#I’m actually scared to eat in the public areas (MY OWN LIVING ROOM AND KITCHEN) because of comments

[rhys-is-puffs]

Changed my mind I think I will have kids because after living with my roommates I think I’m fully fucking equipped to handle a two year old

[kusagrasskusa]

Yandere! Itachi X Reader Headcannons

The reader is precieved as a normal civilization rather than a ninja.

ALSO I learned how to do the "read more" thing on my phone and now I'm happy uvu- and to any friends that read this, I'm so sorry but I've never been so dedicated to a fandom in a long time lol. I might make a oneshot later for this, too, and I do, you should see a link under this paragraph somewhere.

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🖤 Itachi is a mature and collected person, so I'd think it'd be unlikely for him to just grow obsessed at once. Itachi would have to come across Y/N many times before releasing he's in love.

🖤 The way he'd meet Y/N would be when he'd be scouting an area for a particular enemy. He'd happen to come across her, who interacted with him a little but nothing interesting happened. Overtime, the two would see each other here and there, until eventually everyday.

🖤 When his enemy he was looking for had been eliminated, he said his goodbyes to Y/N before leaving. He expected to move on, but his mind would wonder back to her no matter how hard he tried.

🖤 Eventually, Itachi would see Y/N whenever he had free time. He'd make room in his day to spend hours together; they'd go out to eat, participate in festivals, talk, and more.

🖤 On Y/N's side, it didn't take long before she started to feel romantic interest. Afterall, Itachi was calm, collected, smart, strong, fun to be around, and seemed genuinely interested in her. She was definitely in love before he was.

🖤 Around the time Itachi would visit the Leaf Village to find Naruto, he strangely started to worry a lot about Y/N learning about who he was and fear him. He couldn't help but want to shield her from the truth, and if the people around them learned that the man Y/N was with was wanted, it would end bad for them.

🖤 Itachi was inevitably worrying a little too much about the possibility of her finding out. He went to see her and did his best to distract her from any gossip or drama whatsoever to ensure she'd never hear about the Akatsuki. His time spent with her increased from a few hours to half the day.

🖤 Itachi wouldn't ever want to kidnap or drag people into his life. He hates killing, he hates being "evil", he hates everything about his dark lifestyle. The decision to either abandon someone he began to care for or to take her away was a very hard one.

🖤 Itachi realized something in the process of thinking of a solution. He loved Y/N; he loved her to the point where the thought of her hating or fearing him scared him so badly. Even with Sasuke, the thought of him having him was terrifying but something he could live with.

🖤 It was releasing to learn about his own true feelings. He was desperately in love with Y/N, to the point where she was like air, or food, or water. Like in order to live, she had to be around.

🖤 As word spread about two strange people walking around Konoha and that Orochimaru took the last Uchiha, it was inevitable that Y/N would learn about the info. The next time she saw Itachi, she brought it up to him and expressed her discomfort in the fact that she could be among evil people.

🖤 He was scared. So scared that she would hate him for his lifestyle after finding out about who he really is. So that was it; his mind was made. He took Y/N away that night.

🖤 When word about the Akatsuki in Konoha, he received a lot more looks when he was in public than normal. He'd usually have a normal kimono on and have his hair in a different, though similar, style in order to appear normal. But he knew deep down in his heart that people are bound to start suspecting him of being an Akatsuki. And overhearing someone talk about an S class Uchiha member is what did it.

🖤 "You've been asking about where I live for a whole now. Would you like see my home?" Itachi asked. Y/N happily agreed to go, and sorta expected his home to be outside of her village. But the further she traveled, she grew a bit nervous and wanted to return home (as you would if you were led outside of your village into deep woods)

🖤 Itachi wasn't escorting Y/N alone. Of course, the Akatsuki is bound to learn about that girl Itachi insisted on bringing up in most of his little amounts of conversations. It was obvious he was obsessed with her, as much as he would try to hid it, but he just couldn't get her off his mind. So the night where he choose to bring her home, Kisame was watching the two frkm afar in case something happened.

🖤 Before that day, Itachi had mentioned that he wanted to protect Y/N. Over the three months Itachi spent with Y/N, he had plenty of time to talk about her enough to where the other members basically knew her.

🖤 Itachi actually got a few of the members (ex. Kisame, Deidara) were interested in Y/N as well. How could someone as "heartless" as Itachi Uchiha fall in love, and in such a dramatic way at that? They were sorta curious to see what was so special about her.

🖤 Anyway, you can imagine how Itachi convinced Y/N to go far enough into the woods to go to a small little cottage. Was it part of the Akatsuki hideout? No. Itachi would never trust the Akatsuki members with Y/N alone, and she needs her freedom to walk around a house.

🖤 The inside was sorta minimalistic, but not completely empty. To the far right was a kitchen was a small dining table with two chairs, and on the opposite side was two rooms. In one room was a single bed with a closet in it, and in the other room was a bathroom. Between the kitchen and two rooms was a small living room with a couch, coffee table, and more. There were bored games in a little dresser in the living room, along with a full bookshelf with books of all genres.

🖤 "Care for dinner?" Itachi had asked. He wanted to tell Y/N why she's there over a dinner he made and had prepared in advance. It turns out he was amazing at cooking.

🖤 It wasn't very easy, but Itachi managed to explain his feelings towards Y/N. Of course, Y/N happily excepted and was quick to hug and express her feelings towards him. He returned the hug and spoke about how he loved her very much, however he had so much more to say to her.

🖤 Justifyingly so, Y/N was frozen in shock when Itachi told his story. He killed everyone in his clan aside from his brother, the well-known Uchiha. How he fled his clan after committing the murders and joined an infamous group; The Akatsuki.

🖤 While displaying himself as calm, he was so overwhelmed and scared within his mind. He knew he'd have to tell her why she's staying at the house and why, from now one, she'll never leave. But he was smart enough to know she wouldn't simply except living here out of love. He would have to be a bit manipulative to keep Y/N.

🖤 Y/N was mortified and didn't notice the tears pouring out of her eyes. She fell desperately in love with a murderer. She felt so sick, so scared. She stood up, begging to go home so desperately, trembling over her own words. She was so scared for her life now, and what Itachi's intentions were. Truly, Itachi's heart broke at this.

🖤 "Y/N, darling," Itachi spoke, his words laced with love as she softly grabbed Y/N wrists and leaned close. "I had to take you away. I couldn't let them take you from me."

🖤 He was very delicate with Y/N as he calmed her down, as if she was glass. His heart ached at her pain, but he truly believed it was for the best. In a way it really was; people saw Y/N with the tall raven boy many times in public, and her parents and friends had met him too. Once they find out that boy is the Itachi, Y/N could be killed if they think she was aiding him.

🖤 Itachi did his best to show her around and make her feel comfortable. But no matter what he did, Y/N felt so broken, so empty, so confused. There's no way that sweet Itachi she loves is a killer. He has to be lying.

🖤 Over the course of a few days, Y/N learned to except the fact she's held at that small home. She tried to think on the good side; she could decorate it how she wants, has more freetime, can focus on her hobbies and learn to cook new things, and more! Even if she's never allowed to leave the house, Itachi let's her do basically anything around the home.

🖤 Y/N still loves him. As months go by of being alone for a few days without Itachi, some days with him for a little bit, and some full days with him, she still couldn't help but appreciate him just as much as before. No, she appreciates him more even. She just can't help but love him, and he loves her too.

🖤 Itachi felt much more relaxed around Y/N and tried to spend every second he could with her. He was so shameful of keeping her from her home, but it was for the best wasn't it?

🖤 Most of Itachi's emotions about keeping her was all because he lived her and never wanted to see her with anyone else. But he had always found an excuse as to why it's for the best that she's never with anyone else.

🖤 Kisame had met Y/N a few times. She was never comfortable with him however and was typically holding onto Itachi's sleeve, or leaning on him when he's around. However Kisame would be around when Itachi wasn't sometimes to keep watch.

🖤 As long as Itachi or Kisame was present, Y/N is allowed to go outside and visit close villages other than the one Y/N is from. She would be allowed to buy anything she wanted and could afford from these places, but she had to go home eventually.

🖤 At the end of the day, Y/N had quite a lot of freedom and eventually, she was happy. She was happy to be living with Itachi and was perfectly happy calling him her husband.

🖤 Itachi never wanted a marriage though. He was going blind and he planned to be murdered by his brother and he never dared to make her a young widow. When Izumi had died, he felt so distraught and he knew Y/N is bound to feel the same, but even worse if they got married.

🖤 When Itachi died, as said, Y/N was distraught. No, she was mortified. Absolutely mortified. Even if she was free, she had lost the last person she had a connection with. And she carried that sorrow to her grave.

[furikakyo]

a return to roots | 5

pairing: kita shinsuke x f!reader

summary: y/n is a rising star in the music industry, having almost everything you could have ever hoped for as a small-town country girl. now after releasing two triple platinum albums in consecutive years, you face the dreaded artist’s burnout… in order to recover, your manager suggests, you should return to your hometown in hyōgo for a long-deserved break.

genre: socmed/smau, slice of life

warnings/tags: timeskip!, mutual pining, slow burn? more like rekindling, slight canon divergence

masterpost

Ichiro arrived right on time at 5:45 in the morning, buzzing your door just as you had gotten dressed after a quick shower. Steam wafted out of the bathroom as you rushed to the door to greet him and show him where the luggage was. Without anything to say, he promptly picked up one of the large hard case suitcases and you followed suit, going after him into the elevator. When your bodyguard loaded both of your cases into the trunk of his car and then opened the door for you to get into the car, you quickly said, "I need to double check everything in there is fine. I'll be back in a minute."

After reassuring Ichiro that you would be ok by yourself, you dashed back inside to survey your apartment, checking each room to make sure you hadn't left anything important behind. The kitchen and living room were clean, check. When you got to your bedroom, you paused, seeing one of your acoustic guitars sitting in the corner. Should you bring it? Were you actually going to write music? When you had announced your hiatus officially, you had stated that it was to gain inspiration for new music... but then that wouldn't really be a break, would it? You gnawed on your lip, remembering what Kuroo had asked of you the night before: "Take care of yourself in Hyōgo, alright? You're there for a reason; to take a break." 

You scowled, cursing Kuroo and his knowledge of your work habits. But, a voice inside you reasoned, it wouldn't be work if you were writing just for fun... You thought back to those moments in your childhood home, in your room, writing songs and uploading them to YouTube and SoundCloud without thinking that anything would come of it; back before you felt any pressure to perform. Back to when you wrote lyrics that weren’t very sophisticated, but earnest and heartfelt all the same… back to when you had your muse to sit beside you every step of the songwriting process.

Before you could convince yourself otherwise, you ran to the corner of your room and snatched the guitar, put it in its case, and then snapped it shut with finality.

If Ichiro was confused about you carrying down another piece of luggage, he said nothing, only staring ahead and driving when you were buckled. "Onigiri Miya," you reminded him, then settled into your seat. The ride there wasn't too far from your apartment; you had rented out the space because of its convenience, so anywhere you usually wanted to go to was within a reasonable distance. You watched the traffic with disinterest and spotted restaurants with dim lighting inside, most likely already prepping for the day ahead of them. The world kept moving on ahead, regardless of whether or not you liked it.

When you arrived at Onigiri Miya, Osamu was already out back in the van, probably waiting impatiently. You checked the clock in the car and clicked your tongue. You weren’t even late.

When you stepped out of the car, Osamu opened his door and got out too. You smiled widely. “Samu!” You rushed forward and gave him a strong hug, which he somewhat reciprocated. He wasn’t as big on physical touch as his brother.

Osamu only rolled his eyes though, patting your back as you told him he looked great. “You do, too. Want me to help with your bags?”

You led him to the trunk of your ride, where Ichiro was already opening it and carrying one of your suitcases. Osamu hefted the other one up, and you trailed behind with the guitar case. After securing everything in the back of the van, you turned to your bodyguard.

You smiled, a genuine smile, and then repeated what you’d already told him over text. “Well, Ichiro-san, I don’t know the next time I’ll see you. I’ll make sure to text you in advance if I plan on going to more public areas.” He said nothing, so you continued. “Thank you very much for all you’ve done for me, and I look forward to seeing you again in the future!” You gave him a bow, which he reciprocated stiffly before quickly getting back into his own car and driving off.

You sighed, then looked to Osamu. He quirked an eyebrow. “Ready?” You nodded determinedly, getting into the passenger seat of the van and buckling, him doing the same.

“Alrighty, then,” he cracked a grin. “Time for a road trip.”

After a while of scrolling through your social media accounts you sat back and stretched. Then you flopped back into your seat and looked over to Osamu. “Samu,” you whined in the most obnoxious voice possible, “do you have any food? I’m so hungry.”

Osamu rolled his eyes, jerking a thumb towards the back of the van. “Ya really think I wouldn’t bring food for the trip?”

Immediately, you turned around and began looking behind your seat for food. Sure enough, there was an insulated bag with onigiri. You gasped, bringing the bag into your lap with stars in your eyes. “You brought some?”

You ignored whatever his response was, instead unwrapping one and biting into it. “Mmm,” you moaned, chewing slowly. The nori was still crisp and the rice was fluffy yet still sticky. You closed your eyes to focus on the food. He must have made them right before you got there for them to be this fresh.

“I’m guessing you didn’t eat breakfast, then,” Osamu said, eyes staring ahead at the road.

Your grip on the rice ball tightened before you quickly realized what you were doing. Your apartment didn’t really have much left to eat after you’d finished up the gyoza last night, and even if you’d had food, you weren’t sure if you would’ve been able to keep it down. Butterflies had filled your stomach as you had tried to go to sleep, and they hadn’t really disappeared yet. “No,” you shook your head. “I woke up early in the morning and was tired.”

Osamu hummed and then didn’t say anything else. After another long beat of silence you squirmed in your seat, a little on edge. “Mind if I play some music?” He shook his head at your question and so you took over the AUX, playing some songs that had been stuck in the back of your mind lately. After the music started, any awkwardness immediately dissipated as you sang along and Osamu tapped his thumb on the wheel to the beat of whatever was playing. At one point you had even pointed out his cute habit to which he had denied before doing the same thing twenty minutes later. Giggling, you just looked out the window and didn’t comment on it that time.

After about an hour of songs, Osamu finally spoke again. “You can go back to sleep, if you want. Ya look tired.”

You looked over at him and then nodded, curling into yourself, rubbing your wearied eyes. Sleeping would be a good opportunity since you hadn’t gotten much last night. You leaned against the seatbelt and window and closed your eyes, ignoring the bumps in the road which made your head hit the glass each time. Before you knew it, you were asleep. 

After a little less than five hours, you woke up to Osamu driving, now playing the radio instead. You looked outside. Gone were the skyscrapers and bright lights; in their place were rows and rows of empty fields, all blurring past you. "Are we in Hyōgo yet?" you asked, turning back to him.

Osamu gave you a quick glance and then switched his gaze back on the road. It was just the Onigiri Miya van on the stretch, the rest of what you could see of the roadway completely devoid of another vehicle. "Yeah," he replied. "We have about an hour left. I was gonna stop at the next place to stretch, though." He looked over at you again. "Is that alright with you?"

You nodded and then dug out another rice ball from the thermal bag, munching on it as you stared out the windshield. The nori wasn’t crispy anymore but at least the filling was still yummy.  "So we're going to stop somewhere first. What's the plan after that?"

Osamu adjusted his grip on the wheel, driving with only one arm. "I was thinking that we could stop by your house, unload your luggage, maybe clean up your space since no one's been there for a while, and then go to do my business in Hyōgo." He paused, then added, "With Kita."

Your heart raced. It was your first day back and you were already going to have to face Kita. You could just stay home, a voice nagged at you. No, you thought, your face filled with grim determination. You could do it.

Almost as if sensing your internal strife, Osamu said, "Y'know, Y/N, I think Captain is just as nervous, if not, more." He continued staring ahead, not looking at you. Now he started tapping his thumb against the wheel again.

But you, your head snapped to look at him. "Really?" you asked, eyeing him skeptically.

Osmau nodded, smiling. "He's barely said a peep in the group chat he's in with me. Although now that I think about it, that's usually how he is." He chuckled. "Unless he's getting in between me and Tsumu."

You sighed, sitting back. Why had you expected Kita to hold anger towards you? Because you chose a career over him? Because you chose success over two of you, the voice in the back of your mind whispered. You ignored it, crossing your arms. You felt bad for thinking he would be anything less than how he always was in your mind (he was always Mr. Perfect), but it also made you feel better knowing he was scared too. No, not scared. Nervous, Osamu had said. Oh, god, how were the two of you going to act when you saw each other?

"Hey, Y/N." You turned to Osamu just as he pulled into the driveway of probably the only gas station within a 50 mile radius. He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "You'll figure it out."

As you followed him out of the van to stretch out your legs, you could only hope that you would figure it out. Preferably before you had to see Kita.

You had, in fact, not figured it all out by the time you and Osamu reached your childhood home. Instead of thinking about your lack of a solution, you resorted to reaching under the dingy welcome mat and pulled out a plastic bag with a key inside. “Still here,” you said cheerfully, showing the dirty bag off to your friend.

Osamu rolled his eyes and waited as you fumbled with the key to the house and then eventually opened the door.

You peered into the dark corridor and slipped off your shoes before stepping onto the hardwood floor. “I called the electricity and water guy,” you muttered, dragging one of the suitcases behind you. You paused and then grabbed the handle, which extended, then let the suitcase’s wheels do the work for you. “Everything should be functional by the end of the day.” When you got to the end of the foyer, you gasped. “What…?”

The inside of the house was, contrary to your belief, not at all covered in a thick layer of dust like you’d expected. Instead, it looked almost exactly the same as when you had moved out from there.

Osamu trailed behind you, taking his cap off and scratching the back of his head. “To be honest, I forgot that this was happening. Everyone here didn’t want to see your house collect dust and fall apart, so they..." He motioned around him, your eyes following.

The tatami mats in the living room and your parents' bedroom were clearly cared for, otherwise there would’ve been the overwhelming scent of dust or mold. You could imagine the diligence it would’ve taken to clean them so regularly. And the furniture— you ran a finger along the top of the kotatsu and then looked at it; nothing. You’d have to move the kotatsu into storage since it wouldn’t make much sense to have it out right now; you only used it in the winter...

You drank in the rest of the house, mentally planning where to place things and what to rearrange to your own liking. "I'll get the other case you brought," Osamu muttered, sidestepping around you to reach the doorway. You barely noticed him leave as you crept to your own childhood bedroom, sliding open the shōji screen door.

…Huh. It didn't look any different from what you last remembered. You walked inside. You had your western-styled bed, which still had the furniture sliders under the legs to protect the tatami mats; the bookshelves along the wall with your favorite books and shōjo manga... You paused at the string of fairy lights strung above your dresser. Clipped onto them were photos from high school: you and Osamu proudly holding a double-tiered cake you'd made in home economics, you and a few of the other Inarizaki boys fooling around after practice, you with your parents in front of the school in your third year. You laughed to yourself while looking at them, recalling the moments in which the pictures were taken; back when Samu's hair was grey and Tsumu didn't know what toner was, back when your only responsibilities were as Y/N the assistant manager and co-class representative of 3-A.

You stared at the end of the string lights, where there was a picture missing. You knew what was supposed to be there, in that gap. You were unsure of where it had gone though, so you searched your entire bedroom, taking out all of the books in your shelves and turning them upside down, removing all of the drawers in your dresser and peeking inside the base. You scoured your belongings for a sign of where that photo could have been, but to no avail. 

"You looking for something?" Osamu pushed off of the doorway he'd been leaning on and peered over your shoulder. "I can try to help ya find it."

You shook your head, smiling. "No, it's okay. I lost something but it's not that important." You stood up and dusted yourself off, brushing your hands together. "We have some free time now that I don't have to clean up around here. What should we do?"

Osamu nodded, thinking to himself. "Well, we could go reacquaint you with your neighbors… or we could get to the farm early. It’s,” he checked his phone, “around 3 right now so we would have a couple hours to check out the entire farm. It’s big, so having too much time on our hands wouldn’t be an issue.”

“Uh…” You bit your lip and stared expectantly at Osamu. You make the decision.

He lifted an eyebrow incredulously, then said, “Alright, farm it is.”

You dropped your phone into your lap in disappointment, tempted to just throw it out of the window of Osamu’s van. Kuroo really is kind of useless, huh, you thought, staring out of the window glumly.

The sound of the tires hitting gravel road caught your attention and you looked out the front windshield. You sucked in a breath. You were here. At Kita’s farm. Or rather, you thought, Kita’s house. You had parked in the driveway of his home which overlooked all the fields. They were still somewhat of a muddy brownish color from how far away you were.

“Ready?” Osamu tried to look grim, knowing of your inner turmoil, but his glittering eyes said otherwise.

You exhaled and then nodded. “Yes.”

The two of you didn’t end up getting very far along the fields before Osamu ran into someone he knew, probably someone else working on the rice fields under Kita based on the way he was dressed. He wore a wide-brimmed straw hat and, somehow, long sleeved shirts and pants. Osamu smiled, greeting the man, “Koji.”

His recipient smiled too. “Osamu. How’s business in Tokyo? Still thinking of opening another shop in Osaka?” Koji motioned for him to follow him down the path in between the rice paddies, and he did, already lost in a conversation. You watched as another group of workers came towards the duo, and you heard laughing and cheering as Osamu talked to them.

Well, damn. Osamu had left you behind. You looked around and then checked your phone. You still had basically two hours to kill. “Ugh…” Should you just wait in the van for Osamu? What if Kita saw the van pulled up and approached it, though? You did NOT want to be alone with him, just the two of you. Plus it would be hot waiting in there. You pulled at the front of your t-shirt. At least there was a slight breeze every once in a while when you were outside.

Am I really going to do this? You looked up at the sky and shielded your eyes from the sun. It was already beating down on your shoulders and back. Sighing, you started in the opposite direction of where Osamu and the workers had gone. There seemed to be a lot of property, you thought, admiring the view. Although the rice paddies were still muddy, the view you had from this side of the farmhouse was stunning. In the distance were lines of trees so dense, and mountains even further away, just a faint silhouette smoothed against the sky. You imagined what it would look like when the rice was ready to be harvested, all green and heavy with the fruits of labor. 

A few days ago you’d thought absentmindedly that life had been kind to you, Kuroo, and Kenma. But now, looking around the serene landscape and close-knit community of workers, filled with a fresh green newness brought from only the spring, you wondered: maybe the years had been kind of Kita, too. 

Behind you, you heard dull rustling, and you turned automatically. You froze, stunned. Your mouth moved and formed words before you could even comprehend what it was you were saying.

“Kita?”

a/n: ohhh my goodness i had the worst experience with a karen yesterday and i never thought i would have to deal with one for some reason…. fuck you amy and i hope i never have to see your bitchass face again 

taglist (pm me to ask to be added): @papiibuprofen​, @duhsies, @succulentmom, @kenmaslov3r​​​, @introvertatitsfinest

some ~fun facts~ 

- ichiro the bodyguard/driver may or may not have shed a tear or two after y/n left. (i told you he was a big softie)

- he wanted to give you a hug goodbye but wasn’t sure if that would be overstepping 😔

- imagine samu loading the van with your luggage and pushing off the doorframe after previously leaning on it with his muscly arms and glorious tiddies… BEEFY SAMU SUPREMACY 🧎‍♂️

- one of osamu’s guilty pleasures is pop music 😭

- one of y/n’s fav things to do on social media is just go through atsumu’s public profiles and read the thirst comments 😭😭

[xpeachesncream]

off the grid | six

summary: it was as simple as swapping places with a stranger from across the world to get away from everything back home. that is - until you meet Jimin. things become more complicated as he unfolds a new chapter in your life that you were initially trying to avoid.

pairing: reader x pjm

genre: post-college au, christmas/holiday au | angst, fluff, smut (to come)

words: 3.7k

chapter warnings: smut chapter! unprotected sex, multiple orgasms, fingering, oral (f. receiving), slight dirty talk, cussing, possible inaccurate depiction of transportation, events and whereabouts in South Korea since i only did my research thru the internet, fluff

notes: will be wrapping this up in the next few chapters!

> series masterlist <

Jimin was going to be busy for majority of the day with his parents, which left you feeling a little sad. But, you knew he had to do what he had to do and he had offered to come by and spend time with you tonight. As you were about to head out and explore on your own with the tips he had given you, a call from an unknown number popped up on your screen.

"Hello?"

"Y/N!" Jungkook's voice came through on the other line. "I hope you don't mind, I asked Jimin for your number not too long ago."

"No, you're good." You chuckled. "What's up?"

"Wanna hang out with me and Tae? We're gonna head to Common Ground."

"Sure!"

"Sick!" He exclaims. "I'll send you our address. Do you think you'll be okay heading over?"

"Yeah, I got it." You responded, remembering Jimin's directions to his place in the event you ever needed anything.

"Okay, just let me know if you get lost and I'll come find you." You chuckled before responding with a simple 'okay' to end the call. You were confident in your memory of the directions, which led you to their place in a matter of minutes. They didn't live too far from Yana, and you remember Jimin saying so since Yana doesn't drive and would simply take public transportation to and from places.

Upon your arrival at their apartment, Taehyung was cleaning up in the kitchen while Jungkook was throwing on a jacket. Jungkook gave you a little tour of their apartment, which was surprisingly clean and smelled of vanilla birchwood. Sooner or later, the three of you were off into town to visit Common Ground, which was considered Korea's first cultural space that was made out of shipping containers. The view and the entirety of it was pretty neat, and you kind of wished Jimin was here, but Jungkook and Taehyung were just as great of travel buddies. They talked a lot about their hometowns and what it was like moving to Seoul, plus how they truly value Korea and it's culture. You were coming to learn what a truly spectacular and beautiful place it was, and it was even more refreshing to hear from the boys themselves how much they loved being from Korea.

After navigating through the crowds and having spent more money on souvenirs and clothes, the three of you decided to eat up and grab some grub. For a minute, you lost Jungkook because he ran into some people he knew, leaving you and Taehyung to eat together.

"This place is neat isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's really cool. Thanks for taking me along." He nodded as his lips poked out while eating his food. You thought it was the most adorable thing.

"You know, Jimin's been really happy since you guys started spending a lot of time together."

"Oh yeah?" You giggled. Yes, Taehyung. Expose him.

"It's actually really nice to see." He chuckled. You knew him and Taehyung had known each other the longest out of their group, but he still held a very tight relationship with Jungkook, Hoseok and Jin. "He's always been the one to take care of people. I just wanna see him happy. He does a lot for the people he cares about."

"I know, he's really the sweetest person I've ever met. He's an angel."

"He was really destroyed over his ex." You continued to listen. "He loved her, a lot. He did everything for her and sacrificed a lot to keep her happy. But she couldn't reciprocate it 100% and that killed him time and time again."

"How long ago was that?"

"About a year ago? Even then, he tried not to have any bad blood with her after she had mistreated him. He has a good heart and mind. He deserves someone good who can take care of him." Your stomach fluttered with the countless butterflies, but most of the happiness you felt, also turned into anxiety. The days were counting down and you wouldn't be here for much longer. "He really, really likes you Y/N."

"I-I do, too. But-" Taehyung looked over at you, concerned. "I'm not going to be here for much longer." You shrugged. "It really sucks."

"Why don't you stay for a little more?"

"Work. My life is back in LA." He nodded. As much as it hurt you to say that, it was true. You wished it was easy to pick up your things and move around the world, but part of you felt silly for even thinking that over a holiday-solo-vacation love story.

"It's gonna be hard, but I honestly don't think Jimin cares. I think he'd make this work with you."

"But is that fair to him? Our time difference and-and, who knows when I'll get to physically see him again? Hearing what he went through.. what if I can't give him what he deserves?"

"I know all of it sounds like a mess and like it would never work, but don't you think you two meant for a reason?" He wasn't trying to be Jimin's right-hand at the moment, he was doing this because he truly could see how the both of you genuinely felt for each other. He hadn't seen Jimin have this glow, this type of genuine happiness to him in a long, long time.

"I don't know, I guess I'm just scared, and I would never want to put Jimin through anything he doesn't deserve."

"I get you." He replies. "But I do hope you know how much he cares about you. Like, I'm really not doing this because he's my bestfriend and all." He laughed. "But because I want to see the both of you happy."

"Thank you." You smiled at him toothlessly, the thoughts now flooding your head. All you wanted to do at this point was run into Jimin's arms and never let go. It would be your new safe haven. All you wanted was Jimin.

The rest of the day with Taehyung and (finally, again) Jungkook was chill, as you grabbed some desserts and played around at a nearby park before heading home to rest. You felt a sudden wave of exhaustion hit you, so you took a quick shower, threw on an oversized tee and shorts before retreating to the bed for a nice, late afternoon nap. You quickly texted Jimin that you'd leave the door unlocked so he could just walk in case you were deadass knocked out and couldn't hear the knocks or phone ringing.

Jimin had been helping his parents do a ton of revamping at their café, while also holding down the fort and doing what he can to help during peak hours. He was exhausted, nonetheless, but was excited to see you. He jetted off to the loft with food from the café to for some dinner, all while chuckling at the text you sent, wondering what the hell Jungkook and Taehyung had put you through today to knock you the hell out.

"Y/N?" He calls out softly. No response. He gently shuts the door and chucks his shoes to the side befofe laying the food out on the kitchen counter. It's peacefully quiet, even as Jimin climbs up the steps to the bedroom area. He smiles to himself as he sees you deep into the duvet covers, sleeping deeply like a baby longing for their afternoon nap. He sits on the edge of the bed, his fingers brushing through your hair, thumb softly caressing your cheek. You slowly open your eyes and smile, immediately sitting up to throw your arms around him. He laughs into your hug, pulling you in closer and running his hands down your back.

"Miss me?"

"I did."

"Aw." He chuckled. "Come here." He cups your cheeks and places a kiss on your lips.

"What a nice way to wake up."

"Yeah? What did TaeTae and Kookie do to you today?"

"Nothing, we just walked around Common Ground." He nodded.

"That's it?"

"We may have played around at a nearby park before going home."

"There it is." He laughed. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving, actually." You stretched.

"I brought some food from the café. Mom said I better feed you well." You chuckled.

"She's the sweetest." He had quickly brought you over to the café the other day, his mom and dad being the sweetest, and most loving people you have ever come across. You could immediately tell where Yana and Jimin got their mannerisms from. His mom couldn't stop holding onto you and telling Jimin how pretty you were, almost like she was telepathically communicating with her son and telling him to stop fucking around and get with it. You couldn't help but giggle at the look on her face.

"Come on." He nodded for you to follow him downstairs. He had paninis laid out, freshly toasted, with chips and more dessert. You pushed the coffee table in the living room forward a bit so that you both could sit on the floor and enjoy a good movie while eating the food. He had asked you more about your day and if Taehyung or Jungkookie had talked shit about him while you guys were out. You couldn't help but chuckle, remembering the serious conversation you and Tae had.

"Mm, actually," You finished up your sandwich and quickly washed your hands before heading back to the living room area. "Me and Taehyung had a pretty serious talk."

"About?"

"You, what else?"

"God, what did he say?"

"Nothing." You laughed, seeing his facial expression change.

"You can't say that you had a serious talk then not talk about it."

"Aw, is someone upset?" He pouted.

"Yeah, cause I'd like to know and I thought you cared about me." He dramatically responded. "I see that you don't, since you'd rather keep me hanging on a string like this."

"You're so dramatic, Park." You pinched his side, making him laugh. His laugh was certainly becoming a weakness for you. "He just told me that you've been really happy since we've been spending time together." He nodded.

"I mean, he isn't wrong."

"He also said that you really cared about me." You looked at him blankly, trying to read his expression and body language. He smiled at you, his cheeks getting hot and rosy.

"He also isn't wrong there."

"Taehyung really knows you, then."

"Since high school." He shrugs.

"That's about it, though." You spared him the rest of the details being that you really didn't wanna spoil the evening with such sad and negative thoughts about how your time was coming to an end here. Frankly though, you knew you had to deal with it sooner or later. That talk was coming either way.

"Hm." He says, pushing the coffee table up more towards the tv and throwing a blanket over both of your legs. He silently swung his arm over your shoulder and kept watching the movie on the tv. It was awhile before he broke the silence again with a sigh, his eyes still glued ahead of him. "I really like you, Y/N. I like you a lot. It's a little scary, but you don't know how much you drive me crazy with everything you do."

You held onto his hand that was hanging loosely from your shoulder and looked over at him. "I really like you too." At this point, you feel his eyes on you. They linger from your eyes, down to your lips and back up to your eyes.

"Then will you let me take care of you?" All self-control had gone out the window after seeing the look in his eyes. It was full of passion and lust, but nothing dark. He just wanted to be close to you and make you happy. He cared, and he wanted you to see that.

"Yes." You say breathily as his face edged closer to yours. He cupped your face with his free hand, instantly pressing a kiss onto your lips. The kiss began to deepen quickly, with Jimin tracing your bottom lip with his tongue, asking for entrance. You gladly let him proceed as your hand rests against his jawline. You took the initiative to pull yourself onto his lap and straddle him, your breathing slightly hitching when you feel his hardened member through his grey sweats. Your tongues are beautifully dancing around as he holds you tightly while you grind your hips against his.

"Hey, wait. Are you sure about this?" He pulls away, knowing the moment is intensifying by the minute. "You know I wanna do right by you, Y/N. I don't wanna do anything you aren't comfortable with."

"I'm sure. I want this. I want you." You respond almost at a whisper, your lips slightly grazing his. He simply nods and brings you back with a kiss. You gently palm his member, making him hiss and groan slightly at your touch. You continue to grind your hips onto him, slowly humping him into insanity.

"Fuck Y/N, honestly, you're going to make me cum if you keep moving like that." You chuckled.

"Don't." You plant kisses along his jaw line, watching as he shuts his eyes and tilts his head back. "I'd want you to do it inside me." You whisper in his ear.

"Y-You can't say things like that." He moaned.

"Or what?"

"You're an instigator, you know that? A really cute one." He says as he chuckles and gently lays you back down onto the ground. He whips your shirt and shorts off, quickly unhooking your bra and tossing it aside. His eyes widen at the sight of your exposed breasts. "So fucking pretty." He curses under his breath as he lightly sucks on your neck and around your breasts, before grabbing a nipple in his mouth and toying around with it with his tongue. You grip onto his hair as you slightly arch your back in pleasure. He bites onto his bottom lip before placing a trail of kisses down your stomach and down to your inner thighs before rubbing your covered clit through your soaked panties. He gently presses his lips onto your covered clit, making you yearn for more. "You're so wet."

"J-Jimin." You weakly call out. "Please."

"I got you, baby." He slips down your panties and inserts a digit into your throbbing pussy. You let out a small moan as he pumps his digit in and out of you, before inserting another two, with his thumb circling your clit.

"Ohhhh, fuck!" You squeal as you continue to feel his fingers stretching you out. You feel your wetness dripping out with every pump and covering areas of your inner thighs before Jimin releases his fingers and has you lick them clean. He lets out a small grunt watching your tongue circle and suck onto his fingers. He then latches onto your clit with his mouth. You feel his tongue swipe down your folds, teasing you with an in and out motion. You jut your hips upward but Jimin does a hell of a job preventing you from moving up any higher. You squirm in his grip, feeling your high coming close. "Jimin, fuck! You're gonna make me cum." You see his eyes look up at you, this time, full of lust. He simply nods as he continues to let his tongue suck you dry and explore the insides of you - the sight being enough to tip you over and make you climax. "Jimin!" You yell his name as your body twitches from underneath his grip. He gives your pussy one last lick, causing you to tremble at the sensitivity.

"You're so fucking pretty when you call my name." He says almost at a whisper. "How else can I make you feel good, baby?" He places soft kisses along your neck and jaw. You tug on his pants, causing him to chuckle and toss his shirt and pants off to the side.

"Please."

"Please, what? Use your words, beautiful."

"I want you deep inside of me. I wanna feel you." He bites onto his bottom lip and smirks. You run your hands down his chiseled abs and his V-line, completely in awe of how beautiful this man truly was. He was driving you crazy, everything about him. His eyes, his soft hair, his scent, his body. Good god.

He removes his boxers, making his hardened cock spring out. It was the most beautiful thing you've ever seen - perfectly long and thick, with veins running upward in various places. You pump him a few times, causing him to let out small moans, before placing your thumb on his reddened head to spread the pre-cum around his tip. He lowers his body back down onto you, his member teasing your entrance and gently grazing your folds. He kisses you passionately before you watch him grab his cock and place the head at your entrance. He inches in, lowering his body back down and bringing the blanket over your bodies while watching your eyes roll to the back of your head.

"You okay?"

"Mhm." You let out, your nails already digging onto his back. He kept a steady pace and slowly eased you into it. Your moans became breathy as he picked up the pace, his hands now keeping your legs opened wider for him. "Mmmmff, Jimin." You pleaded. "Just like that."

"Fuck, babygirl. The way you call my name." He quickly tilts his head back before ramming his body into yours as he became a little rough with it. Your thighs were folded up near your stomach as he held it there and continued to thrust in and out of you. With him picking up the pace, you felt yourself about to reach your climax and cum again.

"God, I'm gonna cum." You continued to moan loudly, until you were gripping onto the blankets and your eyes were rolling back once again. He greatly slowed down his pace, letting you ride out your high once more while placing kisses along your breasts and your lips. He wraps his arms around you and brings the blanket over while he sits back against the couch and lets you straddle him once more. The blanket comfortably sits below your waist, your eyes locked with his. He simply smiles at you, tucking a strand behind your ear and caresses your cheek. You gently and slowly ride him as you lean into his hand and place a kiss on his palm. His hands drop down to your waist, gripping onto them as you kept a steady pace while resting your hands on the couch behind him. You pick up your pace as you watch him squirm underneath you. He begins to call out your name, his hisses and groans accompanying the sound of your wet pussy riding him into the sunset.

"Y/N, fuck. Y-You're gonna make me cum." He tilted his head back, his hands losing grip around your hips as you rode his cock faster. "L-like that." He stutters. "Ugh, god." He hisses. You can tell he's about to let go with the way he's holding back his moans.

"J-Jimin, hmmmmph." You tilt your head back as you feel yourself about to cum for the third time tonight. "Please cum with me." You plead as your moans get louder.

"Oh shit, I'm gonna cum." He spits out as his fingers deep into your hips. You feel him fill you up completely as you ride out the rest of your high, Jimin's head now resting against your chest as you hold him close. You both stay in the position for awhile to catch your breath. After a moment, he looks up to meet your eyes and smiles, kissing you on the lips before helping you off his lap. He helps clean you up a bit before cleaning himself up and throwing his shirt and sweats back on. You fix the blanket onto the floor and drag some pillows down from the couch so you could lay on your stomach somewhat comfortably on the floor.

"You don't wanna get up to the bed?" Jimin laughed as he kneeled and rubbed your back.

"No, I'm too comfortable now."

"That good, huh?"

"Shut up, Jimin. Leave me alone." He laughed louder.

"I'll go grab another blanket." He says, going into the storage closet to grab another thick blanket to drape over your bodies. He lays next to you, his back resting against the couch as he propped his elbow up and rested his head on his hand. He continued to rub your back as you both looked over at the TV, the movie now nearing the end.

"I have to rewind the movie." You pouted, making Jimin chuckle.

"Go ahead." He watched as you flipped the remote up and brought the movie back to the last place you remembered seeing. You sunk your body into Jimin's, his lips lightly pressing on your head. Not even 5 minutes back into the movie, you felt your eyes getting heavy.

"Ah, I'm getting so sleepy though."

"You took a nap earlier. What do you mean?"

"I worked out a lot today." He laughed and lightly tickled you, making you hit his hand away.

"I see that. Go to sleep."

"Are you going to stay?" You mumbled.

"Only if you want me to."

"Of course I do." He smiled. "But what are you going to do?"

"Watch anime or whatever is on Netflix. Don't worry about me."

"Mmkay."

"Goodnight, baby." He whispers in your ear before kissing your cheek. The word baby made the butterflies come back (and the pussy throb, yet again, but you shoved that in the back of your mind because you definitely didn't have energy to go another round, as much as you wanted to).

Jimin watches as you quickly fall asleep, smiling to himself while he continues to play with your hair. He was happy. So happy. More than he's ever felt before and he wasn't sure how you were doing it. He was caught in your spell and he didn't even see it coming. You had him so undone. All he wanted to do was make this work with you and he was willing to, more than you knew. He didn't care about the time difference, he didn't care about your life being back in LA, he just didn't care about anything you've worried about because he believed you were worth it and he was going to put in this effort. You could figure everything else out later, but he just wanted this to be.

Alexa, play: Vibez x Zayn

[szopenhauer]

it seems that the average survey-taker is a white american female, aged 15-19, who has a car, a cell phone, and an extensive social circle. is this true for you? I’m a white female but not from America and I’m much older, have no car nor friends, just cellphone

have you seen any silent films? I love Buster Keaton 

would you rather be an actor, director, or soundtrack producer? actress and director

have you seen nbc’s ‘hannibal’? thoughts? (if you haven’t, do you want to?) no and don’t want to, yuk

on websites where you’re permitted to change your username, do you do so often, or do you keep the same one for long periods of time? I usually change after a few months

does your computer have a name?  I didn’t call this annoying piece of shit anyhow but maybe if I had a better computer...

are you eager to see how far science + technology will advance, or do you prefer an older way of doing things? do you think we are better off with these advancements, or not? I wish we had choice, I would like the world to be balanced, a bit of this and a bit of that, some advancements are necessary, some are cool but some are awful

what is your favourite comic book or graphic novel? does your favourite novel come in comic-book form? (if not, would you like it to?) I don’t read comics but from those I ever tried my fav manga was Doubt, webcomic (those I saw several but I forgot most of the titles by now) - Lackadaisy and I am fan of Aldebaran and Betelgeza 

Any friends who are constantly venting about their boyfriend?: it was common - me listening complains about my crush’es exes or current boyfriends/lovers/crushes

Have you ever been ice-skating?: once, in high school, didn’t like it

Does the sound of rain at night help you sleep?: yeah

Did the end of Public Enemies make you sad?: I didn’t finish the movie

Do you obsessively apply lip-gloss or lip balm?: ewww, not at all

Do you think you’d have what it takes to shoot someone if you had to protect yourself?: I believe

What’s your most noticeable flaw?: ugh...

Have you ever walked into a massive cobweb? yes and that was awful because it was full of dead bugs

When you can tell that someone’s lying, do you call them out on it?: often

How many other blogs do you follow on Tumblr?: more than 300 

Does it ever scare you how fast time can go by?: could say so

Have you ever replied “OK” when someone confessed they liked you?: possibly :x

What does your grandma call you?: sigh...

What would you do for immortality and infinite youth?: dunno, definitely wouldn’t sell my soul or kill an innocent person but I would do some stuff for immortality 

Would you rather have a pool or a hot tub?: neither

Have you ever worn a nipple tassel?: haven’t

Ever played hide and seek in the woods on horseback at night?: wow, that’s weirdly specific and now I want this somehow :o

Have you ever held a baby chick?: wild bird’s babies and I regret that because it’s not helfpul for them actually

Do you think wine tastes like rotten fruit? yep

Have you ever felt the need to hide something about yourself?: sometimes, from certain people, I should be myself most of the time tho

Do you think pearls are attractive?: umm...

Have you ever wished you had a different name? Which name would you choose? but I like male ones more or non polish

Have you ever customised an item of clothing? I designed and my mom helped me, made changes for me

Do you prefer drawing or painting?  prefer to draw but look at paintings

Are you saving up for anything right now? What? if I could/had money to save then I would save for a bike, laptop, my own apartment etc.

Do you own any figurines?  cats, dogs, elephants, clowns, horses and others

If you have any siblings, how much rivalry is between you all? it’s complicated

When did you last have itchy eyes? recently

Is it dark outside right now? it’s getting darker 

Do you prefer framed photos or just sticking photos straight onto walls? I prefer them in an album, takes less space 

What’s your favourite type of cake? used to love sękacz the most

Have you ever woken up from a dream and believed it to have been real? I was confused 

If there’s a bug in your room, can you sleep or do you need to get it out? it depends on how annoying/dangerous it is

Do you prefer travelling alone or with people? I like to travel with my dad

What was the last baby animal you saw? pic or irl?

Do you give people high fives or hugs more often? hugs

How long have you known the last person you kissed? I knew her 10 years ago for awhile then we lost contact until this spring

When angry, do you get loud or quiet? depends

What do you currently hear right now? my parents talking

Who of the opposite sex has seen you at your worst? dad

Last person you saw? parent

Did you have a nap today? nope

Are you easy to get along with? am not

When was the last time you were told you were cute? recently my gf called me cute and I’m like Catra about it

Have you ever forgotten to put on an oven mitt before you took something extremely hot out of the oven? not over, just hot pot

Do you own one of those airwick things that automatically sprays every few minutes? hell no

How many light bulbs are on in the room you are currently in? 3, one doesn’t work 

Have you ever had your phone taken away at school before? almost, teacher heard it calling but before they found out who’s phone that was it stopped ringing and I was safe

Do you look better with or without glasses? I’m always ugly 

What is your favorite type of bird? chicken, owl, flamingo, crow, barn swallow...

Did you go fishing a lot when you were younger? Do you now? I hate fishing, never been nor will go

Do you like more flowery scents or more clean scents? no scents, thank you Do you own a manual or electric toothbrush? manual, electric are horrible Preferred brand of toothpaste? m current is Meridol  Piece of make-up you cannot live without? I can live without it

Do you prefer heels or flats? flats are more comfy but I know how to walk in heels, just don’t like to

Do you eat meat? yep Do you still watch cartoons regularly? I recently started watching She-ra with my gf but before that I didn’t watch any animated shows for a long time (just fragments/episodes maybe) Do you leave the TV on and sleep to it? never Ever considered cannibalism? r u serious?... this is scary, I’m gonna puke :x Ever licked a battery? I’m not stupid What does your name mean? lily which was also going to be my name Do animals go to Heaven? hope so Babies are… irritating

When was the last time you saw a doctor? it would be easier to say when I didn’t because I see them too often Do you know anyone who is a firefighter? used to What was the last wedding you went to? my sister’s

What’s your favourite alcoholic beverage? blergh... Do you “binge-watch” tv shows? two episodes a day max What is your opinion of clowns? love Did you wear a necklace today? not today How old are your parents? about 60 What’s something odd you do when you’re anxious or nervous? personal Have you ever received a compliment from a stranger? I have, more than one time Is your wardrobe big enough for all your clothes? it’s not Do you plan ahead when it comes to your outfits? nah Have you ever shaved your face? I shaved my eyebrows (not whole)  What colour is your front door? silver with white paint coming off  Do you take the stairs or the elevator? stairs  Would you ever try herbal medicine as opposed to conventional medicine? I tried  Do you wear open-toed shoes? I despise those Have you ever been to a petting zoo? yeah, I was petting a raccoon <3 and chinchillas are so surprisingly fluffy  When was the last time you wore a button up shirt? weeks ago How many times have you consumed alcohol? once Do you often forget what you were just about to say? ocassionally when interrupted What’s your opinion of Australia? wouldn’t go there Do you own any striped sweaters? absolutely :) Have there ever been any forest or grass fires in your area? as every summer, also trash burn quite often

What color is the trash can in your kitchen? yellow What does the cover on the last book you read look like? it has two people sitting in front of each other Do you wear green on St. Patrick’s Day? I don’t celebrate this holiday, I dislike it Are you even Irish? not even partially Have you ever gotten a wig? What did it look like and what was it for? I have a bunch of wigs  How often do you use a shower cap? What does yours look like? I don’t own any If you wanted to get a cat, would you adopt from a shelter or buy from a breeder? Why? but I don’t want a cat What’s the shortest you’d be willing to cut your hair? almost bald? What do you do when you find a spiderweb in your room? leave it be or clean it

[hollowcrovvn]

The Ostensive Fumblings of Being Human (part 6)

Pairing: Connor x female!reader 

Rating: T 

Summary: January 2039. The aftermath of the revolution continues to shake the city of Detroit. Androids are living in government provided communities while efforts are being made to integrate them into society. You are a grad-student volunteering with the Detroit Crisis Response Unit (DCRU), working to help with relief efforts. Set within the backdrop of the slowing growing Android Rights Movement, Connor, newly deviant, is trying to understand what it means to be alive while many others like him seek equality and justice.

Chapter Summary: Valentine's day is approaching, which also means that date and "Temple Bar" scribbled on the Alpha Site file is also near approaching. What better way to spend a holiday than a late night steak out?

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (ao3)

Tagged: @shaydeevee33 @easy-and-steady @goldie516 @house-arya

You headed home from the DCRU offices after doing a quick round around the housing site. There was more surprise than anything at seeing you about, with most having fled to the safety of the Cadillac Place offices. Seeing the damage now in the fading sunlight it… it felt somehow even more surreal. Guards waited at a good distance as you stepped carefully over ashen wood and stained bits of metal, kicking one aside with the toe of your shoe. They had hydro washed the grounds, removing the blood and thirium. You’d been informed many of the androids in the adjacent modular had opted to move into ones further towards the center of the complex. You couldn’t blame them.

You hardly heard North’s approach, the young woman lingering a bit off to the side, but gesturing to you with a wave.

You walked quickly, saying before you even got close, “What’s wrong? Is it Simon?”

North shook her head, she looked tired, “He’s fine.”

That was a relief, but it still struck you suddenly how strange it was for her to be out here.

“I’m checking in. People are scared. I heard you opted out of the barbed fence line?”

“Yeah it— felt a bit much."

“I… appreciate that. It’s hard to keep our people from feeling this isn’t just another camp. A lot of them have the scars from those days, even if you can’t see them.”

It dawned on you by the way North crossed her arms and just her general demeanor that she wasn’t just talking about the others.

“I actually am also here to talk to you.” North began, “Look. I’m not good at this. I asked Josh just to give me your contact information, but he wouldn’t and when I asked Markus he threw my own line back at me.”

North bit her lip, pushing back a strand of hair the wind had blown into her face.

“Of course you can have it.” You said, recognizing that it was taken a lot for North to humble herself in this. You knew a lot of that had nothing to do with you, but you couldn’t say that you had appreciated her hostility either.

“Could you be just a little mad? Angry I understand. This— whatever it is, it makes me feel like the biggest asshole.”

You laughed, “Can’t help you. I’m not mad, just glad I was able to do what I said I was. I honestly didn’t know what I was going to do if I couldn’t get Cyberlife on board. Or how you all would react.”

“Probably not good.” North said with a sigh, swinging her arms out. She didn’t like to sit still and that reminded you of another android, “Markus told me, “She’s trying.”. End of conversation. I was so pissed off because why aren’t more trying? The human public will argue in their forums and wear their little “I support Droid Rights” badges but do any of them actually help?”

“Public opinion counts.” You said, “And it got me here. Right?”

“Small blessings.” North said, smiling faintly.

“Sometimes its hard to forget how it was. Did you see the marches?”

You nodded.

“We knew what we were getting into. We knew we might die, but still… standing there while the people around you fall. Staring down the barrels of so much… not even hate just— indifference.” North rubbed a hand over her lips, scowling as she dropped her hands to her waist.

“If it sounds like I’m making excuses, I probably am.” North said, “What I should say is that I’m sorry for our introduction. I’d like to work with you.”

You couldn’t help but smile, big and beaming. North caught sight of it and scoffed, but there was genuine humor in her eyes.

“Is that an okay?!” She said and turned to find you had offered her your hand. After a moment, she took it, giving a soft shake. When she took her hand back she rubbed her temple slightly.

“Okay… give me just a minute.” It took her longer to connect to your phone. You wondered why, but didn’t pry. You accepted the WR400 message.

“I’ll keep you updated on Simon. When he wakes up, I wanted to know if you would like to be there.” North said and you couldn’t help but be shocked.

“I wouldn’t want to intrude on him and Markus. I… can tell they must be close.”

“We all are.” North said, nodding.

“Yeah, I got that impression from Josh. All four of you went through so much together… it must be nice to have such close friends.”

North smiled softly to herself, as if to say you have no idea.

“Security is still high. I’ll walk you out. Until someone takes responsibility for this attack, we don’t know whether you people are targets too.”

That was a good point and you were more than happy to have the company of someone not in SWAT gear.

---

By the time you got home, ill-advised latte in your hand, it was already dark and bitterly cold. The sun went down so early in the winter, sapping the energy from your limbs though it was hardly yet nine o clock. The lobby of the apartment was mostly empty, with some people still around in the lower rec room areas. You noticed the security guard gave you a knowing smile and a faint nod. It was odd, but you gave a pleasant enough smile and “good evening” before disappearing up the elevator to your floor.

When you got to your door, you fumbled with your key card and then all but stumbled through the threshold, dropping your things and tossing the keycard into the bowl on a nearby stand reserved for that very purpose and setting your drink down too. You shut the door behind you, shucking off your shoes and quickly making work of the front of your blouse and itching to get to the clasp of your bra.

You made it about half way into the room before you turned and had to muffle a scream into your hands as Connor stood in your kitchen. How you managed to put that into the back of your mind you didn’t know, but it hit you without a beat that of course he was here, you’d invited him.

He looked genuinely concerned and genuinely amazing as usual, having traded off his suit and tie for jeans and a dark navy sweater. He had the sleeves pushed up to his elbows and was in the process of dispensing what smelled like some heavenly lo mein into one of your bowls.

“Sorry! Uh. Startled me.” You said, following the trail of his eyes and looking down and seeing the top of your very own, very lace frilled pink bra. You wrapped your shirt closed around yourself.

You stared at one another, a prolonged deer in headlights moment on your part until he said cheerfully,

“I ordered Chinese for you.”

Your stomach growled its approval.

“Awesome. Lemme just uh— go change. In the bedroom.”

“If you’d like.” He said, innocent as can be. You laughed, high and way too nervous, slipping off into your room to scream into a pillow for a hot second.

When you came back, comfortable in fleece bottoms and a faded Tigers t-shirt, Connor had clearly taken pains to adjust your sitting area while you were gone. There were pillows, clearly taken from your linen closet and more blankets for extra comfort. The delicious smelling lo mein was waiting on the glass coffee table, with other boxes of rice and chicken also present. And of course there was Connor, looking up at you as you came into the room with an expectant smile. God, if he had a tail you were pretty certain it would be wagging.

“You didn’t have to do this, Connor.” You said, shifting a pillow aside to take a place beside him, feeling a bit awkward to eat in front of him when he didn’t.

“There is popcorn too, if you’d like. But I thought something of substance would be better first.” Connor said, which seemed rather reasonable and all, but it still made you feel rather bashful. You picked up the bowl, happy to see a fork instead of the wooden chopsticks and stirred the noodles around the utensil.

“Okay— you didn’t have to, but I’m not gonna lie. Super glad you did.” You said. Connor looked pleased, bring his leg to rest up on the sofa as he turned towards you, arm over the back.

“Hank recommended I do something “casual”. I had planned to download a program on recipes, but he said that might come across as “too much”.

“Hank’s right. You don’t need to cook for me or do anything at all really.” You said, shaking your head with a sort of affectionate exasperation, “I like just having you around.”

“To talk about Machiavelli.” Connor added, “And films?”

“Yeah, about that. Given your text I imagine you probably have finished The Prince?”

Connor nodded.

“So! Tell me. What are your thoughts? Hit me with it, hippy.”

“His insights into human nature are primarily negative. He sees people as existing to serve the interests of the powerful through a constant balance of violence and benevolence. The masses are sheep, to be controlled.”

That was a very basic understanding, one that any search engine could produce, but something in Connor’s expression told you there was more.

“That’s what a lotta people say, but what did you think? You did quote it, so I wondered if you agreed with him on his conclusions.”

Connor made a face, a very clear indicator he did not.

“I think… that focusing only on the ends, on removing empathy and ideas in favor of blind efficiency, to be without feeling— it’s easy, but it’s inhumane. There are things he discusses which I find interesting but ultimately my feelings are very….” He drew off, fingers curling a bit into the fabric at the back of our sofa.

“Polarizing?” You finished, knowing full well the roller coaster it probably took him on.

“Yes. If I had read it “before" I probably would have agreed with him.” Connor said, “I don’t anymore. Realizing that was— emotional? I think that is the correct description.”

“Maybe that’s why Hank recommended it to you. To show you how far you’ve come.” You said, not knowing for sure, but finding that perhaps the old man had a plan all along.

“It made me look for the more insights on social order and governing bodies. Like Leviathan.”

You lit up, nodding while chewing through a bite of lo mein.

“That’s a good one!” You said, swallowing, “Social contracts.”

“Yes. The natural and artificial man…” Connor seemed to be relaxing as much as you, but still carefully selecting his words.

“I also read Nietzsche.”

“Of course you did.” You said, unable to keep yourself from laughing. If you had a quarter for every philosophy major who came out of 101 with a hard-on for Nietzsche you could pay for your next two years of grad school.

“You do not like him?”

“One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” You quoted, then clarified, “I like him just fine. People use existentialism and nihilism to justify being garbage people. I believe we should persevere through the chaotic mess of our lives rather than give into it.”

You speared a piece of chicken with your fork.

“Try being an optimist in a den of college age philosophy majors. It’s exhausting. Like yeah. People suck. We are floating on a blue dot through space and are inconsequential in the whole of existence. Awesome. Pass me the rice.”

Connor did so with a laugh. You took the container, brushing his hand faintly as you did and finding yourself very aware of that tiny detail.

“I envy your dedication to simplicity.” Connor said and you were not sure if he was teasing you or not.

“Like I said. Leave the rich man to his game. Give me my next meal.”

You chewed up some noodles for emphasis.

“And I don’t eat.” Connor added, “So I’ll aspire to higher thinking for both of us.”

“100 percent okay with that arrangement. You be smart and I’ll be full.”

“And frustratingly gorgeous.”

Ugh. God damn security really saved it like that in the log? That explained a lot.

“D-don’t act like that’s brand new information Mister “Do-You-Find-Me-Aesthetically-Pleasing?”. You said it yourself you were built to be pretty.”

Connor conceded it seemed, nodding with a frown.

“You want to watch the rest of the movie?” You said, the display flashing up on queue at your words. Connor perked.

“Yes please.”

The monitor began the film right where it left off, capturing his rapt attention. He was sitting in a way that you could so easily just slip a bit closer and rest into that soft sweater, put your head on his shoulder and just die of complete bliss. You flicked glances over at him as you had before, expecting his attention to be too focused to noticed— until you both looked at the same time, catching the other in the act of staring.

You immediately looked forward, but by the way your cheeks were burning you were pretty sure those beautiful brown eyes were still on you.

“Are you cold?” Connor asked.

“A little.” You said, playing into the charade. Connor knew full well the answer and if he hadn’t a quick scan would have told him.

“I am capable of increasing the warmth of my exterior to 110 degrees with little effort.”

The offer hung, unanswered in the air as you flipped noodles over and over around your fork. Finally, you shuffled over until his side was flush with yours. You didn’t lean on him, that seemed a bit too much, but you suddenly felt the faint aura of warmth and could not deny it was pleasant for multiple reasons.

Connor seemed nonchalant, eyes again fixed on the monitor as his LED ran yellow. You told yourself it was probably just the heating.

“—-...” he said, your name sounding somehow even better on his lips. You hummed, glancing at him.

“I like you.” He said. There was an air of expectation, pause. He was waiting for a response.

“I know, Connor. I like you too!” You said, reassuring but trying to mask the earnestness in which you felt those words. You did like him, you liked him a lot, but you didn’t even know where to begin unpacking those feelings in the swarm of everything that had been happening. You silently wished things were easier, that you could just go back to being a girl waiting in line behind a boy at a coffee shop.

Despite your attempt, somehow, it felt like it was the wrong answer still as Connor’s LED settled back to solid ice blue.

“I uh, I got something in my eLibrary during one of my many cab rides of the day.” You said, “It’s for you. I thought you might like it.”

Connor rose an eyebrow, looking uncertain, but his LED did flash twice as he downloaded the book.

“Modern Coin Magic by J.B. Bobo. 116 coin sleights and 236 coin tricks.” He said, slowly seeming to grow understanding as his smile turned into a grin.

“Much more fun to read than Hobbes. Call it a repayment for the Chinese.” You said, feeling yourself flush from the heat of him and your feeling suddenly a bit silly for getting it.

“Yes, but I thought you were going to have me unsync from your devices?”

“As long as you don’t go snooping through my phone logs, I don’t mind it. It’s kinda nice, like you’re always—“

You stopped, realizing how the words would have sounded.

“With you?” He finished, quiet.

“Um yeah. With everything going on, it’s nice to know I got a DPD detective who could find my body.” You said, meaning it to be a joke.

Connor tensed a bit at that, arm curling slightly closer towards you, but still not touching. You didn’t even notice, sitting up to set down your empty bowl and then gently falling back.

The night fell away, bits and pieces fading in and out. You remembered your cheek against something rough, denim— you turned your face in and found plush softness and a gentle touch soothing through your hair, across your cheek and even tracing over the shell of your ear. You fidgeted, swatting the tickling away.

When you woke up the next morning, you were tucked in on the couch, the smell of coffee strong and welcome as you slowly woke more and more. The front door clicked and Connor was gone.

---

Friday was quickly approaching. 2/14. While most were waiting in anticipation of Valentine's Day, you had actually pretty much forgotten about the entire thing and waited with a different kind of anticipation.

You wished you had more time to focus on Connor and the feeling that something was hiding, unsaid and accumulating beneath... but there was so much else to do. You waited in the lobby of Wayne State’s medical center, flipping through maps on how to reach Temple Bar and the feed of upcoming events. Per their calendar, there was nothing, they were even closed on Valentine's day, which was an oddity in itself... but you didn’t think that note in the DPD file Hank had was jotted down for nothing.

After the stunt you had pulled with Cyberlife, you were informed that the main director was taking over via off-sight coms as they didn’t want to work with an intern. You were back to square one, but with your major supervisor in the hospital room down the hall, no one really was in a position to scold you for missing time in the office. A nurse came to get you,

“She’s awake and said she’d like to see you. She’s a bit groggy still, so try to keep conversations light-hearted… if possible.” The nurse advised, leading you to the door.

You stepped in, noting this was the first time you’d seen Miranda with her hair down. She had burns, dressed and tended to, but were more severe than your own. She was healing, the miracle of modern medicine ten fold in the last twenty years courteously of Cyberlife.

“Hey…” you said, slipping into the chair, “I brought you something.”

You made sure no nurses were around as you slipped out the closed thermos from your coat.

Miranda laughed, quiet and slightly pained.

“I knew… when you came in… you were a good fit.”

You set the thermos of London Fog on the table by her bed.

“I heard… my… promotion for you was… over ridden.” She said, words coming slowly, exhausted.

“It was good for the short time. I think I did what you would have wanted.”

“Security?”

“Higher.”

“Androids?”

“Taken care of.”

Miranda closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Idealism… works in small bursts.” She breathed out, “You seemed… adequately idealistic.”

“The CyberLife representative said something similar. Said you uh— knew when to pretend to believe.”

“I’m a government… employee. Of course… I do.”

It was disappointing to hear that from someone whom you idealized, but right now everything about Miranda was human, from the dark circles under her eyes, her unkempt hair and the magnitude of wires and cables plugged into the machines around her running from her arms.

“I was… going… to wait. But… I have an opening. I want.. to give you the job.”

“What kind of job?” You asked.

“Assistant… Division Planner. Alpha site.”

“Miranda…” you said, “Can you even do that?”

“I may be… here… but I am still the Division Planner for the alpha, beta and gamma sites. I’m responsible for hiring… and I’m hiring.”

She curled her fingers, trying to pick up a tablet on her bed. You picked it up, seeing the names of the two other intern volunteers who had started with you from the beginning signed as the assistants to beta and gamma sites. Another blank line was there, for Alpha.

“Director approved. Sign and you got it. But I can understand… if after everything… you say no.”

You took out your stylus and wrote your name.

“Bombs away.” You said and Miranda groaned, despite the smile on her face.

“Keep that sense of humor. You’ll need it.”

You left the hospital and got a cab back to the Cyberlife facility where they were treating the androids, sending out a quick message to Josh to let him know to expect you.

You also sent a quick one to Connor.

[from: --

You got time today to come by and meet the group? Markus said you were more than welcome. ]

You were surprised by the long delay. Normally Connor responded so quickly when you messaged, but right now it looked like it hadn’t even been opened immediately as per usual.

The cab was halfway out to the old GM factory when the message came through.

[from: Connor

Unfortunately, I do not. There are some cases we are working on. I will not be able to "hang out" until Saturday evening. I am not avoiding the situation, in case you were thinking so. ]

Well you weren't but now that he said it you were a bit curious. You were surprised by how disappointed you were at the news. He'd become such an invaluable addition to your post-work relaxation time the past few days you were not looking forward to going home to an empty apartment-- which was new to you. Throughout college and high school you'd never seemed to have the time to spend on romantic relationships. Not that this was romantic, you reminded yourself silently, just uh- close. Close was a better word.

[from: ---

I won't say I'm not bummed, but I understand work life. Plus, it gives me time to do some grad-student stuff. ]

[from: Connor

Please do check in from time to time. I will back-read. ]

Oh you would, permission not even needed.

Thursday seemed to drag on and on. Between setting up your new office at the Cadillac Place and then arguing for over an hour with security because you wanted to move back to the on-site facility you barely limped your way through the afternoon. It was weird to be your own "boss", but you turned out to be more hands on than the other planners had expected, going over blueprints with them and listening in to drafting meetings. You knew the material, which was also new to them and had no problems expressing your opinions on where best to branch the housing units out.

For a temporary installation, you were thinking considerably far ahead, but it was nearly impossible to be an urban planner without being also a futurist. What if it took longer to refurbish abandoned and discarded homes along the city outskirts? What if the government backed out or required down payments and now you all were left waiting for androids to achieve the right to work? There were thousands of tiny outcomes, branching off infinitely and you had to be ready to make sure there was a place for these people to live.

After work, your attention shifted to the paper you were hoping to submit to the Wayne State academic journal which was right now just a detailed hypothesis on how to prepare for a "white flight" type scenario from encroaching in areas where androids would begin to live. History made it a likely outcome, but learning from that same history was also a possibility.

When it was finally time to sleep, a mixture of anticipation and some missing factor kept you tossing and turning. Finally, giving in, you turned on the lights in the living room and set a film playing on low volume. Curled back up into bed, you could almost trick yourself into thinking Connor was just in the other room.

The next morning you called off, prepared to claim soreness or other illness, despite your rapidly healing burns and bruises from the explosion, but it turned out as the assistant director, all you had to do was ping a server of your absence and the people were notified. No questions asked. For now at least.

Connor had been quiet, but not even ten minutes after your call in you got a message.

[from: Connor

Are you feeling alright? ]

[from: ---

What did I say about my phone logs? ]

[from: Connor

Stay out of them. ]

[from: ---

Uh huh. Get back to work, mister. I'm fine. Just wanted a day to myself. ]

[from: Connor

It is a good idea. You've hardly had much time to recuperate. Hank asked if you "passed along his message"? ]

[from: ---

Tell him I did, but I don't expect it to be followed. ]

[from: Connor

He said it was "worth a shot". I can not tell you of what has been happening with the case, but there have been some... irregularities. ]

[from: ---

Like? ]

[from: Connor

Let's just we are dealing with cross-contamination. ]

That was code enough for "Jericho's investigation is crossing our investigation".

[from: Connor

I will be in some long briefings the remainder of the day and evening. I will respond to any messages tomorrow. Have a good day off, ---. ]

Clearly you weren't the only one who didn't pay attention to holidays.

You booted up your tablet, checking for the tenth time the route to the Temple Bar. You breathed in, held and then let it out. Was this really even a good idea? But another thought butted in, whispering faintly, Never was anything great achieved without danger.

Yeah? Well, nothing was more dangerous than conscientious stupidity, so it looked like you were about to do Machiavelli proud and make Dr. King shake his damn head.

----

Temple Bar had once upon a time been a diner, the outside tiled with olive green panels and dotted with cubed glass windows. It was a dive, like if you pulled up a definition of "dive-bar" in Webster's dictionary you were pretty sure scrolling through the associated images that this place, with it's peeling paint and it's condemned-and-abandoned-chic would show right up. The words Temple Bar weren't even on a sign, but stenciled above its double doors in bright red paint.

The sun had begun to fade off, leaving the sky a pale canvas of dark purples and light pinks just barely visible behind the buildings. Inside the bar looked like the lights were on, but the doors did not move when you pushed on them. Thinking maybe you'd catch a glimpse around back, you turned the corner around the grey building next door and noted a door being ushered by two guys in street clothes. Typically there would be nothing really strange about them hanging out smoking cigarettes around the corner from a bar, if you didn't know that the bar's doors were closed. They were distracted, talking to another guy who'd come up to them so you hurried back behind the corner, listening.

One man at the door spoke, "Anything interesting happenin'?"

And the approaching man replied, "Oh, right uh-- yeah. Saw a pink elephant."

"Relax bud, you did fine." the questioning man said and you heard the sound of the door open, the dull roar of conversation and music and then all went silent again as the door shut.

You took a deep breath, waited a good ten minutes in torturous limbo-- and turned the corner. You smiled, having decided to use the best camouflage a girl could use, red lipstick and a low cut shirt.

They looked at you with grins, taking drags off their cigarettes.

"You all dolled up for your Valentine, sweetheart?" the taller one asked, "Or you out looking for one?"

"Maybe I already found one" you said, cautious behind that smile. The man laughed and then used it for his lead.

"You see anything else interesting lately? Besides my gorgeous mug."

"Oh yeah. A pink elephant." you said, flashing a smile you hoped was sultry and not just ridiculous.

"Awesome. Love it when we get us some female support." the man said, opening the latch and ushering you into the building.

"You have fun, little mama. I'll come buy you a drink later."

And the door closed.

The building was perhaps once a dry goods store, or other storage facility. There were permanent oil stains in the concrete floor that suggested maybe once it was a garage. Now though, it had been redone into a recreation space, with pool, standing tables and a slightly raised stage towards the front. There were maybe thirty to forty people present, leaving a lot of room to move around. When you came in directly to your left were two guys manning a table with pamphlets and other literature that all followed a very singular theme. Anti-Android. To your right was a guy with a scanner, which he promptly shined over you without explanation. There was a faint chime and he nodded.

"Human, clear."

Now you knew why this gathering had been noted in Hank's file and suddenly, with a rush of adrenaline, you became aware that this could very well be a meeting for the people who set a bomb off fifteen feet from your ass.

The words of Martin Luther King weren't going to save you now, so you flipped through the hand outs and smiled prettily and for the most part everyone seemed pleased a young lady was there. There were few of you, but those that you did see were mostly spoken for, hanging off the arms of other men and one, a rather tough looking woman.

"Mike will be addressing the congregation in about twenty, so get yourself a drink girl!" one guy said, happily handing you a free pin that showed a cartoon of an android without it's skin, X eyed and bleeding blue. Very charming. You made sure to drop it into an unaccompanied glass of beer on your way through. There was no mistake, you were out of your damn depth and now you were stuck here. Your nervousness must have read as feeling "out of place" because a blonde girl at the bar leaned over at your approach and smiled,

"First timer?"

"Yeah..." you said, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

"Everyone is super cool. Plus you don't have to worry about anyone crying over a robo joke." she laughed and you forced yourself to laugh with her.

"I'm Dani. You?"

Shit. Well. Go with the tried and true.

"Jane." you said, taking the hand offered to you.

"Hey! Get a special drink over here for my girl Plain Jane!" Dani said, and the man next to her laughed.

"Tom." he said, nodding and you nodded back.

"How long uh-- so how long have you guys been coming?"

Tom flashed up four fingers like he was in some gang flick.

"Four months! Even before the start. Got my girl here coming after all that mess back in November. Finally realized I had a point, didn't ya?"

Dani sighed, rolling her eyes playfully.

"You wanna meet some of the big guns?" Tom said, "I know a few of them. C'mon. Great bragging rights for a newbie!"

You barely had time to protest when Dani grabbed your arm and along with Tom, drug you over to a spot that was off to the side. There were sofas circled around each other and here there seemed to be only guys and none of them were drinking. They looked up at the interruption with an irritation you recognized, but that Tom in his buzzed state was oblivious to.

"Got some fresh meat! Everyone, this is Jane. Course you probably already know at least one of these ugly fuckers."

Of course? You looked at all the faces now staring at you and didn't recognize a single one. There was a good looking man sitting with his arms splayed out over the sofa's back, eyeing you with the same kind of calculated scan you'd' except from an android. It didn't take a grad student to know you were busted.

"I don't know her." came the first voice, followed by another and then the last. With that verdict, Tom suddenly had pulled back and was looking at you with a renewed confusion.

"Oh-- I thought... but wait..."

The guy you assumed was in charge stood up and made his way over to you. Everything in your limbs screamed run but you were paralyzed to the spot. Trapped between Dani and Tom.

"Thanks you two, go on back to the bar now."

The two left, still looking confused and Dani even shooting you a look of profound pity. The man in front of you however, had no such look, eyeing you with wicked coldness.

“How'd you get in? We recruit. That's how we keep out the riff raff and everyone here knows at least one of my boys right here. And if they don't know you, then you weren't invited.”

He reached up, drawing a hand through your hair.

"And we don't like party crashers around here."

Panic pulsed through your face, deafening your ears. When an arm suddenly slung heavily over your shoulders you gasped and jumped, only to be held tight but gently closer.

“Babe it’s just me. Got your beer.” This man you immediately recognized, even out of uniform, as the “Gavin” who taunted Connor in the DPD break room about his "ring". He passed you a beer, another in his hand that was around you, teasingly pressing it to your cheek. It was cold. You accepted the bottle, the eyes of the man questioning you now on Gavin.

“Neil, is she with you?” the man asked, no longer sounding as hostile, but more than a little annoyed.

“Yeah yeah. Sorry. I know the whole “no plus ones” but this is my girl. She was gonna kill me if I didn't do something for V-day tonight. Hey-- she's cool and she’s smart as fuck. Great addition to our group. Don’t know how I scored.” He said, turning fond eyes on you and clearly by the incline of his chin, was leaning in for a kiss. You played along, half closing your eyes as his lips pressed to yours warmly. You tasted no alcohol on his breath to speak of. It was quick, Gavin turning his face back up to the guys with a grin.

“It’s because you’re so cute.” You said, voice dry. It even got a laugh from one of there guys who had a minute ago been looking to bounce you.

“And my other extensive qualities.”

“Alright, alright. Jesus Christ, Neil we got rules for a reason. We just don’t want the wrong sorts getting in, but if this guy is tapping’ ya there is no way you’re made of plastic.”

You wrinkled your face in disgust, masking your actual disgust for his behavior with disgust at the notion.

“Silicone parts are made for toys.” You said, recalling some old 90's song lyric. They all seemed far too impressed with it.

“Should put that on one of our headers!” said one of the guys behind the leader.

“Yeah, speakin’ of talkin’ shop there was something I wanted to run by you Mike. Hey babe, why don’t you go mingle.” He let you go, directing you off with a swat to your ass. You tried to resist your bodies innate instinct to stiffen.

“Good, cause you and me are gonna re-discuss why we have the rules too." "Mike" said, but was still watching you with those cold eyes, "Don’t let that one have too long a leash now, Neil. Someone might snap her up.”

Even his smile was chilling.

You shook your head, rolling your eyes and smiling the way you’d seen girls in bars do to be “cool girls". As if Mike was just sooooo funny.

You slipped away trying to find a secluded place to keep watch of the people coming and going around, all getting drinks and chatting like it was a regular old Valentine's day bar night. After a couple of minutes, arms wrapped around your middle again and you could tell by the sleeves it was Gavin.

“Neil, huh?” You said quietly.

“What are you doing here?” Gavin said through gritted teeth, acting like he was grinning into your hair.

“I was in the area.” You said, feeling his jaw work against your temple in frustration.

“You are about to blow a sting is what you are doing. How’d you find out about this?”

Why lie?

“Saw the name and date in Hank’s file.”

Gavin swore quietly, but then whispered into your ear again like a good “sweet” boyfriend.

“Alright, gumshoe, you had your fun. Now get. This ain’t no place for a good robo-loving girl like you.”

You elbowed him, hitting your funny bone on his rib along the way. It wasn’t especially hard, but enough to make him hiss and the arm around your waist to become uncomfortably tight.

“Assaulting an officer? Tsk tsk.” Gavin said, flirty yet somehow still pissed off.

“Shut up. He’s about to talk next.”

Sure enough, “Mike” took up on the makeshift stage, a chorus of cheers ringing out.

"First things first. We all are extremely grateful to you boys who gave up your night of guaranteed sex to come out here tonight and rally for your rights."

Another roar.

"And we are extremely sorry for all you boys who gave up your night of beating your meat to porn to come out here tonight and rally for your rights!"

Ah. What a classy public speaker.

"For too long we've all been struggling under the heel of Cyberlife and their workforce. We've lost jobs, we've lost homes and now we've lost something more fundamental to human kind than can be expressed." he paused for effect, "We've lost justice."

There was another chorus of agreements.

"243 victims of violent deviant crimes. Two hundred and forty three. How many androids caught? Maybe half a dozen. And now? Zip. Nothing. All investigations suspended because the damn liberals are too busy giving them government aid!"

Mike gave time for the group to settle on that, outraged comments and cries of various disgusting prejudices, not all limited to androids.

"Raise your hand if you or a family member has been a victim of a deviant? Huh? C'mon, I'll make it easy." Mike said, and rose his hand, "Many know our good founder lost his brother, god rest his soul, who was murdered in cold blood by one of these skin job sluts and what did the DPD do? Let them get away."

He shook his head, putting on a show of seething.

"He wants justice. I want justice. Do you want justice?"

Another loud chorus.

"I said DO YOU WANT JUSTICE?"

The place exploded with noise and you were suddenly grateful for the steady pressure of Gavin's chest against your back. He whispered lowly,

"Now would be a good time to slip out..."

Gavin didn't give you a chance to respond, setting his hand on the back of your neck and using it to direct you out through the crowd. You reached back to slap his arm, but he refused to let go.

"Oh now wait wait-- hold on, is that Neil and his girl? Hold on."

You both froze, noting suddenly as the crowd dispersed around you.

"You see. Neil brought a lady friend tonight and either he is as dumb as he seems, or she done played him like a fiddle. Ladies and gents, I'd like to introduce you to the new assistant division planner of the traitors putting those androids up in homes like kings."

The next few seconds blurred, guys coming to grab Gavin and him putting up a fight to get off. Two of the guys from the front door roughly grabbed your upper arms and you felt the solid press of a gun against your side. Gavin took a few good hits before he too was pushed on the ground, a gun to his head.

"You see, little miss didn't think we backwater mongrels would have-- I don't know-- details on all DCRU's robo-loving libtards. But hey. Whaddya know. We do."

"Stop! He didn't know!" you yelled, desperation in your voice with knowing that you could at least maybe keep Gavin from getting mixed up in your mistake.

"If everyone would do us a huge favor and please, file on into the bar next door. We're gonna postpone our rally for a bit of house keeping."

There was genuinely some individuals, like Dani and Tom who didn't seem entirely okay with what was happening, but regardless, the crowd moved out, leaving you and Gavin alone in the empty warehouse with Mike and six of his men.

"I think this is the best contribution you've made to the cause so far, "Neil"." Mike said, jumping down from the stage and coming to lean over Gavin. "Head honcho and I were all a wonder how we'd deal with the new security... but shit, now we can just walk in. Blow those skin-jobs apart."

Gavin jerked, trying to get his arm free of one of the guys. Mike nodded and they let go, throwing Gavin down unto his hands and knees. In a second the three guys were on him, punching and kicking whatever they could reach. Gavin curled, defending his ribs and head, but otherwise took each blow.

"Brought me the perfect Valentine." he said and reached out towards you. You jerked your head away, trying to keep him from taking your neck in his hand and unable to pull back enough with how the two held you fast, digging the gun into your hip.

"Get rid of him. We take the girl to Twelve Oaks."

The door burst open, the body of one of the doormen flying through and falling, un-moving unto the floor.

"What the fu--" Mike's certain-to-be-eloquent statement was cut off.

The men turned their guns towards the door, firing on the first person that came through. It took a minute to register that that person was in fact the slumped form of the other guard in a headlock, which was dropped unceremoniously to the ground as the individual holding him reloaded and fired. The shots were clinical, perfect in their execution. One drop, two drops. Connor moved like a machine, quickly dodging behind the pool table to avoid a hail of bullets from those still standing. But these guys were not trained soldiers or cops, Connor just needed a few timed breaks in the fire and two more went down. Losing men fast, Mike booked it toward the back, the remaining guys following close behind. Connor seemed intent to chase after them, but halted his pursuit to trail his gun on the guy who still held you. The man wrapped his arm up around your throat, cutting off your breath as he staggered back, using you as a shield. He pointed his gun at Connor, but thinking better of it, instead pointed it at you.

There was nothing in his Connor's eyes, no recognition, no pity. The warm brown of his iris was engulfed in near black, his LED red.

"Back off, freak! I swear to god! I swear to god I will kill her!"

From the ground, Gavin moved, pulling out his own gun and drawing it on the man. Human eyes were drawn to movement, and this man was no different as he turned his attention towards Gavin, arm laxing.

"Down!" Connor yelled, and you ducked under the man's arm, slipping away and exposing a perfect line of fire to the man's chest which Connor immediately exploited.

One shot. The man's arm released you and you fell to the ground, clamoring away.

Two shots.

Three.

Four.

The shots kept coming as Connor unloaded into the man until at last your captor finally staggered back and fell to the ground. There were sounds of yelling coming from the bar, the issuing of commands and the door burst open to a few armored officers and Hank, wearing a vest.

"Area needs securing." Connor stated, cool and calm, "Please inform medical personnel. We have an officer down, five wounded POIs and two dead."

Your breathing was fast, too fast, it came in short gasps. Hank swore under his breath, holstering his own weapon as he dropped down to your side, his hands surprisingly gentle.

"Up ya go. C'mon." Hank said, helping in the endeavor as suddenly your legs seemed disconnected from your will for them to move. As soon as you were vertical, another officer came forward, opening his handcuffs. Hank rebuked him swiftly,

"Hey, hey. You wanna get slapped with a lawsuit? Put that shit away, I'll take her."

"Take me?" you managed, looking for Connor and finding he was following some other officers out the back way, on the trail of "Mike" and his two men. You wondered if they managed to stop them.

"Yeah, that's what happens when you get caught up in a damn cop raid." Hank said, helping you steady. You noted, to your horror, your shirt was covered in blood and your hands now too where you'd touched it. You made a sound in the back of your throat and Hank steadied you again.

"C'mon... c'mon, kid, let's get you out of here."

----

The interrogation room of the DPD was no strange place for you, but the handcuffs securing your wrists together at the front were. Your hair was pulled back as best you could manage and you were actively trying to ignore the fact there was blood drying and clumping the strands together in spots. You'd been given a DPD hoodie and some sweats, which you were more than happy to trade your blood covered clothes for.

The cold metal table felt nice on your temples as you lay with your head down on your arms, the faint clink of the handcuffs hitting together a repetitive sound you continued to produce, if only to distract you from the silence.

When the door opened, you heard the noise outside-- they did have a lot of people to process tonight. You lulled your head up a bit, noting Hank. You slunk up into a sitting position, movements slow and groggy.

"You warmin' up?" Hank asked and you nodded. You'd been in shock the medics said and now all you felt was tired.

"Good. Maybe you can tell me what the hell you were doing at that bar tonight then?" he said, voice curt, "If it isn't too much trouble."

"Where's Connor?" you said, looking towards the two way glass.

"The Detective had other duties to see to. Which leads me to my first and most important question." Hank sighed, "The guy he shot-- did he have a gun?"

"Yes." you said, remembering all too well the cold touch of it to your side. "He had it on me. He said he was going to kill me."

"So the detective was right to act in your defense?"

"I... appreciated it." you didn't know what else to say. When you thought of it, all you saw was the empty look in Connor's eyes, void except for the task at hand. He hadn't even spoken to you at all except to tell you when to put your head down.

"Good. Now let's start from the top. How'd you hear about the rally?"

"I didn't know it was a rally." you said, "I saw the bar name and the date on one of your notes when I was last here."

Hank frowned. You knew it would most likely get him reprimanded, but it was the truth.

"So you-- what? Just thought you'd impede a police investigation? Did you think we weren't going to have eyes on it?"

"I-- maybe. I just..."

"What? Cause Ms. ---, I gotta tell ya, it looks awfully damn suspicious that you, a DCRU volunteer, were found at a rally of the group that may have bombed your facility."

God, he was right. Why on earth had you ever thought this was a good idea? It was just this-- drive you'd felt since you saw Miranda laying in that bed. Saw Simon. The other androids... Markus looking so shattered and defeated that day as North tried to comfort him. You were helping but it wasn't enough.

"I wanted to see them." you said, "I needed to see them. So I would know if they were the ones who did this."

Hank sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and tipping his chair back.

"So you're telling me you were just out looking for some-- what? Closure?"

"Yeah. I guess." you said, pausing for a moment, "...I barely sleep. I live off coffee because I don't want to eat, if I even remember to do it. When I close my eyes all I see is that flash and I just-- I needed to know why."

"What you need, ---, is to talk to the damn therapist we referred you to when this happened."

You knew he was right. Connor had been keeping you together with his visits which were half obvious home checks. Your co-workers hadn't bat an eye at you taking the day off because you were the only one of those in the blast who hadn't yet. The others had not been back since.

"I just want to do what's right for them. I want to protect them."

Hank nodded and slowly reached over and unlocked the cuffs from your wrists.

"It's been made obvious by Detective Reed's impression and my own, that you were not there as a participant. I'm letting the obstruction go and your breaking our most convincing "extremist's" cover for two reasons." he held up his index and middle finger, ticking them off,  "One. You are a victim of a violent crime, Ms. ---, whether you like it or not. Twice. And two... well. You know two."

Connor.

"I advice you take some time off work and get your head straight. You are doing good for these people, Ms. ---, just please leave the detecting to us because next time you play at Nancy Drew, the department will press charges." Hank stood up, gesturing that you should too.

"There was something." you said, "Something that didn't make sense that that guy Mike said."

Hank narrowed his eyes.

"He knew about my promotion. I'm assistant division planner now to the housing site that was bombed. He shouldn't know that. There's no way. It's not even been released, I only signed the paperwork a few days ago."

The gravity of that statement dawned on Hank, making his face twist with shock and then disgust.

"Jesus Christ...."

He had drawn the conclusion you had. Someone from within DRCU was providing these people with information.

[pandawritesmanythings]

Halfrid // Part 3

Platonic!Loki x Teen!Reader

Summary: Your life has always been dictated by the fact that you are smarter than most adults. This has made you antagonize many of them, it isn’t your fault that you are just citing facts! However, when the god of mischief becomes your friend, are there enough facts you can cite to prove his innocence?

Warnings: None, just no Loki this chapter, sorry!

Word Count: +3000k

A/N: Wow! A lot of people responding positively to the last part! I’m really glad you guys are enjoying it. I am opening the tags list in case anyone wants to be notified when the next chapter comes out!

TAG LIST IS OPEN!!!

NEW YORK 2014

The streets were filled with the usual buzz that surrounded New York. In the distance, the sounds of construction jolted you awake.

You had fallen asleep in your desk again. You sighed and rubbed your hands all over your face, wiping some of the dried salivae away from your mouth.

Your computer was still on and running, its fans warming up the area where it was sitting. With two fingers you slid through the pad and wrote the password on the lock screen.

It opened to the essay you had been working on last night. You smiled while reading it, your teachers had praised you before on your essays, and you were really proud of this one. Quickly you clicked the share button and sent it to your personal account and to your teacher.

You pushed your chair with wheels away from the desk and hopped off it when you reached your closet. You pulled out a simple sweater and jeans, your black flats and pulled your backpack over your shoulder. You rushed to the bathroom and quickly brushed your teeth.

Your parents were getting ready to get to work. They still hadn't forgiven you for 2012, but you knew they would get over it soon. At least they didn't hang it over your head every time you walked into the room anymore.

"Good morning munchkin!" Your dad called from the kitchen, the blender sounding off.

"Good morning dad!"

"You almost ready for school?" Your mom asked kissing your forehead.

"Yep. I already finished my essay and I left my project on my locker, so I'm good for today." You chirped taking your place in the table and placing your backpack by your chair.

Your mom was typing furiously on the keyboard of her own laptop, even though her expression remained calm. Trying to catch a glimpse you leaned in to see what she was doing.

As soon as she felt your curious gaze on the document, she snapped it closed. 

"Come on mom! Let me see!" You whined.

"No. Finish your breakfast, this is not something for you to meddle with." She seriously stated, her brow furrowed.

You deflated in your seat, a long breath of air coming out of your lips. "I was just curious..." You mumbled.

"And where did your curiosity lead you to, last time?" She rhetorically asked.

You hid your face in your arms trying to avoid her fiery gaze.

"Why do you have to make my appetite go away?" You asked muffling your voice in your arm.

"Stop mumbling and eat your breakfast. I'll pack it if I have to, but you aren't leaving the house without at least a bite out of your sandwich." Your mom seemed to be very final about this, completely ignoring the fact that it had been two whole years since New York, and yet she didn't trust you had become more careful.

A mom's mind must be one of the most complicated ones. You only saw the annoyance that her attitude brought you, but under it, there was an honest and sincere worry for your safety. 

Since 2012, your mom had become more overprotective of you. She had given you a phone and a computer, but they were constantly monitored. If you were on a website you shouldn't be in or downloaded any information that didn't come from an official website, she would get a notification. And let's just say since the attack on New York you haven't been particularly keeping out of trouble.

As you took a bite out of your sandwich and scooped some yogurt out of a cup into your mouth you heard your mom sigh behind you.

She placed her head on her hands, rubbing her sides as if she had a headache. "Darling... My little girl. Why can't you be like others?" She asked, not in an accusatory tone, but one of a very tired mother. She hated having you on such a tight leash, but trust was earned and you hadn't earned it.

"What? You want me to be boring and dumb like my classmates?" You asked in disbelief.

"No! That's not what I meant. I just..." You mom was obviously at a loss for words. So your dad swooped in to save her.

"I think your momma is just tired of you getting in trouble kiddo." He smiled putting a platter of sliced oranges on the table and a homemade strawberry smoothie. "She wants you to go out and play on the hydrants during the summer, and be curious about the world. Instead of only researching it on Wikipedia." He smiled slyly.

"But that's boring!" You retorted. "You know what's fun? Figuring out how to get hidden files from the FBI." You giggled. 

Your mom groaned but your dad just laughed. "Oh, love. She's going to be a great agent someday."

"She's not going to end up entering your business, Frank." Your mom deadpanned him.

"But what if I wanted to?" You butted in.

"I still wouldn't let you. You already cause a lot of trouble by yourself. I can't imagine what you would do with actual authorized access to verifiable sources." She frowned as she opened her laptop and resumed her furious typing, this time letting the frustration bleed onto her face.

You angrily took another bite of your sandwich and downed your smoothie. "I'm done." You jumped out of your seat and slumped your backpack on your shoulder. "See you later." You frowned at your mom and she raised her head to look at you.

She looked worried. You walked up to her, biting your lip. 

She brushed a strand of hair away from your face. "I love you, sweetie. I just want you safe, okay? Please forgive me if my way of showing it is sometimes a little..." She struggled to find the words.

"A little mean?"

A light chuckle left her lips. "Yeah, something like that." She kissed your forehead and looked in your eyes. "Have fun today. I love you."

"I love you too." You smiled.

As you turned around to say goodbye to your dad you found him leaning on the threshold of the kitchen entrance. He smirked at you and you rushed and hugged him by the waist.

"I love you, kiddo." He ruffled your hair.

"I love you too, dad!" You smiled up to him.

As soon as you let go, you waved them a final goodbye, grabbed your anchor shaped keychain, and ran out the door rushing to school.

You said hi to Mrs Alianza, your tenant, and ran out the front door. You walked with a pep in your step, humming a tune to yourself.

The sounds of constructions and particular smells of New York greeted you. The usual people did their usual commute. Store after store was speckled with familiar faces, all of them buying, selling, and working as every other day.

The way to your school wasn't that long, which is why it was one of the only things your parents trusted you enough to do by yourself. You would walk up the street, make a right and at the end of that street was your school. The scent of the Starbucks hit your nose when you passed by the open door. You really wished you had money so you could buy yourself some hot cocoa. The weather of the last few days of September was nicely fresh, but since it was usually colder in the mornings the sweetness and wariness of the chocolatey goodness was just what you needed.

But since you were broke as the hobo down the street, you walked past it and headed to your destination. Prison.

Your school was an old building, it looked really fancy on the outside, but had the same crappy classrooms as any other public school had. The halls were filled to the brim with students who were chatting the start of their day away. You, however, just walked straight into your class. Mrs Peyton wasn't there yet, so you decided to simply sit down and open your assigned book. And yes, you had already read up to were your teacher told you, but what else were you going to do right now? Talk to people?

The seat next to you was usually empty, which is why it surprised you when you saw another girl sitting there.

Ok, you are a social incompetent. But please try this time to be relatable. Or at least not scare her off. You bullied yourself.

"Hey," You snapped your book closed and gave her an awkward smile. "A-Are you new here? I've never seen you before."

She looked taken aback by the fact that you were talking to her, but she also awkwardly smiled and nodded.

"Oh, well... Welcome!"

There was a heavy silence between the two of you. Mainly because you didn't know if to ask a question, or let her talk or ask you a question. Your mind kept rolling around to try and make this disgusting silence disappear.

"U-Um..." You struggled. "So, have long have you lived here?"

She looked at you weirdly. This is why I'm a social outcast. You thought.

"All my life? I just transferred schools." 

WELL, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT. HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT. You inwardly screamed.

"Oh! That's cool. What school were you attending before?" You asked as you repeated inwardly: Please don't say Visions. Don't say Visions.

"Visions Academy." SWEET MOTHER OF ICICLES-! "It was the best school I have ever attended."

"Ah. Why did you come here then?"

She looked at you as if it was an obvious answer. "My parents think I need to experience The Real World." The did an exasperated gesture. "What does that even mean!?" 

"Well, maybe they want you to see the other side?"

"And mingle with peasants? I would rather die." She huffed.

"Well, you are technically mingling with one." You pointed to yourself.

"Oh, no. I know you are, I just see you and don't think you'll remember what I tell you in a couple of days." 

Did she just call me stupid? You tried to maintain a calm and collected face.

"You don't look like the social type, so I guess you don't care that much for people's problems and grievances." She swatted the air with her hand. "To be honest. I wasn't even that popular in my other school. But if others know I was studying there, maybe I'll finally be popular!" She beamed as if it was her goal in life to be the centre of everyone's attention.

You had two options. Forget this annoying and self-absorbed girl, or make something out of this.

"Have you ever heard the phrase, A fake friend and a shadow only come by when the sun shines?" You looked at her and she shook her head. "It's Benjamin Franklin. Great guy. You might have heard of him."

That got a snort out of her. "Yeah, I have."

"What do you think that means?" You thoughtfully gazed at her.

She looked at you blankly for a second. "I... Don't know...?"

You adjusted yourself in your seat. "A shadow is by your side when the sun is out, just like a fake friend will. But disappear when the clouds roll by. A friend can do the same if they don't care for you and only care for your popularity. You think they'll stick around when the hard times come?"

It left her thinking. She was silent for a minute, looking everywhere except where you were sitting. Something told you that there was more to this girl than you initially thought. Just as she was going to answer you, Mrs Peyton arrived in the classroom and the bell ringed.

You didn't see the girl for the rest of the day.

The girl. Wow. You really had to start asking for people's names first, didn't you?

When your last period was over the bell rang and kids started filing out of the classrooms. Then you saw her.

She was wearing a pink skirt, as short as the dress code allowed her and a pink sweater with a white dress shirt neck coming out of the neck of the sweater. Yeah, she definitely came from a prep school. She contrasted highly with you. Yet, she pushed off the wall and approached you meekly.

"I was thinking about what you said." She claimed. "The truth is... I don't know what I am truly doing here. I don't know how long will I stay, but I just wanted... The validation I guess."

You smiled at her, sympathetically. "So, what do you really want?"

"A friend."

"I... I think I do too." You smiled at her.

"My name is Ashley."

"Mine is (Y/N)"

MONTHS LATER

You had no idea where this had come from. And honestly, neither did Ashley.

You were just one day chatting about the fact that the Avengers were the only guys without cooties in the whole world. They were actually super cool. You laid in your bed listening to Ashley talk about why Thor would beat Iron Man in the blink of an eye.

"I mean. It makes sense, as smart as Stark is, he doesn't level out with Thor's powers." She finalized the rant that you were barely paying attention to while you re-searched about them online. No. You weren't stalking. That's creepy.

"But that's where you are wrong. His source of power comes from his hammer. Right?"

"I guess?"

"Then look." You turned the laptop to her and showed her the security feed you were watching. "If we are talking combat, yes he is great. But so is Stark." 

In the feed Thor tried to lift his hammer just to not being able to and giving up, melting in a puddle of despair. "See? Without his hammer, he is basically defenceless."

"He still can fight. Without the suit Stark isn't much more, isn't he?"

"No no no. That's where you are wrong. Stark has the brains. Thor has the brawns." You smirked. "If Tony had to manage to beat Thor without his suit, I think he would find a way. He is way too intelligent for his own good."

"Maybe. But if there is something we can agree with, is that Cap is the whole package." 

You both flopped onto your mattress laughing at that. "That is America's good soldier!" You laughed.

"His butt, tho." 

"EW. NO. DISGUSTING. SHUT UP." You slammed her with a pillow.

You both kept laughing for a bit longer and slowly your laughs became more breathy and ceased being so loud and frequent. You slowly sat up.

It had been a while since you had thought about the 2012 incident. But seeing that footage from Thor and all that talk about mind versus brawn got you thinking... What was Loki doing here anyway? He definitely wasn't the brawns. And the way he got defeated was... Almost comical. But when you talked to him, he came across as a very thought inducing and mysterious guy. And being honest, no bad guy tries to dominate if he doesn't have a clever plan.

"You ever think about the villains the Avengers have to defeat?" You asked, your mind wandering.

"I barely do, honestly." She got up too and placed you pillows back into place. "I just like to think about how many lives they save. I know that they can't save everyone, but I am pretty grateful for the fact that this world is still here. I don't think we would be if it wasn't for them."

"Yeah... Yeah. You're right."

But after Ashley left you were still thinking. Your mind was going in circles. You had always been bad at social interaction, but the only two people you had ever felt truly comfortable talking to were Ashley and, strangely, Loki. How? You had just talked for a few minutes with him, but you could recall what he told you that day almost completely.

So that is how it started. You brought out your personal notebook and wrote down:

The 2012 Incident

And wrote all you could remember about your exchange with him. All you could remember about the ship, how you entered his cell. Your conversation. You repeated the events in your head over and over again until you wrote everything down. Over the next few days, you analyzed all you wrote, over and over again.

Your teachers noticed.

"Are you okay, (Y/N)?" Mrs Peyton asked as you wrote down ideas for the latest essay in her class. You had been spacing out for too long.

"Um! Yes, I'm good. Just... Writer's block, you know how it is..." You stumbled over your words. She didn't look convinced, but still, she gave you a tight lip smile and continued on to help students who were stuck.

A couple of days later you heard your name being called through the teacher's radio.

"(Y/N). Miss Jennifer wants to see you."

Ashley shot you a worried look, it wasn't often that you were called to your adviser's office. But you gave her a slight nod and got up your seat to go to the adviser's office.

You were surprised to see your father sitting there. "(Y/N), dear. We are happy you could join us."

"Is everything okay?" You questioned.

"Yes. Of course." Miss Jennifer reassured you and pointed towards the chair so you could sit down.

"We have had many comments lately on your daughter not being able to fully concentrate in classes. We just wanted to know if there is anything you would like to tell us, darling?" She said as nicely as she could.

Your dad raised an eyebrow in your direction.

Oh, crap. How were you going to explain this? You couldn't just say that a psychopath that you once crossed roads with had been occupying your thoughts.

"You see. Sometimes I want to write about many things, and if I get an idea for something I... Kinda space out. Sorry if I have worried anyone." You tried to answer, your voice sounding more confident than you actually felt.

"I see." She wrote something down.

"Has it been affecting her grades? I know she is smart, but she does have a tendency to lock herself in her head." You dad ask concerned.

"Well, although she has certainly been distracted, there is nothing wrong with her grades. She astoundingly completes her work. Besides her spacing out, her teachers don't fault her much on anything." She tried to calm your dad down. "I called this meeting, firstly to address this subject and make you aware of it Mr. (Y/L/N). However, there is one more matter I wanted to discuss."

"Well?"

She proceeded to show us in her laptop a scholarship program. "I know that (Y/N) is still quite young, but I think this would be an excellent outlet for her imagination." She slid a pamphlet towards us and continued to explain. "See, the WRITE Scholarship is based on talent, and not grades. Some start writing their entrances since they can hold a pencil, but I think that you have enough experience to start trying. You must turn it in, as of late, the last month of your senior year. Some write short stories, but some of the most successful are those who turn in essays about things that interest them. For example, a girl last year won by turning in an essay with proof and facts of how HYDRA had infiltrated so quietly into SHIELD. It won her the scholarship and she went to the college of her choice to keep learning what she loves."

It left you speechless. A scholarship that would fully pay for all your college expenses if you turned in an essay that blew their minds? It was like a dream come true. And you could write about anything. Anything at all.

Miss Jennifer kept talking and gushing about it, but you had already heard enough. There were so many possibilities as to what you could do.

But your mind kept going back to that girl who had investigated HYDRA. What if you could do the same... But examining why did the Incident of 2012 happen?

To Be Continued...

[sophiaholmes221b]

Sophia Holmes and the Study in Pink

Chapter Six

We stop running a few minutes later, panting heavily.

"How long do you think it would it would have taken for a man to realise he still had a suitcase in his car," dad asks between breaths.

I eye him, knowing that he already knows the answer, but is testing me. "A man would take more time than a woman because they don't tend to be so detail-orientated," I begin, and dad nods encouragingly. "I would say about five minutes away, by car."

"And where would you look if you had to dispose of a bulky item such as a suitcase?"

"A skip, most likely, but he'd need to be able to drive there. He'd look a bit strange walking down the street, wheeling a pink suitcase behind him: people would remember him. We need to find an alleyway large enough to fit a car through, which has a skip at the end of it. Is that enough to go on?"

Dad smiles at me proudly. "Your deductions are getting better - that is spot on." I give a wide smile and he nods at me. "You knew about Doctor Watson's sister, didn't you?"

I look at him in surprise, wondering how he worked that out. "Yeah, some of the scratches on the screen looked like they were made by longer nails. Obviously not conclusive proof, but there was just something... I don't know."

"Intuition?"

"Mm," I admit, unsure how he'll respond. Intuition is a woolly concept that I'm not entirely certain dad will approve of.

"I wouldn't dismiss intuition," dad says, sensing my concern. "The conscious mind takes in more information than even our brilliant minds could comprehend. Intuition is a good starting ground for finding more evidence. My mistake, though, should show you the importance of getting a second opinion: you never know what information another might have that would change your view. Remember that." I nod, glowing with pride. I seem to be awashed with compliments tonight. "Are you okay to take the main road?"

"Yeah," I say, nodding.

"Good, I'll text you if I find anything. See you back at the flat."

I nod and we split off, both heading in opposite directions. I follow the road down for about two miles, ignoring the looks from people as I sprint on past and heading down the alleyways I find on my way. The bitter air bites at my neck, so I turn the collar up on my coat and tie my scarf tighter.

As I begin to tire, I find an alley both wide enough to drive a car down and one that has a skip at the end, so I slow down to a walk as I approach it to give myself a breather.

I've always done well at school in the races - when I can be bothered. School's all a waste of time in my opinion, as they don't teach you anything of actual use, but I've always found the running club to be useful for building endurance: something that is definitely needed on most of our cases.

I know from the clothes the victim was wearing that her suitcase will be pink, but there's nothing even remotely colourful in this skip - nor any of the others I encounter as I continue down the main road. After I've been searching for at least half an hour, I get a text.

I've got the caseWe need some milkSH

I roll my eyes at the short text and the little tag at the bottom: it's a Holmes thing. Recalling passing a Tesco Extra a few minutes ago, I backtrack a little and work my way back up the high street. I learnt a long time ago that it's usually better to not let dad do the shopping; he tends to bring back all sorts of rubbish we don't need and forget the essentials.

As I walk back up the road, however, a black car flies down the road and I just catch sight of John and Lucinda - Mycroft's assistant and bodyguard - sat inside as they pass.Lucinda - or 'Anthea' as she calls herself now - was originally an assassin sent out to put an end to my uncle. However, as Mycroft tells it, he managed to persuade her to reconsider. She taught me how to shoot.

Judging on the direction the car is heading and the route it's taking to get there, I work out that he's heading back to 221B now after diverting somewhere else - his old apartment. The driver doesn't stop to let me in, so I continue to walk to the shop at the end of the road.

***

After a long row with the check-out machine which refused to accept my debit card and accused me of having an 'unexpected item in the bagging area' (which turned out to be nothing more than my phone which incidentally contains a tracking device and emergency detonator that Mycroft thinks I haven't noticed), I catch a cab home.

Dad and Doctor Watson are disscussing something in the living room when I get back, though from the kitchen I can't quite work out what. I put the milk away, then slide the kitchen door open and gasp.

Dad is squatting down on his armchair in front of Jennifer Wilson's case, his jacket off and his shirt-sleeves pushed up his arms to reveal THREE nicotine patches.

"Sorry, what are we doing?" I hear John ask from inside the room. "Did I just text a murderer?! What good will that do?"

As if on cue, his phone rings, and I head over to dad. "Three patches?" I ask him, annoyed. "You're wearing three patches!"

"I know, Sophia." He sighs. "Look, I'm sorry, I'll take two off in a minute."

"Take them off now!" I hiss, as the phone continues to ring. "You promised you wouldn't touch them!"

"I was getting withdraws!" He hisses back.

"We're on a case! You promised me that was the only high you needed." I turn away, not letting him see tear as I rub it quickly away.

Doctor Watson, momentarily distracted by the ringing phone and therefore unaware of our hushed little argument, turns back to dad, asking what he should do.

"A few hours after his last victim, and now he receives a text that can only be from her. If somebody had just found that phone they'd ignore a text like that, but the murderer ..." Dad pauses for dramatic effect until the phone stops ringing, "... would panic." He flips the lid of the pink suitcase shut and stands up, walking over to his jacket on the other side of the room.

Doctor Watson continues to look at the phone until dad reaches the door. "Have you talked to the police?"

"Four people are dead. There isn't time to talk to the police."

"So why are you talking to me?"

Dad takes his coat from the hook behind the door and looks across to Watson. "Mrs Hudson took my skull."

"So I'm basically filling in for your skull?"

"Relax," dad says as he swings his coat back on, "you're doing fine." Watson doesn't move.

"Well?

"Well what?" Doctor Watson asks, looking confused.

"Well, you could just sit there and watch telly."

"What, you want me to come with you?"

"I like company when I go out, and I think better when I talk aloud. The skull just attracts attention, so does talking to Sophia when she's spouting her own conclusions."

"I am here, you know!" I say, trying to cover up my worry over dad.

Doctor Watson smiles for a second, not saying anything but wanting to.

"Problem?" dad asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, Sergeant Donovan," John says and I groan. What's she said now?

Dad looks away in annoyance. "What about her?"

"She said ... You two get off on this. You enjoy it."

"And I said 'dangerous', and here you are," dad says coolly then strides out of the room and I follow.

"Patches!" I sing in his ear. I'm a little shorter than him, but I'm slowly catching up. He frowns at me but takes them off.

It takes Doctor Watson a little while to catch up with us, and we walk down the street together.

"Where are we going?" Doctor Watson asks.

"Northumberland Street's a five-minute walk from here."

"You think he's stupid enough to go there?"

Dad and I smile expectantly. John doesn't understand the logic of a serial killer. "No – I think he's brilliant enough. I love the brilliant ones. They're always so desperate to get caught."

"Why?"

"Appreciation! Applause! At long last the spotlight. That's the frailty of genius, John: it needs an audience." John looks pointedly at us.

"Yeah." I laugh, now recovered from the patch scare, "don't I know it!"

Dad ignores the remark and spins around to study the road and the pavement surrounding it. "This is his hunting ground, right here in the heart of the city. Now that we know his victims were abducted, that changes everything. Because all of his victims disappeared from busy streets, crowded places, but nobody saw them go." Dad clamps his hands to either side of his head. "Think! Who do we trust, even though we don't know them? Who passes unnoticed wherever they go? Who hunts in the middle of a crowd?"

I can think of a few, though they'd need narrowing down. Public transport and shops. Transport is my most likely conclusion at the moment.

"Dunno. Who?" John asks, and dad shrugs.

"Haven't the faintest. Hungry?" Dad lowers his hands and leads us into Angelos, a small restaurant at the top of Northumberland Street.

Billy gestures us to a reserved table and winks at me. I know a little while back that he had a thing for me, but it seems he's got over that now.

"Thank you, Billy," dad says as he slides his coat off and slides into the booth at the front of the shop. As John and I take our seats, dad nods to a building down the road. "Twenty-two Northumberland Street. Keep your eyes on it."

"He isn't just gonna ring the doorbell, though, is he? He'd need to be mad."

"He has killed four people," dad points out.

" ... Okay." John is saved by Angelos arrival, who seems extremely pleased to see us.

"Sherlock." Angelo says, shaking hands with dad. "Sophia, it's lovely to see you again. Anything on the menu, whatever you want, free," he says, laying a few menus out. "On the house, for you two and your date, Sherlock."

"Do you want to eat?" Dad asks John, ignoring Angelo's remark. I look down at my lap, embarrassed about the mistake that everyone seems to be making.

"I'm not his date," John says to Angelo.

"This man got me off a murder charge," Angelo tells John, and I try to work out whether he's changing the subject or acting as dad's wingman.

"This is Angelo," dad introduces, as Angelo offers his hand to John and they shake. "Three years ago I successfully proved to Lestrade at the time of a particularly vicious triple murder that Angelo was in a completely different part of town, house-breaking."

"He cleared my name."

"I cleared it a bit. Anything happening opposite?" dad asks, looking outside.

"Nothing," Angelo says, before looking to John again. "But for this man, I'd have gone to prison." Definitely wingman-ing.

"You did go to prison," dad points out, but Angelo ignores him.

"I'll get a candle for the table. It's more romantic."

"I'm not his date!" John yells after him, indignantly, as dad puts his menu back onto the table and looks across to John.

"You may as well eat. We might have a long wait," dad says as Angelo comes back with a small glass cup containing a lit tea-light. He goes again, but not before giving John a thumbs up.

"Thanks!" John yells, tetchily.

"Sophia, do you want anything?" dad asks me, and I raise my eyebrows at him. He knows I never eat whilst I'm on a case - I'm like him. "You need to eat something today - you haven't eaten for days."

"I'll have something later!" I insist, and he leaves it. John orders some food, but dad and I just stare out of the window and across the road - looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"People don't have arch-enemies," announces John, out of the blue.

It takes a moment for dad to realise he's spoken and finally looks around. "I'm sorry?"

"In real life. There are no arch-enemies in real life. Doesn't happen."

"Doesn't it? Sounds a bit dull."

"So who did I meet?" John asks, but dad ignores him. I assume he's talking about Mycroft. Mycroft does like to be mysterious and dramatic - another Holmes family trait.

"What do real people have, then, in their 'real lives'?"

"Friends; people they know; people they like; people they don't like ... Girlfriends, boyfriends ..." I take a sip of water, silently pleading him to move off the topic.

"Yes, well, as I was saying – dull," dad mutters, but his eyes tell a different story as he looks out of the window.

"You don't have a girlfriend, then?" John asks. I clench my fist under the table, my nails biting into my palm to try and distract myself.

"Girlfriend? No, not really my area." I realise how that must sound to John, but he only means that he's married to his work.

"Mm," John says as he chews on his food, and it takes him a few seconds for the statement to sink in. "Oh, right. D'you have a boyfriend?" He asks, looking at me as if wondering how I'm possible. Dad looks around sharply. "Which is fine, by the way," Doctor Watson recovers quickly. I look desperately at dad; I can already see how much this is hurting him.

"I know it's fine."

John smiles as if he's trying to reassure dad that he's not being judgemental. I don't know why he keeps going on about it.

"So you've got a boyfriend then?"

"No." Dad replies, his eyes still determinedly fixed on the window so that he doesn't let any emotion slip.

John continues to smile, but it's becoming more and more fixed and awkward. "Right. Okay. You're unattached. Like me." He looks down at his plate, seemingly running out of things to say. I wish he would; this is hurting. I never deduced John as being gay, but I'm starting to believe I might have missed something. "Fine," he clears his throat, "Good."

John continues to eat, and dad turns to look at him suspiciously, as if trying to work out what he was meaning, but then he turns his attention back to the window again as another tear slips down my cheek. Today seems to be the day for painful memories. I'm going to have more nightmares again tonight, that's for certain.

After a few seconds, dad seems to have registered Johns meaning and turns back to face him. "John, um ... " He begins, awkwardly, "I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work, and while I'm flattered by your interest, I'm really not looking for any..."

"No." John interrupts dads babbling and turns his head to clear his throat. "No, I'm not asking. No." He secures his gaze onto dads. "I'm just saying, it's all fine."

Dad looks at him for a second, then nods. "Good. Thank you." He turns his attention back to the street as John looks away with a bemused expression on his face.

Dad used to think he was asexual before he met mum but, unlike what most people believe, he's actually demisexual meaning he has to have an intense emotional connection before even considering a sexual relationship. However, this often means he gets mistaken for being bisexual because he can get sexual urges with either sex.

A taxi pulls up outside the building that dad gestured to earlier, waking me from my thoughts, but nobody gets in or out. There's already a passenger inside, and he seems a little puzzled about why they've stopped. It almost confirms my theory earlier on public transport being the key to the murders, but before I can suggest it to dad, he nods to the window.

"Look across the street," he says. "Taxi." John twists around in his seat to look out of the window at the cab. "Stopped. Nobody getting in, and nobody getting out. Why a taxi?" He mutters to himself. "Oh, that's clever. Is it clever? Why is it clever?"

I smile at him. I think he's reached the same conclusion as me, but recent events are muddling up his logic.

"That's him?" John asks, stating the obvious as usual.

"Don't stare." dad tells him, causing John to look around at us.

"You're staring, and so's Sophie"

"We can't all stare." Dad gets to his feet and I follow, throwing on my coat and scarf as I head for the door. He puts his coat on outside the door, his eyes still secured onto the taxi. The passenger continues to look around before he looks back at the restaurant and at us. Dad and I hold our gaze with him before he turns back to face the front and the taxi pulls away.

I immediately start to run after it, narrowly avoiding being hit by a car in my haste. Dad and John vault over the stopped car, and I realise that Doctor Watson has left his cane back in the restaurant. It takes me a few yards before it dawns on me that it's physically impossible for me to catch up with the cab, so instead, I try to work out an alternate route we can take. Dad and John stop beside me, one after the other.

"I've got the cab number," John informs us.

"Good for you," Dad says, bringing his hands up to his head as he also focuses on a mental map of London. I memorised the cab number when we were in the restaurant, and there was no doubt dad did too. "Right turn, one way, roadworks, traffic lights, bus lane, pedestrian crossing, left turn only, traffic lights." Dad says out loud and quickly.

After working out the route the taxi will take, I lift my head and see a man unlocking a door to a building nearby. That would lead us to the roofs, and from there we can cut off the taxi from its destination.

Dad, obviously seeing the same opportunity as me, races forward and pushes the man out of the way before bolting into the building.

"Oy!" The man yells as I run past him, and I hear John mutter an apology as he sails past. I take the stairs two at a time, John struggling to keep up behind me. He may have forgotten about his injury, but he is still relatively unfit.

"Come on, John," dad calls as we climb the circular metal staircase, me hot on his heels.

As we reach the top, dad runs over to another set of stairs which lead down the side of the building. I sprint after dad, my greatcoat flying out behind me. At the bottom of the steps, I vault over a rail and leap the gap in between the buildings. Without stopping, we run the length of the building before jumping another, bigger gap. I hear John stop behind me to look down at the fall he would take if he failed, and the gap between us grows bigger.

"Come on, John. We're losing him!" Dad yells and I hear John land the other side safely.

We run the length of the other building before flying down some more stairs and onto a ledge before we finally drop, one by one, into a darkened alleyway. In my head, I can sort of work out both the route we're taking and the one the taxi's taking, and in doing that, I can see our destination - it's not far from here. I can see we're closing in on the taxi as we swerve down numerous alleyways and finally down the one that leads to D'Arblay Street. I speed up, but the taxi passes the end from the right. I hear dad let out an exclamation of anger from in front, and we continue running, turning right without breaking stride.

"This way," dad shouts but instinctively John turns left, after the taxi. "No, this way!"

"Sorry," John yells as he turns back around and heads back in the opposite direction, now following us.

There's a new place that I've worked out we can intercept the taxi, and I think, at the speed we're doing, we might just succeed. We head down two more roads, through a side street and across a footpath before finally reaching the interception point at Wardour Street. Dad hurls himself across in front of the taxi and it screeches to a stop as he slams his hands into the bonnet of the car. I dig into my pocket to find Donovan's ID badge and I flash it at the driver before joining dad at the right side of the cab.

"Police! Open her up!" dad shouts, panting heavily as he opens the door, but I groan as I take in the passenger's appearance. He looks out anxiously at us and dad straightens up in exasperation as John catches up with us. "No," he sighs and leans down again to look at the passenger. "Teeth, tan: what – Californian?" I look down at the luggage in front of the passenger. LAX to LHR; Los Angles International Airport to London Heathrow Airport. "L.A., Santa Monica. Just arrived." He straightens up again, grimacing.

"How can you possibly know that?" John pants.

"The luggage," I say, gesturing down at it.

Dad turns back to the passenger. "It's probably your first trip to London, right, going by your final destination and the route the cabbie was taking you?"

"Sorry – are you guys the police?" The American asks, looking more confused than ever. Dad flashes his badge, and I copy.

"Yeah. Everything all right?"

The passenger smiles, flashing his perfect white teeth. "Yeah."

I turn and walk away as dad pauses, considering how to finish the exchange. The hairs on the back of my neck rise and I turn around to find the cabbie watching me intently and, as we lock eyes, he winks. Instantly, I start making deductions about him. He lives alone after his wife left with his kids but he still loves them. His clothes - at least three years old judging by how worn out they look, yet still laundered: he wants to keep up appearances but isn't bothered with keeping up with the fashion. All in all, a fairly normal cabbie.

The taxi driver seems to hear my conclusion because he smirks and shakes his head in disappointment, turning his head back around to face the road.

"Welcome to London," I hear dad say before he walks away, leaving John staring blankly at the passenger for a moment.

"Er, any problems, just let us know." The man nods and John smiles, shutting the cab door.

I join dad's side as he taps a message to Angelo and John starts to walk over to us.

"Basically just a cab that happened to slow down," John says as dad pockets the phone.

"Basically," dad replies.

"Not the murderer."

"Not the murderer, no," dad replies, exasperated at his mistake.

"Wrong country, good alibi."

"As they go," dad says, as he switches the ID card from one hand to another.

"Hey, where - where did you get this? Here," John asks, reaching for the card. "Right," he says as he looks down at the card. "Detective Inspector Lestrade?"

"Yeah. I pickpocket him when he's annoying. Sophia has Donovan's, so you can keep that one, I've got plenty at the flat." John nods as he looks down the card again before lifting his head, chuckling quietly. "What?"

"Nothing, just: 'Welcome to London'."

I smirk and dad laughs softly, but my smile drops as I look down the road. A police officer has gone to see why the cab has stopped in the middle of the road and the American is talking to him ... and pointing down at us.

"Now we're in trouble," I say, nudging dad so that he looks down the road.

"Got your breath back?" Dad asks John.

"Ready when you are." We turn around and start running back to our flat before we get arrested for impersonating a police officer, again.

[writingforloki]

Sparks fly - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Take a pizza ma heart. 

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader.

Summary:  Y/N settles in to her new place at the Avengers tower, friends are made, pizza is ate.

A/N: Chapter 2 is here! it took a bit longer than I expected bc v unexpectedly I had a social life this week! So still not loads of Buck in this chapter, but I feel like we are still setting the scene. Also I love slow burn. Pls let me know what you think!! (ps my writing is a bit naff, I know this, I'm just getting back in to the flow after not writing fiction for about 6 years.)

here is chapter 1

~

After Sams comment broke the tension in the room, the rest of the introductions went pretty smoothly with everyone welcoming you as a new member warmly, although you knew that you had a long way to go and a group like this wouldn't trust you completely straight away, you'd seen what some of the members of the Avengers had been through and you weren't about to overstep your boundaries with them.

“So where's Y/Ns room then? I bet she's dying to take a load off and settle herself in.” The voice came from Bruce, who had smiled comfortingly at you and shook your hand warmly when you were introduced to him, it was almost as though he could feel the sense of anxiousness itching its way in to your brain, you didn't much like being the new kid.

“Oh yeah, its down here let me show you, I've already had your stuff moved up here and you can do whatever you want to the room.” Tony said walking ahead of you, turning to gesture animatedly while he spoke.

You followed him out of the meeting room and down a corridor, the chrome walls were all so uniform and every corner looked the same, you hoped you wouldn't get lost. Tony started to explain about the bedroom situation, telling you that he’d had to install more bedrooms when the newer avengers started to live at the tower, he explained briefly that not all of the team actually lived there full time but you all had a room, just for as and when you needed it.

“So your wing is part B of the permanent residents, so you have Bucky, Wanda, Vision, Sam, then you have Peters honorary room, you know really I didn't wanna give him a room because technically he isn't an avenger and he's too young to be hanging out with a group of freaky adults with a lot of personal issues, but he got all sad and thought we didn't want him around so he has a room in the permanent wing to visit but I usually kick him out back to his aunt's house when he becomes a pain in the a-”

“Hey Mr Stark!” A cheerful looking face popped around one of the doors, it was a face you didn't recognise but it was youthful and by the look on Stark's face, this must be Peter.

“Damn it kid what're you doing here? It's one pm shouldn't you be at school?” Tony sounded exasperated.

“Erm uh no Mr Stark it's the Summer holidays so I thought I'd come hang here for a bit, Aunt May wanted to clean and I just wanted to get out of her way you know!”

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head “Right okay but remember you should come through the front door rather than sneaking in through the window, one because it’s freaky as shit when you just pop up and two because if there was an emergency, you could just be nappin away and nobody would know because you're supposed to be at school!”

“But .. it’s the holidays Mr Stark..” The kid trailed off looking confused.

Stark shook his head and shot him a look “So not the point but okay. So if we knew you were here, you could've been at the meeting and we could have introduced you to our new trainee member, Peter, Y/N, Y/N Peter.”

You waved at the kid, “Hi nice to meet you Peter, I get why you’d wanna come chill here, it's pretty cool.” You smiled and he smiled back at you opening his mouth before Tony glared at him and and told him to go home, pulling him down the corridor and leaving you at what you assumed was your door.

You pressed your thumb against the fingerprint activation lock and the door swung open to reveal your new home, the room was big, with a large bed on the back wall, a desk, a TV, chair and a small sofa, this was the nicest room you’d ever been in, it was devoid of personality and a little cold looking at the minute but you still had your personal items to set up and make it your own.

You turned and opened the wardrobe, it was already full of your clothes, that confused you, but you assumed tony had many people at his whim to do things like this for the team. Nearly everything was unpacked save a one box, so you brought it onto the desk and opened it, this was the box of your most personal things, photo frames, movie stubs, your jewellery box, you set them up around your room and put some bits on to the pin board on your wall, your head spun when you heard a gentle knocking on the door, it was Wanda, she was stood in the doorway, a soft smile on her face.

“Hey, how’re you settling in?” She asked kindly, her eyes scanning the room.

“Good so far, the rooms amazing, I'm just trying to put a few things around the room to make it feel more like home you know?” You cast your eyes down and perched on the bed. Wanda looked at you with sympathy in her eyes and came to join you.

“I know how you feel, it’s weird coming here, everyone's great and all but we all know what it's like to be the new kid, to have nowhere else to go, and anyone of us will have time to listen to you if it all becomes too much or if you just need a chat.” She spoke softly.

“Thanks Wanda, I really appreciate it.” You smiled at her lifting your eyes to hers before standing up and wiping your hands on your jeans, “So what am I actually supposed to do around here Tony mentioned something about having training to do but he got distracted with that Peter kid, what's his deal by the way, is he just like a relative of Tonys or?”

Wanda's laugh caught you off guard, “Peter? Did Tony not tell you? Of course he didn't, Peter is Spiderman, yeah Tony doesn't like him being around that much, he says its because hes annoying but really I know he just wants him to have a relatively normal life, I think he makes him feel all paternal.” she said her smile now stretched to a grin.

“Wait hold up, that was Spiderman?!” Your face must've looked quite a picture because Wanda started laughing. “But he's just a goofy little kid! He said he was still at school!!” You exclaimed, shock radiating off you, as the two of you broke into giggles at your reaction.

You didn’t know if it was the sound that brought him over or if he was just on his way for a visit like Wanda, but another knock on the door got your attention, when you looked up Steve was in your doorway, smiling fondly at the two of you.

“Hey we’ve just got pizza if you guys wanna join us?” he tilted his head slightly, making him resemble a puppy, even if you wanted to say no, you definitely wouldn't be able to.

“Pizza? Yeah I love pizza, pizzas great.” you shuffled over to Steve and Wanda followed you as you made your way down the hallway to a room you hadn’t been in before.

“So this is the kitchen / living area, we usually eat in here but we have another living room with more sofas that doesn't get used as much, one of us will show you that later.” He said as you rounded the corner in to the kitchen where there was about ten pizzas spread across the table.

Sam, Nat, Clint, Bucky and Bruce were the only ones left from the meeting, with Steve explaining to you that everyone else had other responsibilities to attend to away from New York.

“So I’m guessing Tonys not explained what you’ll be doing here training wise for the next few months?” Steve asked, he was usually the one who ended up designing the training and workout regimens for the newcomers anyway.

“Um no, I must tell you though, I'm a real beginner, I don't really have much experience with training and working out a lot, I mean I walk all the time, gotta get those 10,000 steps in a day, plus I don't like public transport that much and I don't own a car..” you trailed off as you felt yourself babbling under the pressure of all the people in the room looking at you.

Steve smiled kindly at you as you blushed at your own awkwardness.

“Don't worry about it, we’ll start you off slowly tomorrow, usually it would be me starting you out with boxing and a bit of light training but I have a mission for the next two days so it’ll actually be Bucky you're training with tomorrow.” He said picking up a slice of pizza and put it on his plate.

“Oh okay, cool.” You said turning to lock eyes with Bucky who was across the table from you, you smiled and he gave you a small one in return which you appreciated it even though it looked awkward and didn't really meet his eyes. Maybe he’s just shy, you thought to yourself.

“Don't worry, he’s not as scary as he looks.” Sam said elbowing him in the ribs making Bucky glare at him.

Suddenly you were aware that it was probably the apprehensive look on your face that made Sam say that. “Uhm no he’s not, I mean you're not scary, sorry did I look scared you're- you don't look scary, you look nice!” You gabbled on, afraid you’d offended the man. God you really did have to stop talking shit when you were nervous.

Sam let out a loud laugh and the rest of the team save Bucky joined in, who was now looking embarrassed but you couldn't help but see how the corner of his mouth twitched up in amusement.

As if you weren't already afraid enough for training, now with your lack of experience combined with embarrassment you were really dreading tomorrow.

~~~

If anyone wants to be tagged drop me an ask!

This fic is also on Ao3

[queenofthemindynasty]

Even If You Say ‘No’ - pt 6

Pairing: Hoseok x Fem!Reader

Summary: {Y/n}, a brilliant, young producer at BigHit Entertainment, tends to be overly self-critical of her work and scarcely gives herself credit when it’s due. Hoseok, A.K.A. J-Hope of BTS, puts so much effort into keeping up the spirits of the other members, he hardly has time to worry about his own well being. What will happen when the two cross paths?

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Idol Universe

Warnings: none

Word Count: 1929

A few days after Hoseok and {Y/n} had decided to start a secret relationship, they both realised they hadn’t thought a lot through. They both wanted to go on dates, but how were they going to do that? He was an idol. He couldn’t be seen in public with a girl unless he wanted the media chasing after him even more than they already were. It was a shame. If he weren’t stuck in this position, he could have taken her on all kinds of dates. He could have taken her out to eat, to visit the beach, or even to an amusement park just to name a few. But on the day he’d agreed to become a trainee for BigHit, he’d made a decision. Besides, their choices for dates weren’t nonexistent. They still had some options available. 

A little over a week later, luck had come over to their side. And as luck would have it, the members and staff were being given three days off to do whatever they wanted. This was the norm for prior to every comeback: they were given some time off before the new album would drop. It was like the calm before the storm. Tear would be released in four days time, so now everyone got to enjoy a short break before the chaos of promotions began. This provided the perfect opportunity for the two of them to spend some time together. They’d agreed for him to come by her place for an afternoon to do a bit of movie watching. It wasn’t the most exciting plan, but it was what they could manage. And in fact, it was more than enough just being able to see each other outside of work. 

Hoseok navigated the hallways of the apartment complex that {Y/n} had directed him to. As it turned out, it wasn’t as far from the members’ dorms as he’d expected, only a fifteen-minute drive away. This would make coming over in the future much easier. 

Reaching the door bearing the number she’d written down for him, he gave it a few knocks. Three or four seconds passed, and {Y/n} was opening the door with a bright smile and flustered mannerism. “Hey, Hobi!” she greeted, stepping away from the door in an invitation to come in. 

He removed his sunglasses and pulled down the mask that were hiding his face. “Hey!” He took his shoes off at the entrance before following her. 

“Do you want something to drink?” She started walking towards the kitchen. “Tea? I just made some.”

“Sure!”

He sat down in one of the chairs in the dining area beside the kitchen. The apartment had a quiet atmosphere about it. The living room, kitchen, and dining area were all connected with no walls separating them. The white walls and furniture were unimposing and welcoming. In the living area, a modern, blue-striped rug was laid out. The cream-coloured sofa had a fleece blanket strewn across the back of it. Next to the television was a wooden bookcase filled with novels and other knick-knacks, and DVDs took up the bottom row. 

“So how’s your day off been going so far? What’ve you been up to?”

“Oh, um, nothing much,” she answered. “Just relaxing mostly. I got to—err…there’s this book that I started reading months ago, but hardly ever had the chance to read since I’ve been so busy. So that’s…something I’ve been doing today.” She ended the sentence with an exaggeratedly bubbly rising pitch. She was nervous. She probably wasn’t used to this kind of thing. 

He nodded. “That does sound nice. What kinds of books do you read?”

“Mostly the classics. Right now, I’m reading Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. His works are so unlike anything else. The way his mind worked…” She sighed wistfully. “It’s just otherworldly. I think it’s fascinating.” To his relief, she seemed to relax while talking about literature. She now had two steaming cups, one in each hand, which she placed on the coffee table in the living room, Hoseok following. “What movie do you want to watch?”

He swirled his tea around in the cup and shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m up for anything. Why don’t you pick?” Really he was here just to spend time with her anyway. 

“Okay…” She scanned the row of DVDs. “How about this?” She turned around, showing him the case. It was a horror film. “I’ve been meaning to watch this one. I hear it’s really good” There were stars twinkling in her eyes as she spoke. 

He froze. Everyone talked about this film. It was supposed to be one of the scariest Korean horror films of the decade. {Y/n} really liked watching this kind of thing? “Uhm…” 

“Oh, wait. You don’t really like horror, do you?” The stars in her eyes started to burn out. “Sorry. We could watch something else. I don’t know why I even thought about watching that one…” She started to put it back on the shelf. 

“No, wait!” 

She turned back around to face him. 

“I mean, we can watch that one if you want. I don’t mind.”

She looked at the case in her hands, then back at him. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. It’s just a movie, right?” He gave a rather unconvincingly lighthearted chuckle. He thought back to all the times he’d made a coward of himself on camera. She’d no doubt seen every one of those. She needed to see that he was someone capable of protecting her. He wasn’t as much of a coward as everyone thought. 

“Well,” she shrugged, “okay then.” After putting the disc into the player, she sat on the couch next to him, sipping her tea. This couldn’t be that bad, right?

It was bad. So bad, it had Hoseok jumping out of his seat screaming at every jump scare. Once it was so severe that he’d nearly knocked over the sofa. He tried to keep his eyes open the whole time, but it was impossible when there were literally people being eaten alive. Even more embarrassing was that {Y/n} had started holding onto him protectively, trying to help him be less afraid. The zombies just looked so realistic even though he knew they didn’t really exist and couldn’t bring himself or her any harm. His heart was pounding probably three quarters of the time. So many of the characters had been fated to die horribly. It should have been impossible for anyone to actually enjoy this. Why on earth were people so obsessed with zombies anyway? By the end, he was trying to remember why he’d agreed to watch this. 

Finally, the credits started rolling, and his tense muscles relaxed. “That was…fine. Not nearly as bad as I expected,” he faked. 

{Y/n} laughed at the way he was still clinging onto her. When had he started doing that? “It wasn’t, huh?” He frowned at her, pushing himself off of her arm. She eventually stopped her giggling, turning to look at him. “Sorry I made you sit through that. Why don’t you pick the next one?”

He smiled at her in relief. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” she grinned, a hint of a giggle still left in her words, which he frowned at. 

After taking a look at her selection, he decided on a Studio Ghibli film that he hadn’t had the chance to see. Anyone could enjoy those. But after a while of it playing, even though she was trying not to make it obvious, he could tell this wasn’t a movie she was particularly interested in. Not but halfway in, she was leaning her head on his shoulder, staring at her empty cup on the table, absent from the rest of the world. Some time after that, she closed her eyes, and now she was completely still against him. He felt his heart flutter at just seeing her there beside him. She was so vulnerable. It was so surreal seeing her with her guard completely lowered like this for once; it was like she’d turned into a completely different person. She’d never been this at ease around him before. 

Twenty or so minutes later, the credits once again appeared on the screen. Hoseok was just considering whether or not to wake her up when he heard her speak. 

“Hobi?”

He jumped slightly. “Oh, my gosh. I thought you were asleep.”

“I almost was,” she answered drowsily, slowly blinking her eyes open. “Do you—Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

She shifted against his shoulder. “Do you…honestly think I’m talented?”

His lips made a straight line at hearing this. There was no question that he did. She was extremely talented. There was so much that she’d brought to their music since she’d started working for their company. But she had no idea. Knowing her, the fact that she was even asking him meant her value and belief in her creations were on the verge of collapsing entirely and relied solely on his answer. “Of course I do. You’re one of the most talented people I know.”

“Besides you,” she added inwardly. Her eyes never left her cup sitting on the table. 

“Well…” He thought for a moment, picking his words carefully. “You and I just have different talents. But that doesn’t mean I’m any more talented than you are.” She nodded, her head still on his shoulder, though he had a feeling she still wasn’t fully convinced. “That also means you shouldn’t compare yourself to me. I don’t want you looking down on yourself just because you look up to me. There are so many things you’re better at doing than I am.”

“Like what?”

He let out something between a scoff and a laugh. “Well, writing songs, for one thing. My mixtape wouldn’t even have been half as good if you hadn’t contributed so much to it.” 

She fell silent. Her blank expression was making it difficult to tell what she was thinking or whether or not his words had even reached her. She was still staring off into space. 

“You know, you could make your own mixtape if you wanted,” he mused, mimicking her gaze. “You have everything you need. You used to rap and sing before you became a producer, didn’t you? You could make the whole thing from start to finish then. It might take a while, but you could do it. And you know you’d have my and the other members’ support. There’s nothing stopping you, really. The sky’s the limit.” P.D. Bang likely wouldn’t have a problem with it if it were just a one-time thing. “Probably doesn’t matter that you’re just a producer.” Hoseok couldn’t help but imagine the possibilities. Sea Beats, solo artist, one-hit wonder. “What do you think?”

A few seconds, and he was answered by silence. 

“{Y/n}?”

Her eyes were closed now, and her breathing had leveled off. She was definitely asleep this time. It was still early afternoon. And yet it wasn’t difficult to imagine that she kept herself up for hours at night, every day of the week. 

Hoseok took the blanket from the back of the sofa and laid it over her tranquil form. It wouldn’t be a crime to let her nap on him for a little while. 

 A week or so later, Hoseok received an email from {Y/n} titled ‘Might go into a mixtape one day?’ There was a .wav file attached. The message above it read, “It’s just a sketch, but what do you think?”

[hamilton-one-shots]

Hamilton High School AU 84

John woke up early on Saturday morning and took a shower and got dressed before Alexander had even woken up, making him breakfast and eating and waiting.

"Why are you up so early?" Alexander asked through a yawn as he dragged himself off of the couch.

“I wanted to go to the gym this morning. I need to go work out more again.” He’d been going easy on himself for a while, skipping almost all of his weekly trips to the gym. “I can’t have myself going soft, now.” He rolled up his sleeve and flexed, showing muscles that were far from disappearing and Alexander found himself having a bit of the opposite problem of John’s.

“You look fine. Come back to bed and do nothing with me,” he whined, reaching out for John.

He smiled and went back over, kissing his forehead and dragging him off of the couch as he attempted to hold him down. “No can do. You can come with me, if you want.”

“What are you trying to say?” Alexander asked jokingly.

“I’m saying you’re gorgeous and I want you to come with me so I can remember who I have to keep myself looking good for.”

He pecked his lips. “Alright, I’ll go with you, but only because you’re a huge dork.”

“Good.” He smiled and took Alexander back into his room, giving him some comfortable gym clothes and letting him change, then having him eat before walking to the gym with him.

“You do this for fun?”

“I do this mainly to not lose my mind. It’s a great way for me to release my anger and get my blood flowing.”

“So you do it for fun.”

John chuckled. “Sure, I do it for fun.”

“Weirdo.”

“Takes one to know one.”

Their playful teasing continued until they got to the gym, until John took Alexander into the boxing area and let him sit and watch while he went hard on a punching bag, moving it’s weight without breaking much of a sweat, figuratively speaking.

It was oddly fascinating for Alexander to watch, just knowing how calm and collected John usually was. To see him so angry, it was a lot more like-

“Alexander Hamilton. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. What’s a shrimp like you doing in a gym?”

He felt himself go pale, more fear running through him than when it had been Thomas targeting him. “Lee...” He could never forget that voice, but he also couldn’t get himself to turn all the way around and face him, just turning away so he wasn’t so blatantly staring at John.

“I asked you a question, punk. Answer it.” He roughly grabbed the collar of Alexander’s shirt and forced him to face him, but Alexander couldn’t bring himself to look him in the eye.

The pair had met months ago, at one of Alexander’s past schools. Charles Lee had been his friend at first and Alexander almost had feelings for him... Then everything changed when he admitted it.

Tripping in hallways, pushing down stairs, stealing money, you name it. Charles Lee tormented Alexander until Martha found out and, furious, got Charles Lee expelled before moving Alexander far away to a new school, not that he lasted all that long in that school.

“Well?” he snarled, a cruel smirk carved into his face.

“I.. I..”

“Hey.”

Both of them turned to the sharp voice, finding John storming over.

He grabbed the hand that was gripping Alexander’s shirt and squeezed until Lee was forced to let go, pushing it back into his arm until he forced him onto his knees. “What the hell are you doing, putting our hands on him, huh?”

John had broken Thomas’s nose for kicking Alexander in the face, but he wasn’t going to do any permanent damage to someone who was a complete stranger, at least to him. He just wanted to scare him.

And, with the way he had his arm, it was working.

“Let me go! I wasn’t going to hurt him or anything, I was just roughing him up! You know how it is, I’ll go!”

John tutted and let him get to his feet, standing between the bully and Alexander. “Go pick on someone your own size.”

Lee may not have been Thomas’s height, but he was definitely taller than both Alexander and John. Still, he backed off and walked away, shooting Alexander a glare.

John didn’t see it, back turned to him as he checked on Alexander. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine... He didn’t hurt me, he just grabbed my collar..”

John nodded and cupped his cheek, his demeanor far more gentle than it was just a few seconds ago. “Do you want to go home?”

“I don’t want to make you miss your workout..”

John shook his head. "Forget my workout. I'm more worried about you and your comfort. I don't mind missing a day if you're not comfortable staying here any longer."

Well, if that was the case... "I want to go home..."

"We can go home." He kissed his forehead and unwrapped the tape from his knuckles before leaving with Alexander, holding his hand and walking back to the apartment with him.

"I'm sorry.. I feel like a wimp.."

"You are not a wimp. That guy was pretty big. I'm glad he couldn't hurt you... Who was he, anyways? Some random jerk?"

Alexander slowly shook his head. "That was Charles Lee.."

John's eyes went a bit wide in surprise, but he quickly stopped himself, not wanting Alexander to think he should be scared. "Oh.. The Charles Lee..."

He just nodded and frowned, staring down at his feet as John led him inside and sat with him.

"You don't need to worry about him. You know I'll protect you, no matter what. Just like I do with Thomas."

"That's different, though. Thomas holds back when he's fighting you... He cares.. Lee doesn't care about anyone but himself." He glared a bit at the floor before his expression softened and he looked back up at John. "Can you promise me something?.."

"That depends on what it is.."

"If.. If you do fight Charles Lee for me and he does turn out to be enough to beat you, please run away.."

John smiled softly and kissed his forehead. "Alex, I'm an undefeated boxer. I'll be okay, I promise."

"Yeah, but... But that's in a fair, clean fight.. Lee is not a fair or clean fighter..."

"Neither was Thomas, but I could still kick his ass."

He sighed and nodded, wrapping his arms around John's waist and burying his face into his side. John wasn't going to get hurt, he promised himself that. If John was in trouble, he'd sacrifice himself to save him, no doubt about it. After all, the only reason Lee would have to mess with John is to get to Alexander, at least that was what he told himself.

And it made sense, but John knew better. Lee tormented Alexander because he liked guys, right? So what was there to say that Lee won't be messing with him and his friends for the same reason, assuming that he ever saw him again. He knew he'd have to keep an eye out for him, now that he was close enough to find them.

"When you went to school with him, was that nearby?.."

"Not really.. It was a disciplinary school that I had to go to for a while because no public high school would let me attend otherwise.. It wasn't much, just a bunch of kids with issues all put together. Me and Martha stayed at one of her friend's houses while I went there, but we came back on weekends. She thought it was going to be good for me, since the teachers were used to handling kids who were like me, and those were the ones who could control their actions... Anyways, I met Lee while I was there, near the end of the time that was required by any other high school and I decided I wanted to be there longer at first because we got along at first.. Then I changed my mind and I got to switch schools when he started.. You know.."

John nodded and held Alexander a bit closer. He could relate to the kind of daily torture that Alexander went through dealing with Lee.

"I guess they finally let him out.. I don't know if he's going to our school or another nearby high school.."

John hoped just as much as Alexander that he was going to attend a different school, but he knew the odds of that actually being true were slim to none. He leaned down and kissed the top of Alexander's head, running his fingers through his hair. He laid back against the couch and pulled Alexander down beside him, opening his laptop and putting on a movie.

Alexander sighed and took in John's scent one more time before turning his head and watching it with him. Just another Disney movie.. "Can.. Can we watch something else?.."

"Yeah, of course."

He usually didn't mind watching Disney movies with John, he never asked to watch something else before, but seeing these characters live their happiest lives... He wasn't in the mood.

John put on Captain America: The First Avenger and held Alexander close, running his fingers through his hair as the movie played.

Before long, Alexander fell asleep and John was quick to follow, shifting in his sleep and cuddling him properly. When he woke up, he looked down and smiled, kissing the top of Alexander's head and turning off the movie. He carefully shifted and sat up, scooping up Alexander in his arms and taking him to his bed, laying him down before going to the kitchen and making lunch, just some quick sandwiches. He ate his and put the rest in the fridge before going back to his room and laying beside Alexander, his boyfriend immediately wrapping his arms around his waist.

"Stop leaving me.."

He smiled, feeling his heart melt. "I'm sorry.. I was just eating. I'm here to stay now."

"Good.." He buried his face in his chest and sighed. "Why does life have to be so hard?.."

"I don't know.. But he harder it is, the better it is when we bounce back.

Alexander sighed and buried his face in John’s chest. He didn’t want to bounce back... He wanted to just get past all of the hard stuff and be happy with John. He thought he was done dealing with his share of hardships, that the hurricane and Charles Lee and even Thomas Jefferson was enough for one person. That losing his mom and dealing with his father and his disgusting friends was enough for John to deal with. Where was their happy ending?..

[momorabu]

Ensemble Stars! Event Story - Raising Curtains! Dark Night Halloween / Dark Night Halloween

Since today’s Halloween and the new Halloween event has just started in Ensemble Stars~ I thought I’ll read the Halloween event story from last year’s event, which I actually enjoyed reading as it was the 2nd? event that I participated in as I just joined Ensemble Stars at that time. Below is a recap or say a brief summary of the event story ^^

Anyway as always, the summary of the story can be found below. Translation may not be 100% accurate due to my poor Japanese skills~

Prologue

The story starts off with the twins at 2wink giving out flyers and candies while advertising the Halloween Party Event that was coming soon. It was a very grand event at the school, with a live concert at an S1 level, which meant the school was open to the public for viewing all the idols perform.

2wink’s idea of Treat or Trick! are very interesting, for Treat it’ll be fanservice like giving out signatures and handshakes, whereas Trick will be using an easily erasable pen to draw on (the person?) and hugging while twirling around~ +W+ (Somehow I kind of want the “Trick” version just because I’ll get to hug them XDD)

甘えん坊 / Spoiled Child: Chapter 1

Ritsu was sleeping in the terrace garden when Leo found him (when he lost his memory suddenly and find himself wandering here OwO) Ritsu was feeling really weak as he’s trying to stay awake in the day as it was only during the day that everyone will be around, and he wants to be up and with them too.

However, as Ritsu’s body is still a vampire, it’s very hard to him to change his sleep cycle as it might be due to genetics that it’s hard for him to stay awake in the day.  Leo noticed that Ritsu is not feeling well though Ritsu brushed it off himself.

(It was cute that Ritsu is close with Leo in a way that he can hug him and even use him as a “slave” to get some drinks for him XDD)

甘えん坊 / Spoiled Child: Chapter 2

UNDEAD, on the other hand, was hard at work preparing for the Halloween Party Event. Rei was on the phone with Leo in mid-practice as Leo probably informed him that he found Ritsu not being his usual self. Nevertheless, it was a good time to catch up with an old friend for Rei.

Kaoru actually came and tells Rei not to slack off and went for a phone chat instead XDD (It’s rare that he’s so hyped up!) Kaoru is putting effort in this event just because it was a huge event that will be open up to public, which means that’ll probably alot of girls coming which is what he is looking forward to ^^;

He’s definitely okay in giving fan service whether it’s “Treat!” or “Trick!”, but it’s only limited to girls XDD

This made Koga very angry as he thinks that Kaoru’s reasons are very “unpure” since he’s not exactly doing music because he likes it ^^;

They suddenly realised Adonis was not participating in the conversation and mulling in a corner instead. Koga thought he might not know what Halloween is and thus looked troubled about the Halloween Event. (Since Adonis didn’t seem to know Hanami or Tanabata)

He was all hyped up and ready to start explaining to him when Adonis replied that he did know what Halloween is about as his home country actually has it. That made Koga disappointed as he even actually went and researched about it just so he gets to show off his knowledge. (So sad for him that now he can’t TWT)

Adonis wondered why Koga got angry suddenly but Rei wanted Adonis to figure it out on his own. (I like how Rei described as “there’s no right or wrong answer when it comes human relationship” ^^)

Kaoru decided to lend a helping hand to poor confused Adonis, by hinting (or say that’s the full answer already XD) that perhaps it’ll be better if Adonis asked him on the knowledge on Halloween, as Koga was probably hoping that he’ll ask him about it.

And thus Adonis went to Koga to ask for his knowledge. Koga became very happy that Adonis is asking him for help and since it was requested by Adonis, he shall give the lecture~ (Koga seems to be easily pampered actually XDD)

The seniors looked on as Koga started teaching Adonis while Kaoru commented on how cute they are. Rei is glad that Kaoru is maturing (?) as he knows how Rei usually feels when he looks at the junior, to which Kaoru isn’t happy about and say he doesn’t want to grow old and has an old man’s taste yet =w=“

(This part was really cute when Adonis was worried that he might look too scary when he dressed up for the Halloween Party. And Koga dissed him that if he wants to be cheered by the girls (in the audience) and comment that he’s cute, he should transfer his unit to Ra*bits instead XDD) (That’s so harsh, Koga! >A<)

After practice though, Rei called on Koga to stay and asked for his help to keep an eye on his brother Ritsu, as he’s worried that Rei might not be able to sustain his strength if he kept trying to stay awake during the day and not rest at all.

Koga reluctantly agrees, though he specifically mentioned that he’s not doing it because he wants to help Rei and more of him being worried for his classmate - Ritsu’s welfare as well.

赤ずきん / Red Riding Hood: Chapter 1 - 3

Halloween soon arrived, and Koga went to find “me” in school among the crowd. He’s surprised that “I’m” dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood and he’s a wolfman, which somehow fits together perfectly like the story Little Red Riding Hood.

“I” started to play along with him by attempting to shoot him (perhaps with the hand signal and sound effect) Koga dissed “me” that “I’m” stealing the hunter’s role if I’m using the gun to fight the wolf, and suggested we should follow the original instead.

Back on topic after the idle chit-chat, Koga asked for “my” help and that “I” should follow him. “I” reminded him that it sounds like the original story of Little Red Riding Hood with the wolf asking little red riding hood for help too. Koga joked that maybe he should eat me too if I get too close (That… actually sounds abit… sexual? ><”)

Long story short, he explained about the “mission” given to him by Rei and mentioned that he will need “my” help to find Ritsu together and get him to rest as soon as possible. (Since in Koga’s words, if Ritsu died from over-exhaustion Koga said he’ll have a hard time sleeping because he’ll remember Ritsu’s dead face… OwO”) (That escalates quickly to scary stuff OAO”)

悪戯っ子 / Mischievous Kid: Chapter 1 - 3

We finally found Ritsu, who was on his way to delivering more sweets that he had made in the kitchen, as the booths kept running out due to the “Treat or Trick”-ing around the school.

Koga advised him to rest, and that made Ritsu abit pissed as he grumbled that when he was slacking/resting, everyone kept asking him to wake up and move, and now that he wanted to be more active, everyone is asking him to rest instead =w=“ (I like what he had said “I can’t take this down, why can’t everyone let me live my life like how I wanted?”)

In the end, in order to get Ritsu to obey and go to rest, Koga ended up being a sacrifice and have to be held down to eat Ritsu’s tasty but horribly looking candies. He even gets pulled around by Ritsu like he’s on a leash, sing to Ritsu, dance for Ritsu, and get sent to do delivery duties for Ritsu in the end TWT (Poor Koga TWT Even though Ritsu does feel abit guilty for doing it abit overboard later on…)

But after playing around, Ritsu finally decided to rest, and thus slept in a coffin prepared by Rei in the music room~

百鬼夜行 / Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: Chapter 1 - 3 + Epilogue

Evening came, and 2wink came to the band practice room to wake up Rei to prepare for the night concert, when they found out that “I” was there too, working on some last minute catch up on the outfit for Ritsu.

Yuta mentioned about understanding how Ritsu feels, about not being in a good relationship with the elder brother, which made Hinata feel both shocked and hurt since he thought they’re both always in a good relationship to the point of LOVE LOVE XD

2wink were being quite mischievous that when they put candies by the side of Rei’s sleeping coffin with him, they mentioned that they look like offerings (for the dead) for him OWO”

Rei woke up in the end, and “I” ended up feeling really sleepy due to all the rushing of work for the Halloween Party. Rei, being a gentleman suddenly, swept “me” off the floor and carry me to the performance area, with 2wink tagging along behind us.

Kaoru was worried but ultimately was relieved to find that Rei has arrived in time for UNDEAD’s performance (if not they’ll have to sing without him) Rei was initially confused why is Kaoru not dressing up as a monster, but Kaoru said he decided to be a priest, an evil priest in fact that cheats on the innocent girls when they fall into his trap that he’s a good guy…. (Omg, Kaoru sounds like a bad guy here seriously OWO” Don’t play with girls’ feelings Orz)

Kaoru was pissed when he found out that Rei was carrying “me” in hime style, and said he’s being sneaky and that should be his job instead XD

But when Rei’s arms were tired and he requested someone else to take over, Kaoru wanted to but was stopped by Adonis saying that “I” dislike Kaoru to hug “me” and that Adonis himself will take over instead.

Kaoru was shocked to hear that he’ll be disliked since he thought that he was confident that over time that “I’ll” like him and not be so turned off by him ^^; (Maybe Kaoru just… has too much confidence in himself? ^^;)

Anyway, he seems terrified by the thought that “I’ll” dislike him and pleaded with “me” not to feel scared or repulsed by him with a please~~

(Seriously I find it so funny that the confident Kaoru is actually afraid of making me unhappy XD He’s kind of cute for his reactions this way ^^)

Finally “I” managed to locate Ritsu at the performance area, where he was sleeping on Leo’s lap (ahh~ So cute >///<) With Leo’s help, we put on Ritsu’s performance outfit and tried persuading him to go on stage to perform with UNDEAD and 2wink, who was supporting part of the performance as well.

Ritsu initially didn’t want to go, he even tried to get Leo to go up on stage with him. (He whines that Leo should go together with him, he doesn’t want to go alone and it’ll be very lonely~ It sound so cute coming from Ritsu XD)

In the end, Ritsu did agree to go on stage and perform side by side with Rei. Rei finally gets some chance to talk alone with Ritsu on stage (since Ritsu normally avoids him in school), and said that whether or not Ritsu dislikes him or hates him, he has to take care of his own body. And if Ritsu really feels miserable sometimes, he can come to lean on Rei as his big brother.

I think this probably has touched Ritsu in the end, as he apologized to Rei for making him worry about him, and also “thank you, big brother”. The end.

This is still a great story now that I’ve re-read it again, I find myself quite enjoying UNDEAD’s members interactions so I’ll definitely be looking forward to reading any event stories that have them next time +W+ (Adonis and Kaoru are sooo cute <3) It was nice to understand abit more about the brotherly relationships between Rei and Ritsu, I like reading about family ties as much as friendships too, so I’m glad that Ensemble Stars is actually focusing on such relationships once in awhile and not just creating characters as brothers for convenience sake or some random trait just to add onto a character profile.

I’ll definitely be looking forward to this year’s event story as well~! Though it’ll be awhile before I unlock and have the time to read all of them during the event, I’ll probably wait until the event is over before I start reading as per usual~ +W+

PS: No cards because my teams are so weak at that time that I couldn’t make it to the 600K tier TWT TWT

[rezilient-m3]

April 2nd

There was so many things I wanted to post about since the last “real” post I made. Since the passing of my sister. But, again, I put it off. Now I can’t recall what those things were. Sorry about that (if I even have people reading these lol). 

Anyways, I’ve been through a lot of shit in the past few weeks Alex has been home, especially in this last week alone.  I don’t remember exactly when he got home. Things had seem to be going okay. He put up my daughter’s wall. We painted, both her room and on the outside. We were in the middle of finishing the office area when shit hit the fan. Before this, though, I noticed his moods changing. You can tell by the previous post about him mumbling and me feeling not welcomed. I was just getting fed up. Anyways, that’s how it continued. I’m not saying he was a complete ass the whole time; we did have our moments of happiness, or whatever. But I knew he was getting annoyed with everything. He complained about the couch cushions, about dirty rooms, about them eating anywhere but the table and coffee table (his rules), about the noise at the table, about the small stupid stuff every kid does. But the thing that set him off was T’s behaviour towards everybody. She would pick fights with her siblings, her attitude, and not do what she was told. He was getting tired of it.

It was Monday. I came home from work, already tired, but I decided I was going to continue with the painting. The night before I cleared out our office, took out the ugly brass brackets from the shelves and the 80s tinted mirrors on the wall and patched it up. So, that day I started by painting the shelves and brackets. Set up everything in the other girl’s rooms. Around supper time, Alex calls me to come and help by washing the plates because supper was almost done. I told T to because I wanted to finish the first coats of paint. With her “T” attitude she asked why should she. Alex did not like that. He told her, in his “mad” voice, “Because your mom told you to.” Now, to me, from my perspective, I could see her. She looked scared. She was about to move towards to the kitchen, but she stopped herself, then purposely distracted herself to help her lil brother on the laptop. I went out for a smoke, and thought she would get up and do it still. I walk in and she’s still holding the dishcloth. I grabbed it and went do the damn dishes. And, again, to me, I thought that was better to do instead of pissing off Alex. But, wrong decision. I don’t remember the actual word for word that was said, but he was upset. Starting to cook angrily. Throwing shit, as he was putting them down. I asked what his problem was, and he goes, along the lines of, “People in this house don’t know how to listen or do what they’re told. And nothing in this house should be a free for all... blah, blah, blah.” Even called them little fucken ingrates. Rank. But I chose to ignore him. Kept doing the dishes. Pretty sure my kid went to her room, maybe cried. (I’m an asshole for not going to check on her) But I was annoyed at Alex’s attitude. I just went back down to the room and continued painting. 

A bit later we ate, and as I was walking out for another smoke, I notice T’s hair and told her she should shower. She was on my laptop at the coffee table, and didn’t want to cuz she was in the middle of something. That didn’t help the mood I was already in. I closed the laptop, put it in my room and she got upset, saying it was her body and she didn’t like to be “harassed”. Excuse me? We argued. I gave up, told her to be dirty. (Not my best moment). I went back down and continued to paint. Alex came downstairs and asked T why she didn’t go have a bath because he heard me asking her to. She laughed and said that I said for her to be dirty. Again, he did not like that. He said when I tell them to do something, that they should listen (he wasn’t wrong). But yelled about how he’s getting fed up with the disrespect, and seen crumbs all over her bed and the floor from chips, and blew up about how the don’t follow rules because everyone was supposed to eat either at the table or coffee table. He was mad. I was in the room, trying my best to finish because it was close to bedtime and all that crap was in the way in the girl’s room. I think he ended up going to the garage. I was telling kids to get ready for bed, and was trying to get T to take a quick shower but her mind was set that she wasn’t going to. (I remember being that stubborn when I was that age, so annoying). But whatever, I was done. Kids all went to bed. I didn’t even go say good night to T, I don’t think.

Alex is still in a mood. I ignored him. I had a shower, went for a ride to get gas, came home and put on Netflix. He came in, “Good show?” “Yup.” I said. Then asked if I had anything to say about what had all just happened. I said not really. Like, what was I supposed to say? I didn’t know. And again, I don’t remember word for word. I should really write stuff down as they happen lol. But, first thing after that he said something about me showering, getting prettied up to go see my bf. Like, what? I got upset. “I was gone for like 5 fucken minutes to go get gas, as if I would have had the time, PLUS I wasn’t the one that cheated.” “I never cheated.” “Yeah right.” ... Then it changed somehow to how he couldn’t take it anymore. The disrespect, the attitude and behaviour from my kids. And his bottom line was “I love you, but either you get them under control now, or fucken leave.” Wow. I said I would. I wasn’t saying much after that, and he kept going. Said he was breaking up with me. He walked out to the garage again.

Obviously I was crying, because he made me feel the worst about my ability to parent my kids, and totally threw another ultimatum at me, again! I immediately went to Kijiji to look for rentals and emailed 2. Then, I went to sleep with our son in his room. Next day we all go to school. Apparently he wrote a status about how he was about to write a long post but deleted it, but “he was not happy”. Whatever I thought. But at my first break, I see msges from his mom about what was wrong with Alec. And me taking everything he said seriously, I told her that he broke up with me the night before but I’ll let him tell her why. At my next break she had more questions. I sent her the screenshot he sent me of the long status he didn’t post. Went like this:

“Well it’s not very often I make a post on fb that isn’t happy, cheerful, or humerous. Tonight I have a serious post. I’m at the end of my rope with my situation at home. I don’t like to make public of my trials and tribulations that should really remain in the family but I have come to the point where I have to say something. It has almost been a year sine “the girls” came into our home. I am happy that E got them here. I thought it would be rough at first, but with a little love and discipline, things would get better. This has not happened. I have never seen such destructive, unruly, disrespectful, hate-filled children. The level of disregard, disrespect, and destruction that has been happening in our home cannot be sustained.  I have had enough as I can stand. E seems to think that it is fine to post all the bs that makes her feel good on fb and I can’t take away from how well she is doing (I am very proud of her achievements), but in reality things are getting worse in our home.  I don’t even know what to do at this point, I start work next week but think I will leave tomorrow anyway. I have so much to do but I can’t stand to be in my own home ffs. Any advice would be appreciated.”

What an asshole post. I was so pissed off. Like, yeah, he didn’t post it. But glad he showed me anyways to see what he actually thinks of me and my kids. I showed his mom, and told her I was going to get a hotel until Thursday for me and the girls, since I had work and they had school. 

I went home without a word said since the night before. Picked up all the kids at the after-school program and told them we will be staying in a hotel for a couple nights. They all asked why, but I didn’t say much. We get home and I went straight to the bedroom to pack my clothes. Alex follows me to ask what I am doing, I said, “You wanted us to leave, so we’ll go to a hotel.” “You don’t have to leave.” (Same bullshit as before). I said, “No, this is your house, those are my kids, so we’ll go.” He started talking about it’s better for everyone if we stay and to not further disrupt them, and he would leave if I didn’t want him there. Like, omg. Making me look like the irrational one. I realized I needed laundry done. I went downstairs, locked myself in the laundry room and cried again. I decided to stay, cuz it would save me money and I wouldn’t have to wake up earlier to drive back and forth from the city to drop them off and go to work. But, he didn’t leave. lol. I had rental application I had printed at work. I locked myself in the bedroom and was emailing the landlord with questions, and filling it out. It was for a 3 bedroom townhouse, right in the town we lived in, for 1300. I don’t have credit references because the way I chose to love my life before and fucked up any credibility I had with building that shit, so I asked if I could list my dad as a co-signer type thing. She said I could. Now, I also didn’t have landlord references because I’ve been living with Alex for the past 7 yrs and any landlords I’ve had before wouldn’t remember me, cuz I didn’t remember them either lol. So, I listed personal references. Alex’s mom being one of them lol. I asked her, she said she would. I fell asleep and slept all evening, even missed supper. Woke up at kids’ bedtime. I put the papers face down on the entry way table. I caught Alex looking at them, but I didn’t say anything. 

Anyways, another evening with kids in bed. He kept telling me I don’t have to leave. I said he was the one that told me to. Whatever, this night was kind of vague. I don’t really remember this night. I think I just went to sleep with my kid again. I could tell Alex was mad because once he came inside from the garage and didn’t see me sitting there, or in our bed, he was slamming doors. I went to sleep anyways. I was tired. Next day at lunch break, I get an email from the landlord to call her. I was really nervous. But I do. She was asking questions about me, what I do, and about my situation. I told her. She said I should probably view it before agreeing to anything. So,we made an appt to meet at 5 that day (Wed now). I pick up girls after school again and asked them what they would think if we moved out of Alex’s house and lived by ourselves. They didn’t really have much to say about it. Their only concern was if they’d get their own rooms lol. D, my little boy, did not like the idea of having two homes. That instantly made me sad. Get to the house, he asks me again what I’m doing, and I told him I have to go view it at 5. It was a weird hour there. We were all just sitting around, but I wasn’t really paying attention to him. When me and the kids made a joke, he would laugh along. I still got up before 5 to go. I got a msg from him, as I’m getting into the vehicle, “I wish you wouldn’t do this.” 

I got the house. I was low-key proud because I proved to myself that I could do it on my own, without anybody else’s help. I still told her I needed a day to think about it. It would have been my whole paycheck, and I didn’t have the main furniture on my own. There was a lot to consider. Like, deep-down I knew I had my parents to help me, but still, I was a chickenshit. She agreed to give me time. I got back to the house and told him it’s mine if I wanted it. I don’t know what through his mind. I don’t even remember his exact words. I think it just went along the lines of “I shouldn’t do this”, “think of the kids”, “you’ll fuck them up further”, “he’s gone most of the time anyways for work”, “I didn’t tell you to leave.”. Ugh. I just said I didn’t know what I was going to do and walked away.

Again, kids are in bed later that night. I was sitting on the couch, he came in and asked if I knew what I was doing and I said no. He came in and went to bed in the room, I stayed in the living room, wrote him along email that I knew I wasn’t going to send until I went to work, then went to sleep. Hours later, at 4:30 in the morning, dummy comes out of nowhere and kicks the coffee table. Very rude awakening. He was pissed off. Said he couldn’t sleep for the last 3 nights because of me, and he should know what the fuck it is I’m doing so he could know and stop going crazy. He was not quiet about it either. I told him to lower his voice because it was the middle of them night and kids were asleep. He said it wasn’t fair for him to be stressed out like this. I don’t remember what his exact words were, but he did say he should just go kill himself. Like, what? Why would you even say something like that? He went back in the room, I went outside to have a smoke. I wasn’t going to chase him into that room to fight some more. But he came out. Getting mad at me because he could never get a response out of me. (I could be really composed when being attacked, or when everything’s going to shit around me and I could still carry on with the day. So this, to him, looked like I didn’t give a shit of what we’re we going through for the past few days). While he was getting frustrated with me outside, he goes and says that if we left he would have to quit his job, then he would get kicked out of his union. Like, why would you go and do that? He said because he would have to stay home because of Dougie, and whatever else excuse he made up, idk. Then said if we were gone he would end up selling the house, because what would be the point? All of this just made me feel guilty. He was standing there, staring at me, while I was staring at nothing, trying to figure out what to say. I wanted to say we would still leave anyways. But what I said was, “Well, we’ll just stay, but I am going home tomorrow after school.” Then said I was tired and had to sleep. That was the end of that. 

I felt so dumb. I felt like I was guilted into that decision. Like, I couldn’t have said I was leaving. I still do. What if it was the wrong decision? What if I don’t get another chance like this again? idk. It’s Saturday, late at night. We’ve all been at my parent’s house for 2 nights. I barely spoken to him since. He hugged me before we left, and kissed me. We tell each other we love each other at the end of the day. But, do I anymore? Idek. 

I know this post is already a really long one, but I’m going to copy and paste my email I wrote the other night. So you can get an idea of how I felt through all of this. If it wasn’t already clear....

“I wrote his last night before you decided to wake me up at 430. I didn't wanna send it right away so you can read it and not react angrily, like you do sometimes if i offend you. Not my intention tho...  I feel like I should let you know what's going on in my head. I feel like I can get it all out writing to you, rather then saying it to you unclear. I'd prolly end up crying and not saying it how I mean it. So, I  need you to understand why I did what I did. Like, why I went as far as getting approved to get that house. Not because I wanted to. This is the hardest thing I've been faced with in a very long time. I'm struggling with this and it hurts.  I love you, I always have and probably always will. But I have these girls to put before you, and even before myself now. I know they're hard to handle and over bearing and all of that shit. They're too much for me most days. So, I get the frustration and the anger you feel. The difference is, they're mine. You don't feel that love and obligation towards them as you do Dougie. You would never call your son all those things you wrote in that post you sent me. In reality, you would try to figure out why he's acting out and why he is the way he is. Instead, they seem like a huge inconvenience to you, and I really don't like that. Everything they do seems to bother you. You seem very uncomfortable in your own house, and in turn, makes me feel the worst. Because this is your place. And they're my kids.  That night Tenaya refused to do the dishes, I seen in her face she was afraid of you. Cuz when her automatic response to me asking her was "why", you went to raising your voice in anger. In that moment I felt bad for her, and scared for you to lose your temper (to which you eventually did). So, I did the dishes so you wouldn't have a reason to be upset. I know that's just an excuse and I should have made her do them, but I knew if I did, it would have became a bigger issue, with you already annoyed. Us arguing about it wouldn't have made that situation any easier. But when she refused to take a fucken shower, I was already done with her. I wanted that painting done, so I told her I didn't care and she could be dirty. You weren't there for that part. Then, you get how the rest of it went, you were there. In those moments, I didn't feel sorry for her, as she blatantly refused to do what she was told. No excuse for that. I guess my point in bringing this up was, I'm always trying to not upset you. I'm walking on eggshells when it comes to my kids setting you off. So, me doing the dishes was trying not to upset you. Then, makes me look like I'm not being a good parent. Maybe I'm not. Idk.  What I really want is my kids to feel safe. And to be happy. Idk if they see, or can tell how your mood is sometimes, but I do. You don't even seem happy to be here. I see you mumble about something that irritates you, swearing quiet enough that I can hardly hear you. Couch cushion is fucked, dirty rooms, too loud at the table, annoying kids. All of this doesn't even sound like someone who wants them here. Maybe you don't. Maybe you do all of this cuz you don't want to lose me? Idk. Idk what goes on in your head most days either.  I know you don't think this, but I am trying with my kids. Another thing you wrote on your post was something along those lines. "Erin only posts stuff to make her feel good." Whatever that even means. Everything I write is true. I struggle with my kids, but I want the best for them. My kid is a B, but I do see her getting better. Sorry if you don't.  I don't want to leave, but I also don't want to be told to leave every time you're pissy. I don't want you to call my kids names and say they're hateful. Say shit to me, loud enough they could hear. That's really abusive. You send me into a panic mode, thinking about what I'm supposed to do next. When you say leave, I get ready. And this time it happened really fast. Im supposed to give an answer ASAP and idk what to do. What the hell would you do if you were me? Cuz I honestly don't know.  I ended up staying before, then it happens again down the line...”

I thought this was a really good letter. He told me last night he was writing a long email back but doesn’t know if he’d send it. I told him he should so I have some sort of an idea of what’s going on in his mind. Still nothing tho. How annoying.

But I am overtired. There’s probably more to write to this whole debacle, but I am tired. Of everything. This whole week has been so draining. But hey, Monday morning is when I take off to the mountains with 2 of my oldest friends for a few days. (I totally forget what I named them in my earliest posts on here lol. I think A was Marie? Idk what I named M.) But if anyone remembers, these are the two girls who were older than me, who decided to use me for money to buy weed when we were young, little potheads, but ended up being my best friends for years anyways. lol. 

Gnight. Bless you if you read the whole ass thing lol. 

[somethinglacking]

Cruel Angel’s Thesis Chapter 12

Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Category: F/M Fandom: Mystic Messenger (Video Game) Relationship:707 | Luciel Choi/Main Character Characters:707 | Luciel Choi, V | Jihyun Kim Mary, Vanderwood 3rd, Jumin Han, Zen | Hyun Ryu, Yoosung Kim, Jaehee Kang, Main Character, Rika, Saeran ChoiUnknown | Ray

Nari stood there looking over her very convincing new birth certificate, passport, and photo ID trying to tell whether it was actually forged. Nari knew her boyfriend too well to know he wouldn't just forge a document, no he had gone all out. Now she was Lois Lane, and him Clark Kent which given any other situation she'd laugh at the humor. Nari pinched the bridge of her nose and inhaled sharply before shooting a scolding look at Saeyoung, who visibly flinched, and lowered his eyes. "So basically you committed identity theft... Saeyoung what the literal fuck?" Nari sighed tossing the passport back to him. "I can't use that!"

"Look, we are trying to stay three steps ahead of Saeran, and we have my agency to worry about. I wouldn't ask this of you if there was another way to keep you safe." Saeyoung tried to reason looping his arms around Nari's frame pulling her close. She sighed resting her forehead on his collarbone deeply inhaling his scent.

"Just how legitimate is this identification?" Nari mumbled and he let out a breathless chuckle. Saeyoung rubbed his nose into her head in slow circles as his hold on her relaxed. He breathed in her cherry scent for a moment.

"I might have hacked into some government systems I shouldn't have." He admits causing her to whack him upside the head and glare daggers at him.

"Jesus, Saeyoung!" Nari hissed as he smiled at her causing her to frown. "Don't look so impressed with yourself! My god!" Nari scolded and his grin widened.

"I love you," Saeyoung told her pulling her tight against him. "I've never been scolded about hacking before." He then explained and Nari snorted.

"That explains why you're such a brat about it." She teased and he took a dramatic inhale of breath.

"Take that back!" He demanded to blow a raspberry into her neck causing her to wiggle and squeal.

"NEVER!" Nari declared and he started to assault her side with his fingers.

"I don't even want to know..." a third parties voice spoke up halting the couple's actions.

"Madam, what do we owe the pleasure!" Saeyoung basically sang to the older man releasing Nari from his grasp. Nari stumbled for a second to the amusement to the others, glaring at her boyfriend.

"I'm here to pick up that passport, so I can catch my plane." Vanderwood sighed as Saeyoung nodded walking into his workroom. "Look, Nari, are you positive about this. I will not go easy on you. I'll work you until you can't move, and possibly vomit."

"I'm positive. I'm tired of being a damsel in distress." Nari assured the older agent who nodded.

"You've got guts, I'll give you that." Vanderwood nodded as Luciel waltzed into the room.

"Here you go, Max. E Pad from Baltimore! Seven grinned handing Vanderwood his new birth certificate, photo ID, and passport. Vanderwood cocked an eyebrow reading the identification over before sighing.

"What kind of name is Max. E Pad? Don’t you have any sense of maturity Zero Seven?" Vanderwood complained causing Nari to smile and bit her tongue to hold back her laughter.

"If you want a say in you're next name, you hack into the government yourself." Saeyoung shrugged and Vanderwood scowled.

"Wait, just how legitimate are these?" Vanderwood questioned and Saeyoung beamed a smile.

"100% legitimate because I plan on taking down the agency while we are away." Saeyoung's tone was serious even if the shit eating grin never left his face. Nari looked at the men and saw the scowl on Vanderwood's face deepen.

"You're a damn fool... But do you think we could do it?" Vanderwood questioned and Saeyoung nodded.

"Are you saying you'll help Vandy?" Seven was beaming and bouncing in place.

“You realize if our lives will be in danger if the agency catches wind of this,” Vanderwood informed the younger agent and Nari frowned.

“Is it hard to leave the agency?” Nari questioned and both agents turned to her.

“Usually the only way out is death.” Seven explained and her frown deepened.

“what makes you want to take down the agency anyway?” Vanderwood inquired.

“The reason I joined was that of a lie. I have no reason to stay. Plus the longer I dick around with the agency the more danger I put Nari in.” Seven explained as Nari rested her forehead on his shoulder. He smiled sadly brushing his fingers along the length of her hair. Vanderwood looked the pair up and down contemplating his options.

“What’s the plan?” Vanderwood finally agreed and Seven chuckled slightly.

“It'll take time for me to hack into the mainframe and gather evidence to blackmail the boss with for our release. If he still refuses after that I make every detail public with would mean the end of the entire agency. So either he lets us go quite or we make a fuss. Either way, I fully intend to walk away smiling.” Seven explained to Vanderwood.

“And what do you need from me? No way are you offering me a new identity without some sort of payment.” Vanderwood accused and Seven nodded beaming his shit eating grin toward the older agent.

“You’re going to deal with the boss, and cover for me. You’re also going to make sure he does not find out about Nari. I do the hard work and all you have to do is tell a couple lies.” Seven explained and Vanderwood looked at him in a deadpan kind of way.

“If that’s all it’s a deal. If we fail…” Vanderwood trailed off looking toward the woman latched to Sevens side. “We are as good as dead, her too…”

“I’m not scared of death Vanderwood. In my profession, I probably witness more death than either of you. I could be an asset if things go south given my medical training.” Nari informed the oldest male.

“see, isn’t she cool. All geared up and ready to go down fighting!” Seven chimed planting a kiss on her head.

“As long as you know what you’re getting yourself into Lady. Let's hope Seven doesn’t fuck up until I have a chance to properly train you.” Vanderwood sighed. “Seven, marry her. You won’t find another woman as insane as her. Well, I have a flight to catch. I’ll be waiting for you Nari.” With that Vanderwood didn’t wait for the others to speak and made a hasty exit.

“right I have a flight in twelve hours,” Nari mumbled.

“And I catch my flight five hours after that. I'll be right behind you.” Saeyoung assured her wrapping himself around her. She hummed pressing herself close to him feeling content.

“I love you, Saeyoung,” Nari whispered and his arms tightened around her.

“I love you like the moon loves the stars,” Saeyoung assured her placing a kiss on her forehead and her giggles as he continued to kiss every inch of her face.

“You know…” Nari started and Saeyoung hummed urging her to continue. “If we do end up being killed, I can honestly say I died to have no regrets.” Saeyoung looked over her face locking his eyes with hers.

“I’m already too deep into you. My one and only love. I love you. I love you.” Saeyoung felt his tears escape him as Nari smiled up at him wiping her fingers under his glasses to catch the drops.

“I feel like we will have a happy ending, so no more tears until than, okay.” Nari chimed offering him an assured smile. He nodded leaning in to capture her mouth under his. Nari returned his affections enthusiastically.

He was the first one to pull away and looked shyly of to the side as he cleared his throat. Nari smiled at him finding his shy side too cute. “Are you done packing?” He changed the subject.

“other than the things I need to survive the next twelve hours,” Nari assured him.

“If you forget anything we can just pick it up once we get settled…” Saeyoung assured her looking at her softly.

“So where are we going?” Nari inquired and he smiled with a shrug.

“I own a place in the states, it pretty secluded up in the mountains.” He informed her and she chewed on her cheek thinking.

“Just how soundproof is it, are we going to bother Vanderwood?” Nari than have him a sly grin and he choked on his spit.

“How can you say things like that so easily. You have no shame.” His cheeks were tinted pink as he glanced at his lover from under his eyelashes.

“It’s amusing how shy you are about the subject, but when it comes to actually doing the deed you’re so confident,” Nari explained and he placed his hands in his jean pockets and chuckled.

“It's just weird hearing a girl be so open about it… it's not like… erm, I’ve never talked or joked about it, but it’s usually with Zen or Yoosung. You know boy talk.” He explained as his ears started to feel warm.

“Girls talk and joke about it too. Everybody likes sex, and I could tell you every physical and psychological benefit of it if you’d like. Use big doctor terms and such.” Nari continued to tease him and he rolled his eyes.

“I’m feeling a little warm… I’m going to go get a drink, would you like anything?” Saeyoung offered to change the subject.

“I’m good.” Nari beamed a knowing grin as he made haste toward the kitchen.

Nari raised an eyebrow as her phone pinged from the couch. She walked over and gathered it seeing a chat room had been open while they were talking with Vanderwood. Nari opened the chat room and read it thoughtfully as Saeyoung wonder back into the room completely composed again.

“V's moving and the rest of the RFA is headed over to help pack. Wanna go?” Nari asked and Saeyoung thought it over.

“Uh, yeah! Let’s get this show on the road!” Saeyoung cheered walking toward the garage.

Nari found herself leaning against V’s kitchen counter chatting ideally with Jumin and Jaehee while sipping at some fancy red wine that had been offered to her. Her eyes kept drifting toward the living area cluttered with convinces where her boyfriend was chatting admittedly with Zen and Yoosung while V was the only one doing what this little RFA meeting was for. Packing. Nari sighed placing her near empty glass on the counter and walked toward V.

“Put me to work.” Nari smiled helping V place various items into the current vox he was packing.

“Could you start wrapping and packing the kitchen?” V asked with a grateful smiled.

“Sure. Want me to get the rest of them to work?” Nari suggested eyeing her cheeky hacker across the room teasing Yoosung.

“Naw, let them be. It’s been a long time since we've all been together in such a relaxed atmosphere.” V informed her and she smiled.

“I BETTER SEE YOU ALL HAULING ASS AND HELPING PACK IN THE NEXT THIRTY SECONDS!” Nari yelled startling everyone. They all gaped at her except Saeyoung who smiled fondly at her. “DID I STUTTER? GET YOUR ASSES INTO GEAR!”Even Jumin didn’t waste any time collecting a box to pack item within. Nari smiled looking at a baffled V and winked.

“Man, Nari’s actually scary!” Yoosung whispered to Seven who snickered working on bubble wrapping objects.

“You haven’t seen scary yet Yoosung,” Nari warned walking by stopping for a second to place a kiss on the Saeyoung head and ruffled his hair before continuing to the kitchen. Zen made a gagged sound that was silenced by Nari's glare and Seven smirked at Zen earning his own glare from the rising starlet.

Jumin and Jaehee where wrapping up the dishes as Nari waltzed in as placed a stack of boxes beside them. Jumin smirked at her while she grabbed the items he wrapped and placed them in a box neatly.

“I must say I’m impressed.” Jaehee giggled dealing with the silverware.

“This is the reason we all came here in the first place. V’s too nice say anything.” Nari shrugged eyeing the three in the living room as they whispered to one another while hasty packing boxes as if a fire was lit under their asses.

Much later that evening Nari found herself curled up in a ball on the corner of V's couch. She could feel the tears escape the corner of her eyes as her body shook uncontrollably.

“I think I broke my girlfriend?” Saeyoung yelled out the other watching Nari snort as her laughter doubled.

“She's not broken, she’s drunk,” Jaehee assured the redhead.

“I'm not even sure how I got this drunk. Gah! What is life, what is my life.” Nari whined between giggles wiping her eyes looking at Saeyoung with watery eyes and a drunk blush across her features.

“She’s cute even when drunk.” Zen assessed and Nari snorted rolling her eyes.

“Yoosung's passed out in the bathtub,” V informed the group walking back into the room.

“Well, now we all have a pee buddy!” Nari chimed before focusing on her half-empty glass. “why does this taste so good!”

“You see my sweet darling drunk girlfriend, Jumin heard that I the great god Seven-“

“PRAISE GOD SEVEN!” Nari cheered nearly spilling her drink. Everyone laughed as Seven carefully took the wine glass from her and set it down out of her reach.

“Boo! Whatcha do that for?” Nari pouted as her already glassy eyes watered.

“I believe Luciel, of all people, just cut you off,” Jumin explained with a slight chuckle.

“Man, let her drink she’s having fun.” Zen protested slightly slurred himself.

“You're not the one going home with her,” Lucile explained and watched Jaehee blush and look down at her own wine as if it was the fascinating thing in the world. “Jaehee where the hell DID your mind just go!” Luciel gasp in mock shock before chuckling at her fiercely blushing face.

“Places it shouldn’t have,” Jaehee admitted anyway still staring at her wine as the group hooped with laughter.

“What no way! You'll do something shady. Nari, babe listen men are wolves!” Zen gasped dramatically while Nari mumbles out “it's not like I'm little red riding hood." and Luciel rolled his eyes having fun being the only sober one in the room. He kept watching Nari carefully studying her as she became more and more intoxicated.

“Sounds like your jealous Zen.” Jumin mocked him earning a glare from the actor and some protests and some back and forth name calling.

“play nice children.” V actually said it which sent Luciel into a fit as Jumin gaped at his friend slightly scandalized.

“Can’t I just finish what’s left in the glass?” Nari ignored the goings around her, eyes still fixated on the half-empty glass.

“Sure if you describe me in three words!” Luciel teased and Nari frowned at him.

“An utter Annoyance.” Zen barked out and Seven covered his heart as if it was the greatest compliment while making kissy faces at the starlit.

“Not that Helpful.” Jaehee than chimed in and Seven gasped.

“I god SEVEN defender of justice keeper of the peace is always Helpful!” He protested.

“Absolute Cat Abuser.” Jumin than added taking a sip of his wine cocking an eyebrow at the hacker.

“I asked her, not for the entire room to roast me.” Seven half whined with a chuckle.

“Imaginative self-expression.” V than add and everyone made a sound of agreement.

“Clearly there are many words to describe you, Saeyoung Choi. But if I had to pick three-“ Nari paused making a stupid drunk face and held up four fingers which earned another round of laughter. “My three words would be ‘my beautiful disaster’”

Saeyoung looked at her slightly mystified as the room went quiet. Once he processed her words he felt his face heat up and he swallowed thickly as he let out an awkward chuckle. “Nari, baby, you’re way too drunk. We should be going. Being the defender of justice that I am I cannot allow a lady to make such a fool of herself hahaha.” Saeyoung babbled out scooping her up in his shoulder and made haste to the door despite her protest and attempts to free herself from him. “catch the rest of you on the flip side.” He offered a peace sign and shut the door.

Saeyoung practically threw her into the passenger's seat. “who lit your ass on fire?” Nari asked now slightly pissed. Saeyoung slipped into the driver's seat and hit his forehead off the wheel.

“Whoa! Careful are you trying to give yourself a concussion?” Nari barked and Saeyoung turned his eyes toward the woman seated beside him. Her glassy honey brown eyes, dilated pupils, the alcohol in her system causing her face to adore such a pretty blush.

“I love you,” Saeyoung told her and she stopped her fussing and looked at him. He smiled as he saw her cheeks pick up more color and a smile slowly spread across her face. She leaned in toward him and a grin spread across his features as he finished closing the space between them.

Nari was drunk, she tasted sweet like the wine she had been downing all night. Her usually shy kiss was sloppy and her fingers curled into his unruly red mop of hair. Saeyoung groaned finding this kiss intoxicating none the less as he leaned on to her and half crawl a top of her as his tongue licked her lips. She gasped out a tiny moan that sent a shiver down his spine as he invaded her mouth. She was sweet and the kiss was wet and desperate.

Then there was a knock on the window. The two over them parted and looked at one another wide-eyed as there was another tap on his tinted glass window. Nari giggled looking above herself at the window in question.

“what are you guys, sixteen. Jeez, stop making out!” Zen yelled at the car causing both of them to crack up. Saeyoung shifted himself slightly to start the car and roll down the window.

“Is there something you needed Zen?” Seven asked still atop of Nari who was hiding her head in his should laughing.

Zen sighed looking in on the scene “I was wondering if you’d give me a lift home.” Zen explained averting his eyes from the couple with a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Now why would I give a drive to an absolute cock block?” Seven questioned the actor who gaped at him and Nari smacked him on the head earning a protest and chuckle from the hacker.

“He’s drunk too. Zen get in we'll take you home.” Nari decided to earn a pout from the man above her as she wiggled trying to push him off despite the hackers protest about being a taxi. “You’re the only sober one, which means you drive drunks home!”

“fine dude, get in.” Seven agreed sitting himself back behind the wheel. Nari righted herself giggling as Zen slide himself into the backseat.

“I drank too much. My skin is going to suffer tomorrow.” Zen complained as Seven put the car in drive and pulled away from V's loft out in the middle of nowhere.

“actually wine is good for your skin. Actually, the wine has a lot of health benefits! Actually, it can help your immune system!” Both men looked at her. “what I am actually a doctor!” both men chuckled muttering Actually at her and she stuck out her tongue.

“Than why does liquor make you so hot?” Zen inquired removing his jacket and Nari laughed.

“It’s normal to feel warm because liquor stimulates a part of your brain called the hypothalamus.” Nari trailed off.

“And the Himalayas, is what now?” Zen asked mispronouncing the word

“hypothalamus,” Nari repeated the word. “It’s a part of the brain regulates basic human functions, like your body temperature, hunger, hormone levels, and of course, your sex drive,” Nari explained.

“You’re wasted yet yammering out doctor lingo?” Saeyoung asked in disbelief.

“I was drunk most of the college. I wrote many exams still drunk from the night before.” Nari explained as she sat back in her seat yawning. “but I'm sobering up.” And her eyes drifted close.

“It’s your stop,” Saeyoung informed the half-asleep actor after what felt like a few minutes. Both Zen And Nari sat up blinking a few times. Zen yawned and hawked around for another moment before removing him from the back seat.

“thanks for the ride Seven, let her get some sleep yeah?” Zen smiled and winked closing the door and stumbling toward his front door. The two left in the car waited and mocked as Zen struggled to unlock his door. Once he did and it opened he flashed them his middle finger before staggering inside.

“T minus five hours until I have to be at the airport,” Nari mumbled looking at the time and turning on the radio. Saeyoung smiled and swatted her fingers away, connecting to his blue tooth playing his most current playlist on his phone.

“And five hours after that I’ll be on a plane. Less than twenty-four hours we'll be together again if there are no delays.” He assured her and she hummed relaxing against the leather seat.

“It’s just going to be so weird being alone with Vanderwood. I mean he barely makes eye contact with me, let allow the five times he actually talked to me directly. I get the feeling he doesn’t like me, but tolerated me because of you.” Nari half complained to Sevens amusement.

“He likes you, don’t worry. As for the eye contact, you’re beautiful and he is rather shy when it comes to women believe or not.” Saeyoung reassured her and she hummed and drifted off to sleep.

[voltronbutheadcanons]

I've never seen this prompt around before: but what is each paladins embarrassing never-tell-anyone daydream about their crush? Like, who daydreams about epically saving their crush's life? Who daydreams about confessing their feelings with a suave kiss? We all do it, so what would each of the paladins be? The more embarrassing the better!

Ooh interesting! Embarrassing the Paladins is something I need to check off of my bucket list for sure! I’m secretly a sadist hue hue ~Mod Saffron

Shiro

Shiro may have control over his patience, but not over his wild mind. This man will create insane scenarios where you’re tied up (some cases, it’s shibari holy shit) and you’re calling out to him in a sweet voice to come and save you.

He’s running in slow motion, pulverizing droids in some weird dance with the craziest grin on his face. He’s coming for you, darling!

There is a weak version of Sendak and Zarkon standing beside, whimpering as he walks in the room. He punches them after they meekly ask him not to punch.

He fucking wrecks Haggar’s face rip

With a swoosh of his laser arm, your ropes are magically unbound from your wrists and ankles. You jump into his arms and swoon when he winks at you.

“Oh, Shiro~” you coo softly at him, as he zips you to his Black Lion, confetti blowing up behind him and the entire central command of the Galra empire explodes behind you.

He leans in for a puckering kiss when–

“Shiro? You okay?”

Agh shit he’s blushing. Was he puckering his lips? He was puckering his lips, Lance said, a bit disgusted.

You glance at him suspiciously. He chuckles to himself, shaking his head at his little slip-up. Good thing you don’t know about his dreams at night.

Keith

Think twice if you ever thought Keith simply daydreams about you. He fucking lives his imaginations. Oh, wanna know how? Here, sit child, let me explain:

When you train with him, your kicks and punches are different than his brain interprets. They are a dance of seduction, a mesmerizing art that captivates him day by day.

Yes, Keith is poetic when it comes to his feelings. He 100% blames Lance for his new dramatic phase.

He will also react differently when you’re charging at him. He doesn’t even notice your sword until the blade is 0.03 inches from his face. He will parry it at the last second.

He’s so embarrassed, like, why did he just picture you in a sleek onesuit, looking all sexy as you punch and kick at him? Tch, he’s so freaking pissed at himself.

But it’s his guilty pleasure. He’ll just randomly think about you during missions, during dinner, during his arguments with Lance. He will replace anything before him with an image of you.

You know how people say, “I’m in a room full of people, but all I see is you.”? Yeah, take that literally with Keith. The Paladins are all in the room and all he sees is your face onto their own, smiling at him sweetly.

He kinda hates you for it, but it’s not your fault. He hates that he loves you, he’s never had any of this happen before.

He will murmur “stupid temptress” after your training sessions. You’re very confused, but your alarm is up.

Lance

Sigh

Honey, have you met Lance? He is either a ladies’ man or a ladies’ worst nightmare. For the sake of this beautiful boy, we won’t go with the latter.

He knows how to flirt, he’s just choosing the worst people to do it with. Also, he has no limits? Yes.

He is the type to dream about confessing to you in the most dramatic and romantic way possible. Fireworks, dancers, and a mariachi band (where did he get that in space??) are essential to his confession. Maybe he’ll even get a searing kiss on his lips! for confessing! He’s so excited and nothing even happened!

But

He becomes scared that after all this, you will reject him sadly and walk away from the scene. Oh, God. He’d be a laughingstock forever. You two will never see each other the same way again. You’ll always be suspicious of him and then that suspicion will turn into hatred and then you’ll hurt him and he’s gonna cry and and—

Wait. You would never friendzone him. You’re not that type of person. You are sweet, adorable, and compassionate for others’ feelings. why was he having another panic attack for no reason?

He dreams about you confessing your love to him, and the both of you ride off into the sunset, with Keith throwing petals emotionlessly behind.

He plays the guitar for you on your wedding night (woah that escalated quickly) near a bonfire on a beachside.

Yeah, bless his exaggerated soul. He will never tell anyone about this…hobby of his. God forbid if Keith finds out.

Hunk

Honestly, this guy wouldn’t go as wild as the others with his fantasies. He’s more of a laid back kind of dude who just wants a peaceful interaction with his crush.

Hunk is a total sucker for romance. He’d probably dream about how they would both be dancing at a masquerade ball and you would lose your slipper, to which then he would put it back on for you and present you with a fresh batch of cookies.

Hunk would dream about making meals with you and your seven kids (yes, he wants kids okay). All kinds of delicacies would be invited to your table, such as pineapple pizza, ravioli with meat, and popcorn noodles.

He wants a baking fight with you. Throwing flour all around and then kissing you with a great fire in his heart.

He waltzes around the kitchen, stuck in his own thoughts and humming gently to himself. Lance caught him absently stroking a wooden spoon and whispering words of love to it.

Lance is never allowed into the kitchen again.

Pidge

You’re not sure how, but this girl has actually doodled some of her daydreams into her notebook and you accidentally stumbled upon it (literally). 

As you flipped through the pages, you saw that with each progressive page, the images keep getting dirtier and dirtier.

You saw handholding at first, then loving glances, then kisses, then makeout doodles, and then you saw actual consummation this girl horny af

She also has a thing for roleplay? Like prince/ princess?

Has considered making a robotic dildo for you to wear

Pidge often imagines touching you intimately during activites. If y’all are doing a project, she’ll want to “accidentally” collide chests with you somehow. Taking a walk? She’ll trip into your arms. Eating? Pidge will fucking make noodles appear in your pizza to reenact the Lady and the Tramp scene.

But after you caught her drawings and her puckered lips to the ceiling, Pidge will never daydream in public ever again.

Lance teases her for days about it and I don’t think his crotch area is okay to this day

RIP my boi lance

[ofconsequence]

Rewatching A&E’s BATES MOTEL

1x01 (First You Dream, Then You Die)

Wow. Okay, so I am 48 seconds into the episode, and I already have thoughts. Oops. Something tells me it’ll take me awhile to get through every episode if I actually seriously take the time to write everything down... 

Anywho -- obviously, the audience is meant to note the dialogue going on in the background as we pan into Norman’s face. A conversation’s being had on an old movie about a guy who’s gonna move in and live with his mother.

I also find it interesting how many photos are crammed onto the walls, even in such narrow hallways; it must be part of how Norma likes to illustrate this beautiful (but non-existent) life story of hers, a way to play the part of that girl who grew up with a kind, smiling father and a mother who always smelled like cookies. I wonder if playing this part is a way that she copes, too. We know she’s obviously willfully blind to things that cause her pain, or at least refocuses and forces that pain onto somebody else sort’ve deal (say... her eldest baby boy.)

Also -- baseball is on in the background, so we can gather that Sam Bates was a fan of baseball.

And here for the first time they use an empty/unattended kitchen to show Norma’s blatant absence (to be used later in the series when Dylan goes to find her in 4x07, There’s No Place Like Home). (I’ll also pointlessly note the writers seem to use spaghetti as a staple meal for the family, since in only 50 episodes with minimal normal domestic scenes, Dylan was also shown cooking spaghetti in 5x05, Dreams Die First).

And... only 55 seconds in, I’ve paused it again. Dang! Check out Sam Bates’ workshop. The dude must have been handy -- y’know, before he became a total drunk and completely useless. There’s a motorbike in there, too. Looks like it might be stripped? (It’s definitely not the bike we see Dylan driving later, though; totally different build.)

... Heh. I’m five minutes in, now -- just smirking a bit at Norman thinking his room was up in what eventually becomes Dylan’s room. It’s strange, though. There’s a door there left ajar; but I’m fairly certain we don’t ever see that door again later? Either that house was built really weirdly, too, or the folks who designed the sets just weren’t thinking totally straight, becauuuuse...

I can’t for the life of me get the freakin’ layout of this house, man. I know the back end comes out a little more, so it’s more shaped like 

than I think it is but still... Oy... 

Anyways. I love Norma and Norman so much and just want the world for them. My heart aches knowing their chance to start over was thwarted and ended in tragedy. :( I just want to protect them skjdhgs.

Forever amused that Norman Bates was listening to classical music on his iPod. Also amused at how Bradley and her friends sort’ve ambush Norman, haha. You can tell it’s a small town with not a lot of turn around -- they were really curious about him, but I also think it was very kind of them to immediately initiate communication instead of sort’ve shunning him and not welcoming him at all, y’know? Even though we all know how this ends, still. I think it was nice of them to reach out, at least at first, and even if it was ultimately for their own curiousity’s sake. Idk.

Also, straight off the bat in the small glimpse that we saw, I like Miss Watson -- and it’s only because I’m rewatching and know how her relationship with Norman develops that I find her line “You look like a runner” kind’ve a tip off, I’m sure. But I liked how she worded the students’ homework, the tiny glimpse we saw of her teaching style, and I like how she speaks to Norman non accusingly when she laments his grades and seems so genuinely invested in helping him. 

(I also wanna note that even though Norman said they moved a lot, I always pictured they moved around a lot in terms of homes, but always remained in the Scottsdale or more specifically Southern Scottsdale area. It’s a large city after all. No other home besides Norma’s childhood in Ohio and then Arizona was ever mentioned, so that’s just what I’m inferring.) 

Ahh.... this scene where Norman comes home to Norma always makes me cringe so bad. I love Norma, I truly do, but for me, this was one of her worse scenes in terms of me not really liking her so much. But I really appreciate how the writers handled it because it really sums up her parenting style (especially in regards to Norman) super swiftly and very clearly. Random sidenote? I never understood people burning candles at dinner. After dinner, sure, but I’d be scared to knock it over while we’re eating and reaching across the table for things. Like... idk, candles are more a thing you put on a coffee table, mantle or side table rather than a dinner table, imo. 

Keith Summers... I liked you for a fraction of one second, when you walked up those steps and asked Norman how he liked living there so far. Maybe I’m naive, but for that fraction of a second, I remember thinking you were only there to welcome them. Ugh...  Part of me wonders if Keith would have reacted as strongly as he did if Norma hadn’t spoken to him that way (threatening to shoot him), but either way, he did, and we know what he did to god knows how many other girls, too. He deserved a slower death than what he got.

The scene where Norma answers the door and tells Bradley Norman can’t go out reminds me a bit of the dinner scene, but less cringe-worthy; Norma could have known Bradley didn’t intend on bringing her son to the library and wanted to protect him from that, which is more understandable to me than preventing him from joining the track team at school, especially after Keith’s threats about not knowing anything about the town, etc. She doesn’t know what the local kids are like, y’know? And Norman is different, not exactly a partying teen. However, if she didn’t see through Bradley’s fib, well... that’s a little different, and again, referring more back to Norma-esque clingyness rather than a mom just being protective. And if she genuinely believed her excuse (unpacking, stuff to do, blah de blah,) that’s manipulative, too, because they were just sitting there, and you know the writers must’ve included that brief scene for that very reason (to illustrate that Norma was definitely exaggerating.)

I really like the way they showed Norma hesitating and turning around with narrowed eyes during their confrontation after Bradley and her friends left; now that we know Norma does have a reason to be as protective as she is, this was really good foreshadowing. She was scrambling to keep a lid on Norman’s temper, but her own flared up too. The bit that Norman said was another good bit of insight into Norma’s parenting, too. It makes me sad because Dylan would have grown up jealous over that, was jealous over it, even though he knew it wasn’t right (because at least it was something.) I think Dylan realizes just how badly Norma’s smothering affected Norman for the first time when he comes home in the next episode; because it has been three years since they’ve lived together and possibly seen and spoken to one another (at least from what I’m inferring.) He sees Norman and he thinks, “This is no normal teenage dude,” and gets angry with Norma and uses that to put up a front for that jealousy that’s eaten away at him since forever.

Anyway. Back to the current show. lmao I love Norma’s parting words ( “Well maybe you better just stay there the rest of the night, then!” )  It was so realistic, bahah. And Norman throwing his stuffed dog hahah (also LOL stuffed dog, I see wat u did there, writers and / or props department). 

I’ll never get over how “grown up” that party was that Bradley and her buddies took Norman to. But at the same time, I feel like I’m lacking in real world experience -- I literally never went to a party when I was in high school, let alone one full of teenagers with rich parents. I loved how they specifically showed the weed, too. Just little things like that, tiny little hints and foreshadowing -- it just shows that the writers actually wrote at least one season all in one go, not just episode by episode. I wonder whose house that was at, too? It’s a weird setting, can’t really tell if it’s a public building or a home.

And I am literally just realizing for the first time ever that Bradley was drunk in the scene with her and Norman (and then Richard)....... oops.   I kinda hope that Bradley must’ve  done or said something to make Richard so jealous and rude to Norman right off the bat, though. Or maybe he’s just so into Bradley and insecure he’s just douchey like that? I dunno. I mean, at least later in the season he has more of a reason, but their first meeting there, he’s kind’ve a dick for no apparent reason... unless maybe he saw Bradley walking up close to Norman from afar or something, idk. 

... Uuuugh. This next scene. I’m cringing in advance. It’s really hard to watch.  Part of me had to smirk a bit at how Norma was just finishing up cleaning up for the night before everything ends up covered in blood spatter though, even though my gut’s twisting at how all that blood ends up there at all.  Ohhh, sidenote: I mean, we know Norma loves making things beautiful and we often see her clean, but maybe cleaning is cathartic for her? Like maybe the reason she likes cleaning so much is part of her delusion thing (like with all the family photos I mentioned before) or maybe it’s more just cathartic in the sense that it gives her some semblance of control? Random thing that just occurred to me. I’d always kind’ve assumed she liked cleaning just because, but maybe it’s a little deeper, I dunno.

I also love the little realistic shot of Norma smiling to herself, waving off her worries. I think we’ve all done that, haha. (Can you tell I just love all the realistic little tid bits of this show? It all feels so real. Much wow, such quality. :’D)  And I love that  the music tells you just as much as Norma’s suddenly stiffening posture that something in her gut just twisted at that next noise. I’ve felt that “flight” instinct before, and it’s like something wrenches and rips on your insides and all of a sudden you feel like everything is on some strangely extreme level, like your body goes into hyper drive while holding a breath all at once. It’s horrible and makes your heart stop (or beat so fast you can’t feel it anymore.) I really sympathize with her right there, and I can appreciate that she doesn’t step right up to the glass, because when you feel that train wreck in slow motion feeling, you would be much too scared to face the source of your fear that closely. 

Uuugh... god... can anybody watch this scene without grimacing and hugging themselves....? I don’t have anything more to say.... I was watching this scene in a tank top and actually had to put a sweater on because it just makes me feel so uncomfortable... 

It’s too bad Norma or Norman didn’t think to handcuff Keith with his hands behind his back -- but maybe the murder would seem less gruesome this way?? Tho lbr it was pretty gruesome anyways. The sound effects... bah.

Norma’s reaction to everything makes so much more sense and seems less crazy somehow, knowing her back story, understanding where she’s coming from. I mean, it still sucks that she chose to hide the body instead of call it in, yadda yadda, but -- she stabbed him so many times, and then part of it must have been fear, too... she didn’t want people to know she’d been raped, to have that reminder. 

-- How did Jiao get her notebook under the carpet? And why did she leave it there?

Alex is such a dick this episode lmao. Ultimate stoic sheriff. haha.  Maybe he just senses she’s lying or something idk. Which... I guess he probably does, since he asks to look inside. I’ll never understand why neither he nor Shelby smells the body / blood in the bathroom. I mean, unless Romero was rocking a seriously bad UTI and couldn’t smell it over his own piss... >.>  Or maybe the pipes or plumbing already smelled coppery? Or the place is so musty that it muffled out the smell? Idk, idk. To me, this was one of the show’s biggest plot holes right here. Blood reeks. 

Ahhh, dat school cafeteria tho. I kind’ve wonder if Norman hallucinated the spot of blood on his shoe. It was very bright -- dried blood isn’t that red. Maybe this was his first on screen hallucination... And hooray for the introduction of Emma! Man, I can’t get over how much she grew up during the course of this show. She seems so young here.

Okay, honestly, this got rushed about halfway through the episode because my mom came home and I felt awkward pausing it every two minutes like I was to jot something down, and I don’t even feel like writing stuff about the rest of the episode anymore, lmao. But, hey -- this is casual, at my leisure... I doubt anybody else will read this anyways, so I’m basically talking to myself over  here. 

  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

On the off chance that anybody else does end up reading this, please let me know so I can be less lazy about this in the future if something similar happens.