raised in.  A world of kill or be killed.  Levi must have figured, if he didn’t go out and kill those men that had hurt Isabel now, then someday, they would end up going too far with her, and kill her instead.  But Furlan clearly doesn’t understand, and doesn’t relate to that kind of mindset, despite coming from the Underground too.  Of course, Furlan wasn’t raised by Kenny the Ripper either.  This is how Levi was taught to deal with his problems, and Furlan can only see him spiraling into an abyss from which he fears Levi won’t return.

We cut back to the present then, and Levi is sitting up on the roof of the SC HQ, again remembering Furlan’s words about “This is our chance.  Trust me.”.  Getting to the surface and finding better lives for themselves is Furlan’s dream.  The fact that Levi keeps remembering it, keeps remembering Furlan insisting and pushing the idea of the possibility of living on the surface, shows that this is probably something he would talk about all the time with Levi, trying to get him to agree to it, to believe in it.  Once again, Levi is contemplating the hopes and dreams of his friends.  We get another close up of him holding a knife, and it represents, I think, his struggle between his desire for revenge against Erwin, and his desire to help Furlan realize what, to Levi, is probably an unrealistic goal.

We then get Furlan and Isabel joining Levi, commenting on how beautiful the night sky is, and asking Levi how he could keep it to himself.  Levi snips testily at Furlan that him and Isabel are so loud, that he’d be too irritated to get any killing done, and then Furlan looking clearly unsettled by the remark.  But it’s obvious, given the context of the previous panels of Levi’s thinking about Furlan’s dream, that Levi is just being peevish and saying things out of frustration and confusion.  He doesn’t really mean what he says here.  He’s taking his frustration out on Furlan by saying what he knows will upset him the most.  What this also tells us is that Levi is very much aware of how bothered Furlan is by Levi’s willingness to kill.  He isn’t at all oblivious to it, and given his resigned, saddened expression after coming back from killing the men who assaulted Isabel, I would say Levi even understands Furlan’s dismay.  That’s a glimpse at Levi’s famous compassion.

The next panels show the three of them bonding, sitting together and admiring the night sky.  Isabel asks Levi if the stars are as pretty as where he used to live.  I’m just going to chalk the mistake in continuity here up to this manga coming out before, I believe, Levi’s backstory of being born in a brothel in the Underground was established by Isayama.  Regardless of this mistake, this is an important moment between the three of them.  You can see the awe and wonder they all feel, looking up and seeing the sky fully for what has to be the first time in all their lives.  Remember, all three of them have lived literally underground their entire lives, with little to no sunlight, stagnant, stale air, hideously unclean living conditions, etc...  It must be overwhelming to them , just to see nature in all its splendor like that.  It’s after sharing this moment together that Levi tells Furlan that he’s decided he won’t kill Erwin for now.  He looks at him and says “I’m going to trust you.”.  And Furlan smiles at him, clearly happy and relieved.  This scene is really important, because we’re seeing Levi choose Furlan’s dream over his own desire for revenge.  We see Levi place Furlan’s desires over his own, which is totally in line with how Levi is in the main AoT storyline.  He decides his revenge can wait, that it’s not as important as helping Furlan achieve his goals.  What’s particularly remarkable about this, I think, is that it doesn’t appear that Levi ever dreamed of going to the surface himself, and likely that he never even considered it a possibility.  So just like Levi fights, later on, for a world without fear and violence, for humanity’s salvation, even as all his life experiences tell him it likely isn’t possible, we see the Levi doing the same here, deciding to fight for his friend’s dream, even as to him, it seems unrealistic.  It’s obviously a pivotal moment too, when Levi tells him he’s going to trust him, because this ties in hugely with the theme which applies so much to Levi throughout the whole series, of never knowing if it’s better to rely on himself solely, to trust himself, or to trust and rely on his friends and their capabilities.  Levi chooses, here, to trust in his friends, and that will obviously have it’s own ramifications down the line.  Again, this is an area in which the manga improves radically over the visual novel, which had no instances whatsoever of Levi struggling with the question of the choices we make, which is absurd, since it’s one of the driving factors behind who Levi is, and how he ultimately came to see the world as he does.  It was precisely this struggle between choices, between trying to choose correctly, giving so much thought and effort to our choices, and still sometimes coming out wrong, that shaped Levi into being able to accept his lack of control and instead of regretting it, using it to keep fighting.  

Anyway, I’ll get to chapter 3 tomorrow.  

[onetwothreefarkle]

Puppy Dog Tails

Just some tooth-rotting seblos fluff! Future fic based off this post. I hope you like it, @redmeanslove 

Summary: Seb comes home with a surprise (also read on AO3)

Carlos stood in his kitchen, stirring a mug of hot tea with honey and lemon. Outside, snow was falling, rapidly turning New York City into a winter wonderland, though it was mid-January, so most people were sick of it, especially in the city. Not Carlos, though. Winter was his favorite season (dry skin and chapped lips notwithstanding). The snow reminded him of Salt Lake, and kept him from getting too homesick. Not that he didn’t love his life in New York, but Salt Lake would always be home, no matter how long he spent chasing his Broadway dreams.

He was close to achieving them, too. His choreography had already been nominated for a Tony once, and while this year he was between shows, he had a good feeling about the projects he had in the works, most notably an original show currently in workshops, which meant most of his work was yet to come. In the meantime, he was focused on supporting his boyfriend—soon to be fiancé, if he had anything to say about it—who was currently the star of a genderbent production of Legally Blonde. Carlos couldn’t have been prouder, even if it meant days like these, spent alone in their apartment. Seb had left an hour ago and Carlos had already skimmed through his notes and sent an email to his director about a new routine.

He sipped his tea slowly and sighed. He knew he had things to do, dance routines to practice and more emails to send, and honestly laundry to wash, but he couldn’t bring himself to do any of it. Instead he moved from the kitchenette to the living room, and settled on the couch with his favorite blanket--the one Seb’s mom had gifted them when they first moved into this apartment. It was wool (sheep’s wool from the farm, not cashmere, obviously) and it was thick and warm and it reminded Carlos of home because somewhere along the way he started thinking of the Matthew-Smith’s farm and home as a little bit his. Also, it smelled like Seb always did when they were back in Salt Lake and he was spending time on the farm, sort of earthy and sweet.

Carlos was pulled from his thoughts by the high pitched tone of his text alerts. He set his tea down on the coffee table and pulled out his phone.

New Message From Seb 🥰💖: Guess who’s coming home early?

Message Sent: What? Why?

New Message From Seb 🥰💖: Check your weather app, sweetheart. The storm’s getting worse, our shows are cancelled today so nobody ends up snowed in at the theatre.

Message Sent : OMG

Message Sent: Get home safe!  

New Message From Seb 🥰💖: I will

New Message From Seb 🥰💖: Love you!

Message Sent: Love you too!

He set his phone down, and picked up his tea again, though he could barely wipe the smile off his face long enough to take a drink. He knew that Seb would be unhappy about missing a day of work, but he couldn’t help but be excited to spend some extra time with his partner, especially if they had to huddle for warmth. With that thought in mind, he flicked on the TV and began scrolling through their Netflix library, looking for something for them to watch.

45 minutes later, Carlos’s unfinished tea had gone cold on the table, and he had queued up Schitt’s Creek, a show they’d already watched multiple times, and that happened to be one of Seb’s all time favorites. He checked his phone, but there were no new texts from Seb. He frowned. Seb should’ve been home by then.

Message Sent: You almost home?

New Message From Seb 🥰💖: Coming up the stairs now!

Carlos grinned (and sighed in relief that his boyfriend wasn’t stuck out in the snow somewhere freezing to death). He picked up his mug and headed back to the kitchenette to dump out the rest of his tea. No sooner did he set the dish on the drying rack than he heard the door open, followed by some shuffling and grunting.

Wait-- Grunting?

Carlos peaked around the corner to see Seb closing the door behind him while holding a large cardboard box with one arm. Well, this was going to be good.

“Whatcha got there?” Carlos asked, in lieu of a proper greeting.

Seb looked up with a wide smile, cheeks and nose pink from the cold, snowflakes starting to melt in his hair. “What would you say if I brought home six puppies?”

Carlos eyed the box. “What’s in the box?”

Seb didn’t say anything, but a whining sound came from the box.

Carlos put a hand on his hip. “What’s in the box, Seb?”

Seb sighed. “I think you know.”

One of the puppies whined again, prompting Seb to set the box down and pull her out. She was brown, with big eyes and floppy ears, some kind of labrador mix, if Carlos had to guess. “Shhh, it’s okay,” Seb was saying, soothingly, petting the top of her tiny head.

“I want to be mad, but you’re so cute,” Carlos shook his head.

Seb grinned. “Come say ‘hi’ to Anne Boleyn.”

“You named them already?” Carlos rolled his eyes. He’d never met anyone who loved animals as much as Seb did. “Of course you did.”

Seb just stepped forward and deposited the puppy into Carlos’s arms. She squirmed adorably. Seb bent down and started taking the rest of the puppies out of the box. They all looked about the same as Anne Boleyn. Brown and floppy and soft, somehow though Seb was able to differentiate between each one.

“This is Catherine of Aragon and Jane Seymour and--”

“Did you name them after the cast of Six?”  

Seb shrugged. “Well, there’s six of them, it makes sense.”

Carlos raised an eyebrow. “And are they all girls?”

“Gender is a outdated social construct that dogs aren't restricted by,” Seb chirped happily. “But if you’re asking if they’re all female, the answer is no."

“Fair enough.” Carlos looked down at the puppy in his arms. She looked up at him with big brown eyes. “So, how did this happen?”

“I found them on the street!” Seb’s tone turned grave. “Someone had just left them out to freeze in the snow! I had to save them!”

“Wow,” Carlos’s eyes went wide. “That’s awful.”

“I know we can’t keep them,” Seb continued. “But I figured we could take care of them until the weather improves a bit and then we can take them to the animal shelter.”

Carlos nodded. “Sure.” Anne Boleyn chose that moment to lick Carlos’s glasses, pushing them part way off his face. “But they’re your problem.”

Seb giggled. “C’mon, she loves you!”

“If you say so,” Carlos pouted. “Not exactly the kiss I was hoping for.”

“Oh?” Seb grinned. “What kind of kiss were you hoping for?” He leaned in, stopping short of actually connecting their lips so he could fix Carlos’s glasses. “Maybe something like this?”

They kiss with Anne Boleyn squished slightly between their chests. Even after all these years it still makes Carlos’s heart race and warmth flood his body, all the way down to his toes.

“You do know,” he started, pulling back abruptly, “that you can’t convince me to let you keep one just by kissing me, right?”

“Well,” Seb smirked. “I could do more than kiss you.”

Carlos patted his cheek. “Not with six sets of eyes watching you can’t.”

Seb’s smirk turned into a pout. “Can’t we just keep one? I think Anne Boleyn really likes you.”

“Anne Boleyn is adorable, but do you really think she would be happy living in our studio apartment?” Carlos shook his head.

“Yeah,” Seb sighed. “You’re right.”

“Hey,” Carlos poked his partner’s arm. “Someday, after we’ve won a bunch of Tony awards, and we’re ready to retire from Broadway, we can move out of the city, to a big house somewhere and get all the dogs you want.”

Seb looked up hopefully. “Yeah?”

“Absolutely.” It was an easy promise to make. “I always thought we might end up moving back to Salt Lake eventually.”

“Oh, you’ve thought about our retirement, have you?” Seb grinned. “You don’t think you’ll be sick of me by then?”

Carlos flushed. “Never.” He thought about the engagement ring sitting in his sock drawer, the words Marry Me hanging off the tip of his tongue. He swallowed them. “Impossible.”

“I’ll never get sick of you, either,” Seb pressed a kiss to his cheek. “And I love that you’ve been imagining us retiring to the farm someday.”

“I never said--”

“It was implied,” Seb’s grin didn’t falter. “I’ve gotten pretty good at deciphering your riddles after all these years.”

Carlos couldn’t argue with that, because Seb was obviously right, and a part of Carlos wanted to be annoyed that Seb saw through him so easily, but most of him just felt warm all over. “I love you a lot, Seb Matthew-Smith.”

“I know.” Seb’s voice was soft and overflowing with fondness. “I love you a lot, too.”

[combat-wombatus]

uHm if you do these and if you want to do it I’d love a bnha matchup <3?

• my name is Aubri, I’m bi but prefer MHA boys tbh. I go by she/her, too.

• I’m a very Gryffindor person. (Sorry if you don’t know Harry Potter - 😖)

• I’m a June cancer, and I have ADHD and anxiety. My anxiety can be literally crippling somedays, but it’s gotten better overtime.

• I’m a bit of a class clown and usually just a clown 🤡 but that’s irrelevant. My teachers all hate me but like school-wise I do well so we have a love and mostly hate relationship 🤧

• I’m usually the ‘entertaining’ friend, in elementary the popular kids would invite me to play games with them because, “you’re funny” and it was like the biggest achievement ever 😭👍🏻 then they’d ignore me but that’s another therapy session

• I’m usually made fun of by people for being ‘weird’ and ‘insane’. Like all through elementary everyone thought I’d be a criminal when I grew up JUST BECAUSE I HAD UNDIAGNOSED ADHD - I hate it here 😐🦶🏻

• I’ve always been super into crime stories/true crime (where my anxiety comes from, I’m always worried about a pesky serial killer just killing me. It’s usually being kidnapped tho lmao) so I knew and still know like all these murder facts and sometimes I’d just randomly be like;

“Hey did you know it takes 12 hours and 2 days to dissolve a body in acid?”

or

“If you bury a dead deer over a dead body you buried deep in the ground, when police dogs sniff it and people dig they’ll just think it was the deer and won’t dig any farther.”

• So maybe people had a reason to be scared of me and think I’ll be a criminal someday, i dunno.

• I love love love reading and writing, and also debating. The things I’ve wanted to be when I grow up are basically: Dog shelter worker, actress, FBI agent, politician, and a writer. But usually I just want to do something that makes a positive impact on people. Like i wanted to be an FBI agent to solve crimes for people. I wanted to be a politican so I could actually help a lot of people. The entertainment industry also seemed like a way to make people happy. Idk, but then I decided I couldn’t be a politican at 10 because they were all corrupt and to be one I would have to be too. 😫🤌🏻 we love some good childhood angst

• the only subjects I’ve ever excelled at are ELA and Social Studies aka History, and Math I can’t do to save my life. ELA comes easy for me and I usually don’t have to work that hard and/or get too stressed over it. But I always get the meanest teachers for some reason. For example, one time I did my final essay for like 30% of my grade in 30 minutes the day it was due and I got an A+ 🦟🦗🦟🦗

• Uhhh id describe myself as a pretty loyal friend, I’m a ride or die type of girl. A story from my childhood that summarizes it pretty well is when I was in 2nd grade my friend wet her pants and she didn’t want to go to the nurse for it alone so I peed my pants so I could go with her and she wouldn’t have to be alone. Like, you know, a professional problem solver

• and I have genuinely attacked people for fucking with my friends but don’t snitch pls 🕳🏃‍♀️💨

• But also just anyone, people at my school tend to come to me with their problems for me to either help solve them by reasoning, or just to confront the other person like the bad bleep I am 😈😈

• I also have a huge daydreaming problem, it’s literally maladaptive daydreaming. So paired with my ADHD I don’t get shit done like ever.

• I have really high empathy levels I guess, like I always say hi to everyone I see on the street, especially if they look sad 😔 I’ve done it ever since I was a little kiddo.

• My fashion sense is very much a preppy/alt style. I wear those ripped tights and fishnets, I also have the MOST BIZARRE JEWELRY- like who allowed me to buy the gummy worm glittery earrings, hmmm???????? and those Mary Janes???????

• But I love crew necks and pleated skirts so I always obide by the National “hoes dont get cold” policy 🇺🇸😫🦅

• I wanna move somewhere someday, I don’t want to stay in America for very long

• I can speak Latin, French, and my native language which is English.

• My music taste varies, but my all-time favorite artists who all of their music they’ve ever put out has been my favorites are, Billie Eilish, Melanie Martinez, and Conan Gray.

• I no-joke have a sign in my front yard that says;

In ✍️ this ✍️ house we ✍️ don’t ✍️ worship Jesus ✍️ but instead ✍️ Melanie ✍️ Martinez

• My favorite shows are MHA (duh), The Promised Neverland, and Malcolm in The Middle.

• and I’m not going to tell you what I prefer in a partner, because that ruins the fun 😤

• but I will say I cannot be friends with someone who doesn’t really make me laugh. Like I’m used to doing most of the talking in convos but if you’re just boring I’m sorry it’s nothing personal but no thanks 😐✌🏻

• About my physical appearance, I have fluffy n curly brown hair, but when it’s in the sunlight it looks sort of brown but golden yk?? It’s shoulder length :) I have bleach blonde streaks in the front. I like wearing eyeliner most days, too. I’m pretty average size/ on the skinnier side. Kinda high key inscure abt my body bc I got flat shamed in elementary EVEN THOUGH I HAVE TIDDIES NOW- whatever 😤🙄. I also have crystal type blue eyes, and I do have fairly big eyes. But, like, not weirdly big. A good big. My cheekbones are ALWAYS PRESENT so sometimes I get called a Tim Burton character but it’s cool ig ☠️☠️ oh and I’m kinda short. I’m 5’3, even though my doctor said I’d be 5’7. I feel like I was either tricked by the doctor or someone just stole my destined height while I was asleep. It’s probably cause I didn’t keep an eye out for Selener 👁 😔😔

• I’m a definite night owl, like all of my energy comes at night which really sucks cuz I can’t do much since everyone else is asleep.

• My love language is touch starved so I’ve never figured it out ✌🏻😗🔫

• but I am an attention whore so idk 😏

• I’m a huge introvert with social anxiety. It isn’t as bad as it used to be cuz I used to not be able to like go to restaurants but now I’m much better.

• I’m a huge history person, mostly like sad history LMFAO. Uh but a lot of my hyperfixations have been on history. Some examples are The Roman Empire, Julius Caesar himself, Anne Frank, The Titanic, the Black Plauge, Helen Keller, Marie Curie, Slavery in the US, Joan of Arc, and just a lot more. I always love talking about these things if someone would let me ramble to them but no one ever does 😖 it also got to a point where for all these subjects I’d go to the library and try to find a book on them but usually I’d either have already read it or I’d read it and know all the information.

• I’m super into Greek Mythology, I have 7 books filled with the stories, I’m going to Greece maybe this summer to see it’s history, and named my hamster Aphrodite but we call her Aphie. I also will talk about this forever and ever if you let me.

• My favorite color is yellow, my favorite food is literally nothing I never have an appetite, my favorite planet is Saturn, favorite song is Tag Your It by Melanie Martinez atm but it changes like everyday.

• Music is a huge safe-space for me if I’m feeling down or having a panic attack. It calms me down n is overall my coping mechanism 💃🏻💃🏻

• Biggest fear is spiders, even looking at one gives me a panic attack and I cannot sleep at all for that night, adding to my insomniac ass 🧎🏻‍♂️🏌️‍♀️

• I’m mature for my age, I don’t exactly like hanging around kids my age and I get along better with older crowds.

• i don’t like conventional dates, (I PROMISE IM NOT TRYING TO SOUND ‘QUIRKY’ AHAHA) I kind of like having a best-friend type partner more so dates that aren’t as romantic as like the movies or a fancy restaurant suite me better. My dream date is playing Monopoly on my bedroom floor 🦧

• Also I hate getting gifts. End of story. If someone gets me a gift like awe that’s nice but never again, I’d prefer to get you one. Especially in a romantic partner 😐 i keep a journal of my friends’ interests and hobbies so I can get them the perfect gifts for their bdays and Christmas’s. Been doing this ever since 4th grade.

• Though I don’t have much actual experience with relationships🧍🏻‍♀️

• I’m a huge believer in ‘family isn’t blood, it’s who you make it’ because I have a pretty shitty family life and my childhood has been trash. My friends are my family to me.

• Also if my friends don’t like my romantic partner ✨ GOODBYE ✨. Sorry girlie, bros before hoes 🦨💨

I was going to put more but I’m so so sorry for how LONG AND COMPLICATED THIS IS- idk if this is a autobiography or a matchup at this point 🤦‍♀️ don’t feel pressured to do this and if matchups aren’t open IM SO SO SORRY LMAO uh yeah ilysm 🦎🎂🧃

OMG ASLDFKJHASLKDJH

🥺 i’m so sorry bby but matchups are closed ;-; my 100 follower event was over while ago (i guess i should’ve specified that in the asks i answered LKSAJHFLKJAHDS SORRY IT’S MY BAD) but you sound so cool?? i had a lot of the same hyperfixations interests (heLLO helen keller was badass AF and the roman empire was messed up but still v cool, anne frank was awesome too) i also may or may not have wanted to be a politician when i was younger alskdjfhalkdhj but now i’m just 🧍🏻‍♀️ lost and anyways you’re amazing >.< love u lots and don’t forget to drink water and eat a lil something hehe :p 

[sanemreid]

LOCATION: alli’s law office

WITH: @alli-pellisier​​

When she was in the studio, it was easy for hours to melt away quickly, between classes, one of which was a little more special since she’d done a collaborative routine with one of her students from the intermediate class, looking to become a choreographer themselves someday soon. Sanem of course, happy to help in achieving that dream however she could, certainly reminded of herself striving to get to where she was now, and even further. Another reason for her getting a little lost to time today, going over a cut of the video being used for launch of her academy, dubbed RYTHM, as she was finally able to trademark the name. And after a few more editing tweaks, and adding in the final clips from some friends in a New York studio jumping on board, it’d be set. The closer she was getting to a date being set, the more excited, yet definitely nervous she was becoming, just wanting everything to go off without a hitch. If not for the constant assurance and support from her family, friends, and especially girlfriend, there’s no doubt she’d get far too inside her head over every little thing. 

And speaking of a certain blonde, once she got everything settled at the studio, she begun to make her way over to the Allison’s firm, the two of them having already planned that morning for her to stop by and see the new office ( and it was also an excuse just to see her ), getting confirmation she was free now. Stepping into the building, and navigating her way towards said office, already feeling particularly out of place with the contrast of her causal attire to the business that surrounded her, only to then be stopped by a voice inquiring about what she was doing here. Turning to peer at the woman behind a desk, presumably a secretary, she had to figure it probably wasn’t exactly normal for anyone to just waltz in off the street like nothing. 

 ❝ I’m here to see Allison Pellisier, she -- ❞ However before Sanem could get another syllable out, she was instantly cut off with a ‘ do you have an appointment ? ’, slightly taken back but nevertheless, responded. ❝ No, but she’s expecting me so -- ❞ And again spoken over by a voice that was suddenly becoming more of an irritant. ‘ I’m sorry but if you don’t have an appointment I’m afraid I can’t let you go in. ’ Exhaling a small sigh, any warm disposition she’d given nearly gone by now, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket then. ❝ Fine, I’ll just text her and let her know. ❞ Words met with what she only assumed was a small laugh, followed by a ‘ Alli doesn’t give out her cellphone number, nice try though. ’ For a moment or two she simply stood there stunned, what the hell is her deal ? The dancer liked to think she had decent patience, but that was quickly wearing thin at the moment, sucking her teeth, tone verging on annoyance but remaining calm. ❝ Listen... ❞ Dark hues glance at the nameplate on the desk. ❝ Kelly, can you just call and let her know Sanem is here to see her. ❞ The two women seemingly having a fleeting staring contest, before the request was reluctantly met. Making sure to also send a text anyway, then waiting for her to come out, and only when Allison had been in view was it enough for a small but genuine smile to return over her features. 

[acopenhagenarmy]

BROKEN HEARTS

Pairing: Namjoon x fem!reader

Wordcount: 1,5K

Warnings: Strong language, mentions of abortion, and a shit-ton of angst 

Summary: After an interview you learn that your boyfriend wants a family, but you yourself have never wanted children. What happens when you find out you’re pregnant? 

A/N: So this is a respons to the fact the internet is going crazy about my main man Joon. Because he is my bias I felt obligated to write a story from this perspective, especially since I don’t want kids myself... Now if you’ll excuse me I’ll go cry over the fact that I now have slimmed down my chances to get with this man even more... 

____________________________

You were sitting in the bathroom staring down at your hands as you waited. This had to be the worst five minutes in your life. Because if this test turned out positive, there would be no turning back, and your relationship would go up in flames.

Everything was rather new with Namjoon, you had been together for about six months, and for the first time in your life you were so sickening in love. Which is why this made everything much worse.

A few weeks back you had listened to an interview from their American tour, here he was asked what he wanted to be when he was younger; his answer was a dad. Every girl online was obsessing about his cute statement, but you, you weren’t one of them. No instead of now being pudding in his hands you were cold.

The two of you had never had the talk about your future, about what you each dreamed of achieving in life. But with a man who was this focused on his career? No, you had never expected him of all people to want children. And because of this you were now sitting in his bathroom with a lump in your throat, both from bad nerves and what you assumed to be your morning sickness.

As the alarm started to ring you flew up from your seat at the edge of the bathtub, your hand was shaking as it hovered over the test that was laid out on the table before you. You prayed to all the gods you knew, prayed that you weren’t pregnant, prayed that you would just have a little more time with him, before you had to let him go.

A single tear streamed down your face as you turned it around. Your heart dropped and an almost inhuman sound escaped your lips. It was positive.

You knew he would be excited and happy when you were to tell him. But you also knew you had to break it to him, that you had no intention of keeping it. It wasn’t that you didn’t like kids, or that you saw yourself unfit to be a mother. No, children had just never been something you’d seen in you own future. Life was to short to spend your entire life setting someone before yourself.

It was a completely selfish thought and you knew it. But after years of pretending and debating with both yourself and your family, you had finally come the conclusion that children was something you would never want. And now that you were in this position you were more certain than ever.

You spent the next few hours walking around the apartment, putting up scenarios in your head of just how he would react and how things would go. You were anxious and it felt like a cloud was hanging over your head.

Would it be easier for him if you just told him you didn’t love him? Would it be easier if you just didn’t tell him at all, and got the abortion without his knowledge? You sighed and buried your head in your hands, leaning back into the sofa you were now resting in.

You could hear him outside the door fiddling with his keys as he tried to get the door to open. Your heart speeded up, and you could feel the color drain from your skin as the tears were threatening to break the surface. It was now or never.

“Hey babe, why are you sitting here in the dark?” He put his shoes beside the door as he sat down his bag next to them, he sent you a dimpled and cute smile as he turned on the light.

His eyes then captured yours and he quickly knew something was wrong.

“Is everything alright love?” He was hanging up his jacked as he asked, this time with a worried expression.

You slowly dragged yourself forward on the couch until your feet met the ground, both hands clinging to the sofa on each side of your body.

“We need to talk Joonie” It was just loud enough for him to hear it.

“Okay”

You knew his heart was beating out of control, scared he had done something wrong, because he hated when he hurt you especially if he didn’t know what he had done. He placed himself on the coffee table sitting directly in front of you, resting his hands on your thighs.

“What’s wrong Y/N?”

You didn’t know how to begin, how to start, so all that escaped you was a sigh as you tried to buy yourself some more time.

“Y/N look at me…”

He placed two fingers beneath your chin and made you look him in the eyes. He could see the horror they held, the pain and the suffering. But he didn’t speak, he knew you well enough to know that you would tell him when you were ready.

You took a deep breath and then you said the words you feared the most.

“Namjoon I’m pregnant…”

He looked a little confused, a better word for it would be jungshook.

“I-I’m sorry what?”

“I’m pregnant” This time you said it a little louder as you held your head up high.

His mouth formed a little ‘o’ as he kept looking in your eyes for just the slightest hint of a spark. But he never found it, and that was when he knew you were being serious. He sent you a little smile and took your hands in his.

“Well this speed things up a bit. I know we’re skipping a lot of steps, but I love you Y/N, and I’ve been thinking these last couple of weeks and you are the one I wanna start a family with… S-so maybe this is a good thing, you know? A blessing in disguise… I know we can make this work; I just know it my love” He pulled you in to a hug as he buried his hands in your hair, holding you close to him.

And there you cried. You cried as if your life depended on it, you sobbed into his chest. And even though this would be happy tears for most people, he had just broken your heart in a hundred pieces. When you once again had control over your emotions you whispered against his chest.

“I don’t want it Joon”

You could feel his body stiffen against yours, you could hear the way his heartbeat speeded up, hell you could almost hear how your words broke him. You pushed him away, once again looking him in the eyes as you repeated yourself:

“I don’t want the baby Joon”

He shook his head

“I know were young Y/N, and that this whole relationship is new, but I’m sure we’ll figure out something. If I explain I might get some time of with the group or- “

“You’re not getting what I’m trying to tell you Namjoon!”

You stood up, walking away from him, you didn’t know exactly why but you were mad. Stupid hormones.

“Then tell me what you mean Y/N! I’m trying to do the right thing here!”

You wanted to rip out your hair, for a man with an IQ of 148 he sure was stupid sometimes.

“I don’t want kids Namjoon, not now, not ever! It has nothing to do with you or your job. It’s just something that I’ve never seen myself doing”

He looked at you with disbelief, as if it was the first time anyone had ever had the thought of not having children.

“You’re serious…”

“As the fucking plague!”

He turned himself away from you and you could see the tears that streamed down his face, but he never made a sound. You walked towards him and pulled him into your arms, head resting on his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry Namjoon. I love you so much, and I wish I was the woman who could give you what you want but I’m just not...”

You kissed his temple as you let your tears fall, this was goodbye, he knew it and so did you. It broke both of your hearts because they still held the love the two of you felt for each other.

“I love you Y/N, I love you so much. A-and I don’t want a family if it’s not with you”

You pulled away from him, and rested your hand on his cheek, brushing away the tears as they came crashing down. You gave him a sad smile as he leaned into your touch.

“Someday you’ll find a remarkable woman who have the same dreams of starting a family as you do, and when that day comes, you’ll know that I was never the one”

You let the tears fall as you kissed his forehead.

“I love you Namjoon, always have always will…”

And with that you stood up and left him, leaving a piece of your heart with him.

Miss you, saying this makes me miss you even more.

[thatonebirbnerd]

A Metal Rose

Word count: 1449 

Trigger warnings: Emotional/psychological abuse, sexual abuse including a non-graphic r*pe scene, forced body modification/surgery, eye trauma

This is my first time writing a story with anything remotely sexual in it, and it turns into... well... this list of TWs. What have I done...

Anyway, here’s some Silaane. Poor baby.

AO3 link

Season of the Scion, 1326

5 - Captured a young sylvari, fresh off the Tree. She seems rather malleable; a good test subject.

7 - Experiments begun. Some resistance shown at first; babbling about the Mother Tree. Displays signs of stress, including leaf loss and replacement with spines.

What… is all this?

It’s dark. I’m scared. I can’t move, or even blink. The only light comes from the spirals of energy around me. Why do these little creatures want to examine every crevice of me? What do they want from me?

---

19 - Resistance seems to have ceased. Tests begun in earnest. Seems to be shaping up well as an herbaceous, living weapon.

The creatures call themselves asura. They want me to fight illusions now. I’m not sure why. Sometimes their leader puts me in the tower of energy and cuts a hole in my bark. It hurts, but… it’s not like I can react or anything. Pale Mother help me…

---

49 - Training going well. Preparing for augmentations. Subject S, as I have named her, is becoming proficient with daggers and pistols.

I’m better at using weapons now. Maybe I could use them to escape someday, but what if I fail? What if they put me in… no. Don’t think about that.

The leader takes me over to a table. A hood floats over it, releasing a strange vapor. He tells me to lie down and take a rest for… a couple days? Odd… I’m very sleepy…

---

50 - Augmentation phase one successful: the easy part. No complications apparent. Biopsied torso and removed extraneous matter. Replaced missing bark with metal plate. Prepared augment insertion sites. Must sleep now. Keeping S under anesthetic magic through phase two.

51 - Augmentation phase two. It was a long, difficult process, but I’ve done it. Affixed elementary wiring for battery packs. Added matrix regulator at left scapula and strength amplification into both forearms. Substantial endurance enhancement system implanted throughout pelvic area. Enhanced optics in right eye. Obstructive tissue in all applicable areas… dealt with. Torso, arms, pelvis, and eye bandaged.

“Um… hello?”

Oh. He’s here. Why does everything-

Oh, Mother…

I’m covered in wires and metal and gears and… why? Why would he do this?

And… why can’t I see out of my right eye? What happened to-

“S. It’s alright. You’re alive. Now, let me put these batteries in. I’ll explain later.”

Ugh, this… plating feels so  wrong  . It’s like he gave me a human’s breasts. Stop treating me like a woman; sylvari are not that simple. Stop calling me a woman!

Damn it. I can’t live like this. “I… would you… hammer this chest panel down? I don’t like-”

“Oh, but you look so beautiful! And there’s essential hardware in there that I’d have to rewire...”

Essential hardware?

---

58 - It’s reveal day! Jubilation!

I don’t train for a week. The pain is at least going away, but what did he do?...

“Alright, let’s take the cover off this, remove the bandages…”

“I still can’t see. What did you-”

“Give me a few minutes to just unwrap you! Alchemy, I must’ve made you into a mummy. And a  gorgeous  mummy at that. My assistant took the liberty of dyeing the battery packs. and made you some  luscious  custom-fitted armor to handle the parts of you that are still arboreal. Well… wood. I hope you like it.”

The bandages come off. Underneath is… it’s awful. Bulging wires run beneath my bark, connecting to the battery packs and all that came with them. I don’t look down as he unwraps my hips. I don’t want to know what he did between my legs. And I don’t like the look in his eyes as he surveys his handiwork… 

For the first time, I am truly lost and alone. When I was kidnapped, I still had the Pale Tree. Now there is a silence in my mind, one that’s grown as I lost hope of help.

My captor switches the batteries on.

I don’t think anyone’s ever felt anything like this before. Except an asura, maybe. Energy surges through my body. I tense up, and feel so much stronger. I realize I’m shaking.

“Oh, look at you! Just perfect…”

I don’t like the way his voice sounds. There’s something so wrong about it.

My vision floods, but the left side is… different. I look closer at a tool across the room, and hear a little whir inside my head as the device focuses. Whoa, I’m dizzy! I close my remaining eye, and I realize that this strange asuran eye works like a telescope, something I saw in my Dream. I shift my focus off the wrench, and my vision returns to normal.

“And you were all worried!”

Why wouldn’t I be?

---

59 - Training has resumed. S has received her armor. I’m very excited now. Perhaps for a few more reasons than intended.

I’m fighting again. It’s hard to get used to this, but I’m stronger now. Too strong. I break a lot of things accidentally, so it’s a good thing that the sleek suit the asura gave me doesn’t have extra parts I could fiddle with.

But I hate the way he looks at the sheer panels over my hips…

---

62 - Found Subject S fiddling with a tree branch. Unsure of branch’s provenance, but S was clearly attempting to use it as a Canthan-style fighting staff.

I have an idea not long after I return to training. What if I were to use a pole as a blunt-force weapon, perhaps to sweep it under an enemy and knock them off balance? I decide to test it out on some illusions by using this big branch I found outside. Must have fallen from one of the trees.

I’m growing… angrier. More resentful, more heartless. I switch off the suit for a bit, but no, it’s all in my mind. Is this what Nightmare feels like?

---

78 - S seems moody lately. I’ve tried to cheer her up, but she seems decidedly unimpressed by toys. A bit surprising considering she or any other sylvari should have about the intelligence of a progeny.

Toys? That bastard makes me into his little freak, and the only thing he gives me for it is toys? 

I think I’ve seen enough. I have to stop giving in.

---

90 - S has crafted a short bow out of one of my captive devourers. Smart little cabbage, she’d killed it herself.

I got some practice in on one of the lab’s other denizens. A devourer. About the same size as an asura, I figure. I make a bow out of its carapace and some practice arrows out of its legs. It takes me a few hours to figure out how to use it, but by the end of it, I’m able to use my new eye to hit targets more easily.

Everything seems fine until he shows up.

“What in the Alchemy did you do to my devourer? Ah, I’ll just have to put you in confinement again…”

Thorns.

“And now that you’re in here, we’re going to do something a little different this time.”

He’s smiling. Not this again.

Why is he taking off his pants?

Why is he taking off my pants?

I’d tried so hard not to think about it for weeks, but he’d reconstructed the entire area that… he’s trying to force his way into right now. He’s hit a sensor inside that… cavity he carved out of me - why -

No. Can’t think. Can’t move. No, no, no…

---

Season of the Colossus 1326

16 - S becoming increasingly skilled with her bow. I don’t have to push her to train at this point. Goal of living weapon achieved; now to keep her loyal, and prevent her from making her little inventions.

It took weeks, but I’m finally enjoying training again. This time, I know what to do with it. 

He’ll pay for everything.

I’m still practicing on his pets. Today, I twisted together a real fighting staff out of devourer shells. Little does he know that his biggest pet is the deadliest of all.

---

23 - S is becoming hostile. I fear I may be in danger. 

“S. You’ve been… angrier lately.”  

“That’s not my name, and you know exactly what you did to make me mad.”

“You don’t need to be testy about it, dear.”

He traps me in a lab, sticks tech all over me, does Pale-Tree-knows-what-else to me, and expects me to be his perfect little plaything. But of course I’m not going to tell him that, or else he’ll put me in that cage again.

No more waiting.

He dies tonight.

---

24 - Wee hours. Why is S awa--

[The page has been sprayed with blood.]

[amehanaaa]

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

We out here with another Nalu story! It’s been so long since I’ve written Nalu, but once I watched this movie, I couldn’t resist. I desperately needed to write this!

I actually have this story all written out, so I plan to have it all posted within the month of June. I hope you will join me on this journey! (Also can be read here.)

Chapter 1 / ? Words: 3030 Summary: Lucy and Natsu are determined to take the necessary steps to fulfill their lifetime dreams. Little do they know, they have both given themselves 10 days to achieve it.

                                                   ——————–

If Lucy doesn't start her mornings with a bagel slathered with strawberry cream cheese, it is not a good morning. The satisfying crunch of the first bite is just as pleasant as birds chirping.

Today is a good morning as Lucy eats her bagel with a content smile as she enters her office building. She makes a beeline towards the elevator. With her free hand, she scrolls through her phone to see if there are any updates.

"Fifty new comments," she whispers to herself.

Unsure whether to be proud or disappointed, she sticks her phone back into her purse and returns her attention to her half-eaten breakfast.

In between bites, she observes the lobby through the glass walls of the elevator. People from all over bustle through the area, all consumed by their own lackluster agendas. The higher she elevates, the more everyone blends together.

There isn't anyone who stands out more than the other—how fitting.

This is what it's like where Lucy works. It's the same routine every week: Mondays are for new ideas, Tuesdays are for settling with an idea, Wednesdays are for presentation, Thursdays through Saturdays are for writing, editing, proofreading, and Sundays are for posting.

Today is Tuesday, which means Lucy needs to decide what she wants to write for this week's article. Normally, she'd walk into her office with an itinerary. But this week, she finds herself feeling lost and uninspired to settle with an idea.

She doesn't let this affect her mood, though. Entering her designated floor, she holds her breath while walking through the experimental smells drifting in the air. Once she smells the familiar booze with a special ting to it, she sits in the open desk next to it.

"Is that blueberry, Cana?" Lucy asks her coworker frantically typing at her computer.

"Cranberry, actually," Cana responds through her types. "I've been experimenting this drink all week. I think this is going to be my best review yet!"

"I still can't believe Erza is letting you do this to yourself." Lucy shakes her head slightly, feeling a sense of pity as Cana appears to be in shambles.

"It's a privilege more than anything." Cana sends Lucy a grin over her shoulder, completely oblivious to her wild eyes. "I mean, how many people get paid for drinking unhealthy amounts of alcohol just to write a review on it?"

"I think I can see why it's not a popular job," Lucy responds. She returns to her own computer and purses her lips in thought. She has a list of what she could do for this week, but none of her ideas are close to what she actually wants to write.

Cana notices Lucy's blank stares. "Can't decide what to write this week?"

"I have some ideas," Lucy answers, half-lying. "I'm just not sure which one to pick."

"How about a follow up on that survey you did a couple of months ago? The one about lip gloss?" Cana suggests.

It takes every part of Lucy's physical being to hold back her cringe. "Yeah, I could do that."

"Everyone likes reading about lip gloss," Cana states simply, returning to her typing.

"Not everyone," Lucy mutters beneath her breath.

This is also what it's like every week. Pretending to love cheap cosmetics, the latest fashion trends, celebrity rumors, abs-guaranteed-exercises, and everything else in between. Lucy has mastered the art of pretending to be fully invested in these ideas.

Really, her dream is to have her own writing business that covers stories like how Fiore became the way it is, why the locals are the way they are, and highlight the hidden, creative minds throughout the city of Magnolia. She wants Fiore's hidden voices to finally have some light—that's all.

She thought joining this company would be the doorway to more opportunities to pursue her dream. And yet, here she is, already have worked two years without any progress. For now, she remains at a company where its sole purpose is to make women's lives easier one hairstyle, workout, rumor, and lip gloss application at a time.

Lucy's ultimate desires are easy to suppress throughout the day, but it doesn't seem to be working as effectively today.

"Do you think you're going to be ready to present to Erza tomorrow?" Cana asks once the work day is almost over.

"I'll figure it out." Lucy releases a heavy sigh, tilting her neck to each side with a relieving pop. It's not like she has much of a choice—she has to figure it out or else.

"We can go drinking tonight if you want," Cana offers.

"The only thing you should be drinking tonight is water." Lucy nearly scolds, standing from her seat and collecting her belongings. She places a water bottle next to Cana's desk. "I have plans tonight with Levy, but thanks, anyway. See you tomorrow."

Before Cana can convince her like she has done plenty of times before, she leaves the office building. Like any other city, cars cover the streets like mindless ants. The sunset hides behind the buildings, allowing Lucy to be guided by the flickering streetlights.

She strategically makes her way through the traffic, travels through three subway stations, and eventually arrives to her apartment. She unlocks her front door, being met with the delicious smell of dinner.

"Welcome back, Lu!" a voice sings out from the kitchen.

"Hey, Levy," Lucy smiles at her best friend and sets her purse down on the counter. "What's for tonight?"

"Dumplings," Levy announces proudly. "Are we still watching our show tonight?"

"Of course we are," she nods. The two exchange an excited smile before Lucy takes out her phone and reads another update. Who knew a trivial review about makeup could get so many comments?

After indulging in Levy's famous dumplings, Lucy tries to find any sense of inspiration for what to write this week. She thought of how she could write about how to eat healthy while eating dumplings, but she remembered that Evergreen wrote something similar last year.

"You okay? You're quiet tonight," Levy comments as they settle onto the couch minutes before their beloved TV show.

"I have no idea what to write this week," Lucy admits, running a hand through her hair. "I just want to write what I want to write, you know? I'm tired of writing all of this nonsense."

"It's okay," Levy reaches over and rubs Lucy's shoulder for comfort. "You're going to get there, okay? For now, let yourself enjoy the show. I read some spoilers that it's going to get juicy tonight."

"You said you weren't going to read spoilers without me!" Lucy proclaims, scoffing as Levy giggles mischievously.

Lucy decides to accept her best friend's advice, deciding that her article is more trivial than the show. But after this, she is definitely going to have to choose an idea.

"He should just dump her already!" Levy groans loudly as the episode cuts to a commercial.

"There has to be a reason why he keeps staying with her," Lucy theorizes aloud. "She has treated him horribly all episode. He wants something from her."

"Or maybe she wants something from him," Levy retorts. "They're not even a good pair, anyway. Ugh, I'll be right back. I need a refresher."

Lucy can't help but laugh to herself at Levy's dramatic expressions. She hopes that someday her audience will also react in a way like Levy. Her work will cause her audience to feel riled up, whether it be out of inspiration to take action or enragement and throw a fit.

At the same time, Lucy feels an emotional wall for the characters in the TV show, which is the complete opposite of Levy. Lucy can't remember the last time she has felt anything remotely related to love, let alone infatuation.

What was it like to feel so helplessly in love? What a foreign idea.

With the sound of Levy's quick steps back to the couch matching the steady thump of her heartbeat, the gears in Lucy's head gradually begin turning. When the TV show returns from commercial, it hits her.

"I have an idea on what to write!" Lucy exclaims suddenly.

"Shh, tell me later!" Levy waves her off, but Lucy doesn't care.

A grin stretches across her face. The idea is risky. It might not work out. It's not going to be easy.

But if each article she writes is one step closer to her dream, she's determined to take that next step.

                        ��                            --------------------

"Come in, Lucy!"

Lucy opens the door to a spacious office, windows displaying the buildings of Magnolia. It's the classic office that anyone would dream of having—that is, anyone who only wishes to write about nonsense all the time.

"Hi, Erza," Lucy greets her boss. "I'm here to present my idea for you."

"It took you longer than I expected, but I can squeeze in some time for you. You can sit down," Erza beckons her. "What do you have for me?"

"It's going to be a personal story this week, but with a twist. Here are my ideas," Lucy explains while sliding her a notebook with all her scribbled ideas.

Erza squints at her handwriting, but they soon return back to normal. Much to Lucy's delight, interest swirls in Erza's eyes. She begins to nod with an amused smile, glancing at Lucy above her glasses.

"So, you're going to date a guy in reverse? How will you do that?"

"I'll find ways to drive him away," she answers. "I'll use mistakes that women typically make. It'll be an article of what not to do when you're dating someone. I'll keep a journal about it and record my findings."

"How to lose a guy in ten days," Erza echoes Lucy's final notes. "I think you've struck gold here. How did you think of this?"

Lucy can't hold back her satisfied smile. "This TV show I watched last night gave me some inspiration. Do you approve of my idea? In terms of posting, I won't be able to post on Sunday due to the length of the experiment."

"We can afford that if the execution is as good as the idea," Erza responds.

Although her words come out discouraging, Lucy takes a deep breath to ignore the looming pressure. She knows this isn't going to be an easy article to write, but she's willing to sell a kidney at this point.

"I'm going to a gathering tonight," Erza mentions, causing Lucy to perk up in her seat. "There will be plenty of men. Would you like to join me and find your experiment?"

Lucy doesn't like the idea of calling her future date an experiment, but she can't take back this opportunity. "I would love to come!"

"Okay, see you then. Now, if you would excuse me, I have some strawberry cake to eat."

Understanding that this is Erza's way of kicking her out of her office, Lucy collects her belongings and nearly dances out of the office. There isn't any room for anxiety for what she has gotten herself into. Right now, there is just pure bliss.

The outside air has never felt fresher on Lucy's skin as she makes her way back home for the day. Even though most of her articles have been nonsense, there is always a pre-article excitement.

"Levy, my boss accepted my idea!" Lucy shouts into her phone, her voice contained by the crowd surrounding her.

"That's awesome, Lu! I knew you could do it!" Levy cheers her on. "You're off work early, right? Come to the bakery and I'll treat you!"

"You don't have to invite me twice. I'll be right there," Lucy responds happily.

After hanging up the call, Lucy isn't able to hide the bounce in her step. She'll never admit this aloud, but the high of getting Erza's approval is almost as gratifying as her morning bagels.

Lucy pauses at a crosswalk, holding a staring contest with the red light across the street. She doesn't hesitate once it turns green; however, the first step she takes on the street matches with a screech.

"Oh, my—"

"Are you alright?!"

Lucy's eyes are almost bulging out of its sockets as she watches a man jump off his motorcycle and approach her with eyes the same size.

"Are you alright?" the man repeats, searching her for any injuries. "I wasn't expecting you to be there when I was turning."

"I-I'm okay," Lucy stutters, finally catching up with her ragged breaths. "It was my fault. I should have looked before I started crossing."

"I'm just glad you're not hurt." He lets out a relieved sigh. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay," she assures. She watches as the man shivers, almost as though to release the idea of what could have just happened. Although he wears a helmet with a tinted visor, she can tell he isn't bad looking. Could he be the one for her experiment?

"Well, since we're both good here, I'm heading out. Stay safe." The man nods his head as he begins to return to his bike.

Lucy moves her foot to step towards him. But by the time she realizes that there is no way she could ask someone out after being nearly trampled, the man is already zooming away.

"Note to self," Lucy mumbles, carefully walking across the street. "Just go for it next time."

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

The idea of running someone over after driving a motorcycle for less than a week is enough for Gray to shiver through his jacket. He can vividly see how the woman's eyes widened and jaw dropped in a matter of seconds. Gray deletes the image from his mind as quickly as possible.

"Hey, where have you been?!" a voice shouts out to Gray as he rolls towards the front of the fire station.

"Sorry, I got caught up in something," he explains, trying not to show that his voice is still shaky. "Anyway, here's your lunch. You owe me one."

"Owe you for what?" a man snatches the bag from Gray's hands. "Juvia gives you these for free, anyway."

"Not the point, Natsu." He rolls his eyes, following his friend to an outdoor table. "You're going to have to teach yourself how to cook someday."

"I do know how to cook," Natsu retorts. "I just cook at my own convenience."

Gray stifles a laugh while shaking his head. "Microwaveable meals don't count."

The two bicker—occasionally getting physical—until Natsu catches a glimpse of Gray's sparkling motorcycle in his peripheral vision. He pauses just for a second. "How's your bike?"

"I haven't killed anyone yet," Gray responds with a nonchalant shrug.

"My bike is cooler, anyway." Natsu waves his hand in dismissal. "You're welcome for getting you that deal, by the way."

"Yeah, yeah," Gray also lifts his hand to wave him off. He's positive that Natsu will never let him live that down. He is about to say they should race someday, but he notices the time.

"Hey, I need to head out, but I wanted to mention that Juvia is hosting a party tonight. You can come if you want."

"What's the menu look like?" Natsu asks.

"I can tell Juvia to think of you," Gray responds, causing Natsu to grin. "Come to my place in a suit."

"Alright, I'm in," Natsu nods in acceptance. He follows Gray towards his bike, munching on the remains of his baby carrots. It isn't until Gray is almost a street away when a thought surfaces into Natsu's mind.

"Does he expect me to bring a date?" he mutters to himself, going back inside the station.

Natsu's memory is blurry on the last time he was romantically involved with a woman. Sure, he has had his share of relationships, but there came a day when none of it was enjoyable as it used to be. Now that he is a fresh 26, Natsu wants more than a pointless, ten-day fling.

Knowing fully well that the food at the parties Juvia hosts is some of the best, Natsu purposely skips snacking throughout the day. It makes his time at the station a lot more difficult than it needs to be, but it's worth it.

By the time he takes a quick elevator trip up to Gray's apartment later that evening, his stomach growls louder than the blow dryer Gray holds onto as he opens the door.

Gray whistles, taking in Natsu's attire. "Looks like you're dressed to meet the love of your life tonight."

"Good one," Natsu scoffs and enters the apartment. "Does Juvia know you use a blow dryer?"

"Yes, she does. She appreciates it," Gray quips back.

Natsu can't stop himself from wandering into the kitchen, searching for just a nibble of a snack. It isn't hard to spot Gray's collection, snacks of all types covering the pantry.

A pit of envy settles in Natsu's stomach. Not for the snacks themselves, but for the guarantee that the pantry will always be filled. Natsu still isn't quite sure how Gray landed the career he has. He certainly deserves it, though. He has always been skilled at talking to others, especially if it's to persuade.

As a result, Gray's career has gifted him a luxurious apartment with luxurious amenities. But it's not the tangible items that Natsu envies the most—it's the connections and network of people he knows.

Natsu reaches for a box of crackers until he hears Gray's footsteps behind him. "You ready? Juvia is about to pick us up."

"Readier than I'll ever be," Natsu responds, stuffing a couple of crackers into his mouth. He can't hold back his laugh at Gray's eye roll, puffs of cracker dust sparkling across the air.

"You love food so much. I wonder if you have any game left," Gray remarks.

"Why wouldn't I?" Natsu raises his brows.

"Do you think you could get a girl tonight?" Gray challenges.

"For how long?"

Gray's eyes light up at the question, which makes Natsu immediately regret his question. Giving Gray the opportunity to manipulate the duration of this bet is one of the worst moves he could have ever made.

"Ten days," Gray answers eventually.

"Ten days?" Natsu repeats incredulously, but hastily changes his tone. "I can do that. What do I get in return?"

"Anything you want," Gray shrugs simply. "As long as you stay with the girl a full ten days, of course. No matter how difficult she gets."

Natsu is quiet as he tries to form his words. "After this bet, I want you to get my name out there." His voice is firm. "I want to be recruited to a place that has more activity."

It appears that Gray is holding his breath, but the image fades away as he nods. "Really, I've been wanting to do that for you sooner or later. I can tell how disappointing Magnolia has been for you."

Natsu smiles thinly at Gray's words. "Yeah. I'm ready to get out of here."

"Well, if you work hard enough, maybe you will," Gray confirms with newfound amusement in his eyes. "Maybe after these ten days, you can get that girl to move away with you."

"You sure have quite the imagination, Ice Princess."

Gray is about to shoot back with one of the many nicknames they have for one another, but the ring of his phone beats him to it.

"Yeah, we'll be right out."

"Actually," Natsu begins, reaching for the keys on the wall. "I'll follow you. Nobody knows how this night might end."

"You're lucky that you know how to ride a bike," Gray remarks.

"You're lucky that I taught you!" Natsu retorts, following his friend out of his apartment.

With that, Natsu revs the motorcycle and follows Gray and Juvia's sleek car. He isn't sure what this night will hold, but he ignores the annoying buzz in the back of his ears.

So what if he said he was tired of pointless, ten-day flings? Those flings weren't going to lead him to a new job opportunity. This fling, however, is going to be one of the most rewarding bets he has ever done.

If this fling is one step closer to his dream, Natsu is determined to take that next step.

[midzelink]

Twilight Princess w/o Text Boxes: A Dream Made Possible w/ Emulation

Okay.  So.

Over the past couple months of running this blog, I’ve been thinking quite a lot about emulating Twilight Princesss in Dolphin, and the other day I finally bit the bullet and booted up the game for the first time.  I had fun finally playing around with the emulator’s free look feature, and I decided now was as good a time as any to finally learn how to make GIFs the proper way--with Photoshop--so I messed around with the program a bit and ended up making this GIF, which I posted yesterday.  It’s not great, but I’ve seen worse, so eh, whatever, right?  At least I’m learning.

Anyway, @therealflurrin sees this GIF and it kicks of a conversation between us about emulation: how it works, what free look is, and what the potential for these kinds of tools are: GIF-making, edits, stills...general hilarity, y’know, basic stuff.

They ask me if I have any idea how to disable the UI of the game.  No, I say; I do a quick cursory Google, and something like that would require texture dumping, editing, and reloading, and that sounds like a heckuva lot of work, doesn’t it?  I’ll just stick to what I know how to do.

And then they say something else:

my DREAM is to capture all the TP cutscenes without the text overlays for AMV purposes......someday

And I'm like, ah.

Ah, shit.

I dunno about the rest of you, but back in the day, when I would stay up until 3 AM watching Midlink AMVs during a sleepover on my friends’ computers (because Hylia knows I didn’t have one, and what the f**k is a smart phone, it’s only 2007), I used to daydream about this exact thing.  I watched a whole ton of (mostly shitty) AMVs, and most of them either completely disregarded any scenes with dialogue, zoomed to somewhat hide their presence, or used the cutscenes with text anyway, and their quality suffered for it regardless--but that was over 10 years ago, long before emulation was so readily accessible (and long before I would discover it), and as time passed, I quickly forgot about this little dream...

...until @therealflurrin reminded me of it.

How hard could it possibly be?

I can’t currently find the forum post I found that instructed another user on how to remove the UI of another (non-Zelda) game in Dolphin, but I can more than summarize the process myself after the day I had yesterday.  Essentially, each aspect of the game’s UI is a texture in the game’s files; you can’t delete textures, but you can replace them using Dolphin’s built-in texture loading feature.  In order to do what I had set out to, I had to:

Navigate to the graphics setting in Dolphin and turn on the “dump textures” feature, which could create viewable .png files of every single texture loaded into the game upon boot and direct them into a single folder.

Boot the game, ensuring that the elements of the UI I wanted to eliminate were clearly visible.

Find the textures responsible for these elements in the dump folder, making note of their file names.

Create and duplicate a 1x1 transparent .png file, renaming each duplication to match each of the various textures I want to replace from the previous step.

Place each of these “textures” into a folder that matches the name of the folder created by the dumping process, moving that folder into Dolphin’s custom textures directory, and again navigating to the graphics settings and checking “load custom textures.”

Doesn’t sound too difficult, right?

...Right.

Some textures were easy, of course.  Getting rid of the text itself was as simple as finding the very few textures that had the letters of the alphabet on them and replacing them, but more than a couple of them were vague stills of nonsense, and combing through hundreds of these textures to find the right ones when I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for...

Well, it was quite the headache, and at some point I ended up saying “f**k it!” and just started replacing anything and everything that looked vaguely suspicious.

For instance, after eliminating the actual text from the boxes, there still remained the matter of the “glow effect” behind the text--upon inspection without the obstruction of this text, just a glowing circle.  I just skimmed through the dump folder that resulted from me booting up the game for just a few seconds and I counted more than thirteen textures that fit that exact bill (plus several others that looked like they maybe could have also been the culprit, somehow), and I just kept on rebooting and replacing, rebooting and replacing until those stupid circles were gone.  (Not the best method in the world, I know, but we learn from our mistakes.)  I spent ages looking for the surely-it-must-be-a-long-black-rectangle-texture responsible for the backdrop, was unable to find it, and replaced a metric shit-ton of unimportant-looking textures until it, too, was somehow gone--and after a lot of trial and error, I finally got the result I was hoping for.

In doing so, however, I had eliminated a heckuva lot of textures that didn’t need replacing, and the entire thing left a bit of a...foul taste in my mouth.

So, like the perfectionist I am, I moved all of the work I had already completed to another location...and began again.

This time, I replaced textures one by one, rebooting the game each time to ensure that it was the correct one.  That “long black rectangle” I was looking for ended up being a tall, transparent image merely 8 pixels wide.  Those glowing circles ended up being the dang circle that I suspected least, go figure.  Regardless, slowly but surely, I was able to replicate my previous success.

Now, my custom texture folder looks a little something like this:

And the in-game result has transformed this:

Into this:

(As you can see, I’ve replaced many other elements of the UI outside of text boxes, and I put them into their own sub-folders for organization’s sake.)

It was a lot of work, but as far as ten-year-old me would be concerned, I have created a means in which to achieve my once impossible dream:

Twilight Princess cutscenes without text boxes.

What does any of this mean?

Effectively, I’ve created a “texture pack” of a sorts that removes most of the game’s UI elements, including the text boxes that have obstructed so many of the game’s better moments.  It’s still far from completely finished, but as of now, it serves its primary function flawlessly, and all that’s left of my childhood dream is one eensy, teensy thing:

Recording, baby!

That is to say, video recording of all the game’s cutscenes with this texture pack in effect, so that kind of footage is available and out there--otherwise, all of this work I’ve done will have been for naught, yeah?  Fortunately, I’m not just an idiot with an emulator and Photoshop; I’m an idiot with an emulator, Photoshop, and OBS Studio, ready and capable to do all of the hard work of capturing these moments for me.

And now, all that I have to do...is play the game.

So, what happens next?

I’m not going to put an estimate on how long this kind of thing is going to take; I have a life outside of this blog and outside of replaying a game I’ve played more than a few times, but over the next few weeks I’m going to be playing through Twilight Princess on Dolphin with the intention to:

Find and capture each of the game’s cutscenes without UI interference, and upload them (probably onto Google Drive) for use by the general public.

Create save states throughout my playthrough and upload them as well, so any person with a good PC, Dolphin, and a North American Twilight Princess .iso can jump into the game at any point they’d like.

Find and tweak any remaining elements of the game’s UI that I can find to make the experience as clean as possible...and perhaps upload this “texture pack” for general use if I am able to do so.

...But mostly the first thing, yeah?  I may keep everyone updated on my progress, if anyone particularly cares, but I also may just keep quiet about it and then dump all of these files at once.  Who knows!  We’ll just have to wait and see.

TL;DR

There’s a whole lot of potential with this kind of thing, and even if it’s a decade too late and no one is really making Twilight Princess AMVs anymore, this is something I’m so stupidly passionate about that I intend to see it through regardless.  I mean, Twilight Princess just happened to be the game that I chose!  If it’s possible with this game, then it must surely be possible with others, and maybe this can inspire other similar "HUD-less” projects from others.  But, even if it doesn’t, I’ll be okay with that.

In the end, if I can make even just one person happy with this little project of mine, that will be more than enough.

[zwei-the-penguin-with-a-pen]

‘Second & Sebring’

Ruby Rose packed up her briefcase with the tests she would spend half the night grading. Hopefully, this rowdy batch of future Huntsmen and Huntresses knew which Grimm was which and they would all pass with flying colors. If nothing else, that would make the grading move faster and leave Ruby with more Weiss time.

Ruby loved her job as a professor at the new Beacon Academy. Rebuilding the school didn't take all that much time once the people of Vale had set their minds to it. Grimm weren't as much of a problem as they once were, what with Salem eradicated, but the occasional spike in the monsters population still needed to be controlled. That's where Ruby came in, teaching the bright young minds and training the bodies of the next generation of demon slayers.

"Professor Rose..." She heard a voice call her name. She looked up from her desk to see a handsome young boy that had bright orange hair with a black streak in it. He looked at her through bright pink eyes.

"Yes, Mr. Valkyrie?" She responded. Being a professional was still an adventure for Ruby. She'd much rather scoop the kid up and hug him, as she'd known him since he was born. She tried not to be on a first name basis with any of her students if she didn't need to be, but Heimdall Valkyrie was the son of two of her friends.

"Would you mind going easy on Lotus's test? She's been restless lately with redesigning her weapon and it's all she can do to stay awake some days..." The shy boy asked her. He was forever looking out for his kid sister.

"I'm certain Lotus did just fine, Heimdall. You guys are Ren and Nora's kids, after all. Ren won't let you guys fail at anything you try." Heimdall grinned at his teacher's response and thanked her.

"That's something else I've been meaning to ask you..." He sighed, pointing to the small figures on Ruby's desk. "These two... They were Mom and Dad's partners when they went to school here, right?" Ruby's face fell at the question. Heimdall or Lotus was bound to ask it sooner or later.

"Yes, they were. The boy was Jaune Arc, a fantastic fighter and friend. He didn't come from much, and he kind of cheated to get into Beacon, but he fought harder than anyone else did. The girl was Pyrrha Nikos. She was a world-renowned fighter before she ever even came to Beacon. She was shy in spite of her fame, but she was a wonderful friend and a beautiful soul. And everyone at Beacon had a crush on her." Ruby chuckled at the thought of that. She fondly remembered her eyes turning to stars at the very sight of Pyrrha.

"Do you know what happened to them?" Yeesh, kid. Always with the difficult questions.

"Well, kid, they both ran headlong into battles they knew they couldn't win. At the Fall of Beacon, Pyrrha went after the woman who led the attack, and she was pretty much a god when Pyrrha got to her. You know the Maidens story, correct?" The orange haired boy nodded, mentioning that it was one of his favorite fairytales. "Well, the Maidens do exist. Or they did. No one knows if they're still around, seeing as the great evil has been defeated. Anyway, Cinder had just become the Fall Maiden, but Pyrrha went after her anyway."

Ruby held back a tear. "I watched her die, Heimdall. I was rushing to help her, but I was too late. A similar thing happened with Jaune. He made a mad dash for Salem in our last battle, but he never even got close. She summoned a horde of Grimm that devoured him." She rubbed her eyes to stop the tears. "The last words I heard him say were, 'At least I can see Pyrrha now'... and then he was gone."

"Wow, Professor! I can't believe you've been on so many great adventures! I'm sorry those horrible things happened to your friends, though." Heimdall sympathized. Ruby grinned at her student and honorary nephew,

"It's a hazard in our line of work, kid. More of my friends died, and even more of them lived through endless horrors, but we defeated Salem and lived to tell the world about it. What more could we ask for?"

"Wow, my parents were with you and your team?"

"Yep, them and Jaune, and some others, too. We made a fantastic team, really. Especially my girls," She grinned and pointed to the photograph on her desk. "We were called Team RWBY, and we were not what you'd call the best team at Beacon by any means. But we found a family in each other, all by ourselves. It was little and broken, but it was good. Is good, I mean." She picked up the photo.

"This one here is my sister Yang. We had the same dad, and the same mom raised us. Yang had a different... I think 'vessel' is a good word for Raven." Heimdall laughed at Ruby's remark. "Yang lost her arm in the Fall, but she and Blake destroyed the creature responsible. She's the one with the dark hair and cat ears. They were married shortly after that, and now they've got family of their own."

"So the girl with the white hair... isn't that Weiss Schnee? She's famous for reforming the Schnee Dust Company after her father ran it into the ground." Heimdall mentioned. He was always very studious. You could tell he was Ren's child.

"Yeah. He was a miserable man. Holding my scythe up to his neck is still one of my crowning achievements." She laughed as Heimdall's eyes widened.

"Were you the one that killed him?!"

"Well, he shouldn't have slapped my wife in the face and tried to attack her!" Ruby huffed defiantly. "But no, I didn't kill him. Weiss and I had our fill of beating him, and then we threw him into the mines and let the faunus have their way with him, Lion King style!" She grinned at the idea. "And then I married the girl of my dreams! But only after my team and I defeated Salem."

"You're so incredible, Professor Rose! I'd love to meet your team sometime!"

"Well, I'm sure you'll meet us all someday. Anyway, I'm going home now. See you next class, Nephew. And I promise I'll go easy on your sister... but only because you asked nicely." She grinned at the boy as she shooed him out of her lecture hall and locked the door behind the two of them.

"Rough day, Flower Pot?" Weiss asked Ruby when she arrived at home. Ruby showered Weiss with hugs and kisses.

"GROSS!" The small girl with white hair tipped with red yelled at them, making fake gagging noises. Ruby smiled and scooped up her favorite tiny human.

"Shut your cute face, Pyrrha Schnee Rose!" Ruby told her, hugging and ruffling her oldest daughter's hair.

"HOW DARE YOU!" The kid protested, trying and failing to escape her muscled mother's embrace.

"To answer your question, wife dearest, I had a wonderful day. And then Ren's son came and asked me about Pyrrha and Jaune." Ruby released her daughter, who ran off into another room. Another kid, smaller with bright crimson hair, appeared from the restroom.

"Hey, Ma!" The girl told Ruby as she reached into the fridge. Weiss shoved her away and closed the door.

"You JUST had a snack, Penelope! Dinner will be done soon!" Her mother protested. Penn grimaced and crossed her arms but accepted her cruel fate. She hugged Weiss and Ruby.

"Your mama's cooking is amazing, Penn! I certainly can't wait to eat it!" Ruby bragged on her wife. Penn smiled as she ran off to her room. "So, Mama... when are we gonna have a boy?"

"One of these days! Please don't make me name him after Jaune," Weiss joked. Ruby grinned.

"Niko Arcana Rose... That sound good?"

"It's an idea. A bit better than Penelope Summer." Weiss jabbed. Ruby huffed.

"Hey, I carried 'em so I named 'em! You just did the fun parts!" She fired back. Weiss rolled her eyes and tended to the meal she was cooking, sipping coffee from a wine glass for some reason. Oh yeah, all the coffee mugs held plants and/or science projects for the kids.

Ruby sat down in her lazy chair, leaning the head back and relaxing. 'Have I made you proud, Mom? I'm sorry I haven't been to visit lately. School's been pretty wild. I'll make my way there soon enough though. I love you.' She silently prayed. Pyrrha ran by with something shiny in her left hand. "Pyrrha, honey, what is that?"

"A knife," the little human answered. Ruby sped over and snatched it away.

"NO! Just because you're named after Pyrrha Nikos doesn't mean you can get all stabby! You're still too young for weapons, honeybun!"

"If I can help it, you'll always be too young for weapons..." Weiss injected from the kitchen. "Food's ready by the way! Kids, your plates are on the table!" The two kids rushed to the table and sat, waiting for Mom and Mama to fix their own plates. The four of them sat to a nice dinner. Ruby could not be happier with her life.

\/\/\/\/\/

\/\/\/\/\/

\/\/\/\/\/

Day 9: A Character Ten Years in the Future.

Had a long and rough day yesterday, so it’s late. I kinda used Day 10′s prompt too, so maybe I’ll see what the WRW prompt is today.

Anyway, Professor Ruby Rose has a talk with Heimdall Valkyrie, then goes home to Weiss and their kids.

[reddielibrary]

Still The One

Secret Santa: Katie | @kaspbrak-eddie

Gift for: Elmo | @ellomello16

Special Message: Merry Christmas to the sweetest member of the fandom! I hope you enjoy this lil fic and I hope you have a good day, ily ♡♡

Word count: 6,789

*click title to read on AO3

Richie Tozier had never considered himself to be a wildly successful person. In school, he’d always been above average but had never been the top of his class, putting little to no effort into homework and exams but still managing to maintain mostly A’s and B’s. It may have been impressive, sure, but he had never been exemplary, and he prided himself in that. The slight apathy he felt for his schoolwork still yielded the same outcome that most of his friends and peers could only barely achieve through long, arduous hours of intense reading, writing, revising, re-revising. He didn’t bat an eye at assignments his classmates lost countless hours of sleep over. School had always come easily to him, as most things did. He was an incredibly charming man, never failing to make even the most stuck-up assholes crack a laugh every once in a while. 

Humans he had never taken issue with, he felt most comfortable in social situations and threw himself into them head-first every opportunity he had. Meaningful human interaction, on the other hand, deep, personal, one-on-one connections, well that was one of the few items on the list of things in life that made Richie uneasy. And he had a string of failed relationships to show for it, one that was longer than a suburban mother of six’s grocery list. Richie had simply never been able to connect with anyone on that profound, meaningful level that everyone talks about--that his partners talked about feeling with him. He had simply always felt like there was something missing, something not right. It felt as if something--or someone--was pulling him away, but if there was one thing he was sure of, Richie Tozier knew that he had never been in love.

Eddie Kaspbrak, on the other hand, had. Countless times. He fell easily, and when he did, he fell hard. Lamentably, he had a nasty habit of falling for people who could not even come close to reciprocating the love he gave--the absolute, irrevocable adoration that could only come from someone who aimed to please. The household Eddie had grown up in had been built around his mother’s intense, all-consuming need to be needed. Eddie had never known her as a rational person, although he supposed she probably had been at some point in her life. To Eddie, she was overbearing, almost dictatorial. Everything he did had to be passed through her first, and she approved of almost nothing. After years and years of the constant hounding, the unremittant whining and worrying, Eddie had learned that it was easier to just let her have her way, and he’d carried with him this skill of always striving to please. And he was damn good at it. It affected every part of his life as an adult, relationships with friends, with significant others, but most importantly, it made him incredibly good at his job.

He was passionate about his career--he threw every part of himself into his work, and he loved it. Although the work was unceasing, exhausting, it was a good outlet for his energy, especially when the same tendencies that made him great at his job had a propensity to affect his relationships negatively. Everyone he’d ever dated had had one of two problems with him--either Eddie was too clingy, fell in love far too quickly and let it overtake his entire personality, often morphing it completely to become more appealing to his partner. That, or they fought with him constantly about being work-obsessed, stating that he spent too much time away, or even when he was home, that he was distant, thinking about work; they complained about his going above and beyond to be the best, never supporting him the way he needed. By the time he was in his late twenties, Eddie had decided that he was done with relationships. He was exhausted and completely fed up with pouring his endless love and energy into people who didn’t champion his goals and applaud him for reaching them. In his memory, he had never had someone like that, someone who he could be himself with, someone who wanted him to be his very best. And he assumed he probably never would.

It was a Wednesday morning when Richie had gotten the call at 7:45, jolting him awake abruptly from a deep, heavy sleep. He groaned and patted around blindly for the phone on his nightstand, brushing his sleep-kinked, floppy hair out of his face as he did so. “Tozier here,” he grumbled into the phone, his voice thick and deep.

“Rich! It’s me! Get your ass out of bed, you lazy piece of shit!”

Still half asleep, Richie groaned, “The fuck are you talking about?”

“I’m just kiddin’ buddy. But seriously. Great show last night, you were fuckin’ hilarious!”

“Yeah, Steven. You always say that. That’s what you’re supposed to say, you’re my manager.”

“Yeah yeah.” Richie’s manager, who doubled as his best (read: only) friend, pushed on, ignoring Richie’s humility, “So the guy from SNL called back finally. You’re golden, baby. They want you to come out next week to audition.”

Richie’s eyes shot wide open, he was definitely awake now. He scrambled for his laptop on the floor by his bed as he replied, “Steve-O are you serious? If you’re fucking with me right now I’m gonna drive to your house and murder you.” He opened his laptop hurriedly to check his email, first reaching over to the bedside table to grab his glasses, sliding the thick, bulky lenses over his eyes to bring the world back into focus. Once he got his email pulled up, he desperately refreshed the browser, clicking the ‘get mail’ button incessantly.

“Bro, I can hear you clicking from here. Relax, I haven’t sent you anything yet. I’ll get it to you once I put everything together, I literally just got off the phone with the guy.”

Richie sighed. “Steven, you really are a genius. It’s happening!”

“It’s not me, Rich, it’s all you. And I always told you it would, have I ever lied to you before?”

Richie chuckled, rubbing at his eyes, pushing his glasses up to his forehead, still in disbelief, “Stevia, baby, you lie to me all the time.”

“Hush now. You know when I do it’s just for your own good. Alright, well, I’ll let you get back to sleep… Or back to whoever is in your bed right now.”

Richie mock gasped, “Are you accusing me of having premarital sex? You know I’m waiting until marriage, Steven, sorry to disappoint you.”

“Oh shut up, Richie. Goodbyeee...” He dragged out the last syllable as he audibly pulled the phone away from his face and hung up, his voice trailing off as the microphone was drawn further and further away from his mouth. A few minutes later, just as Richie was succumbing back to sleep, his phone vibrated with an email containing his itinerary.

Eddie sighed as he lay down on a cot in the on-call room of the hospital he’d worked in for almost four years now. He was halfway through another long shift, it was almost 6:00 am, but he could at least take comfort in the fact that it was just a twelve-hour rather than a twenty-four. Eddie had always had a penchant for medicine, even when he was young. Growing up with a mother whose every waking moment was dedicated to her only son, Eddie had been the target of her constant and unrelenting care. Although all of the illnesses she was sure Eddie suffered from had turned out to be fake, the excessive doctor visits as a child had made him extremely comfortable in hospitals and outpatient centers. As he’d grown older, he’d taken comfort in understanding his “illnesses,” and in doing so, he had begun to understand the source of them. He’d never been a slow kid--neither mentally nor physically--and at the ripe age of eleven, he’d realized just how his mother’s protection had hurt him, and he had vowed to leave her the very second he was able.

The only support system he’d had as a kid had been the friends he had made, who, after he’d left town for college, he had forgotten more and more about every single day. He was unsure if it was due to the influx of new information and experiences or something else, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t conjure up any of their faces in his memory, not even a single name. There was something there, he knew, something--someone--tugging at him. Something that panged in his stomach every time he walked past someone on the street with dark, frizzy hair, something he couldn’t put his finger on. There was the day in college he’d gotten reading glasses, and that night just as he was turning the light out, the sight of the frames laying on his bedside table gave him the strongest sense of déjà vu he’d ever experienced in his life, so much so that he had felt light-headed for a few seconds before regaining his composure. He had not slept well that night, dreaming of his childhood, blotchy and blurry, the only clear parts he could pick out in his head were a pair of impossibly thick glasses, beat-up black sneakers, scraped knees, and popsicles melting in the sweltering summer sun.

He’d been awoken by a panic attack in the early hours of that morning, something that rarely happened anymore, only when he had these dreams. These confusing, disorienting dreams. They were trying to tell him something, that he was sure of, but after years of having them, he was resigned to the fact that he’d never figure it out.

As he curled up in the cot in the on-call room to take a quick nap he thought of these dreams, hoping against hope that someday soon he’d understand what they meant.

As Richie boarded the plane at LAX at 5:00 am, he was so jittery that he could barely stand still. Most of it was from the four cups of coffee he’d already downed that morning in the Uber to the airport, but the rest was from nerves. He was nervous about the SNL audition, sure, but he was also nervous about something that he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Something that was in New York. Something he couldn’t remember. He shook his head quickly to rid the thought as he flashed the cute, young flight attendant a small smile, pushing his glasses up and turning to look down the long airplane cabin and find his seat.

He didn’t get much done on the flight, too distracted to think straight, his mind running a million miles an hour. Immediately after he sat down he pulled his laptop out of his backpack, searching for the hours of SNL footage he’d downloaded to watch on the way in hopes it would ease his nerves. He lost himself in the footage, even laughing out loud at some points. He’d lost track of time, but about halfway through the first episode he’d started, he felt a tap on his shoulder and pulled his bulky headphones off, knocking his glasses askew. Fixing them quickly, he looked up.

“Sir, we’re taking off. You have to put that away until the pilot gives us the go-ahead to get large electronics back out.”

Richie nodded and hastily shut his laptop, stuffing it in his bag and slouching down in his seat, looking out the window as the plane taxied the runway slowly. The take-off was excruciating, his seatmate asked him to stop bouncing his leg at least four times, having to speak up over the mechanical, monotonous roar of the engines. He apologized profusely each time, only to be asked again a few minutes later, not even having noticed that he’d started again. Once the electronics light above him lit up, he grabbed his laptop again and tried to relax, doing breathing exercises he’d learned from a school counselor while he was in college to try and ease his anxiety. It worked somewhat, and the five-hour flight raced by quickly. Once they’d landed, he rushed through the airport carelessly, almost mowing down a few toddlers on his way to the exit; airports always made him uneasy, too many people, he always felt overstimulated. As he made it to the arrivals area and found the driver he was told would be waiting for him, he broke into a near sprint, running up to the unexpecting man out of breath. “Hey,” he took a heaving breath and gestured in between the sign and himself, “That’s… That’s me. I’m Tozier.”

“Hello, Mr. Tozier. Pleasure to--”

“Just call me Richie. Please.”

The man nodded solemnly, “You got it, Richie. And is that the only bag you brought? I was told you’d have a suitca--”

“Oh, fuck!” Richie exclaimed in a hushed yell. “Be right back!” He took off, loping through the crowded baggage claim area, his backpack swinging behind him.

Richie managed to find the baggage carousel fairly quickly, and his bag was--by some fucking miracle--one of the first up. He grabbed it and rushed back to the driver, who was chuckling quietly to himself. He unzipped the suitcase to retrieve his winter coat--something he hadn’t needed in years since he’d moved to California. “You ready to go now?” The driver asked kindly after Richie had thrown the old, worn coat over his shoulders and zipped it up tight.

Richie nodded and extended the handle on his beat-up suitcase to wheel it behind him. The ride to the hotel Richie’s manager had booked for him took about an hour and a half. The hotel was in the middle of the city and traffic was, as always, an unbelievable nightmare. By the time they arrived there, it was just after noon, and Richie was starving. The car pulled up to the curb and waited as Richie paid and pulled his suitcase from the trunk. He shot the driver a two-fingered wave and turned around. Right into a shorter man, a man who looked to be around his age. He donned a set of blue scrubs shrouded by a thick parka that went down to his knees, his chestnut hair was tousled and frizzy under the hood, the guy looked exhausted. “Hey, can you fucking watch where you’re walking? Fucking touris--” His voice was cut off as he looked up to glare at Richie, and all of the breath left his lungs.  “Do-- Do I know you?” His eyes went soft as he let the hood fall off the back of his head, looking up at Richie, his gaze tracking quickly back and forth over his face.

“I don’t… uh. Maybe? You look kinda familiar…” Richie trailed off, pulling his suitcase in closer to his legs in order to avoid the looks of antipathy from passerby.

“Sorry, you just…” the guy shoved his gloved hands in his pockets nervously and took a deep breath, his exhale condensing in the air in front of his cheeks, flushed from the cold. “You look like someone I used to know… I think. I don’t know. Sorry, have a nice day,” he said as he quickly turned on his heel and hurried off down the street.

Well that was fucking weird, Richie thought to himself, I could have sworn I… He shook his head to clear the thought from it, he needed to focus. As he checked into the hotel, he couldn’t help but be slightly absent, his mind running circles, distressing over the audition, but also blindsided by the strange interaction on the street.

Eddie huffed as he replaced his hood on his head, tucking his chin into the jacket so that as much of his skin was shielded from the cold as possible. You’ve gotta fuckin’ stop with this, Eddie. The dreams… they don’t mean anything. He’s just a dude in glasses. Nobody. Focus. Forget about it. He sighed, quickly weaving through the slow walkers on the sidewalk and darting down into the subway tunnel, taking the stairs two at a time, grateful for a break from the incessant wind. When he got home and went to sleep, he had the same dream as always, but this time it was clearer than it had ever been.

The audition went fine, not as well as he’d hoped, but Richie wasn’t worried about it, he enjoyed his job in California; although Los Angeles did seem a bit lonely sometimes. He was glad to be heading back to Maine for the week to spend Christmas with his parents, who he hadn’t seen in over ten years, always too busy building his career to make it back home. This was the first year since he left for college that he was finally able to take a few days off and be home again. He thought about his childhood as he packed up his hotel room from his quick, three-day stay, pondered why he could remember hardly any details from that period of his life at all--not even the name of his best friend.  

He’d run around with a bunch of kids in those years, but there was just one. He knew there was always just one. The one that he wanted to spend all of his time with, the only one he still had any semblance of a memory of: band-aids, tears, cheeks flushed a darker red than Richie had ever seen in anyone--or had ever seen since. The one thing he remembered from his childhood, clear as a bell: the tinkling, warm laugh that echoed from his friend’s freckled, pink lips. The laugh he’d spent his entire childhood and adolescence doing anything and everything to elicit. The reason he still enjoyed making people laugh, why he’d made a career of it. He smiled to himself as he puttered around the room, his mind distracted by all manner of things, the man from the other day all but forgotten.

He gave one last look around to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything then rolled his suitcase out the door behind him. The drive to the airport was slower this time than it had been three days before; snow began to fall about halfway through the drive, covering the city in a layer of pristine, sparkling powder. Richie watched out the window as the car blazed past skyscraper after skyscraper, his breath fogging up the window.

By the time he got dropped off at the airport, the snow hadn’t stopped, in fact, it hadn’t slowed at all. It looked as though there was a large possibility of his flight being grounded for the night, although he’d been refreshing his email every five minutes for the entire duration of the car ride, checking for news from the airline as well as from SNL. No news yet, so he strolled on in and through security quickly. He grabbed his backpack and tennis shoes from the scanner after they came out and sat in a nearby chair to put them back on. As he was slipping his second shoe on, a body plopped down next to him to do the same, dropping a pair of suede ankle boots on the tile floor with a loud slap. Richie could overhear him talking with someone on the phone frantically and snuck a peek up at the man. He was pressing his iPhone between his shoulder and his ear tightly, rambling so quick Richie wasn’t sure how he could get a breath between the words.

“I know, Ma.”

“Yes, I checked, it looks like it’s still going out.”

“It’s really not that bad, I pr--”

“Well, the news always exaggerates, you know th--”

“Yes, I’ll tell the pilot to be careful. Sure.”

“Mhm-- Yeah. Bye, Mom.”

He sighed loudly as he hung up the phone, dropping it onto the seat next to him then bending over to put his shoes back on. He chuckled quietly, “Sorry if you overheard any of that…” he said as he fiddled with the hems of his jeans, folding them just so and tucking them back under the tongue of his shoes, tying them up with the thin laces. He smiled over at Richie, who was still bent over working on the same shoe he had been when the other man had sat down.

“Hey… you’re that dude from the other day, aren’t you?” Richie asked quietly.

The guy screwed up his face, sitting back up. Richie followed, and he watched as realization fell over his features. “Oh my god, yeah. I’m sorry about that, I was just off a twelve-hour shift and…” he blushed and tried to flatten the hair on the back of his head, just long enough to show a slight curl. “And I was tired. But I’m Eddie.”

“Richie. Pleased to meet you, Eddie. Where ya headed?”

Eddie stood up, beckoning Richie to follow. “Bangor. You?” He asked, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

“No shit? Same.”

“Oh that’s weird… I’d definitely peg you for a west coast type of guy.”

Richie laughed, warm, loud, “Ah, yeah. I’ve lived there for almost ten years. Born and raised in Maine though, baby,” he said, pushing his glasses up on his nose as his laughter yielded a snort.

“Don’t call me baby,” Eddie snapped. He’d always hated being called baby, although no one he’d ever dated had used the pet name; it stemmed from something else. It wasn’t his mother, as she favored more cushy pet names for him: Eddie-bear, muffin, sweetheart. Someone else had called him baby, had used it so many times. Why couldn’t he remember? The only thing he had left of the name were the feelings attached to it: the pain, the sorrow, the grief.

Richie put up his hands defensively, “Sorry ‘bout that, it’s a habit.” He checked his watch, there were still two hours until the flight was due to start boarding. “You on the same flight as me? The 4:45 one?” Eddie simply nodded in response, looking over at him with warm eyes. “Wanna get some food? I’m fucking starving.”

Eddie, in turn, checked his phone for the time and shrugged. “Sure, what did you have in mind?”

“Well I don’t know about you, but dat Chili’s 2go really hits the spot pre-flight, it’s an absolute delicacy.” Eddie laughed, a sound that made Richie’s head spin, made his heart ache. He beamed, “Letsa go!”

Eddie shot him a smirk, “You know Chili’s doesn’t serve Italian food, right?”

“It does if you order the spaghetti,” Richie quipped with a laugh.

After wandering around for ten minutes only to discover--to Richie’s utter dismay--that there was, in fact, no Chili’s 2go in their terminal, they settled for a little bar that wasn’t too busy, sitting down in a corner booth in the warm, dimly lit restaurant. When the waitress came over, Eddie immediately ordered “the biggest glass of red wine you guys are allowed to serve.” As she walked away, Richie’s eyebrows shot up at him, above his glasses and into the mess of his hair.

Eddie shrugged, “I fuckin’ hate flying. Plus, it’s an airport, everyone is allowed to drink here at any time of the day, right?”

Richie chuckled, “If I got drunk I’d spend the entirety of the flight trying to get you to let me blow you in the tiny airplane bathroom.”

Eddie’s mouth hung open in horror, “God, that’s fucking disgusting. Is everyone like this in California? Do you guys not have germs there?”

Richie winked, “Sorry.”

“So, anyway, what were you doing in New York?”

“Well, uh, actually… I was auditioning for SNL,” Richie said nonchalantly, looking down at his water glass and taking a small sip of it through the straw.

Eddie raised his eyebrows, his eyes twinkling in the soft light of the restaurant. “That’s cool, what the hell?”

Richie shrugged. “I do a lot of stand up in LA, my agent knows a guy who knows a guy.”

“That’s so fucking cool.”

Richie nodded, “It was terrifying though. Did you know they don’t laugh when you audition? Like at all. They’re not supposed to.”

“God, count me out. I can’t even make old people laugh. And they don’t have the internet, they don’t see any jokes.”

Richie smiled, “Maybe that’s ‘cause they’re just distracted by how cute you are.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Eddie replied, stifling a grin as his cheeks turned a dark, warm rouge. Richie’s heart nearly stopped beating at the sight.

They finished their meal with more expository conversation and slightly less dirty talk, although it was admittedly not much better. Eddie’s cheeks slightly flushed from the wine, Richie’s cheeks sore from smiling, they wandered to their gate quietly. “Well, we’ve still got like an hour…” Eddie yawned as he checked his boarding pass, looking around at the gate numbers ahead of them. “Ah! Over there,” he said, pointing to a sign that read 35, the area underneath already had some people milling around it.

They found a set of chairs that was as secluded as you can really get in an airport and they both sat down, depositing their bags and coats on the chairs on either side of them. After a few seconds, Eddie looked over and nudged Richie, who was rustling around in his backpack. “Will you. Uh. Would you watch my stuff if I nap for a little? I can’t sleep on planes, but I’m fucking exhausted.”

Richie nodded, zipping up his backpack after having retrieved a book from it. “Sure thing, sweet cheeks.”

Eddie rolled his eyes, “Don’t… call me…” he was interrupted by another yawn, this one bigger than the last. “Whatever.” He pulled his knees up in front of him in the chair and reached for his coat, covering himself in it completely; only his head poked out above the thick fur that lined the hood. “Wake me up before they start boarding, I’m in the first boarding group.”

“Damn, how’d you swing that?”

He looked up at Richie, his eyes already half-closed with sleep yet still somehow managing to shoot daggers, “Printed off my boarding pass in a timely manner.”

Richie raised his eyebrows, “Well alright, just call me out for poor time management.”

Eddie nestled further into his coat, closing his eyes completely, “Mhm. Night, Rich.”

Richie’s heart soared at the pet name, his stomach fluttering with warmth. He smiled to himself as he looked over at Eddie, already breathing evenly next to him.

After about forty-five minutes, Richie was abruptly pulled from his book by an announcement over the loudspeaker that their flight would be delayed by at least an hour. He folded down the corner of his page and set his book aside, turning to look at his still fast-asleep neighbor. His voice low, he placed a hand on Eddie’s shoulder softly.

“Hey. Eddie,” he whispered, pressing his fingertips lightly into Eddie’s arm.

Eddie stirred, but not enough to move or even open his eyes, “Mmm?” He grumbled, curling up under his coat even more than he already was.

Richie kept his voice at a whisper, “Flight’s delayed. Another hour.”

Eddie murmured some sleep sounds, balling his fists up in the fur of his coat and wrapping it around his sides. “Good. Hndhdon’t wanna,” he let out a long, deep exhale, “dohnwandjsee my mom ahneeway.”

Richie chuckled, “That’s okay, Eds.”

Eddie, almost fully back asleep now, leaned over the armrest separating them and rested his head on Richie’s shoulder, nestling his cheek into the soft material of Richie’s baseball tee.

“Dohncallmeethat,” he whispered on an exhale, and his next intake of breath was a sleep-gurgled almost-snore. It was Richie’s turn to blush, he stifled a smile as he recovered his book and opened it back up.

After another hour, Eddie began slowly to wake back up, his eyes fluttering and a yawn breaking his lips apart as he sat up, sloughing off the coat, now too hot under its insulation. He looked at Richie, his cheeks flushed slightly from the warmth and the sleep. “Uh. Sorry for… I didn’t realize… That I’d been sleeping on you… How long was I out?”

“Like two hours,” Richie replied, a grin on his face. “I bet they start boarding soon, the snow stopped a bit ago.”

Eddie attempted to keep another yawn at bay, “Thank god. My mom is gonna have a fucking conniption.”

“Yeah, you said something about her while you slept,” Richie said, looking down to make eye contact with Eddie.

His eyes flew open wide, panic on his face. “Fuck. What did I talk about? I have weird dreams a lot… Didn’t realize I talked during them. That’s.” He paused, running a hand through the hair that was kinked on one side from being pressed against Richie’s shoulder. “That’s great.”

“Oh, not much. You just said you didn’t wanna see her.”

Eddie looked relieved. “Oh. Well yeah, that’s not untrue. She’s… A lot.”

“Sounded like it. From what I overheard when you were talking to her on the phone earlier…” Richie trailed off, the PA system in their gate had turned on, a bored-sounding woman began to drone out their flight information.

“Boarding for flight XF56G to Bangor will start in the next twenty minutes, sorry for the delay.”

“Where’s your seat?” Richie asked, still looking at Eddie, now rifling through his coat pockets for his boarding pass.

“12G,” he replied, neatly refolding his boarding pass and tucking it into his pants pocket.

Richie hastily retrieved his, folded and nestled into the back of the book he’d been reading. “Dang it, I’m 23B.”

Eddie smiled snarkily, “What I get for being on time.”

Richie glowered over at him, “Whatever, a flight’s a flight. Sucks no matter what.”

Eddie shrugged, “I guess you’re right. Well, it’s been fun, thanks for not stealing my shit while I slept.”

“All I had to do was sit here and watch you look pretty,” Richie replied. “Wasn’t too hard of a task.”

“I swear to go--” Eddie started, but was interrupted by the call for boarding group A, of which he was a part. “Well, maybe we could, uh…” He cleared his throat as he stood up, folding his coat over his forearm neatly. “Maybe we could get drinks or something while we’re in town, I’m only about twenty-five minutes outside of Bangor… God knows I’ll need the alcohol.”

Richie smiled. “Me too, maybe we could meet in the middle. Now go, or you’re gonna forfeit your precious group A standing. Find you after the flight.”

Eddie nodded, turning around and hastily pushing past strollers and bags and masses of people to make his way to the desk, turning around to shoot Richie one last grin before he disappeared behind the door.

The flight was quick, not even two hours. Richie spent most of it reading and attempting to sleep, although neither was going very well at all. He was continually interrupted by snippets of memories, playing in his head like snapshots; popping up and disappearing like old, faded polaroids. Things from his childhood he’d since completely wiped from his mind; at first, it was his parents, yelling at him for breaking his glasses, praising him for his A averages, worrying at him for something that to him was still a cloudy and nameless entity in his head. A relationship, maybe, but he hadn’t dated anyone in high school. Hadn’t he?

Then came his friends; the treasure trove of memories that opened up the moment he began to recall them was immense, it was endless. Summers spent swimming at the quarry, the years when time had had no illusion of significance, no meaning at all. The group of them roving the entire town on their bikes as if they owned the damn place, building the clubhouse in the barrens, hiding out from their bullies there. He was abruptly ambushed by memories of those boys, the bullies who’d made his and his friends’ lives living hell until one by one they’d moved all out of Derry. These memories he’d packed so far away he wondered if he’d been paying the bills for the storage space these had taken up, they surely had not been in his head all this time.

He remembered his friends one by one, Bill first. Bill. He hadn’t had a name in years, hadn’t thought about his friends since he’d moved, every attempt had ended with him left more confused, with more details forgotten. God, had he adored Bill. The leader, the coolest one of all of them by leaps and bounds. Bill’s power over them had been unmatched, they had all loved him, stutter and all. He then remembered Beverly, cooler than Bill by all standards but their own for no discernible reason. He recalled her beauty, but more than that he recalled her biting wit, her fierce loyalty, her courage. He remembered the others too, nearly all at once. Stan, Mike, Ben, their faces came up in his mind as if he was looking at photos, as if he was watching the greatest hits of his life. They came crashing into the forefront of his mind like a shattered stained-glass window being reassembled in front of his eyes.

Just as the plane began its final descent, more memories came to the surface, ripping through the others almost violently, overtaking all of his other thoughts like brushfire and flooding his mind with nothing but Eddie Eddie Eddie. Cute cute cute. How he could have forgotten him he had not the slightest notion, but those years with Eddie came rushing back, and suddenly it was all he could do not to pass out. They came over him in a deluge, swarming in his head like bees and making him light-headed. Little Eddie Kaspbrak, little in stature but never in character. His friend with the asthma that had turned out to be nothing but a bad case of worrying. His friend who had carefully and meticulously cleaned up and bandaged his knee that one day he’d fallen from the back of Bill’s bike, the only one of them able to stay calm and level-headed through all of the blood, all of the pain. His friend with the too short shorts and the too big t-shirts. His best friend. The love of his life.

Richie felt the plane land, hard and fast, felt his seat underneath his legs jostle him around as they made a bouncy impact with the ground, the movement slowing down as they taxied to the gate. He was pulled from the cavern of his thoughts, he looked up and around the plane, searching for that warm brown head of hair he’d just spent so many years without. It had been ten years, but the next five minutes were due to be the longest of his life. The moment the plane stopped moving, Richie unbuckled and jumped up, joined by some of the other overeager passengers. And Eddie. Richie caught sight of the button nose as the man turned his head, his eyes desperately searching the overcrowded cabin for the boy he’d been in love with since before he even knew what love was. The smile that was on Eddie’s face, his eyes brimming with tears, communicated exactly what they were both feeling. The rush of emotions, the inability to wait five minutes even though they’d waited years already. Richie just stared back, unaware of what his face looked like, although he supposed he probably looked like a damn slack-jawed idiot.

They held eye contact until Eddie’s seatmate exited the aisle and followed the line of passengers off the plane. Eddie tore his eyes away and reluctantly followed, flashing an uneasy, impatient smile before he moved. Richie waited patiently--as patiently as he could, although patience had never been his strong suit. When it was finally his turn, Richie moved anxiously off the plane, following the mass of people in front of him who apparently felt that it was okay to walk as slow as physically possible. On the jet bridge, he began to bob and weave through bodies, trying not to push anyone but nearly mowing down a few old ladies, hobbling at an astoundingly low speed through the wide tunnel. The moment he stepped off, his eyes found Eddie, who was waiting patiently for him, bag and coat in hand. Eddie smiled as Richie approached, dropping his belongings on the floor to reach out to him. Their bodies collided solidly, Richie also cast his bag away, their things in a messy heap on the dirty airport floor.

Richie looked down, looked closer this time than he had before. “Eds.” He fixed his glasses on his face, as if unsure whether or not his eyes were betraying him. “Eddie.”

Eddie nodded, tears welling in his eyes. “Richie,” he whispered.

Richie reached his free hand to cup Eddie’s cheek, letting his thumb swipe softly back and forth across his high cheekbone, still as littered with freckles as it had been when they were fourteen. Richie could feel his eyes wetting as well and blinked a few times, refusing to tear his eyes away from Eddie’s, they were still the same warm, hazel brown with flecks of gray. Richie could feel Eddie staring back up at him, boring holes into his own crystal blue eyes, cast into an almost clear aqua by the brilliant afternoon sunlight reflecting off the snow outside, magnified by the thick lenses that sat in front of them. As they looked at each other for the first time in over ten years--really looked at each other--Richie could feel every single memory of them crashing over him like a tidal wave, crushing him and building him back up again, and he could see the hurricane raging on behind Eddie’s eyes as well. He remembered the long glances, the soft touches, the warm, summer sun reflecting off the water, shining on their wet hair and their wet arms, coaxing freckles out of hiding. The bitter winters, those memories still dominated by warmth, the campfires, the backseat of Richie’s truck with the heater all the way up, the two of them wrapped up under blankets in the same bed. The hot breaths and lingering touches, tingling, warm skin covered with goosebumps. The warmth coming to a crescendo, a blaze that had destroyed everything in its path, igniting their lives and incinerating everything within reach. The fight that had ended it all, and the cold that it had left behind. Replaced again with only longing glances out the back of car windows, driving opposite directions across the country.

Richie watched as Eddie lost his battle with the tears in his eyes, letting a sob escape his chest, beaming up at Richie as the tears began to fell. “It’s been… God, it’s been so long, Rich. So fucking long. And how did we-- how did we not...”

“I don’t know… It doesn’t matter though. Because we’re here. And we remember. And… I never told you when we were younger because I was seventeen and a fucking idiot. But I love you, Eddie. I have since the moment I met you, and… I don’t think I stopped, even while I couldn’t remember you.”

Eddie smiled, laughing through the tears. “I love you too.” Just then, Eddie’s phone began to ring in his pocket, vibrating between them. He pulled it out hastily, sighing at the screen and pressing it up to his ear. “Mom. I just landed, calm down. I’ll be there soon.”

“Yes, I--”

“No, it’s fine, I can--”

Richie chuckled softly to himself as he watched Eddie’s brow furrow, and he reached in his pocket to retrieve his own phone. He read through the few texts he’d missed, deciding to deal with them at a later time. He took a deep breath as he opened his email, refreshing it slowly, ready to see nothing. When it finally loaded, there were two messages. Both from his manager. With shaking fingers, he opened the first one. His eyes pored over the screen, barely reading the words, attempting to absorb the contents of the entire paragraph at once. He scrolled to the bottom quickly, not really retaining any of the text at the top. When he got to the last line, it said this: “I know you’ll have scrolled through this whole thing and not read any of it. So, here’s the deal…”

He looked up at Eddie, who’d just hung up his phone in frustration. Eddie’s eyes went soft when he caught sight of Richie’s face. “What’s up?”

“I did it, Eddie,” he said, exhaling a short, relieved laugh. “I got the job.”

[shewhowantsmouseears]

The Little Peach, Chapter 11

Notes: As always, big thanks to my amazing editor, Drucilla!

Used an old storybit in here, I used to be so much funnier.

Summary: Pete and Panchito put a plan into action to help Mickey achieve his dreams, with Mickey himself finding some extra dreams along the way.

Precisely one day after Pete invited Panchito into his unique plan, Marsupilami was more than tempted to ditch his “newfound resolve”, but an equal balance of guilt-slinging and threats from Maurice convinced him otherwise. He was placed on “patrol” - walking all around the capitol to make sure everything was peaceful and taking out any danger. But in a city that was continuously peaceful, it really felt more like he was just stretching his legs. It would have been easy to merely walk and do nothing, as Marsupilami and Maurice had done most of their lives – grabbing what they could to eat, sleeping wherever a flat surface could be found, and moving on, moving on, moving on – but they were here to repay a debt to Mickey. That meant making an effort, although to what end Marsupilami wasn't sure.

Opportunity came accidentally knocking when he bumped shoulders with a passing villager, who politely excused himself, and then almost jumped out of his socks to see the lumbering Maurice at his side. “Don't mind him,” Marsupilami tried to calm the startled villager. “He looks like a mook, but he's more of a kook. We're the newest guards, sent from the royal palace!”

“Oh, so you are,” said the young man, a dark-haired horse who tried to awkwardly laugh to make up for his fright. “With that armor, what else could you be? We just don't see types like your friend around these parts...save for Pete, that is.”

How easy would it have been to say “Okay, goodbye” and resume laziness? Marsupilami wanted nothing more than to follow that instinct, but he surprised himself by staying put. “Actually,” he began,  fingers fumbling as he tried to articulate something that had been bugging him for sometime. “You mind if I ask you about the great Sir Pete?”

“Not at all, go ahead.” The man replied, sticking his hands in his pockets, lightly chewing on a long piece of straw. “Name's Horace. I've been here all my life, I can tell you anything about anyone. I make it my business to stick my long face into everyone else's business. What do you want to know?”

“When we first started this gig, we heard he got accepted right after defeating a bunch of Oni at the front gate of the capital. Did anyone else besides Jose and Goofy see what happened?”

“Nope, it was just them two. But he was let in right after – oh, the whole capital was hootin' and hollerin' like it was New Year's Eve! He walked on in all mysterious like, covered in head-to-toe with a big ol' robe, you couldn't even see his face or his head! According to the guards, he beat back the Oni with his bare hands! Can you believe it, one ordinary man against five super-strong Oni?”

Oh, it sounded unbelievable all right. “Huh... and Pete's been on the job since? Is that why he came here in the first place?”

“Yes siree, it was like he was sent from the gods above! He said he came here to guard the Princess and the Lucky Hammer, and he wouldn't take no for an answer! Not that her highness was gunna tell someone like him no. He's been a loyal man to her ever since! Why, no one's ever seen him take off his armor! Not even when he sleeps!”

Marsupilami scratched his head, nudging his helmet a little – the darn thing was rather uncomfortable, so he couldn't imagine sleeping with it on. Maybe Pete's had gotten stuck that way, but given how much Pete loved to complain about this and that, surely they would've heard about it already. “What a guy...I'll let you go after one more question. Where is he from, anyhow?”

At that, Horace paused, searching his mind for anything he might've missed, and came up empty. “Huh...well. Here I am bragging about knowing everything about anyone, and I got nothin' for you. Pete's never talked about his past, not once. Anytime someone's asked, he's always got the same answer – 'mind your own business'. After a while people just decided to be grateful he was around and quit askin'. I'm sure he'll tell us all when he's good and ready.” He offered another shrug. “I got my own question now... why are you so curious about Sir Pete?”

The lie came without much thought. “Why, he's a great man I admire with all my heart, and I hope to be like him someday!” Funny how doing something that would help someone required great effort, but telling a falsehood was as easy as taking a nap. Motivation was still a new concept to Marsupilami, but he decided it wasn't as scary as he first thought. “If you'll excuse us, we should return to duty.” He and Maurice bowed politely, and walked on. Maurice cocked his head at his partner, clearly curious about the entire exchange.

“Something's not adding up,” Marsupilami answered, tapping his chin with both his finger and his tail. “If we want to help out Mickey, we need to figure out who we can really trust here, and if you ask me, Pete's not one of 'em. I got my hunches...maybe we're not cut out to be guards, but what's say you and me become detectives for a little while?” It would require more work – how dreadful! - but knowing it would help out the man who saved himself and Maurice made it bearable. Was this what it felt like, doing a hard day's work? How... new! And exciting! Maurice appeared to agree, given his grin and enthusiastic double thumbs up.

“I didn't expect any less from you, big guy. Next on our route... No one's seen any Oni around these parts for some time, but I need to learn all I can about them. And I might have an idea...but until we come across real clues, we don't tell Mickey, right?” Maurice nodded, miming a zipper motion across his mouth. “Good. Little guy's got enough on his plate already. We'll let him know what we know when we actually know something, y'know?” With the silent agreement in place, Marsupilami and Maurice headed further into the village, with an extra kick in their step. Maybe if this actually worked out for Mickey, they could give the whole “effort” thing a permanent part of their lives!

“C'mon, Maurice! The best ones to know Oni are the ones who used to fight 'em...we gotta find some retired samurai!”

~*~

As day was beginning to wear itself out and night was starting to welcome itself in, Mickey headed to the shared bedroom, ready to once again make a pretend effort to fall asleep before starting his search for the Lucky Hammer. He still hadn't found any clues, but ever since that late night chat with the Princess, it wasn't as depressing a thought as it was before – mostly because Minnie kept taking up his thoughts as if she owned the place. He often wondered what she was doing, if she was feeling better about her identity, and if he could get away with another secret talk with her. Since finding the Lucky Hammer could take years, maybe there could be years of talking with her as well. What a lovely thought.

But as soon as he entered the room, he found himself leaving it – via Pluto picking him up by the collar of his shirt. “H-Hey! Pluto! What are you doing?!”

Pluto walked out of the room and headed down the hallway, ignoring Mickey's flailing and protests.  He only stopped when he spotted Pete, siting down on his hindquarters. “Good job, mutt!” Pete clapped laughed loudly before opening his hands up to take Mickey. “We needed you right away, kiddo!”

Mickey tried to wipe off the hints of dog slobber on his sleeves. “This had better be important!” he then stopped, and looked up. “Wait... Sir Pete? What're you doing here? Am I in trouble?”

“Trouble? Why would you think you were in any kind of trouble?”

How could Mickey reply without possibly getting into further trouble? “Well, sir, whenever you talk to me, it's either to give me an order, or yell at me, or yell orders at me.”

“That was then, and this is now, and now is a time for a golden opportunity!” Pete rushed through Mickey's words, trying to cut him off at the pass. “I've been watching you, boy, and your story really speaks to me! Why, when I realized you wanted the Lucky Hammer to be a normal size...” He sniffled, wiping away a tear that wasn't there. “It just about broke my heart!”

“You...didn't realize that was my goal the first time we met?” This was going to be an odd night all around, Mickey could tell.

Pete paused, and then cleared his throat. “Sometimes the heart takes a while to hear things before the ears do. Listen, the important thing is, I'm going to help you get the Lucky Hammer.”

Mickey wanted to be happy about this cooperation, he really did, but... “I appreciate that, sir, I truly do! But you don't know where it is either, right? And the only one Minnie – I mean, the Princess can talk to about the location is her husband. You were there when Goofy told us!”

“Don't go tellin' me things I already know!” Pete roared so loudly he nearly knocked Mickey out of his hands – he then stopped, and then cleared his throat again, this time straightening his back as much as his shapely body would allow. “I, uh, don't like dwellin' on the past, is all. What we need to focus on is your future! If you do what I say, then I can guarantee the Lucky Hammer will be yours.” In fact, Mickey's casual admittance of the Princess' name had sealed the deal for him.

Mickey tapped his foot, thinking this over. “Hmmm...well, gee...I guess I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.” Even if the horse had bad breath. Besides, it had to be better than sneaking around and trying to steal it – almost any plan had to be better than that! So without giving it any further thought, he allowed himself to be both hopeful and confident. “Okay, Sir Pete, I'm in! How do we start off?”

“I got our pal Panchito gettin' part one of the plan into action as we speak.” Pete replied as he began to walk with Mickey and Pluto tagging along. “Part two is all on you. You just need to go into the gardens, and follow your instincts.”

Mickey blinked, amazed at how quickly things had become confusing. “Huh? What am I supposed to do?”

“If I told you, they wouldn't be instincts, you dummy!” Pete snapped, fingers clutching in a visible effort not to squeeze Mickey like a stress toy. “Just...do what I say, and we'll all be happy! Now stay out in the gardens and don't come back until you get the answers!”

Mickey didn't bother to ask any more questions, mostly because he didn't want Pete to change his mind and swat him like a fly. Maybe if he tried thinking about this more positively. Sir Pete was older than him, therefore wiser, therefore he must know what he was doing. “If you say so...” He wondered what Panchito was doing, and tried to be confident about that as well – Mickey wasn't entirely sure about Pete's intentions, but he fully believed that Panchito was there to help Mickey out, so if Panchito was willing to work with Pete, all was well! What sort of brilliant plan had they come up with?

~*~

Once Panchito had been told about the plan, he jumped in with both feet, excited about the idea and having his own spin on it. Pete had merely nodded along in an effort to make it go faster, and now Panchito was hiding around the corner to the bedroom of the Princess, ready to put everything into action. He waited until he was sure Clarabelle had left, then began to inch towards the doorway. The plan would work, and Mickey would get the Lucky Hammer, and then Jose would be so impressed by Panchito's part of the plan he'd be completely devoted to being Panchito's sensei!

That part was... a little cloudy on Panchito's end, since he wasn't sure how it would impress Jose at all, but Pete had insisted it would. When Panchito questioned it, he got the same response as Mickey did – to just shut up and do as he was told. Okay then!

At the door, Panchito cleared his throat and then knocked shove-and-a-haircut, two bits. “Your Royal Highness, pardon the intrusion!”

Through the paper door he could make the faint shadow of Minnie lifting her head quizzically, before shuffling over to the door and opening it, blinking slowly before turning into the rigid, cold Princess she was supposed to be. “Sir Panchito. What has happened? Is it an emergency?”

“Not a matter of life and death, no, but a matter of heart and mind!” Panchito struck a fist to his chest. “Mickey wishes to speak to you in private!”

“Mickey wants to speak to me in private?” Minnie had repeated the request, confused, accidentally slipping back into her casual speech. “What do you mean? He can talk to me anytime he wants. He's a dear friend – that is, you all are.” She was quick to catch herself, and then tried to straighten out her entire body, trying to look as authoritative as possible – as much as one could when wearing adorable diminutive nightwear. It was even pink and frilly. “No, no, good lady, this is a very private talk he wants to have.” Panchito lowered his voice to a whisper, hoping to make her understand quickly before he was caught. “Mickey has some special things he wishes to tell you.” He wiggled his eyebrows, emphasizing each word by pressing his fingers together. She'd yet to wash off the layers of make-up on her face, yet it was easy to tell the difference between the blush that was from powder, and the blush that came naturally. Minnie reddened and reddened more with every passing second. “Oh, my.” She finally said, eyes cast down demurely. “W-well...I suppose it would be rude to deny him such a request.” It was almost hard to hear her faint mumble, the cold front abandoned entirely. All of a sudden it didn't seem that important. “Very good!” Panchito clapped his hands together. “He'll be waiting for you in the gardens! Don't keep him waiting!” Although he doubted she would, judging by that shy yet eager smile on her dainty lips. With part one completed, Panchito suddenly raced off to complete his next step.

~*~

And so Mickey went to the gardens, although he wondered why Pete had said “follow your instincts” as if he was going to run away at the last minute. He did his best to dismiss all his worries, and walked into the tall grass. Mickey wasn't sure where exactly he was supposed to meet Minnie, as the simple garden for her was an entire landscape for him, but as he walked deeper in he found a familiar clearing – the same spot where he first met Princess Minnie. But now it was covered in a thick, silk blanket, a golden candle-holder in the middle holding up two flickering red candles. Petals of various colors had been strewn about. Mickey was immediately suspicious. “Oh my goodness. Did you do all this?” came the sweet voice of the princess, who was now walking into sight. Instead of washing off her make-up and undoing her hair as she was supposed to before going to bed, she'd added on even more touches to her face and her hair was tied up in even more elegant curls. It was as if instead of donning the look a princess should have, she'd gone the extra mile to make sure she was looking as beautiful as she could make herself. She'd made an effort – which made Mickey's heart jump into his throat, until he realized what it was she'd asked. “Uh,” Mickey struggled in his throat, looking around. “I guess? In a way?” This had to be Panchito's doing, but what the rooster was doing, Mickey couldn't guess. “It's lovely,” Minnie smiled, sitting down on her knees and smoothing down her flowing robes, this one white with a pattern of red roses stitched on, creating the illusion that the petals were fluttering with every move she made. “I hope you didn't go to too much trouble.” “It wasn't any trouble at all.” Literally. What was he getting into? “That's, uh, that's a nice kimono you got on. Ain't seen it before.” “It's for special occasions,” Minnie replied, her eyes timidly turning away for a moment, hiding her lips behind her sleeve. Mickey's mind reeled - special occasion? Why was this a special occasion? Weren't they just there to talk? “I...I was told you have some special things you wanted to tell me.” “Uhhh...?” Mickey stretched the word out as long as he could, trying to decipher whatever was being presented to him. As his eyes bounced all over, he noticed a rustling in a nearby cherry blossom tree. At first, worry seized his body, and he made a motion to grab the needle of a sword on his belt – was it one of the Oni King's minions? Nope – it was Panchito, who now hung upside down from one the branches, holding up a long piece of paper with hastily written words. Say “You're so beautiful!” Mickey blinked rapidly in honest confusion. “You're...so beautiful?” He said out loud, and it took him half a second to realize what he'd actually said and who he'd actually said it to. Minnie giggled, oblivious to what was happening in the tree or the panic flowing through Mickey's head. “You're always so sweet, Mickey. I've had so many people give me compliments, but it's... just different coming from you. Like you see me as Minnie, and not just the princess.” “Oh. Well. Um.” Mickey fumbled, trying not to watch Panchito write something else on a new layer of paper. “I think we'd be friends even if you weren't the princess. You've always been real nice to me.” Okay, so they were complimenting each other. It was nice, but how was this going to get the Lucky Hammer? Minnie wasn't going to reveal its location over idle flattery. … Right? “I feel the same way!” Minnie chirped, her enthusiasm growing while she lost some of her proper royal demeanor. “Size, titles, none of it matters. The friendship we have is so much stronger than that. You always know how to cheer me up, and make me feel like a real person.” Did he really have such an influence over her? Mickey momentarily pushed aside the thoughts of the hammer, more than happy to indulge in this time of sweetness. “I only give as good as I get, Minnie! You make me feel ten feet tall! Everyone else always takes pity on me or tries to do things they think I can't do. But you let me try stuff. You let me...” Panchito was finished writing. “Um... You let me...” Minnie waited patiently for him to finish the sentence, but Panchito had gone on a different tangent. Say “I want to be with you!” Be with her? But he was with her already, they were right there, talking and - And then the entire idea of the plan hit Mickey with the force of an exploding mountain. THIS was the plan to get the hammer?! He was supposed to – supposed to – seduce the princess?! Was Panchito out of his mind?! “Mickey?” Minnie asked gently, lowering her head slightly to get a better look at her companion. “Is everything all right?” The revelation of Panchito's plan had caused Mickey's entire face to go as red as the roses on Minnie's kimono, and his tiny body trembled with great force. “No!” Mickey shouted, intending to tell Panchito before correcting himself. “I mean, yes! I mean, that is, uh, I, um...” He wanted to make plans to kill the rooster in his sleep, but this matter had to be resolved first. “I don't know what I was thinking.” He struggled to make his voice stern, hoping that he'd make himself clear to Panchito, who was now pointing at the same words over and over in an attempt to make Mickey say them. “I must have been thinking something crazy. I must have hit my head. I was thinking about things that would never, ever happen in a million years.” He finished with a curt glare to Panchito. The rooster stuck his tongue out. Minnie's body sunk with every negative thought, oblivious to the plan being made and defied all around her. Had Mickey been paying better attention, he might have picked up that Minnie thought of him just as fondly as he thought of her – perhaps even more. It was why Panchito had been so confident of the entire idea in the first place – he'd noticed the wistful gazes Minnie had whenever she looked upon Mickey, the sheer delight in her voice whenever she spoke of him, and the daily excuses she thought up so she could spend more time at his side. Clearly Pete had noticed it too, since he'd help come up with this scheme. But being a princess, and a lady, it was only appropriate for the man to make the first move, so to speak. Which wasn't all that helpful when the man in question had a mixture of self-loathing and obliviousness. So in this moment when Minnie believed Mickey was giving up on telling her how he truly felt about her – which was what she had desperately hoped was the special thing he wanted to say – her heart felt as it'd begun to rip in two. Yet one of the things that had won Mickey over was that she didn't take things lying down. She did want to find out who she was, the real her, so she pushed away the thoughts of being a Princess and indulged in the thoughts of being Minnie. “I want to hear it!” “Huh?” Mickey had been so caught up in telling Panchito off he'd forgotten Minnie was even part of this. “Hear what?” “I want to hear what you were thinking.” Minnie placed her palms on the ground, lowering her head as much as her body was able. “I promise you, I'll listen to everything you have to say. You can trust me! Can't you?” “O-Of course I can trust you!” Mickey stuttered, but to his relief Panchito appeared to have given up on that one train of thought, as he'd tossed the paper aside and was writing something else. “Minnie, I'd trust you with anythin'! But, well, there's just...somethin' weird goin' on, and...” Panchito was finished. Maybe, Mickey prayed, this was something far more reasonable. Say “I love you!” Panchito was a dead man. “...and some people have rocks for brains.” “Mickey, please don't say that about yourself!” Minnie cupped her hands, which was the usual signal that meant Mickey was allowed to walk onto them. “I wasn't.” Mickey muttered under his breath, seeing Panchito now writing something else. “You're not dumb at all!” Minnie insisted, lifting Mickey up so they were closer together. “You've always been very clever! You always find your own way to fix things! I'd say you're smarter than every man in Japan put together!” Mickey would have been immensely flattered by such words, but Panchito kept distracting him. Now the rooster was flinging several papers in a row, each suggestion worse than the last. Mickey could only hope his eyes were getting the message across. Say “I wish I could take you into my arms!” No! Say “I wish I could kiss your lips!” NO! Say “I wish I could be at your side forever!” PANCHITO PISTOLES FOR THE LOVE OF -  “I wish you could be at my side forever.” “I AIN'T SAYIN' – what?” Hold on a second, that last one had been said out loud. Mickey abruptly paused, looking back at Minnie's face. His ears were big for his body, little for anyone else's, but they worked very well. He was certain she'd said something. “You...you can stay here forever, with me,” Minnie was saying, her voice now as soft as the evening wind, one of the ribbons coming undone in her hair.  She wished she could hide as she said this, but if Mickey wasn't going to make any moves, then it was up to her, no matter how embarrassing it got. “I know your size makes you so unhappy...but I'll do all in my power, every single day, to make you happy. I'll make up for all the happiness you ever deserved in life, and for the rest of our lives. If you'd allow me...I want to take care of you.” She closed her eyes, as if worn out by expressing her deepest desires. Mickey was tempted to pinch his arm to see if this was a dream, but he convinced himself that if this was a dream, Panchito wouldn't have been it, especially not obnoxiously giving two thumbs up. Mickey's heart pounded in his chest, a hard drumming that he would've believed the entire kingdom could hear. There was no way Panchito's ridiculous idea had worked – so, somehow, someway, he must have stolen her heart before this night happened. How he did it, Mickey couldn't fathom or guess. Around Minnie he was simply Mickey – nothing more and nothing less. And to be honest, he hadn't a clue about his future. He had refused to go home until he was of normal size, and if he wouldn't ever be normal sized, then where was he to go until the end of his days? A lump formed in Mickey's throat. He missed his parents deeply – but he also cared for Minnie deeply. The offer was more than tempting. He couldn't possibly give her what she deserved, yet she didn't care. It was a strange sort of happy mindboggling. If he had nothing to lose anymore, then, well, why not? “I like you,” Mickey blurted out, and regretted it only because of how childish it sounded. One didn't answer a potential confession with “like”. It was just the first words that popped into his head and had the power to leave his mouth. “I like you a lot.” As if that was any better! Then again, it wasn't as if he'd ever practiced or rehearsed for such a moment, since said moment had always bordered on the impossible in his mind. “You don't really...have to worry about all that happiness stuff. I'm happy enough when we're...together, y'know? Just being around you makes everything all better. So, you just be you, and I'll just be me. Like we've always done.” It wasn't a wholly definitive answer, but they were both still young, and Minnie accepted he would need time to think it over. For now, she was greatly pleased by what she had heard. She lifted her hands up and kissed Mickey atop his head – it couldn't be said if her lips had knocked him over, or if Mickey was so struck with lovesick stupor that he fell onto his back. Either way, Minnie giggled, and Panchito believed his plan to be a surefire success. Wanting to give the young ones some peace and quiet, he swung from tree to tree like a monkey until he hit a window, wanting to find Pete and tell him the good news.

It was because of this he missed the other good news.

“You know...” Minnie said slowly, coming to a decision that was weighing less heavily on her with every passing second. “My father said I could only give the location of the Lucky Hammer to my husband.”

“A-huh.” Mickey wasn't paying that much attention, still gobsmacked in all the best ways over what just happened.

“So, in a way... you might be my husband some day!”

“A-huh.” His brain still wasn't firing off any synapses.

“Which means I could tell you where the Lucky Hammer is, and then if we ever get married, you can use it all you like!”

The usual “third time is the charm” gag didn't work this time, as Mickey popped back into reality with those words, sitting up so fast his tail smacked his back. “What?! Really?! You can tell me?”

“Being a good Princess means finding a solution when all hope is lost,” Minnie replied, smiling with a hint of pride. “And I know you won't tell anyone else. So as far as I'm concerned, it's as if I've never said it at all.” Satisfied with this loophole, she glanced around to make sure they were alone, and then leaned in to whisper into Mickey's big-little ear.

Mickey leaned in as best he could – for a good moment he thought she might kiss him again, and that thought nearly blocked out what she was actually saying – and when he heard the secret, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “There? It's hidden there? Why would...” But even as he said it, he knew the answer. No one would dare enter that place, or at the very least not without the Princess being there. It was perfect, and Mickey knew in that moment he'd never get near the Lucky Hammer – while he'd been worried about his morals dying a pitiful death, there was enough conviction left in him to know that was absolutely forbidden place. Why, it was safer than a vault with locks – this location was safeguarded by morals and decency!

“Well...it's a good spot.” Mickey concluded, and while he was disappointed that the Lucky Hammer was once again so close and yet so far, he was also relieved he'd no longer have to sneak around like some petty thief. Now he could live out his days and wait until...

…Suddenly he realized what he'd just agreed to.

“Once the Oni King is defeated,” Minnie continued, oblivious to Mickey's mind utterly collapsing, “I'm sure we'll both be ready to give marriage real thought! Won't that be nice? And by then, I'll be the sort of person that can be both a Princess, and myself. I'm sure of it.”

Mickey looked away, his cheeks apple red, but he found he didn't have the words to deny her – perhaps because a part of him didn't want to. “R-Right, of course. Might take a while... but, uh, I'm willin' to wait. We should probably get to know one another better and all that.” Perhaps when he next saw his father, not only would he be average-sized, but a husband, and the Princess' husband! Wouldn't that make him Emperor someday? If that didn't make his father proud, nothing would! Sure, it would be a lot of responsibility, but maybe defeating the Oni King would take years and years. By then, Mickey would know what it was like to be a good ruler – what a leap, to be a samurai without a master to co-ruler of all Japan! He began to smile without thinking about it.

“I can only imagine liking you more, the more I get to know you.” Minnie nodded with her own charming smile to match. “Like how I know you won't tell a soul what I told you. It'll be our secret, okay?”

Mickey placed a hand on his chest and bowed deeply. “Of course, Minnie. I promise, as your faithful guard and as a member of the Duck clan, I will never tell anyone where the Lucky Hammer is.” A promise made by a samurai – the second, he remembered, the first being the one he made to his father. He'd keep them both, and at long last, the guilt and worry he'd been carrying on his shoulders began to fall away. All was well, and he was truly happy.

The peach-sized man and the not-so-cold Princess talked for a long time in the gardens, honestly believing all their troubles were now far away and could be easily dealt with.

They were wrong, of course, but how were they to know?

[rkwendy]

Five Times Around The Sun: A Rookies Fifth Anniversary Special

Dear Rookies,

First of all, I’d like to wish the roleplay a happy fifth birthday! I’m aware that not many roleplays live to make it this far. For you guys to make it, I’ll bet it’s some sort of achievement. And it’s all because of the work both the mods and the members of the community put into this. Let’s give ourselves a round of applause!

I warn you that this is more than 5,500 words long. So yeah. You are free to just skip over this if you wish!

There’s so much I want to say, but I’ve never been great at expressing my feelings. (Fun fact: my mom and I start laughing whenever one of us starts getting cheesy or emotional.) I never even properly celebrated either muse’s anniversaries despite them being in Rookies for more than two years! Forgive me if this gets too long. I promise I’ll do my best to keep this concise (Wow, big word!)

With this knowledge, please bear with me as I struggle to convey all that I want to say without cringing at myself.

I guess it’s safest to start sharing the story of why I opted to join Rookies in the first place. Like majority of what happened to me in terms of KRP, it was a complete accident. I have been in KRP since 2011 (if any of you have heard of ADiS, then… yeah… shifty eyes). I kind of stopped roleplaying because a job with a newspaper was difficult af. (I only went home to shower and eat. I was lucky to be able to sleep, lbr here) Anyway, I needed something to do once I resigned from my old job, and my friends got me back into KRP via a Kingsman-themed one, since they wanted someone to RP Infinite with them. I think some of you know which one it is. /cackles/

MOVING ON. This same friend also planned to join the Rookies and wanted a ship for their muse. We both ended up doing applications, but I was the only one who was able to submit because my friend ended up getting a job. Thus, my friend was never able to join the RP and I got accepted.

A little history time! Please bear with me, this is going to be irrelevant to you but I feel like I need to talk about this. Fun fact I probably never told anyone! Wendy was originally meant to be a Krystal muse. However, I had to make a few adjustments because there was either a Krystal reserve or there was a Krystal muse in the RP. I can’t remember which one it was. The muse was loosely inspired by Berry Good’s Johyun and NCT Dream’s Jaemin, who both used to be competitive speed skaters before they became idols. I changed the sport to figure skating because that is the sport I know best. Wendy was also based on several friends of mine, who were all a bunch of somewhat pretty overachievers. (Going to one of the top universities in the country enables you to meet these people, more on that when I talk about Johnny later on.)

I’m not going to lie, this was the first time I was in a directory that was this HUGE. (Not even ADiS was this huge. Min, please correct me if I’m wrong.) It was easy for me to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of people in the directory, along with concerns that my muse was just going to drown among the many way more interesting muses than what I had to offer.

It would have been easier for me to quit, since the reason I joined was gone. However, Jen ( @yujurk ) turned out to be one of my friends from my Indie RP days! Not going to lie, if it wasn’t for Jen, I doubt I’d have stayed in the roleplay at all. Jen helped ease me into the roleplay in all ways imaginable: by plotting with me, introducing me to muns from the same timezone, and answering any questions in case our good mods weren’t online.

As I was navigating and slowly finding my place in the RP, the third season of the MGAs happened! Not going to lie, I wasn’t sure I was ready for Wendy to be signed, but I thought I might as well do it for the lulz. I know I said this a lot, but the MGAs were probably the among the wildest things I ever put a muse through that I swore that I was never putting another muse through it. Despite that, I’m glad I put Wendy through the experience. It taught her a lot about herself, as well as how far she was willing to push in order to achieve her dreams. At this point, I would like to give a shout-out to Team Nova! Wendy and I can’t imagine having any other teammates besides Jungwoo ( @jungwooxrk ), and the former Luhan ( who is still around as @rksoojung and is still one of Wendy’s loves ), Mijoo, and Soyou (RIP muses). Of course, Wendy owes Ricky ( @rkrxcky ) a lot for leading her to where she is today. Thanks you guys.

After the MGAs, Wendy signed with Nova. I’d like to thank everyone in the Nova family, both past and present, for putting up with this tiny girl who claims to be their future CEO. After two years with the company, Wendy has become (hopefully) an even better vocalist and composer. Sure, her dancing and charisma can use more work — scratch that, a lot more work — but we will get her to a level that’s passable. After all, if she intends to inherit the company someday, she has to do well in the department Nova is known for. I never thought Wendy would last this long as a trainee, but here we are. She could have easily left during Royal Survival, but she didn’t. OOC, the event happened when I was taking TOPIK so RIP. IC, the reason was because she believes in whatever plans Nova has for her (if there are any LMAO). Although she’s having second thoughts now, she’s still determined to see it through. She intends to inherit the company from Hyun Bin, so she has to stay. LOL.

To Minju ( @jinkyungxrk ), thank you for being one of the first to welcome Wendy to the company and making it easy for her to adjust to trainee life. Ani ( @rkmiya ), Wendy and Sunmi have made it! Can you all believe it took Wendy TWO FREAKING YEARS to get comfortable enough with Sunmi to call her unni? And can you all believe it took us around that long to actually plot properly? JFC we are both such snails. Matt ( @rksona ), wherever you are, Wendy will always consider Dawon as one of her Nova best friends. After all, they’re both vocalists who signed pretty close to the same time. To my fellow KRP senior citizen MC/Jae ( @sujirk ) (IDK which you prefer so I’ll use both), it’s nice to know there’s someone close to my age who’s still RP-ing too, despite feeling like that Will Smith meme when finding out how YOUNG some of these children are. And here’s to Wendy and Suji getting to know each other and becoming closer. Maddy ( @rkkaeun )… Where do I even begin? Wendy likes Kaeun a lot and is excited to see how Kaeun will grow, and I feel the same about you too. To Chaeyoung mun ( @rkchaeyoung ) (Honestly, I have no idea how you like to be called, so I shall refer to you as Sowon and Chaeyoung mun for now, I’m so sorry!) and Sunny ( @rkmeiqi ), Chaeyoung and Meiqi are special to Wendy because they are simply the first fellow 98-line girls to join Nova. To Neo ( @rkyngsun ), we have yet to talk a lot and plot more, but I’m grateful that you’re okay with Wendy going all Regina George on your girl. This is going to be a slightly slow burn ship before these vocalists become gay for each other in a way. But I just hope we stick together for this crazy ride. And Nana ( @hyunark ), with Hyuna signed to Nova, Wendy’s even happier than ever, despite feeling some occasional salt at their beloved CEO. Here’s to our girls writing more songs together~

To the boys of Nova, thank you all for being the best boys you can possibly be. To Jess ( @rkhuidong ), thank you having Hui be kind of like a dad/older brother to Wendy. Thank you for assuring her that she did the right thing even if she was punished for it. To Chanel, (OMG this is mention number 2, Chanel!) Ricky is Wendy’s coach and kind of mentor, as well as the fourth-wall reality check. To Lex (you better get used to this. I have a feeling you’ll be mentioned A LOT), our kids have gone through so much, haven’t they? The MGAs, surviving Nova, and a lot more. Wendy cares for Jungwoo a lot, and she hopes they can tough this out together. To Joi ( @bambamrk ), Wendy’s always admired how cool and nice he is. She hopes he’s happy. To Fifi  ( @haknyeonrk ), Circe ( @rkmbin ), and Lulu ( @rksxngyeol ), Wendy would love to get to know your boys all so much better. To Rome ( @rkromeo ), (the now-gone) Jinyoung, and (old) Kihyun, you will always be honorary Nova Boys to Wendy, no matter what.

To Roe ( @rkhugo @rkyooa @suhork ), Wendy wouldn’t let me lump Hugo with all the other boys of Nova. After all, Hugo is special. I’m grateful that Roe entrusted Hugo’s heart in Wendy’s inexperienced hands. I’m honored that Roe actually agreed to have Hugo go through a slow-burn ship, especially when I’m aware that she isn’t the most patient of people when it comes to that. Thank you for putting up with both Wendy’s lack of affection and her inexperience when it comes to relationships, and all the things she fears. Thank you again for putting up with my snail’s pace replies, but I want you to know it’s because I want to give Hugo the replies he deserves. The muse for this ship is alive and kicking, and I intend to keep it that way. Both Wendy and I love you and Hugo so much, Roe. LOL I spent so much time talking about Hugo that I forgot to mention how much both Wendy and Johnny also care about Yooa and Suho, but they do.

Now I’m on the topic of thanks to, I think I should also give a special shout-out to the girls of rkredvelet. Though we don’t talk as often as I’d like, I have to admit you were among the first to plot with me when I was new here. You are all Wendy’s best friends for life.

To Rose ( @rkyeri ): I like seeing you tweet about dancing and your takes on things. I also learn a lot from you! Your comments in the KT groupchat crack me up a lot as well. You’re doing amazing, bb! On a muse perspective, Yeri is one of Wendy’s oldest friends, going back from their days in Canada. Wendy just wants Yeri to know that she’s proud of her for being one step closer to her dreams. She’s also asking when she can start printing the Anna slogan.

To Keith ( @rkjxy ): Hoy, bakla. Other than being a ray of sunshine to both Wendy and me, thank you for everything. Just as Wendy and Joy have fun together anytime, anywhere, I like to think it can become something like that for us both. I love our discussions about local stuff and fandom. May mapapagraduate na ako! /cries proud mom tears/

To Kyle ( @seulgirk ): One of the true MVPs of my life. Just as I honestly have no idea where Wendy would be without Seulgi, I don’t want to imagine what would have happened to me if you hadn’t helped me out all those times. Seulgi is practically Wendy’s person. (LBR, if Hugo had to be threatened by anyone, it’s Seulgi.) I also enjoy commiserating over watching winter sports at godforsaken timeslots (one of these days, I’ll understand hockey enough), as well as listening to to you/reading your tweets discussing your muses/muse ideas. And those puns of yours give me so much life.  

Anyway, next up, I’d like to give a shoutout to rkbrosquad!!!! Honestly, having you guys made life a lot more colorful for me, as well as both my muses. I’m not going to lie, this is probably one of the first group chats I was ever in, in terms of KRP. It’s like my muses gained a new family with this insane, but loving bunch. I also like how this chat can also turn into a meme dumpsite, a spazz area, and a tea corner if we need it. Here’s to more adventures with our muses and if distance isn’t an issue, I bet we’d all look for chances to meet.

To Jen, you are one of the reasons we have a squad in the first place. Without you, I bet I wouldn’t have stayed after the first week. Having a familiar face who’s been with the RP for a long time helped me get settled much more easily. It was your helpful self that inspired me to pay it forward for the future muns who’d enter the RP. So if anyone’s grateful that I was friendly to them, please direct your compliments to Jen for setting a good example! Other than that, you and your muses changed my muses’ lives completely. Shoutout goes to her mentor Jieun and one of her closest friends Soyeon.

To Lyn ( @rkavery @rkxsnn ), hoy mumsh. It’s refreshing to able to talk to more people in the same language. Not to mention, your muses always got up to the wildest antics that had both my muses and me laughing. I’m cheering for you both in rp and in real life. Alam mo ‘yan. And muse-wise, thanks for letting your former boy be the James Potter to Johnny’s Sirius Black (or vice versa). Johnny and I will miss your boy loads, but we also welcome your new girls with open arms. And also thanks for shipping with Wendy at some point, even if she ended up broken. (ULOL ang drama!)

To Shinobi ( @rkgray @rkkangjoon ): You are legitimately one of the sweetest people I have ever had the fortune to meet. You’re nice to everyone, get along well with people, and have the most awesome characters ever. Your ideas are just A+++. Gray will also always be the reason Wendy’s standards for men are so high, since in her eyes, Gray is perfect. (Gray will get Johnny’s love in the KT Boyz segment) Meanwhile, Kangjoon will be that handsome brother Wendy will be protective about because she thinks he deserves the best. Johnny will always thank Kangjoon for accidentally smacking him in the butt, which lead him to the best squad ever. #NEVERFORGET

To Nana: OMG! This is your second mention. All those posts of Hyuna and LE to send the group chat into a gay panic are more than welcome. It’s always fun plotting with you and your muses, no matter which one it is. Wendy is proud of Jihoon ( @jihoonrk ) in Convex, as well as looking for a chance to release some hilarious pre-debut shit. As for Hyuna, we all know how much Wendy admires Hyuna and loves her a lot. Here’s to hopefully getting to plot with Younghyun sooner or later!

To Maddy ( @aronrk ): Yes, this is your second mention too. Wendy and Aron have yet to thread together, yeah? LOL. Anyway, Wendy obviously cares a lot about Aron, Kaeun, and Nayoung. And I think it carries over to me caring a lot about you. It’s cool to talk to someone who works in the same industry as I do (rather as I used to) and have the same interests. Bonus points for living in the same timezone! (Aron will get Johnny’s love in the KT Boyz segment)

To Sammi ( @rkxminhee ): You are also one of the nicest people I have ever met. I love learning about girl groups from you, since I’m generally clueless about the ones outside of the Big Three or aren’t as well-known. I’m not going to lie, everytime I see Minhee, I think of you. I remember seeing Minhee post that she was in my country, and the first thing I thought was, “DOES SAMMI KNOW MINHEE IS IN MY COUNTRY?!”

To Em ( @borark ): You’re doing an amazing job as a momma to a cutie pie! Anyway, Bora is one of the coolest girls Wendy has ever known, just as I think you are one of my faves. We need a proper thread ASAP when we’re both not busy T_T

Bet y’all thought that was done, right? Nope. We still have a long way to go. Trust me, if you’re getting tired reading this, I’m even more exhausted writing it. We’ll all just have to deal with it. RIP @ us.

Back in 2016, NCT U, NCT 127, and NCT Dream had debuted. Back then, I was aware that Johnny, the SM Rookie who trained with SM the longest had yet to debut. So as a joke, I thought to myself, I’ll debut him before SM does. He came in a month after Wendy got signed at the MGAs. I figured I could handle two muses so LOL. He started as an NPC friend for Wendy who had a crush on Seulgi, and then I thought I could bring him in.

The first time I knew it was time for Johnny to graduate from NPC to actual muse was when I was watching a local drama called “On the Wings of Love.” One of the characters was a spoken-word artist, and I felt like it was something that suited the Johnny muse I had. I also wanted to bring in a muse who can speak Filipino, so I had an excuse to say PUTANGINA on the dash, as well as spread OPM to Rookies.

From there, Johnny just started becoming more real to me as a muse. Johnny was also based on several college friends of mine, who were all a bunch of insanely intelligent and talented people. He was inspired by a classmate who was actually a MYX VJ (local music TV channel) who was also taking up a pre-med degree. Johnny was also inspired by the guy who became our class valedictorian: a dork who was smart AF and could sing, dance, act, write songs, and was part of the debate team with me. One of my closest friends who I miss a lot was gifted with a superior IQ and an almost flawless memory, and she was also a CF model. All these people inspired me to bring Johnny to life.

Honestly, Johnny brought on a new series of challenges that I never thought was possible. I was less awkward when I brought him in, since I was already somewhat at ease with the community. The challenge was to make him want to be an idol. But somehow, fate let things happen and loh and behold!

From not wanting anything to do with the entertainment industry, Johnny finds himself immersed in it all. He would like to thank the former Jungkook muse (who might make a return as a different FC hint hint) for forging his application for that Samsung modeling casting. That started his interest and curiosity for modeling. However, he got his feet wet only when his teacher told him to go for it. But still, that forgery got him a start.

Then, the life-changing talent show happened. Johnny owes Hugo a huge-ass thank you for signing up him for that Hongdae talent show. He is now proud to be a KT (KermiT) Boy. I still have no clue how Johnny wants to develop from being a genius turned model to becoming the artist he can be. But I guess that’s what we will all have to anticipate.

I hadn’t planned for Johnny to fall in love. In fact, I was planning to make him an asexual hermit. Sure, he’s had crushes on Seulgi and Lisa, but he never dreamed those could amount to anything. He was supposed to be forever alone. (To Roe, that time Yukji tried flirting with Johnny will always be one of the most iconic moments.) However, Ten happened! Yay! Nine asked to plot so nicely, and I figured why the hell not? Okay, fun fact, the reason I planned for Johnny to be a hermit was because I was too scared to be called out for face-chasing. I’m relieved that Nine reached out first. And now they’re the cutest boyfriends. Again, I would like to apologize for my snail’s pace when it comes to replies. I will talk a little more about this later on. I promise.

Another reason Johnny has stayed alive for so long was because of all the friends he’s made over the time we’ve been in this RP. Honestly, every single one of these friends have made Johnny’s life more exciting, more colorful, and have taken him in directions he never would have considered if left to his own devices. I guess the long-ass thank you messages are now in order.

To rknctea:

To Nine ( @tenrk ): You go first simply because Johnny asked me to. Besides, I want to thank you and Ten for making Johnny believe that he’s capable of love and sexual feelings. Ten makes Johnny want to be the right person for Ten, and to be a better boyfriend. I don’t know whether I ever mentioned this, but Johnny sees Ten in his future. OOC-wise, I’m thankful that you brought us NCT typists together in the group chat. Not to mention, you make me laugh with all the stuff you link in there. In our DMs, I love how we both get soft together over JohnTen. Whether it’s plots for our boys or IRL JohnTen doing stuff, it’s always great sharing the feels with you.

To Yurim ( @rktaeil ): To one of the people I’ve known longest in RK (outside the brosquad), my experience in Rookies wouldn’t be the same without you. I’m glad you brought in Taeil. Although I reply at a glacial pace now, I’m excited to see what happens to Taeil. I still find it hilarious that you declared your NCT bias will be whose calling card you’ll draw. Anyway, the reason your barrel man has yet to come to you is because I will personally bring it to you when I fly there next year. If you have any other requests, please let me know anytime before I fly. (I will let you know when we’re arriving so we can meet.)

To Hunnie ( @yutark ): We have been through a lot during the time we’ve known each other. You point out things I don’t notice otherwise and work way harder than I do, just as Yuta shows Johnny perspectives that are immensely different from his own. I struggle coming up with ways to ruin my muses’ lives and to just write in general. I don’t know how you do it so religiously and so diligently on top of schoolwork. We also spazz over a lot of different fandoms together, and I’m happy that you’re a lot happier now. Also, welcome to the UAAP life. I’m glad you decided to watch basketball with me and that you’re somehow rekindling your love for the game. Game Two, here we come!

To Min ( @rkjaemin ): You would have gone first but Johnny insisted otherwise. Buwisit siya. We have been together since 2011 and I hope this doesn’t change at all. You knew me from when I was a total noob to the RP world, and have been one of those who saw my writing improve or deteriorate over the years. You are one of the loveliest people I’ve ever met IC or OOC. I’m happy you joined this madhouse called Rookies with me, and I hope this is good healing for you from work. I love you and can we please have dinner with the rest of the girls soon? Just as I will always be rooting for you and will be available to help, please tell your evil spawn of a muse that Johnny’s willing to help him too. Same goes for Wendy and Somi.

To Peach ( @rkhaechan ): When I first told Min to join Rookies, I never thought you two would find each other. But I’m glad you did. You make my girl so happy, and with that, I’m happy too. I will go down with the S.S. PeachMin. I better be invited to that wedding. Anyway, Johnny loves Haechan a lot, especially because he makes evil spawn Jaemin so happy. Haechie may be my new fave of your muses, but Soyou will always be special to me. After all, Wendy wouldn’t have lasted in the MGAs without your girl going all soccer mom on the whole team. Wendy hopes that Jihyun unni is proud of her.

To Jen ( @rkmxrk ): You are honestly one of the most fun people I have ever talked to. We can talk about fandom, winter sports, and just about how our days went. It doesn’t really matter. Long live KKT calls. Not to mention, long live being a professional enabler who convinces the rest of us to spend our hard-earned money on our faves. LMAO. One thing I also learned from you, is to be careful of what I say because you’ll have RECEIPTS. Just as Johnny looks after Mark and wishes for him to succeed, I wish the same for you. And Johnny’s proud that Mark’s finally getting what he’s been trying to say for the last few months.

To Fifi ( @jaehyunrk ), Dayo ( @rkxsicheng ) , Phil ( @rkdoyoung ), Grey ( @rkjeno ), Adri ( @rktaeyxng ): although we don’t talk as much, I’m still thankful that you’re all here. I’d like for us to get to know each other even better, even if I’m either a shy hermit, a lazy egg, or just awake when you’re asleep. But you all bring lots of laughter to the group chat, and I’d like for Johnny to plot with your boys too. (Or in Fifi’s case, Get Johnny and Jaehyun a new thread challenge)

To Lex: Damn it, Lex. I’ve lost track how many times I’ve mentioned you. I hope you’re enjoying your stay in the rknctea group chat. And I hope that somehow, Johnny and Jungwoo find their ways to each other.

To the KT Ent muses and muns:

To Carly ( @taeminrk ) : I was really planning to save this for later when I got to my thank you mods part, but I thought oh well. Anyway, I want to thank you for being one of the best mods to help me get settled when I was new here. As well as answering any questions I had, no matter how stupid they were. I’m glad I got over the initial intimidation of “OMG MOD!” to someone I can actually have fun talking to. I just hope Johnny eventually gets over that “OMG SUNBAE!” vibe Taemin gives out. Johnny always saw Taemin as the senior he has to impress and not disappoint. Trust me, Johnny’s trying but he feels like he’ll never be good enough for Taemin’s standards. LMAO

To Maddy: Johnny always thought of Aron as one of the coolest, happiest, and most talented people he’s ever met. Aron radiates sunshine in Johnny’s opinion, and he wonders how someone can be so bright all the time. Yes, Aron has permission to climb Johnny like a tree and Johnny will enjoy it.

To Shinobi: Johnny will always say Gray is his idol. Hands down. He can give Jongdae a run for his money. He will also go down with the old man ship of Gray and Huidong.

To Lulu ( @minhyukxrk ): Johnny’s rooting for his fellow twin tower and he hopes that Minhyuk will one day be the rich, talented billionaire he knows Minhyuk can be. Tall people unite despite this short revolution!

To Yurim ( @rkxkjd ): If Taemin is the strict dad, then Jongdae is the cool dad Johnny wants to be like when he grows up. After all, Jongdae is probably the muse who’s known Johnny the longest. These two go way back and are both nerds.

To Lex ( @rksungho ): Oh man, I gave up counting how many mentions you got. This is probably going to be the last. Sungho and Johnny are different as they can be, despite a somewhat similar skillset. Not going to lie, Johnny wants to get along with him, despite Sungho just being so angry at everything.

To Cherry ( @rkjimin ): We don’t get to talk as often as I’d like, but I’d like for that to change as soon as we’re both not busy. Jimin is a lovely muse, and Johnny looks forward to getting to know him better in the future~

To Hunnie ( @rksunwoo ): Sunwoo is special to Johnny, because they joined KT at around the same time. There has to be something to be said about two strangers who started a journey at the same time. Johnny wishes he was as talented and talented as Sunwoo. I like to think that Johnny and Sunwoo have a unique bond that only the two of them can understand.

To Shino ( @rkjinjin ): Johnny and Jinwoo, aka big guy and small fry. Just kidding. Though for real, Johnny is always impressed with Jinwoo’s talent and is grateful to learn so much from him. As for you Shino, having you around is lots of fun. I have learned not to say any silly stuff in the group chat unless I wish to be exposed. (Never forget: VORE TAEMIN)

To Hyunjin mun (T_T IDK How you want to be addressed) ( @rkxhyunjin ): You are the only KT Boy Johnny has no thread with. I’d love for us to change that ASAP. Please?

To the females at KT, Johnny loves and respects you a lot. He’d love to get closer with you all. For now, he declares Haseul ( @haseulrk ) and Jennie ( @rkjennie ) as his faves, because he’s closest to them. Johnny never thought he’d be a step-parent to a dog, but Ahyoung  ( @rkxblue ) somehow got him to do it, so she’s special too. He also sees Minji ( @rkariel ) as the older sister you don’t want to disappoint, while Yeri is the younger sister he finds hilarious. He’d also love to get to know Audrey, ( @rkaudrey ), Momo ( @rkxmomo ), Luda ( @rkxluda ), and Chungha ( @rkchungha ) better!

To Carly and Keith, and by some extension, Kate, Johnny has come to see Luna ( @rkluna ) and Jisoo ( @rkjisoo ) (and Eve ( @rkxeve,) by extension) as his lesbian moms. He low-key blames and credits them for being why he is the way he is today. You don’t get raised by two extremely opposite but equally bad-ass women and not be some mix of weird. He doesn’t get to talk to his moms so much, but he wants them to know he loves them a lot.

I can’t leave this without yelling at Lari! Baekhyun ( @rkbyunbaek ) is the best host brother Johnny could ever ask for. Both of us can’t imagine this boy living with anyone else but Baekhyun’s family. Johnny feels bad that they hardly ever see each other anymore, but that doesn’t change how much he loves Baekhyun. Johnny is actually going to be upset when he’ll have to move out of the Byun residence because he’s going to miss this host family a lot.

I’d also like to thank people I have yet to properly thread with (or seldom get to thread with) but talk to frequently OOC, especially on Twitter. There’s way too many of you to be tagged, but you know who you all are. I love how we can talk about anything, ranging from K-Pop to local showbiz, to current events, and more random topics.

Finally, I’d like to thank the mods, each one, having helped me in some shape or form. Kyle, Keith, and Carly, you all got long-ass love letters from me, so I won’t bother repeating myself anymore. To Sera, you truly are hard carry AF. Thank you noticing my hiatus messages and just being there in general. I’ve always told people you are great, and I’m glad my faith isn’t misplaced at all. To Bianca, thank you for answering my stupid AF questions during events. Because I swear even I would roll my eyes at myself for some of the things I ask sometimes. To Mira, you were one of the mods who welcomed me back when I was new. So I’d like to thank you for that. Wendy misses one of her mean girl friends~ To Razel, those graphics are A++++ Here’s to more talking about PH showbiz, food, and to us finally having a proper thread!

I bet I forgot so many people, but this is about how much I can write. Fun fact! I started writing this post at around 11:30am, and I finished writing this at around 6pm. If you made it this far, congratulations!

I’ll spare you all from my rambling, and I’ll just end it here.

My muses and I are cheering for everyone and their muses in their endeavors, whether IC or OOC. I would also like to apologize for the times I have offended you, whether I was aware of it or not. (I’m sure I’ve apologized if I was aware of it, but yeah.) I’m trying to be a better person than I was the day before. I don’t know what the future holds, but I’ll do my best to be a better mun to both Wendy and Johnny, as well as be a better member of this community.

With all my love,

Clara (rkwendy and rkjohnny)

[frost-queen]

Brave enough ( Reader x Ruby Gillis)

Requested by: @alex--awesome--22, Forever tag: @hanbinwsrt

It's a feeling growing old with time, like a restless in the leaves calming down.

You and Cole had been best friends since the beginning of time, you were very glad to know anyone as sweet and caring as Cole. He had told you about him liking boys and you told him on your turn that you liked Girls, Ruby Gillies to be precise.

There was something about her that made you feel like a little child in a candy store. Her sweetness would make you swoon inside as her smile could change the world for you. You started to get fond of the colour red as it was her signature colour. You would spot every red colour as it reminded you of her in instants.

You wanted to tell her how you felt about her, but Ruby had eyes on someone else; Gilbert Blythe was her dream boy for who she had been crushing on for years. You knew Gilbert never liked her back, but she just wouldn’t stop obsessing over him. Lucky for you, your best friend Cole would always cheer you up as you felt down after seeing Ruby gushing about Gilbert.

“Cole, how can I find happiness when the person I love is in love with someone else?” – you were laying in Cole’s bed as he was sitting up straight near your waist. – “Y/n, you will find love someday!” – he called out as he stared at you, your head was laying on his pillow as you sighed soft and turned your back to him.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me!” – Cole called out as he grabbed his other pillow and threw it against your head. You growled loud at the impact of the pillow as you turned your body more away from him. – “I mean it! Don’t ignore me Y/n!” – he called out again as he threw the pillow again against your head.

You turned your head to him as you stuck out your tongue at him, you then removed the pillow from under your head and threw it against his face. You laughed hard as Cole didn’t expect it, he didn’t let you laugh long as he threw the pillow again towards your head. – “It’s on!” – you called out as you seated yourself to your knees and started to hit him repeatedly with a pillow in the head.

Feathers falling out of a pillow, as if time's standing still. They fell in slow-motion as you and Cole kept trying to hit each other, soon his entire bed was filled with feathers. Both of you laughed loud as Cole fell with you. – “I haven’t laughed in such a long time…” – you said between your laughs as Cole kept laughing.

“Plan succeeded!” – he called out as he tried to stop laughing, he had to wipe some tears away that escaped his eye from laughing to hard. Both of you lay next to each other letting soft laughs escape your lips as you tried to calm down. – “Thank you, Cole!” – you said to him as you turned your head to him, - “always Y/n!” – he replied as he touched your nose brief with his finger.

You giggled soft as you wrapped your arms around him, he kissed your sleep soft as he rested his head against yours. – “Do you think she will ever get over her insane obsession?” – you whispered soft as you thought it was hopeless that Ruby would ever stop obsessing over Gilbert. – “I’m sure she will…” – he replied not knowing the exact outcome, but he still wanted to give you some hope.

“I know your lying to me to make me feel good, but I appreciate it, very much…” – you said to him as you knew he was being nice and careful with you. He also knew that Ruby’s obsession could go on for years. – “Hey, don’t think about it too much…” – Cole said to give you some comforting words as he knew they wouldn’t do you any good, but he still wanted to say them.

You breathed out slow as Cole felt bad for you, he wanted to see you happy so badly, but he knew Ruby was a hard case in letting things go. He knew he couldn’t do this on his own, he needed help and none other than Anne and Diana’s.

They were best friends with Ruby, so they could help him the most, you had closed your eyes in the meantime that Cole was figuring things out as you rested against his chest. – “I’ll promise Y/n, I will take care of you…” – he whispered at you as he watched you sleep against him. He took a deep breath as he stared at the ceiling, knowing what he was going to do was going to be a hard thing to do.

Ruby was known for having a long obsession and having a hard time with taking a step back from it. Cole knew this was going to be a hard challenge, but he wanted to push it to the limit to see you smiling again. You’ve been sad and depressed lately, knowing that you could never have a chance with Ruby. You knew she was going to be obsessed with him until her death and that you were doomed to keep waiting for her hopelessly.

Your life would pass you by as you never enjoyed it but only being constantly worried about Ruby. That was not the life Cole wanted for you, he wanted you to live each moment with the person you love and enjoying the little things in life. Loving her was red to you, red from her significant colour and red from the blood representing the pain in your heart for not having her.

Cole had figured out an entire plan as he also finally fell asleep against your head, he was going to make sure that you would be happy soon. The next morning was Cole already letting his plan go through his mind for the hundred time. – “With Diana and Anne this must work?” – he said to himself as he was walking towards school, you were already at school as you were almost always the first one at school.

You enjoyed it that you could watch your classmates arrive and you also loved the peace and quiet before they would disturb it with their chattering and playing. Cole had promised Anne and Diana to wait for them half way the journey to school as he was eager to talk to them. He arrived at the spot and leaned against a tree, looking curious around for Anne and Diana.

They arrived minutes later arm in arm as he greeted them, - “Anne! Diana!” – he called out as he hugged them both. – “What did you want to talk about?” – Diana asked him as Cole moved to the middle of them, they started to walk again, and Cole explained to them about you and Ruby.

“Y/n likes Ruby?” – Anne called out, - “That is so sweet, I already think they are perfect for each other!” – Anne smiled bright as Diana shook her head, - “Yes but don’t forget that Ruby is madly in love with Gilbert, so I think she would be a problem to convince her to let go of her obsession and look past that.” – Anne nodded short as she had to admit that Ruby was going to be a lot to handle.

“I know I’m asking a lot from you, but I just want Y/n to be herself again…” – Cole spoke soft as Anne and Diana listened closely to him. – “I mean she deserves all the love in the world, but Ruby is just a hard thing to achieve. Diana placed her hand against his arm as she smiled soft at him, - “Don’t worry, we can do this!”

Anne made herself larger as she nodded firm at Diana’s comment, - “Yes, Ruby will drop her useless obsession in no time!” – “I’d like to believe that…” – Cole spoke after her, - “We can do this!” – Diana said again, encouraging everyone, - “We can do this!”

The rest of the time they discussed what to do and how they would let Ruby drop her stupid obsession over a boy who she could never have. They knew they had to be harsh but also inspiring. You lifted your head as you saw something red in the corner of your eye, Ruby had arrived, and you couldn’t supress a blush. She looked even more beautiful than ever, her red dress was burning through your eyes as you kept gazing at her.

She noticed you sitting down and waved ladylike at you, you blushed again and waved shy back at her. You quickly turned your head as your face was burning up from blushing, you knew she was just being friendly to you but to you it seemed as a proper interaction with the love of your life.

Cole, Diana and Anne arrived minutes later as they noticed Ruby near the stream, they rushed over to her as they were ready to confront her with the truth. – “Ruby!” – Diana called out as she smiled bright at the sight of them. – “Diana, Anne and Cole good to …” – she was cut off by the three of them who grabbed her arm and pulled her alongside of them to a more secure place.

“What is going on?” – she called out as she let them pull her away, - “Diana?” – she said as she was confused to what was happening, a worried expression showed on her freckled sweet face as she got concerned. They finally stopped and cornered her in seconds, - “Gilbert doesn’t like you!” – Cole called out as he looked over at Anne and Diana who nodded soft that this was the way to convince her.

Ruby’s eyes blinked a few times as she couldn’t believe her ears, - “I beg your pardon?” – she said soft as Diana noticed her eyes getting watery and slightly red. – “Gilbert doesn’t like you because he likes Anne!” – Cole called out, - “What?” – Anne snapped at him surprised as she didn’t see that coming. Cole gave her a soft nod as he wanted to focus on Ruby again. – “Wha…” – she couldn’t finish her sentence as her lip started to tremble already.

“We’re sorry to tell you it like this but we just want you to know so you can move on?” – Diana said calm as she moved her hand to her arm, touching it soft as Ruby’s eyes started to cry. Cole nodded, and Anne kept looking confused in front of her, still hearing the words of Cole in her mind. Diana nudged Anne as she awoke from a confused trance, - “Right Anne?” – Diana raised her eyebrow at her as she nodded still fussy from her previous thoughts.

“But… but…” – her lip trembling more as she looked at each of them, - “I know Ruby it’s hard to accept but trust me there are other people out there that love you.” – Diana spoke as she gave Cole a look, who nodded in approval. – “Who would love me?” – she suddenly cried out loud as they felt a bit guilty for letting he cry like that. – “I know a person from who you will never expect it?” – Cole said soft as he hoped she would give you a chance.

“Who?” – she said soft as she wiped some tears away, the three of them looked scared at each other for now was the time to tell her your name. – “Y/n…” – Cole said soft and then quickly looked at the ground. – “Y/n?” – she repeated confused, - “She … loves…me?” – Ruby pointed at herself in disbelieve. The three of them nodded and Ruby wiped some more tears away as she moved Diana and Cole aside so that she could pass through.

They watched her walk through them as they were clueless to what she was planning, Ruby walked slowly over to you wiping the last bits of her tears away. – “Ruby?” – you called out confused as you watched her approach. She ignored you and pulled you up to your feet, wrapped her arms around you in seconds. – “Thank you for loving me…” – she whispered soft to you as you slowly wrapped your arms around her.

You can’t remember much more but you know it happened quiet. So quiet

Check out my AWAE masterlist to find all my imagine’s for Anne with an E

[goodnightkisseu]

Yoon Jisung - Character

Genre: Fluff

“When We Met” Series: [Minhyun][Jihoon][Jaehwan][Guanlin][Daehwi][Jinyoung][Jisung][Woojin][Seongwu][Sungwoon][Daniel]

Note: Hi everyone! I’m back with another series and this time, it’s a particularly special one because it’s a series that will be counting down to Wanna One’s 1st Anniversary! I’m calling it “When We Met” because it’ll be a series of scenarios, using Wanna One’s individual debut teasers as starting points for how you meet!

This is also a series in collaboration with @nothingwithoutwannaone​! She will be writing her own versions of how you meet and I will link them in each post ^^

Today we have Jisung’s part for the series! Honestly, I was really excited about this one. I don’t often get to write for Jisung, but since he’s one of my top 3, I always feel really soft when I do get to write for him. I really enjoyed this one and I hope that everyone else does too. Let me know what you think ^^

nothingwithoutwannaone​‘s version —> [x]

- goodnightkisseu’s admin <3

Your day started at 3am every morning. You would wake up and get ready for the day, then head out at 3:45am sharp. Like clockwork you would be at the small café by 4 am. As soon as you got through the door you would make your way straight to the back and remove the dough you had prepped from the refrigerator, before running back out to the front of the store to make sure that everything here was well stocked. There was definitely more than enough coffee grains for the day. Jooyoung would be bringing in the till when he arrived in about an hour. Your groceries from the local market should also be in by then, so overall it seemed like you were set for the day. Running a café was hard work, but it was yours, and that made all of this hard work worth it.

Owning a café had been a dream of yours for many years. When you were much younger and your family had the time, you would often travel abroad. During those travels, your parents would always take you to local cafés and bistros. They were beautiful, with patio seating areas that extended out onto the sidewalk and a beautiful yet quaint ambiance indoors. It filled your young mind with imagination and the thought that one day, you would own one too. Your own little café in the city where people could come to have breakfast, or spend a cozy afternoon. Where they could just relax and maybe leave the troubles of their everyday life, even if only for an hour.

Getting here wasn’t easy of course, nothing really was. You had gone to school for accounting, taking a minor in entrepreneurship, thinking it would help. And, in theory, entrepreneurship should have, except that it didn’t really prepare you for what you would have to deal with outside of an academic setting. Though it mentioned getting certain licenses, it didn’t really explain how to do that, nor how much startup capital you would need. So while you worked a boring office job, you studied up on the gaps that your education left. You learned how to get the proper licenses, what types of protection you needed as a business and what types of insurance your employees needed. You studied up on how to pick a good store front, which, was harder than expected, though not surprising. There were limited options as far as a decent location was concerned, and the rent was exorbitant for some of these places.

Still after a few years of searching, you found the perfect little place to run your business. You had saved up a decent amount and the rest you could get from a bank loan. It was going to be financially rough for a bit, even though business was okay so far. In the end it was worth it though. You now had a café that you were proud of, with top quality food and the atmosphere that you always imagined as a kid. You got to do what a lot of people couldn’t, and for that you were glad.

Within the hour Jooyoung, your assistant manager, arrives. He was the other early bird on the staff. He greeted you before setting up the till and running around, getting the tables ready and adjusting the little menu you had to include the new coffee roast that had just come in. The two of you talked as you worked, letting each other know what was going on in your lives. Soon, more of your staff started flooding in and within the next two hours, you were all ready to open…

========

Today was a day for a change in scenery. At least, that’s what Jisung decided when he woke up that morning. He tried to work like he usually did, at his usual writing desk with all of his research materials surrounding him and ambient music playing in the background… but it just wasn’t happening. He found his mind wandering to other things, completely unrelated to the novel he was working on and that was when he knew he needed to leave the house. Actually on that thought, how many days had it been since he left anyway. Three maybe? Ah, that was way too long.

So gathering his trusty notebook, a pencil, which he preferred to all other writing utensils, and his laptop, he packed them all up and headed out the door. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he knew he needed to get out for some fresh air. This book was causing him more stress than he thought it would.

Jisung had been a novelist for a few years now, though nothing he wrote really hit it big. They sold well, but they weren’t the types of things that would end up on a bestsellers list. And he was fine with that, as were his publishers. However, when he brought up the idea for his new novel, they seemed extremely interested about it, more so than they had for anything he had written in the past. They gave him more resources and it was all just a little too much. He was feeling the pressure to deliver something amazing and yet, here he was, still trying to figure out how to write for his female lead.

Though it was stressful, it was also worth it. He got to quit his day job and do what he loved. No one could argue with that. He lived a good life… and now he just had to deliver a remarkable book.

As he wandered the streets, Jisung found a small café that caught his eye. Though it had been in the area for about a year, he never had time to visit before, being swamped with deadlines, so maybe… maybe now was the time to do so? He walked over to it and entered, being instantly greeted by the polite wait staff. They quickly seated him and asked him if he wanted anything to drink. He asked for a coffee before the kind waitress disappeared to get him his beverage. It was a quaint little café, not too bright but also not too loud. It didn’t echo as much as some of the other places he went to. This would be the perfect place to work, he decided. Today, today he was going to finally flush out that female lead. And like that, after ordering his food, he went straight to work…

========

“Hey boss, I think that guy at table 11 fell asleep,” one of your waitresses informed you, having noticed him nodding off as she cleaned a nearby table. You looked up and over at the mentioned table and sure enough, he definitely looked like he was dozing off.

“I’ll go check on him. Thank you, Chaerim,” you told her and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder before making your way over. It was midday and the café was mostly empty at this hour, more so because it was a weekday. The male wasn’t bothering anyone so you didn’t mind. You just wanted to make sure that he was okay.

“Excuse me,” you said softly as you appeared at his side. He didn’t respond and his head just kind of bobbed as he sat there in a light sleep. It was kind of cute.

You gently reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder and that was enough to snap him out of it. He sat straight up, taking a moment to realize where he was. When it occurred to him that he wasn’t home, particularly after looking over and seeing you, his face instantly turned red. He stood and bowed to you as an apology.

“Ah, I’m so sorry! I fell asleep in your café didn’t I…” he said, though the answer was obviously. Ah, he was really, really embarrassed. Obviously, he was far more exhausted than he had originally thought. “I really do apologize. I hope I didn’t cause you any trouble…”

Your smile grew. What a cute person. So kind too. “You’re fine. My staff just brought it up because they wanted to make sure you were okay. You seem really tired… how about another cup of coffee?” you offered.

He gave you a nervous nod. “I’d really appreciate that…” And as you gave him another smile and turned away… he couldn’t help but think how well you seemed to fit his idea for his female lead…

========

“So you’re a writer, Jisung?” you asked, now seated at the table with him. At first you had just planned to get him some coffee, but something about him… it just kind of drew you in. The two of you had started to talk briefly as you closed up shop for the lunch hour and here you were, still talking. You had never met someone as easy to talk to as Jisung. It was strange, but in a good way.

“Somewhat. More like trying to become a more established author,” he explained taking a sip of his coffee as he looked over at you. You had just finished telling him about how this café was your dream, and truth be told, he really envied that. You were able to achieve something you always wanted, and he hoped that someday, he could too.

“Oh? Work on anything I might have read?” you asked with a giggle.

“Only if you’re read one of those beach novels,” he teased. “It’s my bestselling book to date. I had written it under a pen name and submitted it to my publishing company because of a bet with my friends. They said that I could never get anything like that published… and yet here I am, still getting royalties from it. I just wouldn’t read it if that isn’t your type of thing.”

You laughed again. “Hey, you still won the bet. So, would you mind if I asked you what you’re working on now?”

“Not at all,” he stated, though he lightly bit his lip as he turned his notepad to face you. “Writing those types of novels is fun and all, but I wanted to write something with a bit more meaning. I wanted to write the story of someone that, even with all of the struggles they’ve gone through, they still manage to make the best out of it. Life can be terrible, but there’s always a silver lining, you know? I know the idea can be cliché, but I think it’s an important idea. It’s a bit of a personal story for me too, since I kind of dropped everything to write,” he explained, all of a sudden a little nervous of how you would react. In the short time you had spent together, he felt like he really clicked with you, that he found a sense of kinship with you. Jisung was already seeking your approval, and that even shocked him a bit.

Your eyes scanned the pages, reading the notes he had written for each of his characters, about the way that they would develop and honestly, you were shocked. He thought everything through so thoroughly, even asking questions like ‘is this too much for this character?’ You didn’t know many writers, but a lot of this felt like it was above and beyond what some would do. Whatever piece Jisung worked on… it was going to be good.

“I think it’s hard for me to say whether it’ll be a hit or not,” you started, seeing his eyes waver just a bit. “But I know that a lot of people, myself included, would be able to relate and would love to read it.”

You were realistic. He liked that. “Thanks for not being overly optimistic. I really appreciate that,” he told you, giving you the most beautiful smile you had ever seen. Wow, he was attractive. “That’s definitely a quality I’d like my female character to have as well. Looks like I found my muse.”

“Wait, you what?” you asked, snapping out of it when you realized what he had said. It was your turn to be as red as a tomato. “I… wait- muse?” Your words were a jumbled mess, but Jisung found it amusing.

“Don’t be so shocked. You’re an interesting person.”

“Hardly, but thanks.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” he shot back as he took his notes from you. He told you that he had to get going to meet up with his editor. “Hmmm how about, you let me be the judge of how interesting you are. Want to talk more over dinner?”

You were at a loss for words. Jisung… Jisung was really something else. “I’d like that a lot, Jisung,”you finally managed when you were over your initial shock.

With another smile he bid you farewell, and you couldn’t wait until he came back around to get you for dinner…